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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, July 13, 2020 <br />6:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 10 of 19 <br /> <br /> <br />Johnson said he saw the yellow in the photo but thought that was relevant to height. <br /> <br />Barnhart clarified that was for new segments. <br /> <br />Crosby asked if there was a picture of what was originally approved. <br />Barnhart, after the survey was displayed, indicated the survey was also in the packet on page 16. <br /> <br />Seals stated it looks reasonable but it is annoying that the owner created this and feels like they have the <br />only challenging property in Orono, and that the City Council comes upon a lot of challenging properties. <br /> <br />Barnhart indicated the survey shown was the original approval for the stairs. <br />Several Council Members commented that the new segment does not look that much different than the <br />original proposal but that, instead of coming straight up, they went at an angle. <br /> <br />Walsh noted the owners need to get down to the lake. The Council approved a way to get down to the <br />lake. The owner changed the direction of part of the retaining wall. He asked what the real difference is <br />that the City is getting upset about. <br /> <br />Barnhart said when the Council approved the variance, they approved the plan on pages 16-17. What the <br />owners have since done is different. The way Staff writes the resolution is that the Council is saying they <br />approve a particular plan. If there is a modification, that is something the Council should approve. The <br />stairs is a change, it is approvable, and once the permit is received, he will approve the changes. He does <br />not see a huge issue other than the annoyance factor. The findings the Council made when the original <br />approval was done still hold, and t hat is why he can support the modification to the plan. <br /> <br />Walsh noted you need the most reasonably direct distance down. Because they are coming from the side, <br />cutting sideways into the hill and coming down, they are going to have different boulder wall issues <br />because they are cutting into the hill very differently. <br /> <br />Johnson asked if the new plan increased hardcover. <br /> <br />Barnhart said they have gotten revised hardcover calculations for this and the other projects the owner is <br />proposing, and they are within the 25%. <br /> <br />Crosby stated if it is something that the Council would have approved anyway, the Council will approve <br />it. <br /> <br />Walsh added the Council is not happy to be approving finished construction, basically. <br /> <br />Crosby said the City should draw a hard line in the sand so the owner knows if they come to the City for <br />something after the fact, even if the Council would have approved it, it’s not going to be approved. <br /> <br />Walsh brought up the boathouse which the Council made the owner deconstruct and said the stairway is <br />different because, although they changed the angle, they are still allowed the most reasonable access to <br />get down. The owner should have said something upfront. He stated this has been done multiple times. <br /> <br />Johnson asked Staff if he told the owner to stop construction.