04-13-2020 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 13, 2020 6:03 o'clock p.m. Barnhart agreed and said that is why he expects them to be part of Lots 1, 2, and 3 and that is part of the plat. Printup stated it should be made clear early and often. Walsh commented that the residents will want their boats on the water. He said at the Planning Commission it looked like everything had been well -thought out. Johnson said he likes the plan and it makes sense to keep the driveway at that location. Although it was only a single-family residence, there was a lot of activity at that property and he is not concerned about the increase in traffic. If the County would allow a turn lane in both directions, that would be terrific. Council members agreed it looked like a good plan. Barnhart said they will continue to work with the developer. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Seals said a lot of people are stuck at home and she thanked everyone who is working. Printup stated it is nice to see the American flags up along the streets. He thanked Jackie H., who made some homemade masks. He said there are some restaurants who are petitioning the Governor regarding takeout of alcohol from restaurants and said Orono may want to send the Governor a letter encouraging that if the Council is interested in pursuing that idea. Johnson said he was going to propose sending a letter to the Governor but after hearing the LMCD rep, he thought it would be better to leave it as status quo. He stated he wanted to bring to the Council's attention his concern about code enforcement. He received a complaint about a dock installation on Crystal Bay Road, which brings the number to 2 for docks that should not be in yet. There is a new construction project going on which the City approved multiple variances on. The dock was installed prior to getting the final approval on the framing, which needs to happen before the dock can be put in according to code. He felt people should be able to have a dock without having a house and didn't want the language in the code at all. He received a follow-up from Barnhart that the framing would be done in 2-3 weeks and by the time the City does the code enforcement action, the property owner would be in the clear so Staff was not going to pursue the violation. He told Barnhart the choices as he saw them: the City enforces the codes, or the City amends the codes. He thinks the City has done a very good job over the years of amending codes that do not make sense. It is concerning to him when they choose to follow up on some code violations and not others. He does not think that is how the City should be handling the issue. The other dock on Crystal Bay Road went in without a permit. There is some question if they meet the 10- yard setback with the one that went in; the dock that is existing prior to the permit might not be in the right spot. That is part of why it is important to have dimensions on drawings. He also wants to make sure the rental agreement says 10 feet from the sideline. Seals said Johnson brought up a good point and it makes sense to enforce codes. She does not understand how it is okay for the City to say, "Well, they will put the dock in in a few weeks so I won't enforce it." It seems like individuals are picking and choosing when to enforce, and it seems a little suspect. Page 22 of 25