07-13-2020 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 13, 2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. issues to deal with. There can be one house at the location but it is human nature to develop as much as possible. He noted this is 1/2 acre, which is the smallest zoning. Mr. Puzak stated the seven lots total over an acre of land. Walsh stated that people have to be able to get to it. Mr. Puzak said they are providing a 20-foot fire lane with 18 feet of pavement which exceeds the width of the current Baldur Point Road. He noted the last third of the road narrows to less than 12 feet. Walsh said the City is obviously not going to create even worse problems down the road. The Council has been flexible on the road part, but even though there may be an acre of land, there still has to be a road and that is the issue. Mr.Puzak stated Mr. Gronberg considered that in his calculations and designed the building sites to contain 2/3 of the required'/2 acre to meet the 66%for lot combinations pursuant to Rule 78. He said Mr. Gronberg did a good job of delineating two nice building sites that are well-spaced. This is not packing homes in a tight area where they are 15 feet apart from each other. Walsh noted that the problem is that it still gets to be more dense than what it is programmed to be. That is an issue that Orono has been pretty tough on. He said the previous applications showed that the City does not approve something that will make it more non-conforming and the proposal would create non- conforming lots. Mr. Puzak said they meet the 66%rule and they eliminate the current non-conforming structure and provide the City with a much-wanted cul-de-sac. That is why he is asking the Council to consider the merits and the positive aspects of what it provides. He noted the lots are 50% larger than the one building site on Baldur Park Road. Walsh stated it is not a hardship or a practical difficulty to approve a non-conforming lot because other lots are smaller. Mr. Puzak said they exceed by 50%the other building sites. Walsh said he can go to Crystal Bay where someone has a three-acre site and everybody else has quarter acres. The owner of the three acres would say that,to be in conformance, she could have nine '/3-acre or twelve 'A-acre sites; but it is still a two-acre zone. They are stuck with two-acre zones. He noted density is a big issue in Orono. Mr. Puzak said he understands the two-acre zoning, but in this case,they are dealing with lot combinations, not subdivisions, and there are specific rules and regulations regarding lot combinations. They tried to create the proposal in conformance with the regulations. Walsh stated he is not sure how that refers to forcing the Council to approve a non-conforming lot versus the Council saying if he wanted to make one house there, he'd be fine. An unidentified individual said it conforms to the 66%. Walsh said he is not sure what that exactly means. Page 15 of 19