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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION <br /> • Tuesday,March 15,2021 <br /> 6:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> 8. LA20-000047 CITY OF ORONO TEXT AMENDMENT RELATED TO BOAT STORAGE <br /> (STAFF: JEREMY BARNHART) <br /> Staff presented a summary packet of information. The City Attorney has identified challenges to the <br /> enforcement of the regulations related to boat and boat trailer storage, in particular the section of the code <br /> that deals with inoperable boats and the duration that those are stored on the property. Staff and the City <br /> Council have been discussing this over the last 6 months or so to come up with a solution to address the <br /> issue of enforceability of the boat storage regulations. It quickly snowballed into whether they should really <br /> look at everything. The Council, in the direction of the Staff, primarily focused on the boat and trailer <br /> storage, to identify other glaring issues that need to be addressed, but also look at an ordinance with the <br /> goal of keeping it simple,making it easy to understand so the residents and constituents can have confidence <br /> in what the ordinance says and know they are satisfying that ordinance which is always a goal. Staff has <br /> put together a draft ordinance,he provided the Commission with the entire text of that chapter for context <br /> as it includes a lot of storage in the residential area. In the draft ordinance they are just proposing some <br /> changes related to boat storage. Barnhart showed the section of the code that deals with the exterior zoning <br /> and the residential zoning districts and includes vehicle storage regulations and other things. Primarily they <br /> wanted to focus on storage of boats and boat trailers. Staff is recommending some changes that address the <br /> City Attorney's goals in terms of keeping it enforceable, removing or suggesting the removal of the <br /> requirement that it be operable conditions for the reason that it is hard to prove that, and certainly for a <br /> period of more than two years. Staff said as long as the boat is currently licensed to the owner or occupant <br /> • of the property, that is what the focus is. One is allowed to store a boat on their property as long as it is <br /> licensed. Staff also recommended removing the recommended maximum length provisions;currently City <br /> code says as long as the boat is less than 30 feet in length, one is allowed to store it on their property. The <br /> question is where is that 30 feet measured—on the trailer or the boat specifically? He noted the argument <br /> is they are a lakeshore community,people are going to have boats,and it seems reasonable that people will <br /> want to store them on their property. If they are licensed,that is the primary goal there. The discussion for <br /> the Commission is whether they have any guidance for the Council as to where it is appropriate within <br /> one's lot to store a boat. The way it is drafted here is that boats and occupied trailers may be stored in any <br /> yard except for the lake yard provided that a 5 feet setback is provided. Barnhart said this is written that <br /> one can store it in the rear yard, side yard, front yard,but if there is a lake yard on the property the 0-75, <br /> that one is not permitted to store the boat there. Obviously, that would not apply to storing it in the water <br /> as the City's jurisdiction ends at the water's edge there. He welcomes feedback to take to the City Council. <br /> He noted they also took out the dispute resolution as it seems to be a dicey situation for Staff to resolve <br /> disputes in this manner, so Staff suggests removing it. <br /> Bollis is thinking about kayaks, paddle boards and things that are registered boats and watercraft that are <br /> commonly stored at the lake yard. <br /> Barnhart noted some cities have identified what watercraft is, it is not just something that will float but <br /> meets certain requirements. It is certainly something they can look at as an issue and he thinks that is a <br /> good comment. He stated some of his earlier drafts had a definition of what watercraft is and he thinks it <br /> is probably appropriate. Bollis is right, there are a number of kayaks, canoes, paddle boards that people <br /> pull up on the shore and it seems a logical location to store those. <br /> Bollis is curious as to how that would affect anybody that has a shore slide for a small fishing boat or jet- <br /> . <br /> ski. If the jurisdiction ends at the water line,things that are traditionally on a shore slide instead of a dock. <br /> He thinks there might be a conflict on those. Otherwise,he thinks the changes look pretty good. <br /> Page 1 of 5 <br />