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O <br /> O O <br /> CITY of ORONO <br /> RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL <br /> L�9gESIi04��Y NO. 4 6 1 9 <br /> 6. Amendmerit of the Comprehensive Plan is warranted because while the use of <br /> the westerly portion of the property will be in keeping with the currently planned <br /> "commercial" use as established in the 1980 and 2000-2020 CMP, senior housing <br /> use of the easterly portion of the property will be more compatible with the <br /> existing adjacent single-family residential use to the immediate north than would <br /> development to high-intensity retail commercial as currently guided. Amendment <br /> of the Comprehensive Plan is also warranted because topography of the site is <br /> severe, making retail development more difficult, more costly and potentially <br /> more visually incompatible with the surrounding area due to the potential need <br /> for extensive retaining walls to accommodate expanded access and parking needs. <br /> 7. The proposed senior housing meets a number of Orono's housing goals including <br /> the provision of lifecycle housing options and provision of affordable housing. <br /> 8. The proposed development has incorporated building and road design that takes <br /> advantage of the existing topography. The senior building has been designed to <br /> fit the general topography of the land, resulting in the ability to reduce the <br /> visual impacts of the 3`d story as well as maintain a vegetated buffer to the north <br /> where existing residential homes would be most impacted by the mass of the <br /> building. Likewise, the office building has been limited to two stories, has been <br /> moved to provide more than the required rear setback, and has been oriented <br /> with the short side facing the adjacent residential neighborhood, limiting its <br /> visual impacts from neighboring properties. <br /> 9. Provision of buffers on site will decrease the visual impacts to the adjacent <br /> single family residential use. The Sugar Woods Homeowners Association owns <br /> and maintains a 40' wide platted outlot buffer strip along the perimeter of that <br /> residential subdivision and immediately adjacent to the property. While <br /> restrictions were placed on each lot within the Sugar Woods neighborhood that <br /> prohibits removal of trees greater than 2" in diameter within the rear setback for <br /> those lots located closest to the proposed development, additional screening will <br /> be needed on the property to minimize the impacts of the mass and length of <br /> the senior building as well as the proximity of parking area serving the office <br /> building. Buffers to the east, south and west of the property are less critical <br /> because the property is located on Highway 12; the properties to the east and <br /> Page 3 of 13 <br />