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TONKA BAY <br />SHORELAND FLEXIBILITY REQUEST <br />Introduction <br />The City of Tonka Bay has developed on a strip of land surrounded <br />by Lake Minnetonka and is almost con^letely within the shoreland <br />area. The significant natural auienity of the lake adds to the <br />aesthetic, recreational and economic value to the community. <br />Shoreland in Tonka Bay has historically developed as cad>ins and <br />single family homes which reflect its earliest development as a <br />resort community. Due to the limitations caused by large wetland <br />areas, and the fully developed character of the land, there is <br />little opportunity for additional new development. Also due to the <br />density of existing commercial development and the limited <br />potential for expanded opportunity, flexibility of shoreland <br />standards which protect the shoreland areas and quality of the <br />water, while allowing controlled development and redevelopment is <br />of the highest importance in Tonka Bay. <br />Based on the existing development of the City, the direct <br />application of the DNR shoreland standards would result in non- <br />conforming status for uses in the commercial and residential areas <br />throughout the shoreland district. The potential for areas of the <br />City to become non-conforming complicates landowner's rights, <br />inhibits development, amd affects the City's tax base. <br />In this regard, the City of Tonka Bay, as part of its <br />implementation of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' <br />State-Wide Standards for "Management of Shoreland Areas* is <br />requesting flexibility from portions of the shoreland standards, <br />while recognizing and accommodating the urban development character <br />of the City and its continued development/redevelopment. <br />The shoreland issues are based on background technical data that <br />has been physically inventoried and included within the Shoreland <br />Management Plan for Tonka Bay. The Shoreland Plan has been adopted <br />as an amendment to the 1980 Tonka Bay Comprehensive Plan. The plan <br />is the basis for and functions with the Shoreland Ordinance in <br />providing the necessary regulation for the shoreland area. The <br />plan specifies areas in the shoreland which require flexibility and <br />how Tonka Bay will address each request item. The background <br />technical information on density, lot coverage, and lot width has <br />been compared to the DNR shoreland management standards where <br />applicadDle, and the City Zoning Ordinance to determine the level of <br />development capacity of the City.