08-10-2015 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, August 10, 2015 7:00 o'clock pm. 7. #15-3763 CHRISTOPHER W. BOLLIS, 200-350 STUBBS BAY ROAD NORTH — PRELEMINARY PLAT (continued) McMillan stated her thought was to mitigate whatever infringes on the buffer. McMillan stated the City could waive the 10 -foot requirement that the City has, but that will still not help them. McMillan stated with a mound system, they will not really be planting buffer vegetation on there. Rusty Olson, Septic Designer, stated there are many different types of grasses that the state says can be planted in a buffer area and one of them is basically prairie grass. Olson stated that would be suitable in this scenario. Levang asked if he is amenable to speaking with the Watershed District about the buffer averaging. Bollis stated he can look into that but that he is under the understanding that they meet the septic setbacks of 50 feet for this project. Bollis stated he does not see anywhere in the Code where it says 85 feet. Gaffron noted they are speaking of the Watershed District requirements and that he will need to obtain their approval. Bollis stated to his understanding their requirements are zero and that it can be within the buffer area. Bollis indicated they are meeting state code at 0 and city code at 50. Bollis stated to his knowledge the 75 -foot buffer is for building and not septic. Bollis stated to his understanding they meet the Watershed District's requirements since they allow them in buffers. Gaffron asked if he has had discussions with the Watershed District about the plat in general from an engineering standpoint. Bollis indicated they have seen the plat. Printup stated in this view this is one of the items that can be ironed out and tweaked further down the road. Printup stated he is comfortable with that portion of the application but that he would like to learn more about what the City requires and what the Watershed requires. Printup stated he is hearing that the City does not require a 75 -foot setback and the Watershed District does not require that and so he would like to error on the side of the homeowner. Gaffron stated when the City gave up their authority relating to buffers, one of the things the City wanted to accomplish was to avoid a situation like Stone Bay where the homes are built right up to the buffer setback. The City wanted to have a 10 -foot setback to buffers for structures, wells, and septic systems. The question then becomes whether the City is really concerned about meeting a 50 -foot setback or a 75 -foot buffer for a septic system. If the Watershed District does not prohibit having septic systems in a buffer and simply requires a maintenance plan for the wetland and wetland buffer, it then becomes a question of whether the City wants to have in their code that someone needs a greater setback. Gaffron indicated he would be in favor of removing septic systems from the portion of the code that talks about a 50 -foot buffer plus ten feet. Walsh stated they do not want to get buffers and setbacks confused and that this is a buffer. Walsh noted the developer is meeting the setbacks. Page 14 of 32