Zoning, building permits and septic rules in St. Cloud, Minnesota

St. Cloud’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside St. Cloud city

  “Table 8-2: Residential Districts Bulk and Setback Regulations establishes bulk and setback regulations for the residential districts.”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Land inside St. Cloud city

  • Residential districts RR, R-1, R-1A, R-2, R-3 appear in Table 8-2; industrial districts I-1, I-2, I-3 in Table 10-1.

  “Table 8-2: Residential Districts Bulk and Setback Regulations establishes bulk and setback regulations for the residential districts.”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Principal dwelling in R-1, R-1A, R-2, R-3 districts

  • RR district lists no minimum floor area in Table 8-2.
  • Multi-family unit minimums apply in R-3.

  principal dwelling minimum floor area: >= 630 sq ft (ADU 200 sq ft)

  “principal dwelling unit: 630 sf (21' x 30') accessory dwelling unit: 200 sf total floor area”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-1 district, single-family

  • Min width 75 ft interior, 85 ft corner; min depth 120 ft.

  minimum lot area: >= 9000 sq ft

  “single-family & day care facility: 9,000 sf”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Specified — R-1A and R-2 districts, single-family

    “single-family: 6,000 sf day care facility, residential facility & temporary shelter facility: 8,000 sf”

  • Specified — RR (rural residential) district

    “minimum lot area 10 acres minimum lot width 300 ft minimum lot depth 300 ft”

• SetbacksSpecified

  R-1 district, single-family

  • Additional setback requirements in Section 8.4 not read.
  • Single-family interior side 10 ft, street side 15 ft, rear 35 ft or 20% of lot depth whichever is less.

  front setback: 25 ft

  “single-family, day care facility, residential facility & temporary shelter facility: 25 ft school & place of worship: 35 ft other uses: 50 ft interior side setback”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — RR district

    “front setback 30 ft interior side setback residential use: 10 ft non-residential use: 30 ft street side setback 30 ft rear setback 30 ft”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  R-1 and R-1A districts

  • Also 33% minimum open space and max FAR 0.6.

  maximum lot coverage: <= 35 percent

  “maximum lot coverage 35% 35% minimum open space 33% total open space on zoning lot”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — RR district

    “maximum lot coverage 30% maximum far 0.6 maximum building height 35 ft”

• Building heightSpecified

  R-1 and R-1A districts

  maximum building height: <= 35 ft

  “maximum building height 35 ft 35 ft design guidelines section 13.1 section 13.1”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — RR district

    “maximum lot coverage 30% maximum far 0.6 maximum building height 35 ft”

• Living in an RVProhibited

  Living or sleeping in a parked or stored recreational vehicle on lots in all zoning districts inside St. Cloud city

  • Licensed manufactured home parks and recreational camping areas are separately regulated under Chapter IV Sec. 442.
  • Guests may park an RV on a driveway up to 7 days in any 30 consecutive days, with no nuisances.
  • Residential districts: max 2 RVs outside, 1 in front yard, 1 Class A motorhome, max 45 ft, 5 ft setback.

  “recreational vehicles and equipment shall not be used for living, sleeping or housekeeping while parked or stored.”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  ADUs on single-family lots inside St. Cloud city

  • Only on properties with an existing or concurrently built single-family home.
  • Cannot be sold separately or be on a separate tax parcel.
  • ADU max floor area 800 sq ft or 75% of principal unit; min 200 sq ft.
  • Section text truncated; further owner-occupancy and other standards not read.

  “a maximum of one internal or attached accessory dwelling unit and one detached accessory dwelling unit is allowed on the same lot as a single-family.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Lot creation inside St. Cloud city

  • Lots need 40 ft frontage on a public street and 30 ft width at minimum depth mark.
  • Parcels without street frontage need a Common Interest Community Plat.

  “all lots must front on a public or private street.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Land in the Floodway, Flood Fringe or General Floodplain districts inside St. Cloud city

  • Floodway permitted uses must not involve structures, fill or obstructions.
  • Regulatory flood protection elevation is one foot above the regional flood.

  “all floodway conditional uses are subject to the conditional use permit procedure (section 4.3).”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permits inside St. Cloud city
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside St. Cloud city
• Building code adopted — Building code inside St. Cloud city
• Inspections — Building inspections inside St. Cloud city
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy inside St. Cloud city

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.