The City Council of Detroit Lakes does ordain that the ordinance commonly known as the "Zoning Ordinance of the City of Detroit Lakes" be enacted to read as follows:
Subd. 1. Title. This ordinance shall be known as the "Detroit Lakes Zoning Ordinance" except as referred to herein, where it shall be known as "this ordinance".
Subd. 2. Intent and Purpose. The intent of this ordinance is to protect the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community and its people through the establishment of minimum regulations governing development and use. This ordinance shall divide the city into use districts and establish regulations in regard to location, erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, and use of structures and land. Such regulations are established to protect such use areas; to promote orderly development and redevelopment; to provide adequate light, air, and convenience of access to property; to prevent congestion in the public right-of-way; to prevent overcrowding of land and undue concentration of structures by regulating land, buildings, yards and density of population; to provide for compatibility of different land uses; to provide for administration of this ordinance; to provide for amendments, to prescribe for violation of such regulations; and to define powers and duties of the City staff, the board of zoning adjustment, the Planning Commission and the City Council in relation to the zoning ordinance.
Subd. 3. Relation to Comprehensive Municipal Plan. It is the policy of the City of Detroit Lakes that the enforcement, amendment, and administration of this ordinance be accomplished with due consideration of the recommendations contained in the comprehensive municipal plan as developed and amended from time to time by the Planning Commission and City Council of the City. The Council recognizes the Comprehensive Municipal Plan, as the policy for responsibility to regulate land use and development in accordance with the policies and purpose herein set forth.
Subd. 4. Standard, Requirement. Where the conditions imposed by any provisions of this ordinance are either more or less restrictive than comparable conditions imposed by other ordinance, rule, or regulation of the City, the ordinance rule or regulation which imposes the more restrictive condition, standard, or requirement shall prevail.
Subd. 5. In their interpretations and application, the provisions of this ordinance shall be held to the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, and welfare.
Subd. 6. No structure shall be erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed or altered, and no structure or land be used for any purpose nor in any manner which is not in conformity with the provisions of this ordinance.
Subd. 7. Except as herein provided, no building, structure or premises shall hereafter be used or occupied and no building permit shall be granted that does not conform to the requirements of this ordinance.
Subd. 8. Uses Not Provided For Within Zoning Districts. Whenever in any zoning district a use is neither specifically permitted nor denied, the use shall be considered prohibited. In such case the City Council or the Planning Commission, on their own initiative or upon request, may conduct a study to determine if the use is acceptable and if so what zoning district would be most appropriate and the determination as to conditions and standards relating to development of the use. The City Council, Planning Commission or property owner, upon receipt of the staff study shall, if appropriate, initiate an amendment to the zoning ordinance to provide for the particular use under consideration or shall find that the use is not compatible for development within the City.
Subd. 9. Authority. This ordinance is enacted pursuant to the authority granted by the Municipal Planning Act, Minnesota Statutes, Sections 462.351 to 462.363.
Subd. 10. Separability. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City that several provisions of this ordinance are separable in accordance with the following:
A. If any court of competent jurisdiction shall adjudge any provision of this ordinance to be invalid, such judgement shall not affect any other provisions of this ordinance not specifically included in said judgement.
B. If any court of competent jurisdiction shall adjudge invalid the application of any provision of this ordinance to a particular property, building, or other structure, such judgement shall not affect the application of said provision to any other property, building, or other structure not specifically included in said judgement.
Subd. 11. Rules. The language set forth in the text of this ordinance shall be interpreted in accordance with the following rules of construction:
A. The singular number includes the plural and the plural the singular.
B. The present tense includes the past and the future tenses, and the future the present.
C. The word "shall" is mandatory while the word "may" is permissive.
D. The masculine gender includes the feminine and neuter.