02-24-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, February 10, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 4 of 15 14. LA19-000101 – AL AZAD, 200 BEDERWOOD DRIVE, LOT AREA VARIANCE Staff presented a summary of packet information. Crosby asked Staff to indicate the location of the lot; Staff indicated the lot locations and proposed driveway easement. Walsh asked whether the proposed driveway easement meets all the setbacks. Oakden said the easement would have a six-foot setback from the neighboring property line, it would be a 12-foot driveway, and there would be six feet of space before the easement would end. The City has a minimum five-foot driveway setback. Mr. Al Azad, 200 Bederwood Drive, Orono, said the lot is more than two acres and they have been working to create an access. There is no other lot access and the beautiful lot is sitting empty. Walsh stated he understands and, because it is a buildable lot, the owner has a right to have access to it. It's just a matter of how, where, and when. Mr. Azad said the property owners to the south have lived there over 30 years, the Azads have lived there since 1998, and there has never been an issue with the service line. If they prepare an easement, he would be glad to give them access to the pipe as long as it is only access for the pipe. Mr. Jeff and Ms. Renee Mueller, 222 Bederwood Drive. Mr. Mueller does not have a problem with a driveway going to the property. His concern is, it is going to go over his sewer line which goes to the main trunk. The sewer line was put in years ago, and he does not think the line was made to have a driveway over it with heavy equipment driving on it. It is not a sewer line underneath a road; it is through a lot to a trunk line. He referenced a comment made that the pipe is at least ten feet under the ground. He doubts that, because when the line was put in, there was a hill and the line is behind it, which is why the houses are fed from behind. The main trunk is 22 feet in the ground, and he does not think they went another ten feet to have the line from his house down another ten feet. When the sewer trunk was put in, there was already an access to that lot with a concrete culvert and a driveway, and Orono should have that as an as-built. It was not his choice to put the sewer line there, but he would like some kind of guarantee that it is not his responsibility to dig up the driveway if there are damages. Walsh stated that is a different legal issue. Mr. Mueller said Orono created the issue. Ms. Mueller said they asked at the Planning Commission meeting if the City usually put a sewer connection on someone else's property, and they said no. Walsh noted there was a lot of weird stuff in Orono and this is not the only circumstance. Mr. Mueller said they sat in a lot of meetings when the sewer was put in and it was the City's decision to do that. If a house is built on the lot, there is going to be all kinds of construction equipment driving over the sewer line. If it gets ruined, he is not fixing it and paying for their driveway. Walsh stated it is pretty clear that if someone damages something directly, there is an obvious claim to understand who is going to take care of it.