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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION <br />Monday, September 19, 2022 <br />6:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 4 of 9 <br /> <br />against his house and was told by the Planning Commission that he should come back when his plan <br />included getting hardcover down to 25%. <br /> <br />Wes Byrne, 2817 Casco Point Road, is on the east side of the property. He noted the extra hardcover is a <br />concern as has already been brought up with respect to extra stormwater and the danger to the bluff in <br />having another landslide there. With the contours of the land, the water moves towards Mr. Byrne’s <br />property and will end up going down into the stairs that go down to his lakeshore. He has retaining walls <br />helping but he is not really pleased at that potential. The plan is to remove the landscape border between <br />properties which is acting as a retaining wall and preventing water from that corner from going directly <br />down to his property and the hillside. This is his primary concern. <br /> <br />Carol Price, 2813 Casco Point Road, is on the east side, and spoke about the topology of the area noting <br />there is a high west side and all of the land slopes eastward and downward. Every subsequent property <br />has a decrease in elevation, so neighbors affect every other neighbor. They are also on a bluff and they <br />must protect the bluff. The hardcover limit is extremely important as they are fighting all the time to limit <br />the water that is going down the bluff and going sideways across neighbors. The wooden timbers are part <br />of controlling that water. She noted her lot is generally five feet higher than the existing home at 2815 <br />Casco Point Road. Ms. Price stated the proposed deck is very large and would definitely obscure the view <br />of the lake from her property; this would also affect property value. She thinks the patio/deck needs to be <br />appropriate for the lot. The change from a hip roof to a gable roof will significantly affect the drainage on <br />each side of the property. Ms. Price’s property is very close, the gable roof will overhang, there are no <br />gutters listed, or accounting for any drainage. They want to take away the wood timbers to the side and <br />she noted her property is bumping up against those wood timbers. Any drainage would exacerbate that <br />problem of her property falling into the Applicant’s. She spoke about the garage noting it would now be a <br />massive structure that would impede sunlight, airflow, and drainage. She commends the new homeowner <br />for trying to build on the existing footprint, but would request that they meet the existing footprint and not <br />add any more hardcover, add more to the overhangs, or the massive structure. <br /> <br />Chair McCutcheon closed the public hearing at 6:53 p.m. <br /> <br />Kirchner believes they failed to identify practical difficulties. Regarding the sideyard setback, he does not <br />see practical difficulty for the roof, for the ALS and not having another place to put a deck is also not a <br />practical difficulty, and regarding hardcover he does not see a practical difficulty established to go over <br />on hardcover allowance. He would vote denial on all variance requests. <br /> <br />Ressler echoed Mr. Kirchner’s remarks. He added the Commissioners want to make things work for <br />homeowners but find themselves in a situation where they must meet the guidelines, rules, and <br />regulations in place for the City. They have made amendments to those rules and regulations to be more <br />favorable for applications such as these than in the last 40 years. If they do not change the rules, one must <br />provide proper practical difficulty for going outside those rules or they open up a can of worms with <br />precedence. Ressler does not think practical difficulties have been met but that does not mean they are not <br />reasonable, they just do not meet the City’s guidelines. The Commissioners must abide by the rules that <br />are in place right now. Ms. Saiki made a good point regarding water and drainage, and he is sure anyone <br />involved in these plans will have to sign off on any drainage plans to make sure it meets the requirements. <br />Ressler would also not recommend as applied. <br /> <br />Peterson noted one person spoke positively and everyone else, including Staff spoke negatively. He <br />agrees with denial.