February 27, 2023 planning commission public hearing

ALEXANDRIA TOWNSHIP

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

For the convenience of participants, all Alexandria Township meetings are available online.  Please check the agenda on the township’s website: www.alexandriatownship.org for details on how to attend electronically and/or by phone.

Notice is hereby given that the Alexandria Township Planning Commission will convene on February 27, 2023, at 5:00 PM at the Alexandria Technical and Community College, Room 209, 1601 Jefferson Street, to conduct the following public hearing:

Amendments to Ordinance #133 (Subdivision Controls Ordinance), Ordinance #134 (Zoning Ordinance) and the Alexandria Township Comprehensive Plan. The amendments to Ordinance #133 would amend Section 3.2 (Pre-Application Meetings) to allow the Zoning administrator to make such a meeting mandatory rather than voluntary, and; modify the definition of “Lot Width” to measure the width of a lot at any point of the lot rather than at the building setback line and to otherwise match the definition in the Douglas County Subdivision Ordinance. The amendments to Ordinance #134 would modify the table of permitted uses in Section III.B (Uses Permitted) to add a line for shed/house (“shouse”) structures and list them as prohibited on lots less than 5 acres in size and require a conditional use permit in commercial and industrial districts where lot size is greater than 5 acres, clarify that low activity home occupations are an allowed use not requiring a permit, change cabinet shops from prohibited to an interim use in the Rural Residential (RR) district, add a line to stipulate that cargo containers are permitted if meeting certain conditions and an interim use if not (except that they would be prohibited entirely in shoreland districts), change certain commercial uses from allowed by interim use to prohibited in the Urban Residential (UR) and Residential Shoreland (RS) districts, list all contractors offices, shops and yards as interim uses in the Rural Conservation Residential (RCR) district, conditional uses in commercial/industrial districts and prohibited entirely in shoreland and other residential districts regardless of whether they have outdoor storage or not, allow for self-storage as an interim use in the RCR and RR districts rather than being prohibited, adding a line that would make “event venues” a conditional or interim use in all zoning districts, adding a line making “seasonal storage facilities” an interim use in all districts except for prohibiting them in shoreland districts, adding a line for “light manufacturing of parts and assembly, within a previously existing building” as an interim use in all zoning districts except RS, indicating that uses not listed can be either an interim use or a conditional use as determined by the Township and making other amendments to how certain other uses are termed and regulated. Other amendments would modify Section V.J (Accessory Building) to impose size limits on attached garages in relation to the home and adding a new subsection regulating the placement of cargo containers; modifying Section V.L.2 (Alterations Within the Shoreland) to add standards and permitting requirements for natural rock riprap and clearing, grading and drainage, and impervious surface replacement on lots exceeding the impervious coverage limit, and other related regulations consistent with changes recently made by Douglas County; adding language to Section V.Q (Erosion Control and Stormwater Management) to place new restrictions on “intensive vegetation clearing” and certain grading/development projects that disturb or modify the ground outside of shoreland areas including a new requirement for permitting of such activities; adding a new Section V.AA (Shouse Construction) to regulate the design and construction of shed/house buildings; adding language to Section VI.A (Land Use Permits) that would allow the Zoning Administrator to require survey or engineering analysis of a property when necessary to determine compliance with applicable regulations; adding definitions to Section VII (Definitions) for “Cargo Container”, “Natural Shoreline Vegetative Condition”, and “Seasonal Storage”, “Shouse”. The amendments to the Alexandria Township Comprehensive Plan would update and modify language in Sections IV (Issues and Trends), V (Goals and Policies) and the Township’s Future Land Use Map in Section VI (Future Land Use) to identify additional areas as suitable for future commercial/light industrial use and areas for potential expansion of ALASD sewer lines.

All interested persons are invited to attend these hearings and be heard or send written comments to the Township office at PO Box 445, Alexandria, MN 56308.  Copies of each the proposed amendments and related information are available at the Township office and are posted at http://www.hometownplanning.com/alexandria-township.html.

Ben Oleson

Zoning Administrator

Alexandria Township