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Orono City Mayor Dennis Walsh <br /> Orono City Council Members <br /> October 26, 2020 <br /> Page 4 <br /> Pursuant to the City's own records,2 the goals of the ALS are: 1) preservation of lake views; <br /> 2) accommodating unique circumstances, including meandering, concave/convex shorelines and <br /> peninsulas; and 3) clarity—the regulation should be understandable for the layperson. <br /> Both the 2004 and 2013 versions of the ALS, attached as Exhibit 3, included the following <br /> language: <br /> (6) a. In instances where the average lakeshore setback can not be met, administrative <br /> approval may be granted at the discretion of the planning director provided no lake views <br /> of an adjacent lakeshore lot are obstructed and adjacent neighbors provide written <br /> approval" (Emphasis Ours.) <br /> (See Ord. No. 11 3rd series, § 1, 5-24-2004 and Ord. No. 106 3rd series, § 28, 6-10-2013). <br /> Attached as Exhibit 4 is an August 12, 2019 City of Orono Memorandum (the "Memorandum") <br /> from Jeremy Barnhart, the Community Development Director, addressed to Mayor Walsh, the City <br /> Council Members, and City Administrator Dustin Rief. The Memorandum was prepared shortly <br /> before the October 2019 amendment to the ALS ordinance, at the direction of City Council, in <br /> order to"review Average Lake Shore setback regulations . . . in part to ensure that the regulations <br /> actually protected lake views." (Memorandum p. 1). <br /> The Memorandum makes multiple other references to the importance of lake views and to <br /> neighbor consent in order to preserve the sanctity of the ALS: <br /> Page 8 of the Memorandum comes from the City Council minutes from the July 15, 2019 <br /> ALS discussion. Mr. Barnhart indicated that the ALS "was established in 1992 and was <br /> intended to protect the views of lakeshore property owners." Further, Mr. Barnhart listed <br /> "[p]reservation of lake views"as the first of the goals of the ordinance. <br /> Pages 11 and 12 of the Memorandum refer to the ALS as being established "to protect the <br /> views of lake shore property owners from encroachment due to expansion and placement <br /> of structures on neighboring lots." (Emphasis ours). Subdivision of property would be an <br /> expansion of a neighboring lot. The City Council was also concerned with situations"where <br /> the average lake shore setback didn't realistically protect a lakeview." (Page 11 of the <br /> Memorandum). <br /> Attached as Exhibit 5 is a copy of the proposed subdivision with the different ALS lines <br /> superimposed over it. It is undisputed that the approximate existing ALS for the Jacobs Property <br /> is identified as Line A in Exhibit 5, and that it greatly limits the Jacobs Family Trust's ability to <br /> subdivide their property. Lots 2 and 3 are clearly ahead of the existing ALS line, as is a portion of <br /> lot 1. See recording of the City Planning Commission Meeting dated August 17, 2020 at <br /> approximately the 2:17:00 mark. <br /> 2 City of Orono Memorandum dated August 12, 2019 and accompanying Minutes of the Orono Planning <br /> Commission, Monday, July 15, 2019. <br /> 4 <br /> 6573570v1 <br />