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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br /> Monday,October 28,2019 <br /> 7:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> toilets made predominantly out of concrete. Wood and other burnable material will be used as little as <br /> possible,which naturally drives up the costs. <br /> Walsh noted the visitor's center has already been improved and security cameras have been installed. <br /> Seals moved,Johnson seconded,to approve the Outdoor Recreation Grant Agreement with the <br /> Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for Big Island and to authorize Mayor Walsh to sign <br /> the agreement on behalf of the City. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. <br /> PLANNING DEPARTMENT REPORT <br /> 16. LA19-000067 ALEXANDER DESIGN GROUP ON BEHALF OF MARK AND KRISTIE <br /> TIES,3129 CASCO CIRCLE,VARIANCE—RESOLUTION NO. 7038 <br /> Sven Gustafson, Stonewood;Kathy Alexander,Alexander Design Group; and Mark and Kristie Ties, <br /> Property Owners,were present. <br /> Curtis noted at the last meeting the City Council directed Staff to draft an approval resolution. Since that <br /> time,the City has received a letter from the neighbor's attorney,which has been included in Council's <br /> packet. Staff is requesting the Council adopt or amend the resolution that has been provided. <br /> Walsh stated he will allow three minutes for each party. <br /> Phil Kaplan,Attorney—at-Law, noted the City received a letter from Attorney Steinhoff that said the City <br /> Council has broad discretion in granting variance requests. While that is true to some extent,there are <br /> bounds to the City Council's discretion and this variance request is out of bounds. Legally the City <br /> cannot grant this variance request because it does not meet two requirements under the statute and the <br /> ordinance. Variance approval would not be consistent with the intent,purpose,and spirit of the average <br /> lakeshore setback and no practical difficulties have been demonstrated that justify the variance. <br /> The second point to address is the language in the resolution and in Mr. Steinhoff s letter regarding the <br /> distance from the proposed house to the shoreline. The average lakeshore setback would be 202 feet <br /> away from the lake. The variance would put the new house 156 feet from the lake. At this point <br /> Ms. Marks' house is 181 feet away from the lake. Because these two lots are parallel, it does not make <br /> any sense for the new house to be 25 feet closer to the lake than Ms. Marks' house. <br /> Kaplan stated that leads to the overarching problem with the variance. The applicants are not asking for <br /> something that they need in order to preserve the view. If the applicants get what they are asking for, it <br /> will require Ms. Marks to sacrifice a lake view that she should not have to sacrifice, and they will be <br /> getting a better view than what currently exists. Kaplan requested the City Council deny the request. <br /> Sven Gustafson stated he does not believe anything new was presented in the letter from the neighbor <br /> other than some mockups that misrepresented the views. Overall the project improves several <br /> nonconformities, such as reducing the side and lake yard setbacks,reducing the number of structures on <br /> the property,and is similar to many other requests that have been approved by the City in the past. <br /> Page 6 of 9 <br />