•  2008 Valuations FAQ & Quick Fact Sheet
•  Businesses in the home
•  False alarm charge
•  Firewood - Bad Bugs
•  Home businesses
•  Is your home ready for winter?
•  Leaving home?
•  Noise - city ordinance
•  Pots
•  Tour Eco-Yard Midtown
•  Yard & Garden Related Links

Businesses in the home
To retain the residential character of our neighborhoods, home businesses:

• must be clearly incidental and subordinate to the home's residential use
• cannot alter the exterior of the property
• cannot be visible from the street
• cannot affect the residential character of the neighborhood.

Home businesses must comply with all these conditions:

• Only individuals who legally live in the home may be employed by the home business. (Exception: a licensed family day care may have one outside employee.)
• All material and equipment must be stored in the home.
• Only one room or no more than 10 percent of the floor area (whichever is greater) can be used for the home business.
• The business cannot be operated in any attached or detached accessory building (i.e. garage, shed, etc.).
• Only equipment and materials which are normally found in a home may be used to operate the business.
• No commercial vehicles are allowed. (Exception: small, street legal commercial vehicles are allowed only if they are both licensed by a resident of the home and used as a personal vehicle by the resident of the home.)
• No light or vibration can be discernable at the property line.
• No more than one sign can identify the home occupation. (The sign must be less than two square feet and must be attached to the home. The sign cannot be illuminated.)

These businesses cannot be operated as a home occupation:

• Auto body or vehicle painting
• Motor vehicle sales and repair
• Retail sales
• Massage
• Medical and dental services
• Animal sale or handling (boarding, treatment or care for a fee)
• Beauty or barbershops
• Warehouse storage
• Manufacturing or processing.

Call the zoning office at (952) 924-2592 for more information.

False alarm charge
There is no charge for answering any legitimate alarm call (intruder, fire, etc.); however, there is a fine for false alarms because false alarms make police and firefighters unavailable to respond to legitimate 911 calls.

Households may have one penalty-free false alarm per year. After that, every subsequent false alarm will cost the alarm owner $90. Charges are not assessed for false alarms caused by weather or utility line problems. There is also no charge if the alarm company cancels the 911 request before emergency vehicles are dispatched.

False alarms can be prevented by thinking ahead. Here's how:

• Train everyone - including children - in the household on how to use the alarm.
• Prepare for legitimate visitors so they don't inadvertently set off the alarm. If you give keys to repair people, cleaning services, relatives or neighbors, either deactivate the system before leaving home or teach them how to deactivate the system.
• Keep items balloons or other items that move away from heat/cooling registers: they can set off the alarm.

Firewood - Bad Bugs
Protect our trees from bad bugs. Don't move firewood. For more information, click here.

Home Businesses
To retain the residential character of our neighborhoods, home businesses

• must be clearly incidental and subordinate to the home's residential use
• cannot alter the exterior of the property
• cannot be visible from the public right-of-way (street)
• cannot affect the residential character of the neighborhood.

In addition, home businesses must comply with these conditions

• All material and equipment must be stored in an enclosed structure.
• Only individuals who legally live in the home may be employed by the home business. (Exception: a licensed family day care may have one outside employee.)
• Only equipment and materials which are normally found in a home may be used to operate the business.
• No light or vibration can be discernable at the property line.
• No more than one wall sign can identify the home occupation. (This sign cannot be illuminated and may only be two sq. ft. or less.)
• Only one room or no more than 10 percent of the floor area (whichever is greater) can be used for the home business.
• The business cannot be operated in any attached or detached accessory building (i.e. garage, shed, etc.).

These businesses cannot be operated as a home occupation -

• Auto body or vehicle painting
• Motor vehicle sales and repair
• Retail sales
• Massage
• Medical and dental services
• Animal sale or handling (boarding, treatment or care for a fee)
• Beauty or barbershops
• Warehouse storage
• Manufacturing or processing.

For more information, contact Zoning Administrator Gary Morrison at

• (952) 924-2592
• gmorrison@stlouispark.org

Is your home ready for winter?
Winter will be here sooner than many us would like to think. To prepare, there are many things residents can do to improve their home’s heating efficiency, reduce damage and ensure family safety.

Here is a check list of items you should consider each fall:

• Have your heating system inspected by a professional prior to start-up.
• If ice dams were a problem last winter, have your attic properly insulated, bypasses sealed and ventilation amounts verified.
• Replace loose/missing glazing putty and weather-stripping at windows and doors.
• Trim back any tree limbs that hit your roof or house.
• Remove debris from gutters and downspouts. Repair any leaks.
• Inspect roof shingles, chimney and flashing. Repair as needed.
• Touch-up paint and caulking at windows and doors.
• Check foundation walls, floors, concrete and masonry for cracks, gaps and deterioration. Repair as needed.
• Check grading for proper slope away from foundation walls. Build up soil wherever needed.
• Before there is a freeze, shut off and drain outside faucets and take your hoses inside.
• f you have a wood-burning fireplace, have it cleaned by a professional.

If any of your fall projects require financing, check out the city's low-interest home improvement loans. Call the Center for Energy & Environment (CEE) Financial Resources to find out about the low interest and energy loans, at (612) 335-5891 or visit www.mncee.org.

Low-income residents may call Community Action Partnership for Hennepin County (CAPSH) (952) 933-9639 for assistance with energy bills, weatherization and emergency furnace replacement.

Leaving home?
Here are some steps to take if you're planning to be out of town for an extended period of time.

To reduce the likelihood of a break-in, don't allow your home to appear vacant. Here's how

• Stop delivery of your mail and newspaper.
• Have someone you trust check your home and collect materials from your mailbox and doorstep. (Even if you stop delivery of mail and papers, items may still be dropped off.)
• Arrange for someone to mow your lawn or shovel sidewalks and driveways. (Failing to shovel public sidewalks can also result in fines of $25 or more.)
• Put lights on a timer so your home isn't dark at night.
• Park your car in the garage or on the driveway. Don't leave a vehicle on the street where it could be towed for snowplowing. Be sure to lock your vehicle, and don't leave personal items inside.
• Leave a phone number with a neighbor or family member so you can be contacted in case of emergency.

To make sure your home isn't damaged

• Shut off and drain outside faucets. (If you're going to be gone more than two months and no one will be walking through your house, you should turn the interior water supply off. For instructions, call the Utility office at (952) 924-2558.)
• Turn furnace down - not off.
• Have someone you trust walk through your home once a week to ensure the heat is on, there are no water leaks and the timer lights are working. While that person is in the house, he or she should run the faucets for a minute and flush the toilets.

If you won't be setting out garbage for at least five consecutive weeks, you may be eligible for a reduction in your garbage charges. To qualify for the lower rate, you must notify the City utility billing office at least two weeks before your home becomes vacant. Call (952) 924-2111 for more information on the Extended Absence Program. Click here to print out an Extended Absence Form. If you're gone for less than five weeks, there is no discount for not setting out garbage.

If you leave for the winter and subscribe to cable television, you can take advantage of the "vacation rate" option. If you have an addressable converter, Time Warner can disable your cable signal during the vacation period and restore it when you return. Customers must still pay a box rental fee while they are away from home but they do not pay for switching to or from the vacation rate. For more information, call Time Warner Cable customer service office at (612) 522-2000.

Noise
City ordinance prohibits any noise that's deemed a nuisance or potential health hazard. Examples can include noise from

• Loud vehicles
• Unnecessary horn-honking
• Animals
• Stereos
• Musical instruments
• Air conditioning and air handling equipment.

A loud party can be declared a nuisance between

• 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. on Sunday through Thursday
• midnight and 7 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Power equipment (lawn mowers, hedge clippers, leaf blowers, electric saws, drills and construction equipment) cannot be operated

• before 7 a.m. on weekdays
• before 9 a.m. on weekends and holidays
• after 10 p.m. on weekdays, weekends and holidays.

Exception: Snowblowers and snow removal equipment can be used outside of these hours if used within 12 hours of a snowfall.

Air conditioning units must meet city setback and screening requirements; call (952) 924-2592 for more information.

Complaints about aircraft noise should be directed to the Airport Complaint Line at (612) 726-9411.

CowPots™
are plant pots made with composted cow manure, 100% biodegradable, and recycled. The pots are planted directly into the ground with the plant. Click here for more information.

Take a Guided Tour of the Eco-Yard Midtown
Hennepin County is hosting free tours of the Eco-Yard Midtown demonstration site where residents can learn about environmentally friendly, sustainable landscaping from a landscape restoration specialist.

The Eco-Yard Midtown demonstrates how to incorporate lower maintenance lawn, trees and shrubs, prairie, bird and butterfly gardens, a grass swale and rainwater garden into an urban landscape. These sustainable plantings require little water, and no fertilizers or pesticides that can be released into our environment as a pollutant.

You can view the Eco-Yard anytime the facility is open.

The Eco-Yard Midtown is located at 2801 21st Ave. S. at the intersection of the Midtown Greenway and the Hiawatha Light Rail Line in Minneapolis. The tours are free, however residents are asked to register online at Hennepin County or by calling Hennepin County Environmental Services at (612) 348-9266.

Related Links

• Hennepin County Landscaping Workshops
• Sustainable Urban Landscape Information Series
• University of Minnesota Extension Service
• Composting tips, health yards
• Arbor Day Foundation
• Phosphorous
• Minnesota Grown

return to top of page