11-23-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, November 9, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 7 of 15 Walsh said, however, they do not know that. Mr. Storlien said they have had the discussion and it was their decision to submit it this way to see what shakes out. Walsh asked how relevant is it that the Applicant cannot make the pond bigger…is it the end of the world that the line must be where it is and asked the impact of that. Curtis replied the 15 foot buffer is a requirement for the flood plain regulations and the City has varied it in the past, particularly on Baldur Park where it is impossible to reach that bench when elevating the home. It has been a variance the City has granted in the past. This lot is just wider than those properties; it is a very low area and is impacted by the flood plain. Walsh said he could see that as a general practical difficulty. Johnson said it seems like the Applicant should know that about the pond before asking. Walsh does not know how they solve the problem to the left and right of the house. Mr. Storlien said potentially, if the ponds can get wider, they can get shorter. The issue they run into is grading from the elevation of the pond level up to the driveway becomes steeper which then causes problems for lawn maintenance. Walsh said the best thing to do may be to table this, go find the answer, and see what the palatability of doing that is. Curtis said it makes sense, and there is another jurisdiction involved with the modification to the plan and running it through their process again. She noted it is a Staff process, so it can be done quickly, but she thinks it is reasonable. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Seals, to table LA20-000022 – Randy Haapala, HNH Homes o/b/o William & Kathleen Wanner, 1095 Ferndale Rd West, Variances and CUPs. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. 21. DISCUSSION RELATED TO A POTENTIAL TEXT AMENDMENT RELATED TO RESIDENTIAL DOCK USE AND CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS Barnhart said in the course of enforcing the dock regulations as they do by complaint, Staff has learned that in this particular instance, non-resident users lived in the neighborhood nearby and were using the dock for the subject property. These residents contacted the Mayor, who seemed to recall some history with an exception discussion. Staff looked in to the history and in 2011-2012, the City Council looked at the regulations as they applied to dock usage and ultimately they landed on current code/regulation. Does the Council want to entertain the change to the code and if so, is there anything particular they would like to see and then can come back and go through the process to make those changes. Walsh said the discussion is not unknown people coming and renting docks, as the City does not allow that; the issue now is a neighbor complaining about another neighbor, as someone across the street who is friends with someone on the water and has allowed them to put their boat there, or maybe more than one. The Council is dealing with neighbors complaining about neighbors trying to do neighborly things for