Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Rice Lake, Minnesota

Rice Lake’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Rice Lake city limits.

  • The department administers City Council land-use plans and policies through ordinances.

  “The Planning & Zoning Department is responsible for the review of zoning applications and the implementation of land use plans and policies of the City Council through administration of ordinances.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land inside Rice Lake city limits, according to the official zoning map and Ordinance #22.

  • Base districts are regulated in the ordinance, Article 3, and the zoning map.
  • Multi-Unit Residential and Planned Unit Development are overlay zoning districts.

  “The City of Rice Lake is divided into the following base zoning districts as regulated in this article, Article 3 and on the Zoning Map.”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Manufactured homes inside Rice Lake city limits.

  • A manufactured home must meet current Minnesota State Building Rules and other State Building Code standards, including a foundation system to frost depth or an engineered slab.

  manufactured-home minimum floor area: >= 800 square feet

  “Manufactured homes shall contain a minimum of 800 square feet of floor area.”

• Septic inspectionLimited

  Land-use and building permits in shoreland areas and on parcels under 2.5 acres outside shoreland inside Rice Lake city limits.

  • Applies to all land-use and building permits in shoreland and parcels of less than 2.5 acres outside shoreland.
  • No land-use permit issues when the system is failing or adversely impacted unless upgraded under County and/or State standards and regulatory approval is obtained.
  • County guidelines, including their provisions for not completing a check-off after a recent approval or review, must be followed.

  outside-shoreland parcel size: < 2.5 acres (Sanitary check-off also applies in all shoreland areas.)

  “All land use and building permits issued within the shoreland area and parcels of less than 2.5 acres outside the shoreland area shall have the sewage system reviewed to determine if the system is failing or if the proposed land use permit would adversely impact the existing sewage system or the expansion area for a sewage system.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Premises intended for human occupancy or use that are not required to connect to reasonably available public sewage inside Rice Lake city limits.

  • An approved on-site sewage treatment and dispersal method is required.
  • The method must meet St. Louis County and State of Minnesota standards.

  “Any other premises intended for human occupancy or use must be provided with an approved method of on-site sewage treatment and dispersal according to the standards of St. Louis County and the State of Minnesota.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  Structures requiring sewage facilities inside Rice Lake city limits.

  • Applies where a lot is serviced by public sewage facilities or public sewage facilities are reasonably available.
  • Connection is subject to approval of the local unit of government operating the sewage collection, treatment, and dispersal system.

  “Structures that require sewage facilities and are located on a lot serviced by public sewage facilities or to which public sewage facilities are reasonably available shall be required to connect to such facilities subject to the approval of the local unit of government operating the sewage collection/treatment and dispersal system.”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning and subdivision applications inside Rice Lake city limits.

  • The page publishes a development-process guide and identifies a zoning/subdivision application cover sheet for use with listed applications.

  “Citizen/Developer Handouts Development Process Guide Zoning/Subdivision Application Cover Sheet (use with all applications below) CUP or IUP Application Rezone Application Variance Application Site Plan Template”

Rules another office applies inside Rice Lake

Rice Lake does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Rural 1 (R1) district inside Rice Lake city limits.

  • The dimension table applies in all City zoning districts unless a different standard is provided elsewhere in the ordinance.

  minimum lot area: >= 4.5 acres · minimum lot width/frontage: >= 300 feet

  “City of Rice Lake hereby establishes the following set of dimensional standards that will be used in all City zoning districts unless a different standard is provided elsewhere in this ordinance. [...] Rural 1 4.5 300' 10% 50' 25' 50' 50'”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Rural 1 (R1) district inside Rice Lake city limits.

  • The dimensional table applies unless another ordinance standard applies.

  principal-structure side-yard setback: >= 50 feet · accessory-structure side-yard setback: >= 25 feet · principal-structure rear-yard setback: >= 50 feet · accessory-structure rear-yard setback: >= 50 feet

  “Minimum Side Yard Setback Minimum Rear Yard Setback Prin. Acc. Prin. Acc. Rural 1 4.5 300' 10% 50' 25' 50' 50'”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Rural 1 (R1) district inside Rice Lake city limits.

  • The dimensional table applies unless another ordinance standard applies.

  maximum lot coverage: <= 10 percent

  “Maximum Lot Coverage [...] Rural 1 4.5 300' 10% 50' 25' 50' 50'”

• Who permits septicCounty (with conditions)

  On-site septic matters for building on vacant land inside Rice Lake city limits.

  • The City directs residents to St. Louis County Environmental Health for septic matters.

  “The Onsite Wastewater Division is responsible for the administration and coordination of onsite wastewater treatment systems throughout St. Louis County.”

• Driveway accessLimited

  Driveway access to a St. Louis County road from land inside Rice Lake city limits.

  • This addresses driveways on County roads; the City page gives separate contact information for City roads.

  “The Driveway permit allows for the installation of new driveways or the revision of existing driveways that connect onto county roads.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Rice Lake or St. Louis County directly.

• Building permit — Residential construction inside Rice Lake city limits.
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built dwellings inside Rice Lake city limits.
• Building code adopted — Construction inside Rice Lake city limits.
• Inspections — Building-code inspections inside Rice Lake city limits.
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy of structures inside Rice Lake city limits.

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.