01-19-2021 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION Tuesday,January 19,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. they initially proposed to establish a set ALS within the plat that would apply to all lots regardless of when they were built;the idea was that would create some predictability and would not depend on when houses were built. It is not something that the Applicant invented and as Mr. Steinhoff understands the City has done that before in other plats. The problem is that the ordinance does not allow that unless there is unanimous consent from all involved. He understands from the City Attorney that in those prior plats it was something that was requested jointly by the Applicant and neighbors and supported by the City. After the Planning Commission's August meeting there was some vigorous pushback on the entire concept of an artificial ALS and there was not the unanimous consent needed so the Applicant went back to the drawing board and redesigned the plat so all of the lots can be buildable without establishing an artificial ALS line. That resulted in a few changes;there is one less lot,6 instead of 7 lots,and in order to make all 6 lots buildable behind the current ALS they needed to be reconfigured. Finally,there was an objection to design of the cul-de-sac in the first plan so in the new plan it is shorter at 997 feet and is designed differently. Apart from those changes everything is more or less the same as in August. There are a lot of issues raised by the neighbor's attorney such as access off Shoreline Drive,traffic, and trees, and all of those things were discussed at the previous Planning Commission public hearing. After the Planning Commission heard about those,they recommended approval by 7-0. The only real issues are a different number of lots and lot configuration to address the ALS issues and the new cul-de-sac. Mr. Steinhoff just received the neighbor's attorney letter a short time ago and will quickly address some of the issues in the letter. He noted that Attorney Dean said that they will need variances to build on these lots because of the ALS and Mr. Steinhoff said that is not true. Every one of these lots is buildable right now; the only one that is even worth talking about is lot 5 because they know the ALS will change for that lot as there is a house that will be built on the adjacent plat, lot 3 of Tanager Estates. The picture the Planning Commission is looking at is where they will put the house assuming that house is built on the adjacent lot. If that house is not built it is still a buildable lot under the current ALS and he has an exhibit that shows it. All 6 lots are buildable and are all configured so there can be a house pad behind the ALS; they do not need variances and the whole point of revising the plan is to give the Planning Commission a plat that can be approved without variances. Mr. Dean's letter raises the issue of the cul-de-sac and the Applicant has shortened it up so it is less than 1,000 feet. The letter also raised the issue of the turn lane access onto Shoreline Drive;the County's letter dates back to prior to the last Planning Commission meeting and there is nothing that has changed since they recommended approval. The Applicant is fine with a turn lane as recommended by the County and it is something they intend to do. Traffic is the same as it was previously except there is one less lot to generate traffic so all the comments about emergency vehicle access are things the Planning Commission already heard in August when they recommended approval. Mr. Steinhoff knows from listening to public comments at the last hearing there are a lot of people who want this parcel to remain the same forever—it is a big parcel with lots of open space and one house. He understands that but the owner,the Jacobs Family Trust, has the right to develop this,they are not asking for variances or anything special but are proposing a conforming plat so Mr. Steinhoff asks that the Planning Commission recommend approval as they did the last time. Tim Whitten said they have an exhibit that overlays the proposed 6 lot application over the 7-lot application previously approved so people can understand-blue is the previous application and red is the current proposed application. Starting from the south on Lots 1,2, and 3 the blue position of the houses has now shifted up to the red position to honor the ALS line and pulls those house pads farther away from wetlands and the lake. With the 6 lots instead of 7 it allowed them to reconfigure and shorten the cul-de- sac and made it a more efficient plan as for getting a street in there. As for the design of the cul-de-sac they were able to pull away from the property to the east and save some more of the trees on that side. The lots to the north have also been pulled away—in looking at the previous blue lot 6,which was really the lot that"went away"they now have lot 5 that is farther back. As a point of reference,these lots of the Page 4 of 28