06-12-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Monday, May 15,2017 6:30 o'clock p.m. make sure the drains are adequate so they are proposing to install two 12 -inch pipes. Anderson stated the real factor is the hydraulic pressure, and that once the soil gets so saturated, it cannot hold and fails. Thiesse noted there are engineered options that will allow them to go to a 1: 1 slope without any hard surface on the front. Thiesse commented this is a difficult situation but the City cannot just allow something to be done without a certified engineer signing off on it. Thiesse stated he understand Mr. Anderson has experience and is good at what he does, but that he cannot in good conscious approve it. Anderson commented the property owner should be able to landscape it. Thiesse noted the Planning Commission is just a recommending body. Schoenzeit stated he would not make the recommendation at the Planning Commission level and that perhaps the City Council would be willing to allow it. Roger Frommelt stated a person can go all the way around the lake and find five similar situations so in his view they will not be setting a precedent. Frommelt stated if they want things to look natural, that is what nature did to the slope. Frommelt stated in his view they can find a reasonable economic solution and that the proposed solution is better than what it is now and better than what it was before. Patty Baily noted her husband is an engineer and that his company has built a number of things all over the state of Minnesota and are used to the soils in this area. Bailey commented they are willing to live there with that slope with full confidence that it will be strong enough. Bailey stated she would love it if the Planning Commission would come see it. Bailey stated the situation in her view is very dangerous and that she worries every time someone is in the back yard. Schwingler stated he agrees with the homeowner. Schwingler stated with regards to setting a precedent, in his view it is landscaping and not structural.