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Larkin Hoffman 11/5/2008 10:55 PAGE 003/004 Fax Server • Mr. Michael Grochala, Community Development Director November 4, 2008 Page 2 In addition, the categorization of a recreational room for Mr. and Mrs. Smith and their children as a use accessory to the home does not comport with the definitions contained in the City's Zoning Ordinance. The following definitions are instructive: accessory use - "a use of land or of a building or portion thereof customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the land or building and located on the same lot with such principal use." incidental use - "a use of land or of a building or portion thereof customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the land or building and located on the same lot with such principal use." principal use - "the primary or predominant use of any lot and/or building." dwelling - "a structure or portion thereof which is used exclusively for human habitation." Under the City's definitions, a particular use cannot be both a principal use and an accessory use. The principal use of Mr. and Mrs. Smith's home is as a dwelling, a structure for human habitation. Habitation is commonly defined as "a dwelling place; a domicile." Black's Law Dictionary (ab. 8th ed.) 590. Clearly, Mr. and Mrs. Smith's home is their domicile. The proposed addition will be a location within the home where Mr. and Mrs. Smith and their children recreate. Having a room within a home for recreation, no matter how large or small, is consistent with the use of a home as a dwelling. It cannot be said that such a use is "customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use," it is an integral part of the principal use. Therefore, the proposed addition will be inhabited and occupied as Mr. and Mrs. Smith's domicile to the same extent as the rest of the home. The Minnesota Supreme Court has also expounded on the definition of an accessory use. In Lowry v. City of Mankato, 42 N.W.2d 553 (Minn. 1950), the Court determined: Ordinarily, the word `accessory' when applied to a building denotes that it is used as an adjunct of and in subordination to another building.... A thing is `subordinate' when it is a n c i l l a r y or auxiliary to a p r i n c i p a l thing ... . `Incidental' has much the same meaning as `accessory' and `subordinate' and is used to convey the idea of a thing being subordinate to, dependent on, and pertaining to another thing which is the principal one. Id at 558. Applying the Lowry definition, the proposed addition is not ancillary or auxiliary to • the principal thing; the addition constitutes the principal use of the lot as a dwelling. Further, while the proposed addition may be used by Mr. and Mrs. Smith and their family to play basketball, it is only about half the size of an actual basketball court. Due to its size, intended use for the family and design that makes it indistinguishable from the remainder of the home, the