10-12-2020 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, October 12, 2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Mayor Walsh replied, generally speaking it has to be built to code but they can still build like- and-kind from a height. If they are in a non-conforming use and are two feet and supposed to be seven-and-a-half feet and tear down to the studs,they can build it back right where it was. Mr. Murphy replied they are building it right where it was; however,they are just changing the roof pitch. Johnson noted that is where the problem lies;the minute they make a roof go higher than the existing, that is where the Council hasn't been allowing it. Crosby asked if the current roof pitch would not be to code. Mr. Murphy answered the current roof structure,the framing and the span of the roof trusses is not to code. Crosby responded, like Mayor Walsh said, if they build it to like-and-kind, they are not raising the roof or creating their own difficulties. Johnson said that is right, the Applicant can do that. Mr. Murphy said he could supersede code if he builds to the Planning Commission. Johnson noted he is confusing code with the basic umbrella of space that they have. He said what happens underneath the parameters of the existing structure is Mr. Murphy's job as a builder to make sure it meets code. Mr. Murphy asked if the walls stay the same height, for example the walls are eight feet tall, his building code tells him that the span of the rafters must a 2x10 or a 2x12 rafter. He said currently they are either 2x4 or 2x6 in the structure, so now he is increasing the height of that roof. Johnson said they would have to drop the walls or make it a flat roof and noted the Council doesn't get into the business of designing structures for people, but clarified that Mr. Murphy has the envelope to utilize and underneath that it is Mr. Murphy's job to make sure it meets code, and must come up with his own design to fit these parameters. Mr. Murphy asked, doesn't that create a practical difficulty because the code compliance he must follow by a licensed contractor is a practical difficulty in this, as now he must alter the structure in a way that would make it less effective than it is now. He noted he would have to drop the side walls to get the structure roofline to line up and have the correct pitch and width of rafters. He said now he is in a catch-22 because it would be even shorter than it was and less effective on the inside as a storage unit or whatever it will be. He stated he is not here to argue but he is trying to show the Council where his catch-22 comes in because he knows exactly what they are talking about but now they have to go backwards. Page 6 of 24