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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 6 of 19 <br /> <br />Johnson asked Staff to explain the request for additional feedback from the Planning Commission. <br /> <br />Curtis stated the Applicant requested the item be brought back before the Planning Commission to get <br />additional comment. <br /> <br />Walsh clarified the Applicant wants another Planning Commission meeting which, unless the Council <br />agrees to, Staff cannot allow. He said the City Council can make the decision; or if there are issues, they <br />can send it back to the Planning Commission for more feedback. <br /> <br />Johnson stated he did not know if he had been in a situation where someone asked to go back to the <br />Planning Commission so he was not sure about it. <br /> <br />Mr. Jay Nygard, 1386 Rest Point Road, Orono, asked if there were any Council Members who would like <br />to recuse themselves from the discussion. After there was no response, he asked which members attended <br />the ethics training from the League of Minnesota Cities when they were first elected. <br /> <br />Walsh indicated he did so. <br /> <br />Mr. Nygard stated that contradicted testimony in a transcript where Walsh said he did not. <br /> <br />Walsh indicated that was not true. <br /> <br />Mr. Nygard said he has the transcript. He asked if any Council Members looked at the property to see the <br />stakes and what he is talking about. <br /> <br />Crosby stated he did not have the opportunity. <br /> <br />Mr. Nygard said it wa s a little frustrating that nobody came to look at it. He read in an ordinance that <br />when something like this happens, lot area and lot width are issues that would be moot. There are two <br />issues: hardcover and side yard setback. The reason he requested to go back in front of the Planning <br />Commission was because it was a virtual meeting, and he was raising his hand several times trying to get <br />attention and did not feel like he had a fair opportunity to interact and get feedback. He was denied that <br />opportunity a nd now is in front of the Council. He is not changing the character of the neighborhood; he <br />is not asking for any structures or any increases. He is asking for help to solve a long-standing problem <br />for himself and the City. His goal is to solve problems and make the neighborhood better. There is no <br />financial incentive; if he moves property from one side to the other, it increases or decreases equally. <br />When he bought the property at 1380, there were several problems and several illegal structures. One of <br />them the City voted on when they found out about it after the fact and allowed it to exist, which was a <br />driveway turnaround with a retaining wall and sidewalk. There was also an illegal fence that had been <br />there for years that the City acknowledged was illegal yet never did anything about. The biggest thing <br />about getting rid of the fence is that it was truly decrepit -- full of mold, falling over -- and it needed to <br />go. By removing it, he got rid of 270 feet of hardcover on the lot. He heard that hardcover is not a part of <br />this, but it is. All the projects he is doing on the property go together; they are not individual. He asked if <br />Staff had the most recent survey he submitted with his adjustments. <br /> <br />Curtis indicated they did, and the survey was displayed on the monitor. <br />