10-26-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, October 12, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 14 of 24 Mayor Walsh asked what Stone Bay’s pricing is. Crosby stated it is in that range. Mayor Walsh said they don’t want the company to move forward with more concept plans and time and spending money without some feedback from the Council. He looks at it both ways, he doesn’t want to have to go add 7 more units somewhere to make the number work as they have always said they’d rather have it across both Highway 12 in this area and it’s not like they’re building a multi-story apartment complex. Crosby asked what the density is on the North side. Barnhart answered it is 6 for the townhome/twin-home area. Mayor Walsh stated if they were to do this project, it would be 10 units/acre, so a little bit more dense, but they still have walkways and greenery. Johnson doesn’t have a problem with 37 units, hitting the number and not having to go to the well to try to find something else. He noted this conversation brings up the question on whether they need to evaluate the buckets. Seals and Crosby agreed. Mayor Walsh agreed and said if they have the ability to manage and massage, they should do that, but they may not know until someone is interested in a piece of land, but at least if that tool is available, they should think about it. He noted they don’t want to get a 6 units/acre and be graded at 3 units/acre and only get credit for a 3. Feedback from the Council to David Weekely Inc. is 37 units. 18. LA20-000060 – CITY OF ORONO TEXT AMENDMENT RELATED TO AMENDMENTS TO VARIANCES Barnhart said this codifies the City’s practice, noting what often happen is the Council will approve a variance by resolution and that resolution will include drawings. Occasionally the property owner will need to make adjustments during construction; if Staff has deemed those minor they have taken it to the Council to approve those changes so the resolution has the final drawings. This ordinance codifies that, allows Staff to do it and cleans up the books. In situations where Staff thinks it is a major change, they will make it go through the process again: public hearing, Planning Commission review process. Staff recommends approval. Mayor Walsh said it seems to work fine and they are trying to make things simpler. If they are minor adjustments, Council needs to put faith in their Staff that they know the difference between minor and major adjustments and let them get stuff done. Crosby said it seems like a smart policy.