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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Tuesday, November 12, 2019 <br />6:00 o'clock p.m. <br />there a public interest in the property. With the cul-de-sac and with an easement connecting Smith to the <br />road, Staff can't support the vacation of the balance of the right-of-way because it does not serve a huge <br />purpose at this point. The item has raised quite a bit of interest raised in the neighborhood. The Planning <br />Commission recommended denial; Staff, reviewing the response to the Planning Commission comments, <br />can support a vacation request subject to a couple of tweaks as mentioned in the report. <br />Walsh said there are a lot of old street easements in Orono, and the goal is to clean them up and they have <br />done the ones that have made sense. He has met with the applicant and some neighbors and walked the <br />property. The current easements that go to the trail are incredibly steep, which is why people are cutting <br />through the applicant's property, which is a nice, easy trail. He appreciates the applicant in his emails said <br />he would keep the trail open if people wanted to use it. His opinion is there needs to be a turnaround and <br />it needs to meet City Codes and something Staff would support. He does not have a problem with <br />vacating all the different easements but does not think the extra easement to get to Orono Orchard Road is <br />needed. He would like to create a permanent easement where that path is in now in exchange for doing <br />the other stuff. Right now, there is direct access to Luce Line Trail and he does not want to give up direct <br />access, so it would be swapping out some things to make it better for everybody and make it official so it <br />can't ever leave. <br />Crosby asked if any improvements would be made on the easement. <br />Walsh thought, since it would be a permanent easement, the City would be able to make improvements <br />such as gravel because presently it is a trail with big logs all the way there and is pretty worn. He would <br />want to keep that trail by giving up the other stuff to continue to have direct access for neighbors, etc. <br />Printup noted it would be City property to access the trail so it could not be touched. <br />Walsh concurred it would be a City easement and a permanent easement of record on the title. Right now, <br />technically the applicant could close the trail; then the only way through there is to go through buckthorns <br />and it is really steep, not something people would want to go through, which is why he thinks people are <br />not using that path. The City would have to do some major work to improve that path. <br />Crosby stated it would be a City easement, not City property. <br />Walsh said it would be a right that would not go away and so basically City property. He clarified it <br />would be a swap -out to keep the direct access. The other vacations help clean up everything. It gets <br />everything together, a cul-de-sac and a turnaround, and direct access to the Luce Line is kept. <br />Printup commented there would not be future disruption to the neighborhood because once the access is <br />there, it's there. <br />Walsh said he knows there are a lot of people present but wanted to give direction of what his common <br />sense tells him would make the most sense for the neighborhood, because it solves a lot of issues. <br />Johnson asked if the zoning district was a 2 -acre zone. <br />Barnhart answered it was a 2 -acre zone. <br />Johnson asked, with the easement and two parcels, if that would bring the total to six acres. <br />Page 3 of 17 <br />