10-14-2019 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 23, 2019 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 7 of 11 Walsh stated they cannot. If they had come before the Council under this new language, the only difference between the two is they would not require a variance under the new language. Kelly Hueler stated there needs to be clarity so there are not unreasonable variance requests due to confusion. Hueler stated they do not want to see people who have requested and been granted variances come in again for a variance. Walsh noted they have already received approval, and if they want to move their house any closer, they would require a variance. Kelly Hueler commented that is the concern they have. Walsh stated if it was a situation that was impacted by the change, they could come before the City Council. The City could potentially have some situations like that, and that it is not unlike when the City changed the hardcover rules. Johnson pointed out the overall hardcover would also come into play, because if someone wanted to push their house closer to the lake, that may require a longer driveway. Crosby noted they also have the 75-foot setback that they will have to comply with. Walsh stated the change might result in three feet to five feet differences but that there are not going to be huge changes to the line. In addition, the new language will help clarify things. Greg Hueler noted Staff had said there were 40 variance requests this year. Hueler asked how many of those variances related to this development. Barnhart indicated it was very few. Kelly Hueler commented there was a lot of confusion on a whole lot of levels on the project next to their house and their concern is about changing city code because of confusion on a project that was immensely confusing for a lot of reasons. Walsh stated most changes result from applications where the ordinance does not make sense or where an issue has not been raised before. Greg Hueler asked if the change in the code will decrease the number of variance requests. Walsh stated it could. Johnson noted one application dealt with oversized accessory structures where he wanted to add on to an existing building but was prohibited from doing that because he would have exceeded the maximum number of square feet for a single building. That text amendment will be before the City Council at their next meeting. Walsh commented there are also issues with slope stabilization that come up periodically and how long the process takes and the Council is discussing ways to streamline that process.