Don't get me wrong, I like where I live. I like the convenience, I like the neighborhood. But my tiny parcel of land doesn't lend itself well to industrial pursuits or off-the-grid experimentation.
However, getting to a place that does that's still within decent range of work and isn't outlandisly expensive is somewhat of an exercise in futility.
I'm still back to doing a garage workspace/studio. Careful reading of Minneapolis city building code 537.60 states that the maximum floor area allowed is 676 square feet, which in a mazimized configuration is 26 x 26 feet. The floor area distinction is critical: to me that means the inside wall-to-wall floor, and not the exterior wall-to-wall footprint of the building. If the foundation walls are 8" thick (AKA the thickness of a concrete block), that's a 16-inch difference, or a little over 75 square feet of usable space.
Lotsa paperwork tonight.