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( <br />February 28, 1995 <br />Orono City Council and Planning Commission <br />SUBJECT: STATEMENT OF HARDSHIP AND LTMIQUE FINDLNGS <br />On August 15. 1994 I was turned down by the Planning Commission on an application for a <br />variance to build an addition and a garage on my property at 3685 North Shore Drive. The denial <br />was for the following reasons: <br />1. Excessive hard cover (increase in 0-75' not justified). <br />2. Does not meet DNR;s 50* minimum setback nor Orono's 75 ’ setback from lake shore. <br />3. Hardships presented do not support the magnitude of structure proposed for the site. <br />I now wish to resubmit with the following corrections made: <br />1. The proposed new deck has been eliminated and the size of the new room reduced for a <br />total savings of 504 square feet of hard cover. <br />2. Although I could not meet Orono's 75' setback because the lot is only 100* wide, I did <br />manage to meet the DNR's 50' minimum setback. <br />3. The Tax Records for this property indicate that there was a structure on this lot in <br />1914. Building Permits do not go back 81 years, nor do hard cover, setbacks and other <br />ordinances. The point I am trying to make is that if the house were here before the <br />ordinances, can't some improvements like a two car garage be grandfathered in even if <br />they don't comply with today's strict regulations? <br />There are five homes on our private road. Mine is the worst looking and the smallest. My <br />neighbors homes have ail been updated and they have two car garages on their properties. My <br />neighbors have 50 feet on the lake and 50 feet on the road. My lot is 90 feet on the lake and 162 <br />feet on the road. I have more land than my neighbors and yet I cannot make improvements. <br />I request that this body grant me what they have granted my neighbors in the past. The right to <br />build a new attached garage and to add 191 square feet on to the room that I built in 1986. I <br />want to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood by updating my property. Everyone will <br />benefit including the City of Orono. Thank you. <br />Sincerely, <br />Glenn C. Upton