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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION <br />January 17, 2023 <br />6:00 o'clock p.m. <br />Libby said the complication is that there is some precedent by the fact that the house had been used as a <br />dwelling, so that does set somewhat of a standard. On the other hand, the lot is short a quarter acre to <br />conform to the new ordinance. I don't see a remedy for that. He asked if there are other lots in close <br />proximity that would give guidance on the situation. <br />Curtis said prior to the ADU regulation being adopted the code requirement for a guesthouse use was the <br />property had to meet twice the minimum acreage of the district. On Casco the minimum requirement is <br />half an acre. So, anywhere on Casco where there was a property with one acre, they would have been <br />eligible to have a guest house. Although we do have smaller lots throughout the city, a non -conforming <br />lot won't meet that ADU standard. <br />Libby said in the reordering of our comprehensive plan, because the City was seeing more frequency of <br />accessory dwelling units, there had to be some changes made that made more sense. I have a difficult time <br />supporting this because it still has a few too many elements of not being conforming. We're not here to <br />redesign or replat. I just still have difficulty supporting this. <br />Ressler said he thinks the staff has done a good job in laying out the issues. He said he would not support <br />a variance for an ADU that doesn't conform to the new ordinance. But he said there is a second paragraph <br />which may offer a solution and that is the Oares are permitted to maintain the Swenson house as an <br />accessory building with full plumbing facilities. So as the building is currently a fully appointed home, <br />perhaps that does point the way to some sort of pathway. I certainly do appreciate the fact that this was <br />some time ago, this was three different owners, and now it's just two different owners, and that's certainly <br />a step in the right direction. And so if there's something that can be done, to get them to the next step, that <br />would be fine with me. <br />Erickson said he is conflicted on this because he's all for cleaning up weird things on the lakeshore. The <br />hard part is the application is for is there an accessory dwelling unit and that clearly does not meet what is <br />needed to grant that. Even if we combined the Swenson and Oare lots together, we don't quite get to one <br />acre. I can understand staff's recommendations, because it doesn't meet the requirements that have just <br />been revisited and revised. <br />McCutcheon said the hard part of the job is we have to draw a line. And when we have a line, we've got <br />to stick the line in this one, I think, with this ordinance, since it's new. Maybe in a year's time our opinion <br />changes as the public gives us their feedback. But since this is the first one out of the gate, I think we're <br />going to have a hard line here. <br />Ressler moved, Libby seconded, to deny LA22-000065 as applied. VOTE: Ayes: 4, Nays 0. <br />2. LA22-000066 STEVE ISCHE, 3365 CRYSTAL BAY ROAD, REQUESTS <br />VARIANCES FOR AVERAGE LAKESHORE SETBACK, HARDCOVER AND <br />THE 75 -FOOT LAKE SETBACK FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A DECK. <br />City Planner Nye gave a presentation on the item, stating the applicant is proposing to construct a new <br />deck and stairs on the property which will replace the current deck awning and stairs that are in disrepair. <br />Page 3 of 13 <br />