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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 15 of 19 <br /> <br />issues to deal with. There can be one house at the location but it is human nature to develop as much as <br />possible. He noted this is ½ acre, which is the smallest zoning. <br /> <br />Mr. Puzak stated the seven lots total over an acre of land. <br /> <br />Walsh stated that people have to be able to get to it. <br /> <br />Mr. Puzak said they are providing a 20 -foot fire lane with 18 feet of pavement which exceeds the width of <br />the current Baldur Point Road. He noted the last third of the road narrows to less than 12 feet. <br /> <br />Walsh said the City is obviously not going to create even worse problems down the road. The Council has <br />been flexible on the road part, but even though there may be an acre of land, there still has to be a road <br />and that is the issue. <br /> <br />Mr. Puzak stated Mr. Gronberg considered that in his calculations and designed the building sites to <br />contain ⅔ of the required ½ acre to meet the 66% for lot combinations pursuant to Rule 78. He said <br />Mr. Gronberg did a good job of delineating two nice building sites that are well-spaced. This is not <br />packing homes in a tight area where they are 15 feet apart from each other. <br /> <br />Walsh noted that the problem is that it still gets to be more dense than what it is programmed to be. That <br />is an issue that Orono has been pretty tough on. He said the previous applications showed that the City <br />does not approve something that will make it more non-conforming and the proposal would create non- <br />conforming lots. <br /> <br />Mr. Puzak said they meet the 66% rule and they eliminate the current non-conforming structure and <br />provide the City with a much-wanted cul-de-sac. That is why he is asking the Council to consider the <br />merits and the positive aspects of what it provides. He noted the lots are 50% larger than the one building <br />site on Baldur Park Road. <br /> <br />Walsh stated it is not a hardship or a practical difficulty to approve a non-conforming lot because other <br />lots are smaller. <br /> <br />Mr. Puzak said they exceed by 50% the other building sites. <br />Walsh said he can go to Crystal Bay where someone has a three-acre site and everybody else has quarter <br />acres. The owner of the three acres would say that, to be in conformance, she could have nine ⅓-acre or <br />twelve ¼-acre sites; but it is still a two-acre zone. They are stuck with two-acre zones. He noted density is <br />a big issue in Orono. <br /> <br />Mr. Puzak said he understands the two-acre zoning, but in this case, they are dealing with lot <br />combinations, not subdivisions, and there are specific rules and regulations regarding lot combinations. <br />They tried to create the proposal in conformance with the regulations. <br /> <br />Walsh stated he is not sure how that refers to forcing the Council to approve a non-conforming lot versus <br />the Council saying if he wanted to make one house there, he’d be fine. <br /> <br />An unidentified individual said it conforms to the 66%. <br /> <br />Walsh said he is not sure what that exactly means.