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. Ressler clarified all criteria that Staff recommends as a contingency. He asked Kirchner if he could clarify that he seconds that. Kirchner said he does. VOTE: Ayes 6, Nays 1 (Ressler). Commissioner Gettman excused himself and left the Planning Commission meeting. OTHER BUSINESS 12. LA21-000015 WILLIAM STODDARD O/B/O MILLER LIVING TRUST, PID 34-118-23- 32-0002 (SE CORNER OF HIGHWAY 12 AND WILLOW DRIVE), SKETCH PLAN (STAFF: JEREMY BARNHART) Bill Stoddard, Applicant, was present. Staff presented a summary packet of information. He noted this is a sketch plan or concept review and is the first step of a residential planned unit development. The proposed project is for 12 residential units in 6 twin -home style buildings; all buildings will face south in the linear configuration as shown on screen. The use and density are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The Comp Plan does guide this property for urban medium high density which is the 3-10 units/acre range. The 2030 Comp Plan had this property as higher density with 10-20 units/acre, and the committee suggested reducing the density because it did not seem appropriate to put that much density on a relatively small piece of property with no other density around it. Access to this project is via public road that terminates at the southeast corner of the fire station lot; they are proposing a private road that connects there and feed the new private road that runs along the front of the buildings. This is one issue Staff wanted the Planning Commission to provide feedback on. Barnhart pointed out a parcel called outlot H which is a City owned property and currently houses a community garden. The City Council had expressed concern from encroaching development on that issue previously and extended the license agreement for the community garden. This proposed road will not impact the garden other than that it will be a road nearby, and will require Council authorization for an easement; they are looking for Planning Commission and City Council feedback on that issue as it impacts the development of this site. The alternative to this driveway route is a direct access onto Willow Drive. Staff has concerns from an engineering and planning perspective because a driveway here is relatively close to a bridge over the railroad and Highway 12 and there is some concern from a sight/visibility standpoint. They are trying to keep that intersection away from the bridge as much as they can and that is why Staff supports the configuration as shown. An easement will be necessary through the City property. Typically, when transitioning from a public road to a private driveway or road they look for some sort of cul-de-sac so they can prevent people from driving on the private road; they also look for feedback on that. Putting a cul-de-sac at the eastern terminus of Redinger Drive it will impact more of the City lot there and feedback would be appreciated. Barnhart said this property is 1.7 acres and is not big enough to be considered its own RPUD, so the City Council and Planning Commission would have to support waivers from the very beginning for this to be developed as an RPUD because it does not meet the 5 -acre size requirement and none of the adjacent properties are zoned RPUD so this could not be considered an extension of that. The other option is to create a zoning district for this parcel; they could create their own standards for a project of this scope on the property and Staff looks for feedback on that. The benefit of creating a new zoning district is they can create all their own standards, establish the setbacks, establish things from a regulatory standpoint. Barnhart would not recommend tailoring or adjusting the standard of an existing zoning district and rezoning it to the same RRIA, for Page 31 of 38