09-28-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 14, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 12 of 26 Mark Gronberg noted the house to the West is dictating the average lakeshore setback line and because of the big marsh to the West, they’re built back way up on the hill approximately 800 feet and is also 40-50 feet higher than the lots in question. He said it was a similar situation on Judd Dayton’s property where there was a house to the West which had a big marsh and was set back on the hill and the Council looked at it and realized it was a unique situation. Ms. Barbara Burwell, 1100 Millston Road, 1125 Millston Road, 1075 Millston Road and Green Trees Road (unsure of the numerical address) said there is a lot of information set forward tonight and she had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Barnhart the previous Friday and he was gracious enough to give her a peek at the proposal. She wants to choose her words very carefully noting this is not her genre and she appreciates the fact that elected officials are up-to-date on the various policies and procedures. This particular project greatly impacts her property in a variety of ways. First, she has been neighbors with the Jacobs Family for close to 40 years, and the property she lives on is 83 years old so they’ve had a pretty good homesteading run. In reference to the neighbors having no issues with the proposal, she thinks they are putting words in their mouths because Friday was her first real peek at the issues. There are about five points she’d like to bring up in no particular order. Ms. Burwell said the Line Mr. Barnhart explained to her on Friday, it’s very clear that Line A is the line that is favored by herself, because the impact of Line C would really impact her property at 1125 Millston Road, which is a separate property with two additional lots and is a caretaker’s home. Likewise, moving to the Tanager side, again she is greatly affected by Lots 6, 3, 2 and 1 which in order to be implemented would all need a variance. She asks herself if that is the normal procedure to go ahead and give a variance and has done some exploration of the home at 1075 Millston which was added to her house when they made a friendly lot line adjustment. She is concerned that they're changing the rules and she is not familiar with the old rule or the new rule, but it’s important that she is involved with that rule. Over on Green Trees, she has a vacant lot which will be impacted by Line B and Line C, so that is why Line A is a critical factor in the decision of plotting the development. She said it may be a wiser decision to make it a smaller, less dense development from a standpoint of vegetation, trees, wetland and environment, and these lines are greatly impacting what has already been in place longer than Ms. Burwell even owned the property. She is also concerned about the environmental study, how it’s going to happen and if there is a tree replacement requirement beyond the 75 feet from the lake, and who monitors this. She noted the traffic on 15/Shoreline Drive is of great concern to her as she watches the lots, which become lakeshore lots with the added variances and she mentioned at the last Planning Commission meeting there are many interesting traffic patterns coming up to her driveway. This included an accident last Tuesday in which there was a diabetic reaction and a person went right up into her trees during rush hour and that was a day after the fatality accident right off Heritage Lane and noted they had talked about people walking. She said she has a dock and walks across 15 and she has a much bigger pad from her driveway to her dock than the Jacobs and she doesn’t know how that will work but she has a serious concern, as she does about 15 going around and how Lakeshore Marina hasn’t had a fatality, she does not understand. She is interesting how the turn lanes would impact both the East and the West and would take issue with the County’s assessment of that because she has seen and experienced the danger zone of crossing 15 and it is a problem that needs to be worked out. Ms. Burwell said at this point, the biggest issue for her is Line A and Line B impact her property greatly and would completely change the way her son would want to build a house and noted she has been there before the lines were drawn. She asked the Council to consider that very carefully and she thinks it needs more study. Her last point, which has nothing to do with this property in particular but is an issue she feels strongly about and brought up at the Planning Commission, is regarding the fire that affected the Davis Family on Wayzata Bay. Ms. Burwell is very interested in the entire area, including her home and how they look at not just sewer and water, but also fire abatement. She noted it is something to be