01/21/2014 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Tuesday,January 21,2014 6:30 o'clock p.m. Following construction of the new home on the property and the commencement of the activity to construct the new lakeshore access stair and landscaping within the 75-foot setback area, the applicant noted a dying/diseased tree and significant erosion lakeward of the tree. The tree can be removed but reinforcement and restoration of the remaining ravine is needed to stop the erosion. The applicant has provided an engineered plan which contemplates the installation of sub-grade walls to support the slope. The area will be graded to result in a more stable slope and vegetated to reinforce the soil. Once the vegetation is established and matures,the restoration area and the reinforcement should not be visible. In addition,the applicant is proactively creating an armored overflow swale on the west end of the lakeshore slope to accommodate the stormwater drainage from the property. This overflow will be screened with plantings and should not be significantly noticeable once the plantings have matured. By code, conditionally permitted uses must be reviewed using the criteria found in Section 78-916. Staff finds that Items 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 13 apply in this situation and has found that those items are compliant with the Code. Staff finds that the conditional use permit amendment to allow the ravine repair, restoration, and the overflow swale within the 0-75 foot zone appears to be reasonable and consistent with similar properties in the neighborhood and the landscape plan offers a natural looking slope. The City Engineer has conducted a cursory revise of the plans and no significant concerns were noted. A full engineering review will be conducted at the time of the administrative permit for construction. The Planning Commission should discuss the issues outlined in Staffs report and determine whether any conditions are necessary to be imposed in order to mitigate any additional impacts created by the work. Planning Staff recommends approval of the conditional use permit amendment allowing the earth work within the 0-75 foot setback area. Dale Gustafson,Applicant, indicated he is the landscape designer on this project. Gustafson stated when they were designing this project,they did notice the gully on the east side but discovered, once the work commenced,that the bank was really piles of debris and branches pushed down there and contained little soil. Gustafson stated the approach they feel is the most practical in that case is to use a subterrainian wall made out of timbers to reinforce the entire bank. The wall would then be backfilled with soil,which would be sloped down the top. Vegetation would then be planted on top of that. Gustafson stated that method has been one of the most effective methods used on lakeshore erosion projects. Gustafson stated on the other end of the gully, the idea is to provide a place for additional runoff to go. The silt fence that was placed there was not able to sustain it during the heavy downpour that occurred this summer. Gustafson stated in his view there will still be considerable runoff down the bank and that they would like to slightly adjust the grade prior to sodding the area to allow the water to be diverted to the rock channel. The channel will be filled with boulders with vegetation planted along the sides. The plants will eventually grow over the rocks so in time it will not be very noticeable. Gustafson indicated the water will come down the slope, go through the rocks, and then into the riprap. The additional vegetation will also allow for even more filtering of the runoff. Gustafson stated currently the east half of the lot is graded in such a way to allow some of the water to go to the bank and then down. Gustafson illustrated on the overhead the flow of the runoff Gustafson stated Page 6 of 26