05/19/2014 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Monday,May 19,2014 6:30 o'clock p.m. Schoenzeit asked what the rough anticipation of the time frame is for implementation of their overall site plan. Kujawa stated he is not sure at this point since he does not know how long this process will take. Kujawa noted they currently have a tenant in one of the houses, which will need to run out, and that it will likely be a couple year process to implement the plan. Chair Leskinen opened the public hearing at 8:12 p.m. Leesa Anderson, 3205 Crystal Bay Road, noted she and her husband owned this marina previously. Anderson stated the plan reminds her of someone who buys land for a golf course adjacent to a pig farm, builds the golf course, and then wants the pig farm to go away after a while. Anderson stated this property has always been this way and that the previous owner lived in one of the houses and the other house was rented out. Anderson stated at the time they owned the marina, their marina manager lived in one of the houses. Anderson stated up to eight years ago this site never had any kind of boat club or storage. Anderson stated the previous applicant before the Planning Commission tonight had to meet a number of requirements. Anderson stated this site goes right up to the water and that they will be adding more hardcover. As a resident and business owner of Orono,Anderson stated it does not make much sense. The parking lot does not have enough room to back a car out and the site will be packed in the winter with boats. The retail boat dealer will eventually have a showroom. Anderson stated if the City is okay with that, this proposal will likely get approved, but that in her opinion the City does not have any idea what will occur once it is rezoned commercial. Anderson noted the next door neighbor purchased his house thinking the property next to his was residential property and that the expanded use is a lot for the area and will greatly impact the neighbor. Matt Johnson, 1432 Shoreline Drive, stated he lives next to the marina and that the plans for the property have gone from bad to worse. Johnson stated as it relates to the history of the property,there has been a repeating theme for the site. In 1976,the City said no commercial use on the Tanager side, automobile parking only. In 1980, it was found that the expansion is an immediate threat to the public health and safety of Orono and the site was to be used for overflow parking only. In 1983,the City said no ingress or egress from the two residential sites should be added but now there is complete access. The City also said no further encroachments, which has also not occurred. Johnson stated in 1989,the City indicated there should be less intense use of the site. Johnson stated he does not want there to be confusion between cleaning up the site and expansion of the use. Johnson stated in order to support the number of docks,the retail space, and employee parking, the applicant needs 70 parking spots. The applicant's proposal has 62 on the marina site,with 27 on the Browns Bay side, and up to seven in the triangle area adds up to 95 stalls. Johnson stated that is expansion of the site. Johnson noted prior to purchasing his property, he did the due diligence of contacting the City of Orono to confirm that there was a residential buffer between his house and the marina, and it was confirmed that there was. Johnson stated instead of that area acting as simply overflow parking, boats are still being parked on there every day. Johnson indicated there has been a boat parked on the grass for the last week, which is not overflow parking but rather taking advantage of the situation. Johnson stated he is the residential neighbor who has to put up with it. Page 16 of 31