07-08-1991 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD JUNE 24, 1991 (#8)HARDCOVER REVIEW CONTINUED that the approval was of a conceptual nature and more detailed standards would be discussed. She indicated that she would like to have more definitive standards incorporated into the Ordinance Amendment, and suggested referring the issue to the Planning Commission. Butler stated that Council may wish to prohibit use of the non-woven fabric within the 0-75 foot setback area. Mayor Peterson stated that she, too, was of the understanding that some restrictions would be incorporated into the Ordinance Amendment. She added that she had not intended to allow the use of the non-woven fabric within the 0-75 foot setback area. Callahan, who had voted against the motion to allow the use of non-woven fabric, indicated that his understanding of Council's action was that non-woven, geotechmc fabric, would not oe considered as hardcover. Jabbour suggested assigning a certain percentage for which non-v;oven fabric would be considered as hardcover. He said, "If we assign as certain factor to the non-woven fabric, we can more easily control the extent of its use. If it is considered as even a fraction of a percent of hardcover, it cannot be used in the 0-75 foot setback area at all, as we do not allow anything there." He asked Gaffron to comment on his proposal. Gaffron indicated that he would prefer that a hardcover factor not be assigned to the non-woven as it would further complicate an already complex calculation, that from experience seems often impossible for anyone but City Staff to do correctly. He said, "If it is Council’s wish to have nothing but trees, shrubs, and grass within the 0-75 foot setback area, then that should be stated, though there will be numerous Variance requests." Mabusth noted that geotechnic fabric has been used as a method of stabilization for steep, eroding banks along the shoreline. Callahan stated that for the most part, the requests that have come before Council involving landscaping plastic has had to do with its removal as a trade-off for the addition of hardcover elsewhere on that property.He said, "I do not recall an instance where someone has requested a Variance to install landscaping plastic. It may be appropriate to establish a policy stating that non-woven fabric cannot be used as a trade-off for other forms of hardcover. It was the consensus of the Council that this issue shouJd