03-29-2021 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, March 8, 2021 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 8 of 23 Walsh thinks every neighbor is on non-conforming lots, as well. Paul said that is correct. He looks at it from a perspective of, if it is non-conforming and the neighborhood is agreeing to it…there are other options but there are mitigating circumstances the home owner can personally speak to. Michael and Katelyn Nelson, 102 Chevy Chase Drive, clarified they currently live at 102 which is 8 houses down from 133 Chevy Chase Drive. They purchased 133 the past fall with the intentions of doing a remodel and making a forever home in Orono. They absolutely love it here and noted the other proposed option on the east side would be basically sitting on top of the neighbor’s driveway, and he knows she would not be in support of that. The other proposed location right in the middle is where the kitchen currently sits and the fridge and stove top are there; there is literally no way to enter the house right there. Mr. Nelson said they are in the design phases of a remodel and do not have unlimited funds to move everything around but have some ideas of what they would like to do. The main reason they keep coming back to this location is for the safety of their two young children. They would love to be able to sit back there and watch the kids in the backyard as they play. Their youngest daughter has a skin condition that does not allow her to be in the sun and they want her to be in an outdoor environment while her sister and hopefully future children play in the backyard. The Nelsons would love for her to be involved in that as well. Ms. Nelson said the biggest issue in putting it in the middle is that it divides the backyard which in effect creates a lot of insecurity and lack of safety because they cannot watch the entire yard from each way. She noted there was a lot of really good discussion at the Planning Commission meeting. The other piece about putting it there is it backs up in to a pretty steep hill where there is no visibility from the Country Club, which they also learned has encroached on setbacks over time. She noted it is really hidden if it were built as proposed, it goes into the back lot and provides safety so they can monitor the usage in the backyard. All of the neighbors have supported this knowing what the Nelsons are trying to do and build a forever home. Mr. Nelson said from those pictures the Council can see there is about 70 feet of woods between their house and the Country Club and would not be visible from the golf path, and there is also a hill. He noted again on the east side it would be almost on top of the neighbor’s property and he probably would not even build it there as they would not get any utility out of it by not being in the backyard and watching their children play. Printup stated this is one of those tough ones that looks, views, seems reasonable, but then the 12 neighbors that love the idea are going to be doing the same thing and asking for variances for building and the Council does not usually step into that. Walsh thinks people must know what they are buying, what the rules are, and if there are things they can do and can put in other places. He thinks Staff has come to the conclusion that it has not met the practical difficulty standard which is what the Council must follow. He appreciates all the neighbors wanting it, everyone wants things to be better in the community and they always want to see people upgrading their houses. Crosby asked what the Planning Commission’s vote was. Oakden replied it was 6 to 1 in favor of the variance.