10/13/2021 P&Z Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning & Zoning Board October 13, 2021 Page 11 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Laden asked if other cities detail minimum floor area requirements by type or just x amount of square footage irrespective of type. Ms. Lindahl said Lino Lakes is the only City she has seen that details minimum footprint requirements by type. She noted the intent of minimum requirements is to ensure property values are maintained. She commented since tiny homes do not have garages they would not be allowed in Lino Lakes. Nonetheless, tiny house subdivisions do exist, but they tend to be PUDs because cities typically are not prepared to handle such developments. Mr. Laden asked if an individual property owner wanted to have a tiny house, would he/she have to apply for a PUD. Ms. Lindahl said the property owner would likely apply for a variance from the minimum footprint requirement. Mr. Reinert commented if a resident was able to construct any type of house anywhere in the city, zoning districts would not be needed. He said if we did not have zoning districts, large houses would be built next to small houses and it would look reminiscent of the 1920s. He stated people typically do not like such neighborhoods and it does affect property values. He said if the Board wanted to add a tiny house development standard, he would not be opposed to it. He noted tiny homes are a current fad and who knows if they will be around ten years from now. Mr. Laden said most of the time, individuals want to own a tiny home for themselves and they are not typically looking to construct tiny home developments. Mr. Reinert reiterated if a resident was able to construct any type of house anywhere in the city, zoning districts would not be needed. Mr. Laden stated the city could create a zoning district which allows individuals to build whatever they desire. Mr. Vojtech said he questions why the City has minimum requirements as well. He commented there is a small house on his block approximately 650 sq. ft. and another small house on the block was recently torn down and a new large house was constructed in its place. He stated he likes differentiation between houses and he does not like suburban tract housing. Mr. Vojtech said the idea of allowing tiny homes should be discussed further because tiny homes are quite popular and there may be in influx of requests if the City decides to allow them. He stated he knows a builder who quit his job building homes in order to build tiny homes and he receives at least 10 calls a day from interested buyers. Vice-Chair Root commented there should be individual zoning districts in the City and minimum standards for each zone to ensure consistency from lot to lot. He suggested clustering tiny homes or implementing buffers. He said having the