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Mayor Barbara Peterson Orono City Council Page 4 July 8.2002 efforts. Hardships created by the Stephensons cannot be the legal basis of a variance the Stephensons. (2) With respect to the Stephensons ’ assertion that they were damaged by the actions of their contractors, they should seek their remedies from those contractors. The City of Orono should not allow the Stephensons to shift their burdens to the City, the citizens of the City of Orono, or the environment. (3) Mr. Stephenson also argued that removal of the excess fill would require more truck traffic and more earth moving equipment, which will result in further disruption of their neighbors and the public roads. The Stephensons should not be allowed to continue their permit violations pennanently in order to avoid another few days of noise and traffic. If the Stephensons ’ activities correcting their work cause damage to their neighbors or the public roads, the Stephensons should answer for those damages. CONCLUSION The City Council Should Deny the Requested CUP Amendment and Variance and Should Order Strict Compliance with the Existing CUP Mr. Chalfen concurs with the recommendation of the Plaiming Commission to deny the CUP amendment and the variance and offers the following with respect to the staff recommendations: 1 . With respect to the first staff recommendation, Mr. Chalfen agrees that the City Council should deny the request for a variance that will allow the Stephensons to encroach into the wetlands. To the extent compliance with the original CUP constitutes a hardship, the Stephensons created the hardship by violating the CUP :n the first place. 2. With respect to the second staff recommendation, Mr. Chalfen agrees that the slope of the filled grade must not exceed the recommended three to one slope and that the foot of the slope must be removed from the twenty-six foot wetland setback. (a) In addition, the City Council should require that any slope along any radius extending from the Stephensons ’ pre-existing back lawn area of the house must not exceed Ihree- to-one. Thus, if the Stephensons are required, as they should be, to remove all fill extending beyond the side lot setbacks, they should be required to remove and re-grade the remaining fill as may be required to ensure that the slope extending along the edges of the permitted fill areas does not exceed the recommended slope. 22J4$62v2