06-10-2019 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,June 10,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. improve the property and it will increase the tax base for the City on land that is currently not generating any revenue for the City. The neighbor that lives on the other side of the right-of-way resides here for only a few months out of the year. Further, at the Planning Commission meeting there was some discussion about emergency access. The point was made that there is ample access to the lake even though there is not free public access. Across the lake there is easy access to the lake, and unless a lot of time and money is spent improving that 50- foot piece, it will not provide vehicular access to the lake. Paidosh noted 1887 is well over 100 years ago and that he does not know what is going to change,but they are now 120 years out and no one has expressed any interest in it. Paidosh stated he did not have any interest in it for over 20 years, but it was driven out of necessity in building a new house. Walsh stated the City Council relies on the Planning Commission to vet the applications and that he was a little disappointed the Planning Commission did not have all of the information. As a result,the Council becomes the Planning Commission in a sense by having to vet the information. Walsh stated he is concerned and disappointed that this process is a little tainted and that he is not sure how to get around that at this point. Seals stated the applicant's explanation helped clear up the process and it goes back to why everyone is on a different page since it seems like everyone had a different piece of information. After the explanation, it does make sense to vacate it, but that she does not want the City to be apathetic in how they got here. Seals stated they need to do better, and if Staff suggests something,the Planning Commission should feel like they have all the information they need. Rief stated part of the challenge is that the current Comprehensive Plan is where the change happened, and in the previous Comprehensive Plan it was always a no and the current one says that it is a maybe. Staff has discussed about how to go about this better but that they are talking about 100 years of vacations. Seals stated her concern is what would have happened if the applicant had given up. Walsh indicated he spoke with the City Administrator on Friday and asked for Staff to repopulate with some of this specific information. Staff did not do so but the applicant did,which is concerning. Printup asked if the applicant has any pictures of the terrain. Paidosh indicated he does not,but the best way is to look at the drawing gradients. Crosby asked how wide the path is. Paidosh stated you can get a riding mower down it. Johnson asked if the applicant is going to come back to the City Council with a request for a variance if the vacation is approved. Paidosh stated his understanding is that there either there is an average or a point of tangency of the house closest to the lake and the house that is nearby. Page 12 of 20