04-12-2004 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

The curreot toning does not •cknowledgp or deri with Another leclor is that ss the Und value increases, the new buyen demand pioportiooitelyiiwieeKpensivenewhomr .hatland.nushes Wtothe widespreiddenioliUonofegwdendever aweesingpercet^ofsll l^ore homes in Orono end the Uke MinnetonVa sitfc Many be«inful bo^ h^ boon lost to this ineviuble desire. Some beautiful and peifccUy maintained properties have even been intentionally allowed to fUl into disrepair and negiret lojustify their completB destruction and replscemenl by new housea ^ In Older Co actually enforce and cany out the cunent two acie miniiriuin« the City would have !o forbid any ro^wilding and/or repisceinoit of the overvvhelniing nuijori^ of aiiating homes in these arming areas. Only a very small handful of the cunendy enisling properties possess the required two or more acres of dry land. The City does not inrthftiUy Inleod to render the overwhelming majority of these valuable existing properties completely unbuildable and worthless to future owners. Does the City intend to prevent all new construction in these neighborhoods? This is certainly not what has actually b^ happening. Thia would lead to the g^t mijority of these csdstinS pcopeiliei being vacent and uninhabitable 8ub>sCaiidard loti cvcfy dme anything happens to the eaiatiog housea. Over enough time. neaHy all homei will luffifir fires, stomi neglect, and eventual functional ohaoleaceoce. Strict application of the two acre lot minimum would prevcal all new or reptacefneoi eooatniction on the imdority of properties in Orono and lead to totally vacant, unusable, and woithleas peoples over time. This clwly was nol the intent of the lot size minimum, hardcover, and requirements. These wore intended to protect and anhanc e the property oweet s* afqoymeot and valuer not forind and totally destroy it Specifically around Like Miniietonka. we have all witnessed m^y larger prop®ty owneis who are veiy attached to their land and veiy much wish to sell It intact undivided, only to find that much smaller adjoiniiig properties are selling for as much or more than their own larger property. Often telling much raster and more easily. Even when a seller maniges to find one of the veiy few buyecB who desire and cm afford a larger undivided acreage, the seller rarely receives the true underlying ftir value for their property. Then some later owner does subdivide that same property and obtainsa wildly higber value for the exact same property. The fact is that over time large properties usually are subdivided regardless of zoning. Someone always managea to obtain subdivision eventually. This leaves all of the previous sellers who either did not subdivide, or wet c forbidden to subdivide, ch^ed out of this very sigpificate value of their property. This is completely unfair and, in actual fiKt tod result, does not hold everyone to the same zoning requirements and enforcement as fairness and equal tieatineot demand. In addition, the current requirements were established when only individual sewer septic systems were being used by each and every property in these portions of Orono. Now these iress have instilled costly city sewer service (paid by these same property owners based on their specific lot size) to all properties, specifically to prevent the effects on the Lake and giroundwater that potential higher density would cause or worsen. Once the city sewer ^em was installed, it changed the situation dramatically and affected the justification for the imposition of these old zoning requirements. The runoff from building roofs, driveways, terraces, and similar hardcover is not the major cause of water quality problems. These surfaces do not contain or endlessly bleed major pollutants. The major problems are obviously caused by homeowfien who continuously smother their homes, lawns, and gardens with every kind of toxin, pollutant, herbicide, pesticide, and fertihzer known to mankind. One auch owner's behavior can caaily do Tar more damage to the water quality, groundwater, md area resideota than hugp aniounta of dean hardcover ever could. The amount of additionsl natural vegetative filtenng that such abusive behavior would require to mitigate is far more than any of the codes provide. There should be far leas emphasis on lot size, setbacks, md hardcover and far more emphasis on harmful owner behavior. I believe City of Orono should change the zoning requirements to allow all largar property owners to subdivide to a degree which will match the ■efuaJ surrounding properties, and in this way stop depriving the larger property owners of their true underlying property value. The City should change the zooing to prevent the oear^ univokl need to obtain multiple and extreme variances for any changes to the ovcrwhdmirg majority of all P.4