01-19-2021 Planning Commission Packet

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Orono City Chair Ressler Orono City Planning Commission Members January 19, 2021 Page 8 The road proposed in the original Jacobs Property subdivision exceeded the maximum length, and in the most recent proposal, has been squeezed down to exactly 1,000 feet long. However, the actual length of the road and cul-de-sac exceeds 1,000 feet. The Applicant and City Staff have acknowledged that the road was measured by adding two measurements: (1) the road length from the start of Shoreline Drive to the location where the road starts to curve to the west, and (2) from the start of the curve of the road to the most distant point of the cul-de-sac. Basically, the Applicant has measured the diameter of the cul-de-sac, but not the road of travel of the cul-de-sac. A diameter of a circle is always less than the circumference of a circle. By only measuring these two data points of the road, the City and the Applicant are not measuring the actual length of the cul-de-sac area of travel. The road still exceeds 1,000 feet. The road and cul-de-sac are non-compliant. (One might also ask what has been compromised to get down to 1000 feet.) However, issues with a cul-de-sac at 1,000 feet are no different than cul-de-sacs a few feet longer. Concern about the street was expressed at a previous City Planning Commission meeting about traffic, the addition of a right turn lane with a possible shoulder, and parking. (See the recording of the City Planning Commission Meeting dated August 17, 2020 at approximately the 2:43:30 mark.) What happens when there are large gatherings at one or more of the (proposed) six homes that have parking spilling over onto the private road, and an emergency vehicle needs access to the same or another home in the development? Circumventing normal safety standards will be to the detriment of the owners of these lots and any adjoining properties that may be impacted by delayed or compromised emergency services (such as fire trucks needed to put out a ground fire). VI. West Bound Turn Lane. The County now requires a right hand turn lane, although during my conversation with Mr. Whitten last Friday, he did not seem to know much about the right hand turn lane requirement. Jeremy Barnhart has explained that a right-hand turn lane for westbound traffic on Shoreline Drive is required by the County. It appears that such a turn lane will be in close proximity to traffic on and off Millston Road, creating a bottleneck of vehicular travel. This is a significant safety concern to Mrs. Burwell. If the right hand turn lane requires any land to be taken from Ms. Burwell, she is not interested in selling. We need actual engineering and completed plans to vet any claim by the Applicant that the existing Right-of-Way on Shoreline Drive is sufficient to create a right hand turn lane. The Orono Planning Commission cannot make decisions based upon anecdotal statements or guesses. Actual engineered drawings need to be proposed and vetted before any decision is made. 8 6733724v1