02-13-2023 City Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,February 13,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. Seals said she is also a big fan of cleaning things up. I appreciate moving from three to two(lots), cleaning up some of the hardcover--that's always appreciated, especially on the lake. Docks are always a sensitive issue in Orono, so one less dock is not a bad thing. I would be in support of it also. Benson asked staff to speak to their recommendation again. Curtis said when staff did the analysis and went through practical difficulty they didn't fmd that there was one based on our newly-adopted ordinance to support the request. Walsh said the practical difficulty is in respect to existing conditions and combining and merging them. Our new statute or ordinance is really geared towards new construction. We knew we'd have some existing conditions that come in front of us, and this is one of those for sure. Benson clarified that the Planning Commission's recommendation was for denial based on a similar analysis to staff's and because it would be under the required acreage for an ADU. She asked about setting a precedent. Curtis said it would probably be very difficult to find another situation such as this. It's pretty rare that someone would take a single lot of out of the mix,merging the three lots into two.It does improve the density and improves the hardcover as they have already noted. We went through the hardcover variances last year and they've agreed to remove a considerable amount of hardcover while still maintaining the necessary hardcover. In theory, I see it as a positive. But as you go through the analysis,that's where staff ended up. It doesn't conform to the acreage requirement, correct. Benson said she is just interested in weighing the options, given that it's a new ordinance(for ADUs)and understanding this is not a typical scenario,but also understanding the importance of precedents, and given that it is a new ordinance,being mindful of respecting that. Curtis said Staff does find that this is an extremely unique situation. So if you are focusing on precedents, I think for the next applicant to come through with something that's compelling enough for an approval,I think would be difficult. Benson asked if that's the case, why did staff recommend to deny? Curtis said because it's a newly-adopted ordinance. Seals said most often applicants are asking to split lots. That's a very typical request. So to me, going from three to two is a benefit to the lake and density. I know it's a little early in our ADU process so I appreciate staff sticking to the letter of the law. Benson asked about the hardcover reduction. Leslie Oare,the property owner, said the Swenson property was 32.5 percent hard cover. Our home is 29.6,which we got a variance for when we built it. By combining the old guesthouse back with our Page 5 of 16