06-14-2021 City Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,June 14,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 19. LA21-000030—TOM BERGSTROM, 1509 LONG LAKE BIND,VARIANCES— Continued conforming improvement. Portions of the house that exist today were built within the previous home footprint. Johnson has the same thought as Mayor Walsh—if he was not supposed to remove that hardcover as a function of his original permit and is willing to relinquish that in exchange for that small chunk,Johnson thinks that achieves what they are trying to do in limiting within the 0-75. That is a net gain. Mayor Walsh stated that is a huge net gain and is the direction they want to keep going. Johnson would be comfortable approving this variance application while getting rid of the deck and rocks that go with it. Johnson moved,Printup seconded,to approve LA21-000030, 1509 Long Lake Blvd,variances with the removal of the existing hardcover in the 0-75 with the surrounding rock and deck in exchange for allowing the new encroachment into the 75 foot setback. 20. LA21-000032—AL AZAD, 165 BEDERWOOD DR.,VARIANCES Curtis presented a summary packet of information to the Council and said the Applicant is requesting variances related to lot area, lot width,and front and rear setback in order to redevelop the property with a new single family home. In May,the Planning Commission held a public hearing.Following the public hearing the Planning Commission voted 7-0 to deny the variances.The Commission contemplated different orientations for the home with respect to the setbacks,but the Applicant chose to proceed as proposed.Planning Staff does not support the variance for front and rear yard setbacks as supporting practical difficulties have not been clearly identified. Council should consider directing Staff to draft a resolution reflecting their decision. Mayor Walsh asked to explain the moving pieces on this application. Curtis noted this lot previously had front(defined as east)and rear(defined as the west lot line)which is an awkward configuration because there is no technical road frontage. Bederwood Drive is not a platted roadway and it ends within the Luce Line property.There is a detached garage shown up and possibly over the property line. Johnson said the purposes of the setbacks of a house by ordinance are ultimately for conformity with the neighborhoods,etcetera. Curtis replied that is correct and is why the front is oriented towards the road as the neighbor's house is. Johnson noted this is such a bizarre circumstance. When he looked at it,he was pretty comfortable with the design because it is by itself around the corner and set back in there.As the Planning Commission talked about,what is actually the"front"is really arbitrary because there is a secret little road going on the Luce Line property and into that property. He did not see a problem with what they are doing as long as they are fine on hardcover,etcetera.He likes the fact that they are getting rid of the garage that was Page 7 of 13