11-20-2023 Planning Commission Packet

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION October 16, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 7 of 11 City Planner Curtis explained that in June the property owner submitted a building permit application to rebuild an existing 16’ x 24’ deck, in-kind. During the construction the City’s building inspector noted discrepancies between the previous deck and the deck under construction. The new deck had been elevated from the existing approximately 7-8 inches, so that the deck was even with the door threshold eliminating a step down from the home to increase safety. This small deck height increase within the ALS and side yard setback is considered to be an expansion of the volume of the deck within the setback. The previous deck did not have a guard rail. The newly reconstructed deck requires a guard rail following MN State Building Code Guidelines. The new railings would be an expansion of the existing deck within the ALS. The stair on the north side of the deck was reoriented. The previous stairs were set into the deck at the northeast corner and joined a set of stairs which were set into the grade. Due to the height increase the existing stair configuration would not be able to meet building code requirements. To address this the owner turned the stair 90 degrees toward the lake and widened the treads by 1 foot, 4 inches. A second staircase against the home on the south side of the deck was eliminated and the deck was constructed to abut the home. The owner has filed two separate applications, each requiring a public hearing. The first is an appeal of the staff interpretation of the deck stair within the average lakeshore setback (ALS); and the second is an after-the-fact (ATF) approval of an average lakeshore setback and side yard setback variance for the expansion of a reconstructed deck within the setbacks. Staff recommends the Planning Commission uphold the staff. The owner asserts that 78-1279(6) permits all stairs within the average lakeshore setback. Staff position is that because the stair in question is an integral part of the deck connected to the home, and not a stair to access the lake or a dock, it is not permitted within the average lakeshore setback. Bollis restated the facts of the application for verification. He said the first public hearing would be on the appeal process. Tripp Snyder, 1513 Bay Ridge Road, the applicant, said they have owned the house since 2007. His appeal on the staff’s interpretation is a reading of the code, which he quoted to the Commission. Staff interprets this section as applying only to stairs go down to a dock. He said the code in his opinion excludes deck stairs. Chair Bollis opened the public hearing on the code appeal at 7:41 p.m. p.m. There were no public comments. Chair Bollis closed the public hearing at 7:41 p.m. Bolllis said traditionally in this section of code stairways attached to decks have been park of the principal structure but he tends to agree code was written to exempt stairways from the average lakeshore setback. If that is the case, they need to clarify but have no way of knowing what the original intent was. He said he intends to agree with the applicant. Ressler said he agrees the language needs to be cleaned up but he agrees with the staff interpretation of it. Libby said there have been many situations where they have applied this code and he cannot agree with the applicants. He supports the Commission’s previous decisions which have been upheld by the City Council. He said they have been consistent in advising the City Council on that. Ressler said he was prepared to deny the appeal and move on to the application.