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City Council Summary Memo – Work Session #1 – Zoning Ordinance Update– February 17, 2025 5 • Should ADUs, tiny homes, and student housing be included in this table? ADUs are being considered separately and are not currently a housing option in Arden Hills. Similarly, tiny homes are a use that has not been considered as a housing option, but could conceivably be part of a Planned Unit Development. This type of housing does come with certain unique building code requirements. Housing restricted to student use will be addressed as part of the Institutional zoning district in the expanded use table. • What about housing in the Mixed Use and Neighborhood Business districts? Both of these districts currently allow limited housing. When the expanded use table is shared as part of Work Session #2, the full range of uses allowed in each district – including residential uses – will be listed. • How does “Permitted with Standards” differ from “Permitted” and “Conditional” uses? Typically, a Permitted use has few additional standards beyond the usual lot and site requirements such as lot size, yard setbacks, height, impervious coverage, etc. A Conditional use, on the other hand, requires a public hearing to ensure that any potential impacts to surrounding properties are mitigated through conditions that are tailored to the specific use and circumstances. Uses that are Permitted with Standards do not require a public hearing, but do have additional performance requirements listed in code that must be evaluated by Planning staff to ensure they are being met before a proposed project may apply for a building permit. For example, if a cottage courtyard use was Permitted with Standards, one of the standards might be “A minimum distance between dwelling units shall be 12 feet.” If staff confirmed this requirement was satisfied, the project could proceed without additional hearings. While HKGi is not proposing to remove Conditional uses altogether, reducing the number of conditional use permits to which the city typically applies the same conditions and transitioning them to Permitted with Standards would remove some barriers to development. Lot and Site Standards HKGi made a number of recommendations related to the existing District Requirement Chart in an effort to simplify the information presented. Key recommendations included: 1. Split the District Requirement Chart into at least two separate tables (Lot Requirements and Site Standards) 2. Consider eliminating the “Minimum Lot Depth” standard 3. Eliminate Floor Area Ratio (FAR) as a standard 4. Reduce “Minimum Corner Side Yard Setbacks” for R-1, R-2, and R-3 districts 5. Simplify setbacks from some other uses and convert to table footnotes: building setbacks from State Highways or County Roads, shoreland setbacks, building setbacks from abutting residential districts 6. Remove accessory structure setbacks from the table and address separately