06-13-2016 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 ORDINANCE NO. ___, THIRD SERIES 1 2 CITY OF ORONO 3 HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 4 5 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO THE 6 DEFINITION OF EXISTING GROUND LEVEL 7 8 9 THE CITY COUNCIL OF ORONO ORDAINS: 10 11 SECTION 1. Section 78-1 Definitions is hereby amended to read as follows: 12 13 Basement means that portion of a building that is partly or completely below the Existing Ground 14 Level. A basement shall be considered as a story for purposes of determining the number of stories 15 in a building, when the finished surface of the floor above the basement is more than six feet 16 above the existing ground level for more than 50 percent of the basement's perimeter. The 17 perimeter of the basement does not include portions of the house or garage that do not have a 18 lower level but are merely "unexcavated". Artificially raising the grade adjacent to the foundation 19 of a structure (by filling or by a combination of filling and retaining walls) above the surrounding 20 natural terrain shall not be allowed as a method for converting a defined story to a defined 21 basement, regardless of any other benefits to the property of such action. Finished grade that 22 increases more than one foot from Eexisting Gground Llevel shall be considered as artificially 23 raising the grade. However, artificially raising the grade when such action merely restores a 24 previously excavated site to its original natural Natural Grade may used as a method for 25 converting a defined story to a defined basement. 26 27 Building height means the vertical distance between the highest Existing Ground Level adjoining 28 ground level at the building or ten feet above the lowest ground level, whichever is lower, and the 29 top of the cornice of a flat roof, or the deck line of a mansard roof, or the uppermost point on a 30 round or other arch-type roof, or the median height of the highest gable of a pitched or hipped 31 roof. Topographic changes which elevate the adjoining ground level above the existing terrain 32 shall not be considered in determining building height. For a pitched or hipped roof situation, 33 regardless whether the highest living space in a building is a half-story or full story, if the highest 34 living space contains windows (excluding skylights) the upper measuring point for defining 35 building height shall be the median height of the top of the highest window and the highest peak of 36 the roof. 37 38 Existing Ground Level means the elevation of the grade at the base of an existing structure, 39 measured at points abutting the foundation wall, or the Existing Natural Grade of a vacant lot or 40 the Engineered Grade established by an approved grading plan at the time of final platting or 41 Conditional Use Permit. 42 43 Engineered Grade means the elevation of the ground, or any paving or sidewalk built upon it, 44 which has been established on the basis of an engineered grading and drainage plan for the 45 property that has been reviewed and approved by the city for the p roperty. 46 47 Natural Grade means the elevation of the ground surface in its natural state, prior to excavation or 48 Council Exhibit A June 16 2016