07-14-2009 Council Work Session Packet

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MEMORANDUM To: Mayor& City Council Bill Wells, City Administrator From: Mike Gaffron, Asst. City Admin. - Long Term Strategy Date: July 13, 2009 Subject: Code Revision Needed for Duplex Conditional Use Permits - Maratorium Necessary???? Background In each of Orono's Lakeshore Residential zoning districts (LR-lA, LR-1B, LR-1C and LR-1 G 1) as well as in the R-1 A and R-1 B non-lakeshore zoning districts (but not in the Rural Residential districts), duplex dwellings are allowed as a Conditional Use per the following provisions: "Duplex credit. One duplex may be located as a conditional use upon application, provided that public sanitary sewerage service is available, and the lot is adjacent to a commercial or industrial district, or within 250 feet of the B-3 district, and the duplex is constructed within 200 feet of the commercial or industrial district." The term Duplex is not defined in the Code, but it has generally been taken to mean a single tax parcel with one building containing two dwelling units, owned by one person who rents out one or both units. This is in contrast to a"twinhome" or"townhome" situation, in which each half of the two-unit building is owned separately on separate adjoining tax parcels. The minimum required lot size for a duplex is the same size as for a single family home within the respective zoning districts. When a property proposed for a duplex is also within the Shoreland District, it is intended to also be subject to the Shoreland standards of Section 78-1277, which currently reads as follows: Sec. 78-1277. Minimum lot area/lot width standards. Minimum lot area and lot width standards of the underlying zoning district shall apply, with the following exceptions: (1) No lot within 1,000 feet of a general development lake and approved for duplex use per section 78-228(10) shall be less than 135 feet in width nor less than 26,000 square feet in area, if riparian, nor less than 17,500 square feet in area, if nonriparian. (2) No lot within 300 feet of a tributary and approved for duplex use per section 78-228(10) shall be less than 150 feet in width when no sewer is available, nor less than 115 feet in width when sewer is available. Sec. 78-228(10) is the duplex provision of just the R-lA district. Section 78-1277 as __ written only refers to the duplex provision of the R-lA district. I believe this is an error stemming from the 2003 Municipal Code Recodification.