03-08-2021 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION Tuesday, February 16, 2021 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 1 of 2 6. LA21-000008 BRAD BARINSKY, 1825 LAKESIDE TRAIL, VARIANCE (STAFF: JEREMY BARNHART) Brad Barinsky, Applicant, was present. Staff presented a summary packet of information. Barnhart said this property was platted in 2019 and during the process there was some discussion at the Planning Commission and City Council level to establish a new average lakeshore setback (ALS) line which they had done in the past when subdividing lakeshore property. The reason why they often do that is to preserve or protect the views of the neighboring properties; they do not know when the lakeshore lots of the new development would be platted so they identify a new ALS so that both the neighboring property owner and the sellers of the lots can have some understanding and some comfort of where the houses may be located. He said there was some discussion at the time of the preliminary plat for this project but that was never codified into the development agreement or into the resolution for the final plan. Technically, there is no “new” ALS; therefore, the ALS for this lot is the distance that the neighboring lot 770 Brown Road North is from the lake which is 343 feet. Per code, this is the ALS line and Barnhart has noted it as line A in the Staff Report and on this exhibit. The Applicant has designed the home based on his understanding of Line B, which was the “new” ALS identified during the preliminary plat which is based on 770 Brown Road North and 1925 Lakeside Trail to the south and west. Barnhart noted this property used to be addressed as 690 Brown Road which is the parent parcel for the subdivision. They developed the house based on Line B, but during the course of developing the plans, they recognized that the property 770 Brown Road North added a lakeside deck to their property which brought the ALS closer to the lake which is Line C. The Applicant proposed to apply his house to the new Line C. Barnhart noted onscreen a vacant parcel and the former 690 Brown Road which is now 1925 Lakeside Trail. Basically, the argument the Applicant is making: he is proposing to use this new adjusted ALS line and that can be done by variance because it is not written into the development documents. To satisfy the argument for a variance, the Applicant has noted there is a large tributary running right through the property, which was known during the project. This tributary requires a 75-foot setback, so basically his buildable pad is right here (noted on screen). Staff, in reviewing the history and the unique aspects of this parcel, does see a practical difficulty due to the tributary and its inherent setback and also the extreme distance that the neighboring lot is from the lake of 343 feet. The normal setback for a sewered property would be 75 feet off the lake, so Staff is supporting a variance request as proposed. He clarified Staff is recommending a variance so as not to encroach above or lakeward of Line C. Bollis asked how this affects Lot 5 when looking at a house to be built there. Barnhart replied assuming this house is built, he showed two points on screen and noted where Lot 5 would be. Their new ALS would be Line C. Bollis said it is approximately where it was supposed to be if it was recorded with the plat. Barnhart replied yes, perhaps 10 feet closer. McCutcheon noted this just shows how complicated this gets; the house of Lot 4 is fighting the tributary and these lots are so long, it is kind of a shame if they are stuffed up to the street. He said when they build a house on Lot 5, will they come to the Planning Commission and say “hey, this is kind of a small space.” Council Exhibit C