RESOLUTION 2OO1-01

CITY OF GRANT,
WASHINGTON COUNTY, MINNESOTA

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GRANT EXPRESSING THE INTENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL AS IT RELATES TO REZONING REQUESTS IN THE "AGRICULTURAL PRESERVES" ZONING DISTRICT

WHEREAS, Section 601 of the City's Zoning Code (Ordinance No.50) lists and defines the various zoning districts within the City of Grant. One of those zoning districts is the "Agricultural Preserves" zoning district; and,

WHEREAS, the intent of the Agricultural Preserves ("AP") zoning district is to "preserve commercial agricultural as a viable long-term land use and a significant economic activity within the community. Areas designated AP would provide land area for long-term economically viable commercial food production;" and,

WHEREAS, one of the underlying reasons for the adoption of the "AP" zoning district was to allow individuals to enroll their land in the State of Minnesota's "Agricultural Preserves" Program; and,

WHEREAS, the Agricultural Preserves Program allows those individuals having land which qualifies for that program to receive preferential tax treatment so as to promote the long-term viability of commercial food production (i.e. farming); and,

WHEREAS, the official zoning map for the City of Grant lists numerous parcels within the City which are zoned "AP;" and,

WHEREAS, the City's new Comprehensive Plan has a newly created zoning map which has eliminated all reference to the "AP" zones; and,

WHEREAS, it is the belief of the City that the official zoning map within City Ordinances is the correct map, and that the 1998 Comprehensive Plan map does not correctly show where the zoning districts are. Specifically, it has totally eliminated the "AP" zone; and,

WHEREAS, as the intent of the Council in approving of the use of an "AP" zone in the zoning district was to enable individuals to enroll in the State's "Agricultural Preserves" preferential tax program, it also follows logically that those individuals should be allowed to re-zone their property to either A-i or A-2, as shown in the 1998 Comprehensive Plan, if they choose to take their land out of the "Agricultural Preserves" Program; and,

WHEREAS, the Council is aware that the City of Grant's character is slowly changing. Specifically, at one point in time, a very large portion of the Town of Grant was
 comprised of farms, pastures, woodlands and wetlands. Through time, residential development has taken place in Grant. The City (and its predecessor, the Town) has attempted to protect and maintain the "rural character" of the City by establishing minimum lot sizes as referenced within the City's Zoning Code; and,

WHEREAS, as time has gone on, there are continually fewer farms within Grant so that today there are only a fraction of the number of farmers in Grant that once existed; and,

WHEREAS, the Council is aware of the standard for approving of rezoning requests. Specifically, an applicant needs to show "either that some mistake in the original zoning was made or that the character of the neighborhood has changed to such an extent that no reasonable use can be made of the property in its current zoning classification." See, Honn v. City of Coon Rapids, 313 N.W.2d 409, 419 (Minn. 1981); and,

WHEREAS, it is the Council's belief that the character of Grant has changed, and that those desiring to remove their property from the "AP" zone should be allowed to do so provided that it is changed to either the A-1 or A-2 zone, as shown in the 1998 Comprehensive Plan; and,

WHEREAS, it appears that, in the past, property zoned "AP" has been allowed to be subdivided without first requiring a re-zoning. It appears that this past practice was improper and arose from confusion as to the proper zoning of the property. In the future, the City Council may, upon its own initiative, but with proper notice to all parties, initiate re-zoning processes for those properties which have already been developed. The re-zoning would re-zone the properties from their current "AP" zoning districts to the zone as shown in the 1998 Comprehensive Plan, either an A-i or A-2 zoning district, to reflect the actual usage of the properties; and,

WHEREAS, future applicants for re-zonings as envisioned herein shall be allowed to seek re-zonings without having to pay the required application fee in order to better streamline this process.

NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved by the City of Grant, Washington County, Minnesota, as follows:

1.    That the City of Grant should look favorably upon requests to re-zone property from "AP" to "A-1" or "A-2" as shown in the 1998 Comprehensive Plan for the reasons expressed herein.

2.    That applicants shall be allowed to re-zone their property from "AP" to A-1 or A-2 without paying application fees.

3.    That the Council may, upon its own initiative, but with proper notice to all parties, re-zone already developed properties from "AP" to A-1 or A-2 as shown in the 1998 Comprehensive Plan.
 
WHEREUPON, a vote being taken upon the motion, the following members voted in favor:
 

and the following voted against:
 

and the following abstained:
 
 

WHEREUPON, said motion was declared duly passed by the City Council of the City of Grant, Washington County, Minnesota, this 2nd day of January, 2001.

(signed)
Tom Carr, Mayor

ATTEST:
(signed)
Stephanie J. Marty, City Clerk