Lakeville Says Yes to 6 Backyard Chickens (and Easier Bees) — Plus More Rule Changes

TLDR

• Lakeville passed its yearly zoning update on Aug. 3.
• You can now keep up to six backyard chickens, and keeping bees just needs a simple permit.
• Small-lot homeowners can build decks closer to the property line, and older lake homes can add open decks without a variance.
• The city pulled its new data center rules out of the update. Those come back later this year.

Every year, Lakeville cleans up its zoning rulebook. It sounds boring — and a lot of it is — but this year's update has some changes that actually touch daily life. Let's start with the one everybody talked about.

Chickens get a raise (to six)

The headline change: you can now keep up to six backyard chickens. The old limit was lower.

There are a few rules. The chickens have to stay in a coop or an attached 'run.' A run is a fenced outdoor area connected to the coop, so the birds still get fresh air — they just cannot roam the whole yard. The city also loosened up what materials you can use to build a coop, and you can now sell a small number of eggs.

This got the biggest laughs of the night. One council member joked that the city's 'long chicken nightmare is nearly over.' Another asked, seriously, whether the chickens get any 'freedom.' Staff explained the run, and someone quipped, 'This is humane chicken keeping, not factory.'

Staff said most chicken complaints come from birds getting loose, which is why the coop-or-run rule matters.

Bees get easier too

If you want to keep bees, it just got simpler. Beekeeping used to need a conditional use permit, which is a longer approval. Now it only needs an administrative permit — basically a form and staff sign-off. The city wanted to make it easier for people to keep bees.

Decks, especially on small lots

Here is one for homeowners. As lots have gotten smaller, the old 20-foot setback for raised decks did not fit anymore. So the city cut it to 10 feet for elevated decks on smaller lots. 'Setback' just means how far back from your property line you have to build.

There is also good news for older lake homes. Many predate the city's shoreland rules. Now those owners can add an open deck — no roof, no pergola — without going through a variance process.

The stuff for businesses

A few changes are aimed at businesses, not homeowners.

The city dropped a rule that capped how many parking spaces certain businesses could build. It was meant to cut down on pavement and stormwater, but it proved hard to apply, especially at multi-tenant centers along Cedar Avenue and at big-box stores. Staff may bring back a refined version later.

Other business changes: drive-throughs are now allowed in the mixed-use district along the Cedar Avenue corridor, gas stations can go in the limited industrial area, and some office-district retail moves to a faster approval. If you have been following what is filling in along Cedar, our Marketplace at Cedar coverage is worth a read.

Signs and family housing

The city also updated its sign rules, including allowing digital 'dynamic' signs for churches and other religious facilities by removing an old minimum-acreage rule.

And for families, the city dropped the garage requirement for 'generational housing' — think an in-law setup inside an existing home. You still need an off-street parking spot, just not a garage. The goal is to make it cheaper to fit more family under one roof.

The one that did NOT happen: data centers

Here is the big pause. This zoning update was supposed to include new rules for data centers — those giant computer warehouses that have been a hot topic. But the city pulled that whole section (sections 52, 53, and 54) out before the vote. There was no discussion Monday night.

Staff say data center rules will come back at a work session before the end of the year, and some public comments are already in hand. If you want to catch up, read our breakdown of the Lakeville data center debate.

The Bottom Line

Most of this update is small-scale, but the chicken and bee changes are the kind of thing residents actually notice. If you have been waiting to build a coop or add a deck, the new rules are friendlier. The data center question is the one still hanging out there — watch for it later this year.