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14-3707 February 5,2015 Page 4 City of Victoria,MN: A wall built to support earth of a higher level on one side than the other. City of Medina,MN: A wall or similar structure designed for the retention of dirt, gravel, sand, soil, or other landscaping,natural, or man-made material. Is a raised planter bed considered to be a retaining wall? Low cribbed raised planter boxes have generally been ignored from a zoning perspective, and they typically have not generated neighbor complaints. We normally do not receive permit requests for such landscaping or gardening activity. An option for Council to consider is whether planter beds meeting certain criteria should specifically be made exempt from setbacks and/or permitting. What are reasons we would want to have a 5-foot setback for retaining walls? (Assuming they don't encroach on any existing utility easements): - They need to be located and designed so as not to impede drainage between and across adjoining properties - They need to be maintainable from the wall owners' side of the lot line - From a safety perspective, they need to be located so as to not create unsafe conditions for neighboring properties - Visually,they can have the same impact as an accessory structure in limiting light and open space enjoyed by adjacent properties Why the 10' retaining wall setback from traveled right-of way? The provision for a 10' setback from the traveled roadway stems from the definition of"public road"within Section 18- 1 regarding Streets, Sidewalks and Other Public Places, which states: Public road means the entire area dedicated to public use,or contained in a plat,an easement or other conveyance, grant or by adverse possession,to the city or other governmental body, and shall include but is not limited to roadways,boulevards, sidewalks,trails,alleys and other public property between lateral property lines in which a public roadway lies.Where traveled public roadways exist in a location not shown on the platting map,the right-of-way shall not be less than ten feet wide on each side of the actual paved or traveled roadway surface(emphasis added). The intent of the inclusion in the proposed ordinance is to clarify that it is not acceptable to have retaining walls directly abutting the road right-of-way without City approval. Staff Recommendation Staff would note that the draft ordinance was intended to simply add provisions already in the land alteration section of the code to the non-encroachments section of the code. The 5' setback requirement already exists (albeit difficult to interpret)in 78-966/967. COUNCIL ACTION REQUESTED Staff requests that Council discuss the issues noted and provide staff direction as to any desired revisions to the draft ordinance.