Memo Draft Section 153.200 Zoning Districts
City of Scandia – Draft 153.200 Zoning Districts 1
City of Scandia
Zoning & Development Code Update
May 20, 2021
TO: Mayor, City Council, and Planning Commission
CC: Ken Cammilleri, City Administrator
Evan Monson, Consulting City Planner
Chris Nelson, City Attorney
FROM: Jennifer Haskamp, AICP, SHC
Julia Paulsen Mullin, SHC
RE: Working Draft Section 153.200 Zoning Districts
Introduction to Section 153.200 Zoning Districts
Attached please find the working draft of new Section 153.200 Zoning Districts of the UDC and DRAFT
Zoning Map. As stated in the Annotated Outline we reviewed in February this Section:
“…establishes Zoning Districts and their purposes. Two base districts have been added to the existing list of
Districts…These new districts will respond better to the policy direction of the Comprehensive Plan and to
existing conditions in the city today…”
The annotated outline identified two new zoning districts for possible inclusion: 1) Rural [Residential]
Neighborhood (RR-N); and 2) Village Reserve. After completing further analysis, including additional non-
conforming review, we modified our approach slightly to better align with the existing conditions and Future
Land Use Plan. Instead of creating a “Village Reserve” district we are proposing to modify the Village
District designations slightly to better align with the character of the uses and development patterns. Mike
Lamb has started the “Character Area” analysis and will present some preliminary thoughts regarding this
approach at the upcoming work session. Introducing the concept of using Character Areas to refine the
Zoning District boundaries in the Village will better align the development patterns with the Design
Guidelines, as well as the development and use standards which will be presented at an upcoming session.
Finally, the approach proposed in the attached draft allows the revised “Village Center District” (roughly old
Village Mixed Use B) standards to either be served by private well and septic OR by municipal services if, or
when, there is adequate infrastructure capacity, alleviating the need to amend the Comprehensive Plan.
In addition to the proposed RR-N and modifications to the Village Districts, the other more substantive
change is with respect to the Special Districts. The Special Districts now specify that PUD’s and Open Space
Conservation PUD’s (OS-PUD) are a rezoning as opposed to a conditional use. This is a shift in the process
that we discussed at the last work session and is now reflected in the attached draft. We would like to discuss
this transition at the work session, as well as discuss whether the attached Zoning Map should be revised to
rezone properties that were approved as Open Space Conservation or PUD in the past.
Lastly, during the drafting and modification process we identified several small dimensional adjustments that,
if accepted, will better align the district standards with the existing conditions thereby reducing the number of
City of Scandia – Draft 153.200 Zoning Districts 2
non-conforming lots within the City. A summary of the small changes and/or modifications is provided to
aid in our upcoming discussion:
Base District Names – For consistency, the Base District names have been updated or revised. The
intent is to make the names easier to understand and correlate with the intended use of the property.
o This includes revised names for the Village District to better describe the “Character” of the
areas (Core, Center and Neighborhood)
The Rural Residential Neighborhood District assigns lot sizes based on the shoreland classification
(whether on a recreational development or natural environment lake, and the inclusion in the SCRD
overlay). The RR-N District is new and proposes minimum existing lot sizes consistent with the
MnDNR’s minimum lot size regulations. If this change is accepted, approximately 50% of the non-
conforming lots will become conforming to the new standards.
Village District dimensional revisions. After performing additional analysis, we are proposing slight
modifications to the minimum lot sizes and setbacks to better align with existing development
patterns and the Design Guidelines.
o Minimum Lot sizes in the Village Center and Village Neighborhood are proposed at 1.0 and
1.5 acres respectively if no municipal water and sewer is available to the property. After
performing GIS analysis of existing parcel sizes, the proposed lot sizes bring more lots into
conformity.
o Assigned setbacks were established using the Design Guidelines as the foundation.
Base District Spreads (Graphics and Diagrams)
The attached draft is noted with “INSERT Graphis showing Scale and Character…” This is shown as a place
holder for the Base District Spreads that are under development. A draft of the Rural Residential – General
“spread” will be presented at the meeting. Once we confirm the dimensional standards of the Base Districts,
we will create the remaining graphics for the section.
Please NOTE that in the Dimensional Standards table for each Base District there is a column
labeled with “A, B, C…” the letters will correspond to the diagrams on each “spread.”
Schedule
As requested at the April work session, we reviewed the schedule and provide the following update:
In January 2021 we anticipated that a draft code would be prepared by May 2021.
As of the preparation of this memo, we believe that the full draft will be available in July, but that
depending on schedules and number of meetings needed to discuss the Final Draft the review
timeline could extend to fall. The delay is due to scheduling, coordination, and we want to make sure
we have everyone on the same page before we are in a public hearing. The schedule changes are not
because the scope or fee has changed.
As indicated by the City Administrator in April, we anticipate the Code to be completed no later than
the end of the year.