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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION <br />Tuesday, February 16, 2021 <br />6:00 o'clock p.m. <br />Ressler asked if this creates an opportunity to provide a roadway that makes it a little more accessible <br />where there might be some street parking for people who actually go visit the Community Garden ... he <br />said it is an open-ended question. Is there a place they could have a water feature that could give some <br />relief to storm water. He was born and raised in Orono and he doesn't know what he has even visited the <br />Community Garden, but if there is street parking maybe it makes it a bit more approachable. He sure <br />likes this location a lot better than the last application they were trying to circumvent. Ressler agrees with <br />Bollis, he is not entirely against going directly on to Willow Drive, because of the number of units and he <br />knows any road gets busy during certain times of the day but Willow Drive certainly has a lot less traffic <br />than the other side. <br />Kirchner said specific to the zoning, he thinks they get into the weeds a bit to create their own individual <br />zoning district for this specific parcel. He thinks it would be easier to find a plan they agree with and then <br />grant the waivers for that plan as proposed rather than trying to create specifics for one parcel and zone it <br />differently. <br />Barnhart appreciates that comment, and said they have to give some guidance; when the project does not <br />fit any zoning district, what guidance can they give. He said they should find something they like and <br />create an ordinance for it. That opens them up to big problems down the road so he wants to give them <br />some guidance on what they are working towards. <br />Kirchner said that is understandable. As far as access, he agrees that there is a bit of a burden to extend <br />fire station drive to the Applicant across the City parcel. He agrees that Willow Drive is perhaps suitable, <br />although traffic engineering and study counts would need to be done. He has a bit of concern for the <br />twin -home use and asked if the driveways are 10 feet instead of 20 feet. <br />Barnhart clarified it is the setbacks. <br />Kirchner said in looking at the drawing he has some concern for turn around with the service vehicles, he <br />would imagine snow gets pushed to those two end cul-de-sacs which could cause issues for larger <br />vehicles to turn around in the winter months. <br />Barnhart stated if the Planning Commission supports access off of Willow Drive, this one cul-de-sac goes <br />away so now they would just have one at the far side. <br />Ressler asked the Planning Commission how they feel about the zoning. Do they feel the massing is the <br />right density? He has heard comment about considering a higher density that creates some opposition and <br />was addressed by Staff. He asked if anyone has a problem with the density here assuming they can meet <br />all the standards for parking requirements. <br />McCutcheon noted it is guided for urban medium and asked what that is defined as. <br />Barnhart replied it is 3-10 units/acre. <br />McCutcheon asked what this is proposed. <br />Barnhart replied 7 units/acre. His question on zoning is more related to the mechanism to provide <br />guidance for setbacks, design standards, and things like that. He asked if the Planning Commission is <br />Page 34 of 38 <br />