03-11-2019 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Tuesday, February 19, 2019 6:30 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 3. LA19-000004 CITY HOMES, 3369 CRYSTAL BAY ROAD, VARIANCES, 6:40 P.M. – 6:54 P.M. Kristi, Alexander Design Group, and Joshua Jabs, property owner, were present. Curtis stated the applicants are requesting a number of variances in order to construct a new home on the property. Variances for lot area, lot width, hardcover, driveway width in the 75-foot setback are requested in addition to 75-foot setback and rear yard setback variances for the house and deck. The applicant is also proposing to restore the grades to better flow into the neighboring lots. As a result, a variance is requested to the defined height calculation. The lot is nonconforming with respect to area and width and the 75-foot setback from the lake bisects the lot. The applicant’s request for hardcover, setback, and height variances results in the property’s inability to conform to all of the lot of record standards above. The existing home to be removed encroaches into the 75-foot sand average lakeshore setbacks. The new home is proposed to meet the average lakeshore setback and will encroach approximately five feet into the 75-foot setback with the covered stoop and the home will encroach about two feet. The home is proposed with a 23-foot rear setback where 30 feet is required, and the proposed deck is shown at 15 feet. The proposed hardcover level of 39.9 percent is a 322 square foot increase from the existing conditions. The increase is primarily resulting from the increased building coverage. The proposed home is nearly twice the size of the existing home. However, when you include the existing detached garage, the overall proposed building coverage level is only increasing by 355 square feet. the applicant is not maximizing the proposed building coverage due to the limiting setbacks and hardcover. The proposed driveway has an 11.5-foot width at the street and a 25-foot wide garage access and parking area. The hardcover regulations specify a minimum width to match the garage doors serving the home. Another code provision, however, specifies an 8-foot maximum width in the 75-foot zone. The two code provisions are in conflict with each other and Staff is not sure whether that provision is intended to apply in this situation since the home is so close to the lake. Building height is measured from the highest “existing grade” from where the footprint exists on the lot. The existing topography appears to be the result of grade manipulations to facilitate the rear yard detached garage. The retaining walls along the rear property line created a flat area inconsistent with the adjacent neighboring properties and inconsistent with a ‘natural grade’. The applicant proposes to fill in this area and return it to the original grades. The highest “existing grade” from which the height calculation is based is 939.3’ rather than 946’, which is the highest grade in the proposed grading plan. The defined building height based on 939.3’ highest existing is 36.7’, which is 6.7 feet taller than what is permitted. The applicant is requesting variance approval to allow him to restore the grades and use the highest “existing adjacent grade” of 946’, which would be more consistent with the immediate neighborhood and make the height calculation conforming. Staff finds there are practical difficulties inherent to the size, shape, location of the roadway and lake, and the shape of the lake justifying the variances. Orono has adopted various ordinances over the past few years to address these inadequacies on small and narrow lots but, however, not all lots can be addressed by those code changes.