07/15/2013 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Monday,July 15,2013 6:30 o'clock p.m. structure closer to the street than any other home on Orchard Beach Place. -Removal of nearly all vegetation in a swatch approximately 65 feet x 80 feet potentially will alter the visual character of the neighborhood. Gaffron noted the fourth criteria states that economic consideration alone does not constitute a practical difficulty. While the applicant has not suggested that economics are a consideration in his quest for variances, he has suggested that the zoning does not allow a reasonable use of the property. Gaffron noted the property has been valued for tax purposes at a value significantly lower than buildable lots. Exhibit 1-2 contains a history of the assessed valuations for the property for the period 1974 through 2013. The value has consistently remained significantly lower than the valuation of the land for similar sized developed lakeshore parcels in Orono. A review of tax records for similar sized developed lots in the Baldur Park, Shadywood Road and Crystal Bay Road indicates land valuations of$300-500,000 as compared to the$71,000 value placed on the applicant's parcel for 2013. Gaffron stated the next applicable criteria states, "The special conditions applying to the structure or land in question are peculiar to such property or immediately adjoining property." He noted that the conditions applying to this property apply to all other properties in theLR-1B zoning district, which are subject to the same zoning standards as this property. Criteria No. 9 reads,"The conditions do not apply generally to other land or structures in the district in which the land is located." Gaffron noted that the property is extremely substandard in area under current codes and was originally platted as a Commons Lot, which traditionally and,in this case within the 1885 plat of Saga Hill, cannot reasonably be construed as creating a building site. Building lots within the plat of Saga Hill were given standard lot and block numbers and were significantly larger than the subject property. The conditions that have been in place regarding buildability of pre-existing record lots apply to all platted lots within the LR-1B District. Gaffron noted that Criteria No. 10 states: "The granting of the application is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a substantial property right of the applicant." Gaffron noted that granting variances in order to construct a new residence on a very substandard property that has been devoid of a residence structure for at least 65 years is not necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a substantial property right of the applicant. If the property contained an existing residence today,the owner would have the substantial right to reconstruct that existing structure"in-kind"which is not the situation here. Criteria No. 11: "The granting of the proposed variance will not in any way impair health, safety, comfort or morals, or in any other respect be contrary to the intent of this chapter." Gaffron indicated the filling and grading necessary in order to correct the existing site conditions to make the lot buildable if variances are granted; i.e.,redirect the natural drainage through the site to create a buildable pad that will not be subject to periodic flooding, requires removal of a substantial number of protected trees within the 0-75 foot zone. This would be contrary to the intent of the zoning code. With regard to Criteria No. 12,which reads: "The granting of such variance will not merely serve as a convenience to the applicant,but is necessary to alleviate demonstrable difficulty", Gaffron noted that the question of whether a practical difficulty exists to such an extent that variances should be granted in Page 11 of 23