12-09-2019 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,December 9,2019 6:30 o'clock p.m. Barnhart said the City's standard is 20 but Staff could make do with what the Council supports, recognizing there's challenges to a 4-foot wide trail within a 10-foot easement from a maintenance standpoint. If it was a brand-new trail easement, Staff would want at least 20 feet. Walsh said this plan would clean up the road and creates a permanent and better pathway. Seals said neighbors have used the phrase "equitable exchange of land" and asked for clarification. Barnhart stated if you take the area that will be vacated, it is substantially larger than the area the applicant is proposing to provide in terms of the cul-de-sac and the easement. Seals asked how Barnhart defined "substantially." Barnhart said the amount of land to be vacated is about 29,900 square feet. The amount of property the applicants would be providing is about 3,400 square feet. From an equality perspective, not all square footage is the same. The fingers are heavily wooded;there's some questionable topography to deal with. What the applicant is proposing is land that impacts their ability to improve their property, so there is some value to the property owner in that respect. There is some value to the City for the cul-de-sac. While it is a little more than 10%of the total,he is not looking at it strictly square foot to square foot. Seals said it did not make a lot of sense to her. One of the residents that called her said the City sometimes complicates things and that the current road works. From what some of the neighbors are saying, it does not seem equitable. While she does not think there needs to be an exact square footage to square footage because the land is different, it seems like a drastic difference. Walsh stated the problem is,there is a big hillside of a sliver of land and you can't vacate part of it. Seals commented that there may be a value on it. Crosby said he'd like to see what the neighbors'thoughts and comments are and who showed up tonight. Walsh asked what Seals meant by "value" and where she was going with that. Seals stated if the City is going to give up a big chunk of land that is a value to a resident,maybe there is a number on it. It's a dangerous thing to get into,where the City of Orono gives away land for free. She knows this isn't for free,but it does not pass the sniff test of being equitable. She agreed it would be good to hear from the residents. Johnson asked, if the cul-de-sac is put in as proposed, is the City putting the two houses out of compliance with the required setback. Barnhart said the cul-de-sac encroaches into one yard. Johnson said it goes into the other property, too, unless the drawing received by the Council members isn't an accurate depiction. Barnhart stated the drawing he is working from is in the packet. It encroaches into one but does not touch the other property. Page 9 of 34