09/16/2013 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Monday, September 16,2013 6:30 o'clock p.m. for a local road is a 50-foot corridor and so Staff is questioning whether the City should request 50 feet of right-of-way or 30 feet of right-of-way. Gaffron noted this property has been zoned for half-acre lots for at least the last 40 years and it has been guided in the City's Comprehensive Plan for development of half-acre lots. Any subdivision would be expected to meet those minimum standards for lot area, lot width, setbacks, etc., and the idea of creating substandard lots is one that the Code does not allow. In this particular situation the land is completely vacant and consists of one parcel. As it relates to the conformity of this proposal with the City's Comprehensive Plan, at 1.6 units per acre, it would meet the Comprehensive Plan standards for up to two to three acres. Each of the lots as contrived and strangely shaped as they are meet the acreage requirements for the LR-1C zoning district. However, the subdivision does not meet a number of the standards established in the code in regards to the use of back lots. The code states that in general front/back lot divisions may be used for individual lots but may not be used when subdividing a larger parcel into numerous lots if creation of a back lot is merely a convenience to the developer rather than supported by unique site factors. Gaffron stated one of the questions for the Planning Commission to consider is whether or not this configuration is using two back lots as supported by the unique factors of the property. In regards to the requirements for back lots,the code states that a side lot line shall be at right angles to street lot lines or radial to curving street lines unless a variation of this rule will give a better street or lot plan. Gaffron illustrated the layout of the lots on the overhead. Proposed Lot 1 is a back lot and does not meet the minimum width requirement of 100 feet at the rear of the required 45-foot front yard. The minimum back lot area requirement of 0.75 acres is met. Proposed Lot 2 abuts Northern Avenue and will be 050 acres in area and 102 feet in width, meeting the LR-1C area/width requirements. Proposed Lot 3 abuts Northern Avenue and will be 0.50 acres in area and 102 feet in width, also meeting the LR-1C requirements. Proposed Lot 6 is a back lot and does not meet the minimum width requirement of 100 feet at the rear of the required 45-foot front yard. The minimum back lot area requirement of 0.75 acres is met but only by including the land north of the wetland. Gaffron noted both of the back lots are required to meet a 100-foot width at the required setback. Since it is a back lot, in each case they must have 150 percent of the standard acreage, which requires three- quarters of an acre instead of a half-acre and they must also have 150 percent of the side, rear, and front setbacks. The normal setbacks are 30 feet front and rear and 10 feet on the sides. The width of the lot is measured at the rear of the front setback. Gaffron stated the bottom line is that both of those lots do not meet the width requirement at the rear of the front yard, which may be a technicality but should be discussed. Gaffron stated whenever you dedicate 30 feet for a corridor that is going to be the driveway for a back lot, it requires that there be a separation distance of 30 feet from the neighbor's house. The neighbor's house in this case is 18 feet away. That neighbor has submitted comments suggesting that he would not support the idea of having a driveway that close to his bedroom window. Since it is not supported by code, Staff would argue that that location for a 30-foot corridor to gain access to the back lot is not in an appropriate location. Page 23 of 34