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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION <br />Tuesday, January 16, 2007 <br />6:00 o'clock p.m. <br />There were no public comments regarding this application. <br />Chair Rahn closed the public hearing at 8:29 p.m. <br />Sue Steinwall, Attorney-at-Law, stated cities have broad discretion in deciding whether a <br />variance is appropriate and that one of the standards the City needs to consider is whether the <br />application is reasonable and constitutes a reasonableuse of the property. The fence is reasonable <br />to provide the applicant with the security that he needs and is unobtrusive. <br />Steinwall stated had they known the fence was going to be an issue, they would have addressed it <br />at the time this property was developed in 2004. Stein wall stated although one of Staff's <br />recommendations is to consider a denial of the variance and to send iton to the Council for <br />possible code changes, they would ask that the Planning Commission approve the variance <br />application. <br />Kempf stated his feeling is that this is a residential neighborhood and that this is the kind of place <br />that the ordinance was written to have lower fences between neighbors. Kempf commented he <br />does understand the concern that the property is an attraction and draws people to the site, but that <br />there are trees in .the area and a 42-inch fence would be a sufficient barrier. Kempf stated a <br />wroughtiron fence is probably the less intrusive but unfortunately does not meet the City's <br />ordinance. <br />O'Shaughnessy stated the landscape architect perhaps interpreted the code incorrectly but that <br />there is some ambiguity in the code regarding comer lots and that it should read that it is only <br />along countyroads that a higher fence is allowed. O'Shaughnessy stated it was a legitimate <br />mistake and that denial of his variance would require a substantial amount of fence to be removed <br />and replaced. <br />Rahn stated the fence seems reasonable and is not out of character with the neighborhood. Rahn <br />stated given the examples cited by the applicant for security, he would not be opposed to the <br />2