07-13-2020 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 13, 2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Johnson said he saw the yellow in the photo but thought that was relevant to height. Barnhart clarified that was for new segments. Crosby asked if there was a picture of what was originally approved. Barnhart, after the survey was displayed, indicated the survey was also in the packet on page 16. Seals stated it looks reasonable but it is annoying that the owner created this and feels like they have the only challenging property in Orono, and that the City Council comes upon a lot of challenging properties. Barnhart indicated the survey shown was the original approval for the stairs. Several Council Members commented that the new segment does not look that much different than the original proposal but that, instead of coming straight up, they went at an angle. Walsh noted the owners need to get down to the lake. The Council approved a way to get down to the lake. The owner changed the direction of part of the retaining wall. He asked what the real difference is that the City is getting upset about. Barnhart said when the Council approved the variance, they approved the plan on pages 16-17. What the owners have since done is different. The way Staff writes the resolution is that the Council is saying they approve a particular plan. If there is a modification, that is something the Council should approve. The stairs is a change, it is approvable, and once the permit is received, he will approve the changes. He does not see a huge issue other than the annoyance factor. The findings the Council made when the original approval was done still hold, and that is why he can support the modification to the plan. Walsh noted you need the most reasonably direct distance down. Because they are coming from the side, cutting sideways into the hill and coming down, they are going to have different boulder wall issues because they are cutting into the hill very differently. Johnson asked if the new plan increased hardcover. Barnhart said they have gotten revised hardcover calculations for this and the other projects the owner is proposing, and they are within the 25%. Crosby stated if it is something that the Council would have approved anyway, the Council will approve it. Walsh added the Council is not happy to be approving finished construction, basically. Crosby said the City should draw a hard line in the sand so the owner knows if they come to the City for something after the fact, even if the Council would have approved it, it's not going to be approved. Walsh brought up the boathouse which the Council made the owner deconstruct and said the stairway is different because, although they changed the angle, they are still allowed the most reasonable access to get down. The owner should have said something upfront. He stated this has been done multiple times. Johnson asked Staff if he told the owner to stop construction. Page 10 of 19