06-22-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, June 8, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 9 of 21 Don Adams, 2927 Casco Point Road, thanked Staff for her help, having never done an application before. He said they recently bought the house and their goal is to create a shoreline that is appealing. The white stairs are horrible, dangerous, and rotting. Most of the plants are buckthorn and poison ivy, and they have torn out a lot of garbage. Their goal is to beautify the area, but the most important goal is to find a way to go down to the shoreline safely, which is the reason they are proposing the stairs. They tried to pick the elevation that has the least amount of buildup to make the stairs because their north shoreline is super steep. With picking the best spot to bring it down, it goes into the existing shed. He noted the survey was not done correctly the first time. With the survey displayed, he indicated the wall around the existing shed, which was not on the original survey, and said that's basically where the stairs would come into play. They would propose to remove the wall and eliminate some of the existing hardcover. They are also considering removing 176 square feet of hardcover, which would be almost 70%. Walsh asked what hardcover the homeowner was referring to. Mr. Adams said all the pavers are hardcover. Walsh noted he was not supposed to have pavers to begin with. Mr. Adams stated he thinks he gets grandfathered in, if he is not mistaken, with anything there. The goal with the project is to remove the pavers and move the shed to an area that already has hardcover. He said he does not have a huge lot and the shed is placed directly in the middle of his lot. His hope is to be able to move it and utilize the shoreline better and remove 175 square feet of existing hardcover. Printup noted it is good to get rid of the buckthorn. Mr. Adams said he has had poison ivy twice and it is not fun. The shoreline is a mess and he knows that is why his neighbors are in favor of his plan. Crosby asked if Mr. Adams was going to keep the existing shed. Mr. Adams stated he would love to keep the existing shed. He would not make it bigger. It is a weird- shaped roof, and he is trying to align it with the level of quality that his house is. He is trying to design it in a way that fits. He said they would rip out the current staircase and then hope they could get approval on the stairs as well as moving the shed. Crosby asked where Mr. Adams would be looking to move the shed from, noting it was in the middle. Mr. Adams said it would basically be where the current stairs are. It would be 10-15 feet. It opens up the ability for them to use the shoreline. They would like to put a low-grow grass there and keep it as natural as possible. His goal is to protect the lake, make a shoreline that looks beautiful and also in line with what Orono is trying to do, which is to eliminate or decrease hardcover. He hopes the City Council considers that and they can make a spot that is good for both of them. Mr. Crosby stated he was not able to see the property and asked Johnson to tell him more about it. He understood Johnson felt it was important to change the staircase. Johnson noted that if anyone misses one stair, they will be at the bottom of the staircase. He said that, to the naked eye, that side is not obviously less steep. He feels that getting a better stairs is good. He is wondering where the record is of what was authorized there, because there are pavers down by the lake, a shed down by the lake.