02-16-2021 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION Tuesday, February 16, 2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. Report and on this exhibit. The Applicant has designed the home based on his understanding of Line B, which was the "new" ALS identified during the preliminary plat which is based on 770 Brown Road North and 1925 Lakeside Trail to the south and west. Barnhart noted this property used to be addressed as 690 Brown Road which is the parent parcel for the subdivision. They developed the house based on Line B, but during the course of developing the plans, they recognized that the property 770 Brown Road North added a lakeside deck to their property which brought the ALS closer to the lake which is Line C. The Applicant proposed to apply his house to the new Line C. Barnhart noted onscreen a vacant parcel and the former 690 Brown Road which is now 1925 Lakeside Trail. Basically, the argument the Applicant is making: he is proposing to use this new adjusted ALS line and that can be done by variance because it is not written into the development documents. To satisfy the argument for a variance, the Applicant has noted there is a large tributary running right through the property, which was known during the project. This tributary requires a 75 -foot setback, so basically his buildable pad is right here (noted on screen). Staff, in reviewing the history and the unique aspects of this parcel, does see a practical difficulty due to the tributary and its inherent setback and also the extreme distance that the neighboring lot is from the lake of 343 feet. The normal setback for a sewered property would be 75 feet off the lake, so Staff is supporting a variance request as proposed. He clarified Staff is recommending a variance so as not to encroach above or lakeward of Line C. Bollis asked how this affects Lot 5 when looking at a house to be built there. Barnhart replied assuming this house is built, he showed two points on screen and noted where Lot 5 would be. Their new ALS would be Line C. Bollis said it is approximately where it was supposed to be if it was recorded with the plat. Barnhart replied yes, perhaps 10 feet closer. McCutcheon noted this just shows how complicated this gets; the house of Lot 4 is fighting the tributary and these lots are so long, it is kind of a shame if they are stuffed up to the street. He said when they build a house on Lot 5, will they come to the Planning Commission and say "hey, this is kind of a small space." Barnhart said they might, but thinks they are marginally different than what was originally anticipated. He noted anyone could come forward with a variance but the practical difficulty is a little harder to prove in those situations. Based on the facts in looking at this one, the tributary is unique and they do not see a lot of those in a side yard situation. McCutcheon also mentioned the depth of the lot requires a relatively limited portion of the lot for development. Brad Barinsky, the owner of 1825 Lakeside Trail, approached the podium. He said Barnhart did a good job explaining the situation and some of the history and he thinks some may have been on the Planning Commission for the Willow Bay development approval. He is here for any questions and said regarding Bollis' questions about Lot 5 or 1875 Lakeside Trail, they do have a survey that also shows that lot now is unbuildable without an ALS variance. Approval of Mr. Barinsky's house position would make the code work for that lot as the line could be drawn directly across the property. It would be the same if a house was on another lot (noted on screen), the line could be drawn across Mr. Barinsky's property connecting it to 770 and he would not be before the Planning Commission this evening. He noted there are a lot of moving parts, it is a really beautiful property and when he bought it he knew that was the area he would have to build the house in. He was not anticipating going any closer to the lake but just tried to readjust Page 11 of 38