04-22-2019 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 8, 2019 7:00 o’clock p.m. __________________________________________________________________________________ Walsh pointed out functionality of someone’s house has never really perceived as a practical difficulty and that he would have a hard time finding for that. Johnson noted there is some existing hardcover there and that the applicant is talking about improving upon that hardcover. The question becomes what responsibility the City has for not allowing a structure right up to the property line. The applicant has done a lot of work to mitigate what will happen in the future as far as maintenance but that it comes down to whether there will be a problem in the future. Walsh stated if someone wants to put some Spancrete down on a weekend and call it a patio and then ask to build a structure there over the existing Spancrete, it raises the same type of situation. The practical difficulty has to be inherent with the land such that they would not be able to do such and such. The City Council has told people before that the Council is not here to design someone’s house. The Council will tell applicants what they are allowed to do, but that it is up to the applicant to decide how to design it. Seals asked what the other homes in the neighborhood look like in relation to the HCRRA property. Barnhart indicated there are no houses that close as to what is being proposed here, but that on Crystal Bay Road most of the lots have required some type of variance. Almost all of the rear yard setbacks in the neighborhood do not meet the required setback and they range anywhere from 5 to 43 feet. A variance to the rear yard setback in the Crystal Bay is not uncommon. In this situation, Staff would have a hard time supporting anything less than three feet. The current rear yard requirement is 30 feet for this area. Seals stated she understands the desire to maximize the house, but that this house is currently at 42.9 percent hardcover and is maxed out. Seals stated in her view it would be very irresponsible for the City Council to approve something like this and that she does not see a practical difficulty. Barnhart noted the hardcover and functionality of the house is a result of the small lot. Crosby asked what the depth of the rear lot is currently. Barnhart noted it is 8.2 feet. Seals moved, Crosby seconded, to direct Staff to draft a denial resolution for Application No. LA19- 000011, Julie Lensing, 3349 Crystal Bay Road, denying a rear yard setback variance and a hardcover variance. VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 0.