07-26-2021 City Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 26,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 8. LA21-000042—MOHEGAN HANSEN ARCH OB/O CBS MN PROPERTIES,LLC,2060 WAYZATA BLVD WEST,MASTER DEVELOPMENT PLAN APPROVAL,ZONE CHANGE, AND PRELIMINARY PLAT—RESOLUTION Mayor Walsh said he and Barnhart have talked to the Applicant and discussed whether the height is pre- construction height or pre-development height;he clarified because there was a development there previously which never happened,they received approvals. Then everything was graded differently after the approvals and as Mayor Walsh understands it,the developer wants to go back to what all of the old heights were based on rather than the new grading as it changes things by about 6 feet. The Applicant stated they are trying to adjust their main floor level to meet ceiling heights and by today's development standards if they were to use the original grades which were never fully finished—they have hauled all the dirt off-site—and the back of the building was cut 14 feet or better. He said they are planning on filling it in so it is not a walkout. They would like to use somewhere between the pre- development elevation which he does not think is unreasonable. Barnhart shared in looking at a proposed building,they spend a lot of time looking at the defined height of the building. He clarified there are a lot of structures in Orono that are higher than 30 feet but based on the City's definition of height are right at 30 feet or less. On attached family projects height is a critical issue,he noted the apartment building across the street and the senior housing project Stone Bay, and said the City is always bumping up against 30 feet. What the City uses to define the height of a building is to look at the existing grade before doing any work and use that grade to help establish where the house "box"can fit. He said in the past the concern was people elevating their house pad and sticking a house on top of it so they get a prominent view of the lake over the treetops. Over the years the City Council has established a definition or mechanism for figuring out height using the existing grades. In this situation the property was developed in 2006 for office condominiums/townhomes;what was a hill before was cut and created walkout lots. He clarified the Applicant would set the building into the"hill"that is no longer there. Mayor Walsh clarified the way City Code works is they must use the number of what was dug out rather than using what used to be the hill, even though that is how everything was approved back then. Printup moved,Crosby seconded,to accept the Staff recommendations amending Part F,height no higher than 30 feet above the highest adjacent grade of 1022 with the clarifying comment that the City does not go back two developments to find different grades. Barnhart would like to come back with a resolution to get the City Council's final approval. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. 7. LA21-000040—TEXT AMENDMENT RELATED TO DOCK LICENSES AND BIG ISLAND Mayor Walsh stated this has come before the Council about 3 different times and the last time they were just looking at clarifying the final language for the resolution. Jeffrey Hornig,450 Big Island,bought the property one year ago and they are very happy with the purchase. Mr.Hornig noted this just came to their attention and some pointed out it may be helpful for the City Council to have a perspective of something they may not have seen or heard yet. Mr. Hornig is Page 2 of 5