04-22-2002 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, APRIL 8,2002 PARK COMMISSION COMMENTS—DEBORAHHALVORSON, REPRESENTA TIVE —Continued compressing the roots in a new area would damage, and probably kill the trees. Mrs. Twidwell stated they have the support of their neighbors and the Planning Commission. She asked the Council for their support as well. Sansevere asked if the trees could be viewed as a hardship. Gaffron stated that staff posed the question in order to stimulate discussion. If the Council were to approve the application, they would need to draft a resolution stating the unique nature of the case. White stated that hardcover is very hard on trees and that he knew of several people who added hardcover to their properties and lost trees as a result of it. He slated he was in favor of the application. Nygard asked if the driveway could be reduced. Mike Sherridan, the Twidwell’s builder, stated that the driveway was currently planned at 18’ wide. It would be possible to narrow it some along the south side, where the trees are. He stated a 4’ reduction would result in about a 160 s.f hardcover reduction. Julie Bom of 188S Concordia Street stated that there are hedges along her property edge, and they live on a hill reducing visibility of the road, therefore it was important the Twidwells be able to enter the street facing forward from their driveway. Gaffron stated the driveway reduction would reduce hardcover by about 1.5%. Flint stated he favored supporting the application because they were making improvements from the current house. Barrett stated they could not use two sets of rules and warned that if the application were approved, it would likely have a precedential element. Flint suggested making it clear in the resolution that they are reducing hardcover and moving the house back from the lakeshore, making it less oppressive. Barrett stated that the current plan is better and more cohesive than the current structure on the lot, and the applicants have tmly struggled to Qnd a suitable plan. Nygard stated the only way for the Twidwells to reduce hardcover was to reduce the size of the house, reduce the driveway, or move the house back on the lot. Gaffron stated that would affect the neighbors by the domino effect. Liz Hawn stated that the Plaiming Commission routinely considers a tear down the same as new construction and uses first principles when considering applications. To look at what is merely better than before leaves them open to ^proving undesirable construction. r».v>to V f ■,.'1 t’.fi. i.iAJtrirrhi'Tni