06-10-2019 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, May 20, 2019 6:30 o'clock p.m. Erickson asked why that was not included in Staff report. Curtis stated she does not recall why the whole entire section was not included in the report. Barnhart indicated Staff did not feel that was relevant to this lake access. Barnhart noted there is a utility within the right-of-way, and according to the Comprehensive Plan, while it does open the door for vacation of certain rights-of-way, it does not say that all will be kept or vacated. Gettman asked whether there was any historical or planned use for that access. Curtis indicated it does serve for storm water runoff but does not provide access to the lake at this time. Thiesse noted historically they served a purpose, which was for access to the lake. Bollis asked approximately how many of these accesses exist in Orono. Curtis stated she does not have an exact number. Barnhart stated to his knowledge there are between 27 to 35. Ressler asked if this right-of-way is earmarked for utility improvement in the future. Curtis indicated there is an existing catch basin and storm water pipe. Libby asked how big the culvert is. Thiesse indicated it is 15 -inch. Steve Paidosh, Applicant, stated their original purpose here was to tear down the existing family home and build a new home on the property. Another purpose was to relocate the public street access to the property from County Road 19 or North Shore Drive to Park Drive, which is a small residential street. Relocation of that street access requires the new structure to be positioned differently than the current home. The existing house is a walkout rambler and the new design is for an L-shaped home. When the garage is built out like that, it has to be pushed further back, and that is when issues with the setback to the neighbor came up. Paidosh indicated he spoke with Christine Mattson originally trying to understand what the rules are and the required setbacks. A meeting was then held with the architect to discuss the home design and an updated survey was required to determine the building envelope. The architect then notified them that the structure would exceed the setbacks due to the change in access. The architect suggested a meeting be held with the City of Orono to discuss the possibility of a lakeside variance. Paidosh indicated he met in early January with Jeremy Barnhart, who then proposed the option of vacating the rights-of-way and stated in his view he felt Staff would be open-minded to that versus pursuing a variance. The vacation application was then submitted along with all the other proper documents. Staff informed us at that time that Planning Staff was now not supportive of the request and that a variance might be better. Paidosh stated after discussing the matter, he and his wife decided not to pull the application.