01-13-2020 Council Work Session Packet

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday March 13, 2017 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 2 of 3 does not want to be in the party enforcement business. Walsh stated the City did have a problem that came up but that he has been struggling with how to deal with it since the events did not really generate any noise or traffic issues. Walsh noted the City Council has three new members on it since last fall and they do not have the history on the issue. Walsh stated the Council should perhaps table it to gather more information and more public input through another public hearing. Walsh stated people cannot park on the street he lives on at all and when he has a party, the neighbors have to walk to his house. Walsh stated he does not want to pit neighbor against neighbor whenever someone has a party. Walsh stated in his view the City Council needs more public input to understand how to better deal with this and that it is similar to the quandary the Council found itself in when trying to define a living wall. Crosby stated he would like to hear from the public. Dankey stated she heard a lot of the things already said that she has been thinking. Dankey stated when she read through the draft ordinance she thought, no way, I do not want to support this. Dankey stated she does attend a lot of charity parties in Orono and oftentimes they have more than 20 people. Dankey stated the ordinance seems to be a little bit punitive and that it seems like the City is hitting everyone for what may be one or two issues. Dankey stated she is not sure if there is another way to do this. Seals stated she knows the Planning Commission and Staff have looked into this. Seals asked whether Staff knows what other communities do in relation to this. Brian Gerard, 680 North Arm Drive, stated he did read through the ordinance and that he has some major issues with it. Gerard stated it comes down to definitions and what is the definition of an occasional party or a crowd. Gerard stated he frequently will have a dinner party where people will spend the night and the next day they might go boating or have a fire. Within a couple of weekends he would need a permit. Gerard indicated he is also a real estate agent and that some weekends they might do two open houses and two more the following weekend. Gerard stated he would have to pull a permit for the fourth one. Gerard indicated he has talked to other residents and they feel the City should not be dictating how often someone has a dinner party. Gerard stated the way the ordinance is written, it would be hard for residents to stomach. Walsh stated in his view the Council agrees with him. Cindy Hilger, 585 South Brown Road, stated the Council has spoken to a lot of issues that she has with the ordinance and that in her view the City will not be able to enforce it. Hilger indicated she lives on a property that is highly visible and if the Council was to take her property and put it at the center of a half mile circle, there would be, at a minimum, 21 properties that are either hidden by trees, gates, or long driveways. Hilger stated those 21 properties are basically invisible but someone would be able to count the number of cars in her driveway. Hilger stated the City is basically asking her to police her neighbors, which is not her job, and that she resents being asked to do that. Hilger stated it is big brother at its finest and that she is not sure this is how people want to live. Gail Blackstone, 4465 Forest Lake Landing, stated she lives in the neighborhood where the incidents occurred last summer and she did not feel disrupted at all during that period. Blackstone indicated she was not aware of the previous public hearing that had been held but that she is concerned about the broad