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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, August 17, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 2 of 29 driveway in the same place. He said the reason they conferred to that configuration is because it is currently that way and the family wants to have access to grade from the living space rather than be up a full story above. Many of the homes on Crystal Bay Road, where the grade starts to rise towards the East, have tuck-under garages because of that situation. Mr. Sharratt noted the other thing they could have done is added a third story to the home, but that comes with economic penalties and isn’t necessarily a kind outlook on what building mass does, noting height almost more than anything else creates the appearance of building mass. He said this is a small lot and has the good fortune of having about 50 feet in front of the house to the pavement, whereas many of the homes to the East, as the road diagonals across, become shorter and shorter to the point where there is almost nothing in front, perhaps 15 or 20 feet. Mr. Sharratt said the home will have the appearance of more land because of this and noted they wanted to see if there was a reason it would be logical to say that this is not the land or lot they’re talking about, but it’s the appearance that the land is in the right-of-way. He stated they have designed a very responsible house, the main level is a small three-car garage and living space, which is only dining, kitchen, living room, powder room and mudroom, noting it’s only about 1,100 square feet. The upper level will be larger and it goes out over the garage and they need the space to have three bedrooms for the kids and a master suite facing North along with a bit of space that can be a kid space or rec room, as if they would have had a basement. Mr. Sharratt said they’ve tried to minimize the mass as much as possible and make it more of a story-and-a-half appearance than a full two-story or even a three-story. He welcomed feedback and questions from the Commission. Libby thanked the Applicants for their service and career in the military noting they are very highly valued. He asked Mr. Sharratt to clarify if the proximity of the lot to the lake level is the reason for the significant practical difficulty resulting in lack of a basement and asked if it was because of the water table or because of the mass and trying to avoid having a foundation underneath. Mr. Sharratt answered they are required not to build any floor level, whether a basement or crawl space, below 2 feet above the Hundred Year Flood Plain and that is 933 feet. He said this lot is very flat and has almost no drainage, noting when it rains heavily water sits there, and they cannot build a floor level below, noting the first floor level is only about a foot-and-a-half above that lowest possible level. He said by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standards it is impossible and they are not allowed to do it. Libby said he lives in a California Ranch-style single level with no basement, and as the home is within a distance from the lake and the water table is too high it would precipitate all sorts of problems. He stated he has a transite heating system. Mr. Sharratt asked if the transite system works and doesn’t become a drain tile. Libby answered that $60,000 worth of landscaping are the preventative measures for that. He said he wondered why they couldn’t gain some of family’s needed space by putting a lower level in and thanked Mr. Sharratt as he appreciates the clarification. Mr. Sharratt said the only way to do it is to lift the entire home up a full story. Chair Ressler opened the public hearing at 6:13 p.m. There were no public comments regarding this application.