CCP 04-08-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Apprrave�` A Member stated with respect to the disease comment that came up and with her background in public health, she did not think there were any issues with anything that was small enough to fit in a backyard. A Member stated she was impressed with the turn out and how many people showed up as well as residents of surrounding communities showing up to make comments. She stated she was impressed with how many people shared personal stories about urban farming and she felt overall it was positive. A Member stated she wanted to stay evidenced based on any recommendations made. (C) Presentation by Charlie LeFevere, Legal Aspects Joe Hatch stated the City Attorney was here tonight to discuss the City's authority to regulate, grandfathering rights, etc. Mr. LeFevere, stated his office practices almost exclusively in City representation. He stated there had been questions about the law and the regulations on urban farming. He stated the big picture overall is do not be too concerned about legal imitations of what the city could do. The City has very broad discretion and powers in regulating activities such as urban farming. The regulations could not be arbitrary however. He stated if the City decided to regulate activities they could do it in a number of different ways such as through the zoning code, licensing, or prohibition. He recommended the Commissions do not get hung up on that though. He noted they were here to advise the Council on the community values, what conduct is undesirable and harmful, sustainability and green land uses, etc. He stated the question for them was where was the balance and what is their vision for the City and what kind of City should New Brighton be. He stated the City could prohibit chickens altogether or they could not regulation chickens at all. They would prohibit roosters, the number of chickens, specify coop standards, setback standards. He stated there were a lot of different thing Cities could do and some cities were very restrictive and some cities were very permissive. He indicated one of the ways the City could regulate was under the zoning laws, which allows the City to regulate building, structures, open spaces, uses of buildings, uses of land, and establish standards and procedures for those uses. Whether they use zoning authority or zoning code would depend on a lot of factors and whether they impose regulations under the zoning code, there was not a clear cut case on how to do that. There were advantages and disadvantages to the various needs and means of regulation. He recommended those details be left to staff. Generally, using the zoning ordinance was appropriate if you wanted to have different rules for different zoning districts. He noted there were different procedures for different uses also. He stated the procedures for adopting zoning ordinances are different and take longer to get through the procedures. He stated the City is able to define what a nuisance was and this was decided by the City Council. He stated nuisances varied from one place to another depending on if it is an urban or rural environment. He outlined what a nuisance would be considered. However, he stated the Council's powers were not unlimited and they had to have a rationale, public purpose. Other than being arbitrary, the Council had broad powers of what a nuisance was. City staff stated nuisances issues have been addressed in the past such as long grass where there is an abatement done. Mr. LeFevere noted regulations of activities were not necessarily nuisances and the City can adopt an ordinance that would prohibit smoking in the park without declaring that to be a nuisance. There were a number of specific areas where the urban umbrella could be enforced — under health, regulation of animals, power by ordinance to regulate and prevent noise, regulate the construction of buildings, as well as a catch all clause, which was the power to provide for order, protection of public property, etc. He stated it was a broad grant of power. He stated with respect to grandfathering. Grandfathering was not a legal term, but generally it means that if a use is lawful and an existing use and a law is adopted that makes that use unlawful, if that use was grandfathered in, it was allowed to continue even if the law said the new activity could not be started. He stated this could happen by ordinance or by constitution protection. Grandfathering by ordinance is where the City could allow an existing use to continue, but they decide to do it so there are no hardships imposed. He stated when they allow an existing use to continue, they need to give good education. Also, if it lasts indefinitely, this could create a different class of people so if they decide not to