06-25-2018 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,June 25,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. PLANNING DEPARTMENT REPORT 13. LA18-42—TEXT AMENDMENT: CHAPTERS 78 AND 82 PUBLIC HEARING NOTIFICATION DISTANCE AND SUBDIVISION REQUIREMENTS ORDINANCE NO.211,THIRD SERIES Barnhart stated this item relates to a proposed ordinance to alter the notification distance for public hearings from 350 feet to 500 feet. State statute requires notification of property owners within 350 feet for zoning ordinance amendments. Within the zoning and subdivision chapters,the City also requires a public hearing for all conditional use permits,variances,rezoning requests,comprehensive plan amendments,wetland and subdivision requests. T'he intent of the notification radius is to inform those property owners that are more likely to be directly impacted by a proposal. All interested parties are notified via the notice in the official paper and on the City's listserv/website. The City Council should consider the following: 1. How residents hear about public hearings and how many give input. 2. The increased cost for postage and mailings. 3. The impact an application might have on an abutting neighbor versus a neighbor 500 feet away. The Planning Commission discussed the proposed ordinance and found the existing distance to be sufficient. The Planning Commission unanimously voted to deny the proposed text amendment. To date,no public comments have been received. Walsh noted this recommendation came out of the development review committee as a result of the varying lot sizes throughout Orono. Walsh stated the thought was that 500 feet might be more encompassing and bring more people into the application. Seals commented the ordinance makes sense and that there have been times in the past when people were unaware of a project going on in their neighborhood. Crosby stated he is comfortable with the ordinance. Dankey stated in the Casco Point neighborhood it would encompass quite a few properties but in other areas it would maybe cover one or two properties. Dankey asked whether the notification radii can be adjusted according to lot size. Barnhart indicated the Council could do that if they would like but that it would become more challenging to Staff to administer it fairly and equitably. Staff felt impacted property owners should be invited to the public hearing and that 500 feet is a good distance,especially in some of the more dense neighborhoods. Barnhart stated everyone has a right to comment but sometimes the City Council wants to hear more directly from the neighbors that are more impacted than those further away. Barnhart stated the Council will need to weigh comments from an adjacent neighbor versus someone who is further away. Barnhart noted Orono exceeds state statute by requiring a public hearing for a variance application. Page 2 of 21