07-12-2021 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, June 21, 2021 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Ms. Struck asked if most of the lots are smaller as hers was. Curtis replied yes. Ms. Struck asked if the average is one acre. Curtis noted it is required to be a half an acre. Ms. Struck thinks it is common for lots to be under if that is cited as a hardship. If one turns on this street, none of these houses are on the lake and it is kind of quaint, not super crowded, and she asked to understand how far back the new house would be from the street. Curtis does not know exactly from the street, but the setback required is shown in the dotted grey on screen. The setback required is 30 feet from the property line. Ms. Struck asked if this is consistent with other setbacks in the neighborhood. Curtis replied they are varied and the Applicant is not asking for any variances to any setback or any other development standard other than to address the small lot size. Ms. Struck sees two trees and knows some trees would have to come down. She asked if that is true. Curtis noted there is a possibility they could save those trees, although she does not know whose trees they are along the lot line. Ms. Struck is concerned about the tree. Curtis encouraged Ms. Struck to work with the builder and identify where that tree is with respect to the property line. Ms. Struck’s overall comment is that it is a very wide house within a vertical space. She noted this house was flipped and she called the City when they were building their house to let them know the house next door was being worked on and she did not see any permits. When she hears things like undisclosed water damage, she thinks a lot of things were not disclosed on this house. Someone bought the house without knowing, perhaps it passed inspection, and she is not surprised it is in bad shape and it is really too bad. It pains her to see a bigger house put on this lot and although she cannot do anything about it, she hopes her tree does not die. Curtis clarified the Applicant is proposing to meet all the other standards as far as house footprint, hardcover, and the setbacks are concerned. Ms. Struck noted it is close to her property on the side and while they are up it goes down. The street is being redone this year and she noted a pond in her front yard. Curtis stated if Ms. Struck has general drainage concerns she should reach out to the City Staff.