10-12-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, September 21, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Ms. Johnson noted the lot has received zero maintenance for 35 years by the landowner and now they’re going to have a 50-day maintenance system on it. According to the City’s Comprehensive Plan and City Zoning, its deemed unbuildable unless it meets the planning requirements, and asked if one of the unique requirements will be that is has a specialized septic system. Ms. Curtis replied it is required to have sewage treatment, yes. Ms. Johnson asked if the Minnehaha Watershed has reviewed the analysis. Ms. Curtis isn’t entirely sure what Ms. Johnson is asking but noted the Watershed District were required to do a wetland delineation, which showed there was no wetland on the property. There will be drainage over the property, as everyone’s home has drainage across the lot. The Applicant will be required to maintain the drainage and are showing they will do so with the grading plan. Ms. Johnson noted it is a very small piece of land and they want to make sure all of the requirements have been reviewed. She said in part, trust has been lost because the site was demolished before grading permitting had been approved and there is concern that the City has been able to take the time and necessary precautions to make sure it won’t have a negative impact on the surrounding areas. Going back to the safety issues, she asked how building on that corner will impact visibility on County Road 19, which has very high traffic density, and even having a garbage truck at that point could potentially be a detriment to traffic. She asked if the Commissioners are familiar with the corner. The Commissioners replied yes, they are very familiar with it. Gettman said his concern is someone coming at 50 miles per hour over the hill and down County Road 19 is then blind to that garbage truck, or someone will try to go around them, and it will be a head-on. He understands completely, but it all goes back to the money the homeowner’s association/group that was against the Lakeview Development spent on lawyers, and asked if there’s been any discussion on buying that property. Ms. Johnson said there are other individuals more suited to speak on behalf of the Lakeview Organization than she is, but once they saw the land was being cleared and that building was teeing up, through discovery, she learned that the Lakeview Legacy Park had approached the last Mayor and City Planning group to see if the City would be willing to sell them the land so it could be attached to Legacy Park and restore the original Orono one-room schoolhouse. She noted they didn’t realize it would be built again and they haven’t had a chance to mobilize an offer. She reiterated the visibility, safety and the watershed (if impeded, significant flooding will occur on the land behind it, which is Ms. Johnson’s property). Ms. Johnson said when the land was clear-cut, the owners chipped all of the trees and used it to fill in ravines around the corner before any watershed had come out, so again trust has been broken and concerns are in place because normal process and procedure hasn’t been respected. Ms. Curtis said she believes the oversight in the demolition permit was that it was a foundation; she doesn’t think they were aware they needed a demolition permit for the pieces of the foundation that were there. She doesn’t believe they were trying to subvert any City regulations. Bud Dropps, owner of Accent Homes who will be the builder on the project, stated they have a demolition permit and had permission to cut the trees down, there was a wetland delineation, the