Centerville Tidbits
Rules Change For Residential Accessory Structures
Some residents may have a little more room to store the leaf rakes following ordinance changes recommended by the Centerville Planning and Zoning Commission and adopted by the City Council two weeks ago.
Changes to City Code Chapter 156, Sections 156.006 and 156.107 have removed the 200-square-foot aggregate limitation on accessory structures, which commissioners felt penalized homeowners who have detached garages. Many of those homeowners reside in older homes built before attached garages were common.
With this change, both attached and detached garages are now considered accessory buildings. Section 156.107(A) limits the number of detached accessory buildings on single-family lots to two.
No accessory building—whether it is attached or detached—may exceed the square footage of the main level of the principal structure (the home), except in the R-1 District.
The total square footage of detached accessory structures is now limited to 2% of the lot area, except in the case where the lot has no attached garage. In that case, the largest detached accessory structure may not exceed the square footage of the main floor of the dwelling.
Section 156.107(5) also specifi es that detached accessory buildings must have a 5-foot minimum interior side setback and a 10-foot rear setback, except where a rear or side yard abuts a street. In that case, accessory buildings must be set back a minimum of 20 feet from the property line.
The ordinance changes become eff ective upon publication (see Public Notices, Page 14).
Council Moves Ahead on Water Service Line Project At its May 26 meeting, the Centerville City Council also gave its unanimous approval to moving ahead with a water service line project to connect several dozen homes in the city to municipal water, with the help of a $215,000 federal Community Development Block Grant administered through Anoka County.
The $215,000 grant will fully fund the water service connection, water meters, and all hookup costs, including city permits, for the 25 homes. The project does not include any new water main construction.
Council approved plans prepared by Bonestroo, and authorized the firm to seek bids for the project. Bids will be opened June 23.
City Administrator Dallas Larson said the project would be bid on a water hookup cost per residence; the project is open to other Centerville residents “who want to capitalize on unit costs” the city obtains during the bid process. The water main hookups will be built later this summer.
In other action, the council:
• Approved an encroachment agreement for a fence, to be located within drainage utility easements on both sides and rear yard of 1832 Hayfi eld Road.
• Approved a cost share agreement extension with Rice Creek Watershed District for the water reuse irrigation project for the Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park ballfields.
• Approved a temporary gambling license and a temporary on-sale liquor license for St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church, 1683 Sorel Street and 6995 Centerville Road for the Parish Festival, scheduled on August 15, 2010. Approval was contingent on the city’s receipt of updated liquor liability insurance documents.
• Approved an encroachment agreement with the Metropolitan Council for the city’s new trail planned for construction this year. The trail will encroach on the Met Council’s sanitary sewer easement in two areas.
• Authorized City Engineer Mark Statz to prepare bid documents and advertise for the city’s 2010 seal coat project.
• Authorized Anoka County to advertise for bids for the city’s 2010 trail project. Documents will be prepared by Engineer Statz; the city will make the decision on whether to accept the low bid.
• Mayor Mary Capra updated the council on plans for the Centerville Fete des Lacs parade, to be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 31. Kayak and canoe races will follow the parade at Wargo Nature Center. Fireworks are currently planned for Friday, August 6. The 8K will take place on Saturday morning, August 7.