05-24-2004 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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II CITY of ORONO RESOLUTIC;'! OF THE CITY COUNCIL NO. .4006_____ A RESOLUTION ESTABLISinNG POLICY REGARDING THE HARDCOVER STATUS OF PLASTIC AND FABRIC LANDSCAPING MATERIALS and DEFINING THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN STRUCTURAL AND NON-STRUCTURAL HARDCOVER WHEREAS, the City of Orono since 1975 has regulated the use and placement of hardcover on land within 1000 feet of lake shorelines; and WHEREAS, City Ordinances define hardcover as "Any structure, blacktop, or other material which interferes to any degree with the direct absorption of rainfall into the ground"; and WHEREAS, the City Ordinances placing limitations on the use of hardcover divide the 1000-foot regulatory zone into four tiered "hardcover zones" which are commonly referred to as "the 0-75' zone", "the 75-250' zone", "tlie 250-500' zone", and "the 500-1000' zone"; and said zones are respectively allowed 0% hardcover, 25% hardcover, 30% hardcover, and 35% hardcover; and WHEREAS, the City Council has long considered that plastic sheeting and weed control fabrics (hereinafter referred to as 'plastic or fabric') shall be considered as hardcover for the purpose of administering the hardcover ordincuices, regardless of the extent to which such materials are actually permeable; and WHEREAS, the City has never issued pemiits for placement of plastic or fabric on private or public property, and all such material where it currently exists in excess of the allowed hardcover percentages on any given property, is considered as non-conforming : and WHEREAS, the City is continuously faced with requests for variances to the hardcover ordinances wherein applicants are required to provide calculations identifying the various types and square footages of hardcover within a property; and WHEREAS, hardcover variance requests are ajmmonly reviewed by the City with tire underlying intent tliat the percentage of hardcover be reduced from the pre-existing condition; and It'age 1 of 3