02-22-1984 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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NORTHWEST ASSOCIATED CONSULTANTS INC. MEMORANDUM TO: Little Canada Plannigg Commission FROM: David Licht DATE: 31 January 1984 RE: FILE NO: 758.09 - 84.01 BACKGROUND FEB 5:) p@EM Little Canada - Zoning Ordinance Revision - Twin Homes in the R -1 District 2 1984 CITY OF LITTLE CANADA Over the last number of years, a matter of some concern has been the provision within the R -1 district which allows one duplex unit in ten lots (see page 42, Section 905.040 A). While approval of such development requires a conditional use permit and several stipulations must be met, the application of this provision has raised many questions. The rationale for allowing the twin unit in an R -1 district has been to accom- modate what is termed a "mother -in -law" apartment. While this need may be justifiable, the present approach is not sufficiently restrictive to focus development soley in this direction. The Council has concluded that this entire matter should be reviewed. In this regard, they have imposed a 90 day moratorium on such applications. During this period, they have asked for your evaluation of this matter. ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES In looking into this matter, we have identified four possible approaches which could be taken on the issue of twin units in the R -1 district. We have outlined these below. 1. Prohibit twin units in the R -1 District: The vast majority of Minnesota Cities strictly limit the low density single family zoning district to solely single family detached dwellings. Some cities do, however, have "transition" districts which allow the mixing of single and twin dwelling units. In every case that we know of, this is, however, a distinction between the lot size of the single and twin units. 24 4820 minnetonka boulevard, suite420 minneapolis, mn 55416 612/925 -9420