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Zoning File #990 <br />November 13, 1985 <br />Page 2 of 5 <br />Per Subdivision 6, a "Lot of Record" is any lot for which a deed <br />or registered land survey has been recorded in the office of the <br />Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles for Hennepin County, <br />Minnesota, prior to January 1, 1975, and after approval by the Council <br />if requirr'. <br />The applicant owns four adjacent tax parcels in the RR-IB zoning <br />district totaling 2.90 acres. The existing house, well, and septic system <br />are contained within the two easterly parcels totaling 1.01 acres. The two <br />westerly parcels are 1.04 and 0.85 acres respectively. The applicant <br />wishes to obtain building permits for each of the westerly parcels. <br />The 1950 Zoning Code (adopted 7/10/50) established a number of zoning <br />districts, including the "Stubbs Bay District" in which Ferrell's property <br />was located. The "Stubbs Bay District" required minimum building lot size <br />of one acre. This one-acre minimum was still in effect in 1958 when <br />Ferrell requested to build a second residence on his property. It is very <br />likely that Ferrell was told by the City at that time that in order to <br />build another residence he would have to subdivide, because in general the <br />Code allowed only one principal residence per building lot (see Council <br />minutes 9/22/58). Note that at that time his request was referred to the <br />Planning Commission - minutes have not been found for the Planning <br />Commission meeting or any subsequent action. Although a platting code <br />existed in Orono as of 1955, Ferrell apparently divided off 2 lots each of <br />140' width and approximately 1 acre in area, in or about 1959 without <br />platting, and the parcels have apparently been separate for tax purposes <br />since that time. The parcels including the road right-of-way would likely <br />have been considered conforming or nearly conforming lots of record under <br />the 1967 Zoning Code which designated the property as Zone R-IC, 1 acre <br />and 140' width. Single Family Residential. That 1967 Code stated, re­ <br />garding lots of record, as follows; <br />31.200. Existing Lots. A lot of record existing upon September 14, <br />1967 (the effective date of the Zoning Code) under sing le separate <br />ownership in a "R" Residential District, which does not meet the <br />requirements of the Zoning Code as to area or width may be utilized <br />for a single family detached dwelling purpose provided that in the <br />judgment of the Council such use does not adversely affect public <br />health or safety. Single separate ownership includes joint \Dwnership <br />by not more than two persons. <br />The 1967 Code did not discuss common ownership properties nor did it <br />differentiate between sewered and unsewered lots of record. However, by <br />using the term "Single Separate Ownership", it implied that other types of <br />ownership would be treated differently but did not define in what way. <br />Under this code, the applicant would likely have been allowed to build on <br />the 1.04 acre lot without a variance because the lot met the standards of <br />the 1-acre zoning district. The 0.85 acre lot would likely have required <br />Council approval, depending on whether the area in the road right-of-way <br />was included in the lot area at that time.