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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING <br /> Monday, September 15,2014 <br /> 6:30 o'clock p.m. <br /> John Bessesen,Developer, stated the reason he got involved with this project is that he was interested in <br /> doing some condominium/commercial development up by the church. Bessesen indicated they looked at <br /> a number of options that would allow them to put as much density as possible on the site while at the <br /> same time preserving the trees as much as possible. Bessesen indicated they looked at where the existing <br /> easement is for the driveway,how many trees would be lost, and how much the terrain would need to be <br /> cut in. Bessesen indicated the property behind the Lund's store slopes gradually and goes up towards the <br /> top of the ridge and that they wanted to put the twin homes up towards the top of the property towards the <br /> commercial area as much as possible. <br /> Bessesen indicated there are a number of people in his neighborhood and around the lake who are older <br /> and would like to downsize, so he thought this would be a good spot for some empty nesters. Bessesen <br /> indicated with a development for that age group,there usually is not a lot of traffic and they have a desire <br /> for a smaller yard,which would help preserve the trees. In addition, it was felt that development of this <br /> property would be a great opportunity to create a buffer between the single-family homes and the <br /> commercial area located to the rear of this site. <br /> Bessesen indicated the footprint of the units would be approximately 1,600 square feet per unit,which is <br /> fairly small, and that he tried to line the road up between this piece of property and the townhomes across <br /> the street. Bessesen indicated he also purchased the piece of property next to the townhomes and that it <br /> was developed for the house that currently sits there. Bessesen indicated he had to purchase that property <br /> from the association and as part of that negotiation gave the owners covered dock slips. Bessesen stated <br /> he spoke with the owner of that property last night and he indicated that he would not be able to really see <br /> the development. The rest of the homes along Kelly would not be able to see the development. <br /> Bessesen stated he is looking at approximately$650,000 per unit and that in his view there is a market for <br /> that. <br /> Tom Waslow, Architect, stated the whole area that is in the conservation easement would be fenced in <br /> during the project so that no construction activity would disturb that area. Waslow noted this is a <br /> preliminary plan and that there are still some engineering issues that will need to be worked out. Waslow <br /> stated work is presently being done on a tree inventory and that they will take steps to protect as many <br /> trees as possible as well as the underbrush. <br /> Page 16 of 59 <br />