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. example, as it introduces problems down the road for those existing subdivisions. He does not recommend the third option that he outlined in the memo. He provided some preliminary comment on the RPUD analysis on page 3 of the memo and mentioned the minimum size for the project is not 5 acres. The uses, multi -family residential is permitted only when consistent within areas of the City designated as urban in the Comp Plan. Regarding the project before, that property was originally guided as commercial; this property has not been guided for commercial, nor is it on Highway 12 so some of the other options are not available. The property is anticipated to be sewered but do not expect it to be designed at this stage. The floor ratio has to be above .5 and no higher than land Staff has not done the calculations as they do not have final plans but anticipate it to be less than the ratio of 1. RPUD requirements are 35 feet from the local street, 50 feet from a railroad, 35 feet from the exterior side lot lines, and parking and driving lanes are to be 20 feet from the exterior lot lines. Barnhart said this lot is very long and narrow so meeting those setbacks is somewhat challenging, therefore waivers will be necessary for any type of development of any scale. The property shows 21 feet from these buildings to the north property line and the drive is 10 feet where it is supposed to be 20 feet. The RPUD zoning district requires 10% private recreational area and none is shown on this project and that will factor in to how this project lays out and Staff will look for feedback on that. A private road is proposed along the front of the buildings and will serve each unit; the road shows a termination into a cul-de-sac, which is really just a widened area of the road and not wide enough to be considered a cul-de-sac. The Planning Commission should provide feedback on the cul-de-sac size and right-of-way width. The end of each of these is driveway and there is really no opportunity for Amazon trucks or other utilities to turn around within that private driveway. The Applicant has requested feedback on the expectation for storm water management; the preliminary plan shows 3 ponds on the property that are intended to provide for storm water management. Barnhart said the site drains to the east and to the south so it seems like a potential for a regional storm water pond on the City property. Staff's expectation of storm water management is that it would occur all on-site, but look for feedback as requested by the Applicant. The developer has provided elevation of potential buildings which suggests two-story buildings with residential -style pitched roofs. The Planning Commission is asked to provide feedback regarding expected design styles. Barnhart said this is kind of an early stage of an RPUD project and normally they will review a project 2- 3 times before something really sticks in terms of a proposal so they really understand the Planning Commission and City Council's goals for that property. This is the first application Barnhart is aware of for this property since 2012 which was a high-density subsidized project which the Council did not support. Barnhart is anxious to hear the Planning Commission's feedback on the zoning, the access, the storm water management, the use of the property, and the design standards. The Planning Commission can either provide the Applicant the feedback and invite him to move forward to the City Council, or ask him to address those comments in a new plan that the Planning Commission would review at a sketch plan level. MCCutcheon asked the current zoning. Barnhart replied RR1B which is the 2 -acre zone. MCCutcheon asked what it is guided for. Barnhart noted urban medium density, which is 3-10 units/acre. A change to the zoning must occur to be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. MCCutcheon asked for the history on the high density and what the complaint was. When he looks at it, it is right against the highway, why wouldn't they consider a high-density apartment building in this spot. Page 32 of 38