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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Monday, October 18, 2004 6:00 o'clock p.m. (#04-3042 Pillar Homes, Continued) Shennack stated he had proceeded forward with the project based on good ethics and business practices and was not infom1ed of a requirement for a conditional use pennit. Rahn stated in his view the drainage issues can be resolved by working with the City Engineer and that the visual impact needs to be considered. Leslie commented the irony of the situation is if the contractor wants to lessen the impact of the hill, more fill is needed. Kempf inquired whether public comment had been requested. Rahn indicated he did ask for public comment on this application and no one stepped forward. Shem1ack stated he has had numerous meetings with the majority of the neighbors during the various stages of the construction and that in his opinion they would be here if they were opposed to this project in any way. Shennack stated it is his understanding that the majority of the neighbors are not opposed to this project. Fritzler stated in his opinion more and more fill was added in an attempt to improve the appearance of the lot and that approval should have been obtained before the additional fill was brought in. Jurgens stated in his opinion the Planning Commission needs to address this situation and send a message to other residents that property owners are not allowed to do whatever they want on their lot without checking to see whether they need approval. Jurgens noted he is a surveyor by profession and that as part of his job he is required to verify that the requirements of the City are being met. Shermack indicated he would be willing to make a contribution to the Park Fund, but that in his opinion he was following what he was directed to do by City Staff. Shermack stated he attempted to go far beyond what was expected in order to make everyone happy and that he simply was not told about the need to obtain a conditional use pennit. Leslie moved, Kempf seconded, to recommend approval of #04-3042, Pillar Homes on behalf of Roger and Carol Rovick, 1625 Bohns Point Road, granting of an after-the-fact conditional use permit to allow 3,940 cubic yards of fill, subject to the City Engineer approving any modifications to current grade to ensure no excess or additional runoff occurs from this property to the neighboring properties. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 2, Jurgens and Fritzler opposed. Jurgens indicated he feels that contractors need to be made accountable for what they do. Fritzler stated due to the amount of excess fill that was brought in, it was not a small error and the contractor should have known that approval by the City was required. PAGE13