06-09-2003 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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#03-2896 669 North Femdale Road Page 3 of 4 Lot Area Variance The City has consistently ruled that the language “All regular lot requirements shall be met by the guest house" means that the lot area must be 200% of the zoning district standard area; i.e. for the 2-acrc zone the lot area must be 4 acres. Staff believes this requirement is in place to mitigate the impacts of a second dwelling unit on a property, such as the additional human activity, more vehicles coming/going/parked on the site, the potential decrease of open space in the neighborhocd, and other related neighborhood impacts. In reviewing the long-term impacts of guest houses, in the past the City has required that the guest house be located with the ability to subdivide it off from the main house in a conforming manner. The applicant's old house is about 35' from the new house, hence the property could not be subdivided to allow both houses a 30 ’ side setback; furthermore, the lot is only 2.3 acres, so no subdivision is feasible. Issues for Consideration 1.Does Planning Commission have any issues with the concept of a temporary guest house CUP? The City has not to staffs knowledge approved a temporary guest house in the past, possibly because there has not previously been a request like this... 2.Is there sufficient hardship or justification for the lot area variance associated with the guest house CUP? Should insufficient lot area be a reason to deny the temporary CUP, or is it a non-issue for the .datively short period of time requested? 3.While the City has a long-term ‘tickler file' system to advise staff when certain actions are required, it would be important that any approval be conditioned on an agreement w ith the applicant that imposes disincentives to continuing the use past the temporary approval period. Staff has not determined what such conditions might be, but it would seem appropriate to make this approval as ‘self-policing’ as possible... 4.If at the end of the 24 month period the owner w ishes to a) continue the Guest House use for an extended period, or b) keep the old house in its current location as a non-dwelling accessory structure with or without plumbing, are these possibilities that should be addressed now? 5.The old house appears on a list obtained from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) of older, potentially historically significant (but not protected) buildings within the City of Orono. City records indicate the old house was constructed in 1914 or earlier. Orono has no historic preserx ’ation ordinance that would prohibit the removal of this building; howe\ er, its relocation to some other site in the future might be contemplated by the property owner as an option to its ultimate demolition... I J