Laserfiche WebLink
MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, November 9, 2015 <br />7:00 o'clock p.m. <br />11. #15-3784 CITY OF ORONO TEXT AMENDMENT REGULATING LIVING WALLS <br />(continued) <br />City Attorney Mattick stated the only language that is being added is the language that is underlined. The <br />considerable number language is language that is already in the ordinance regarding a nuisance. <br />Levang asked what a considerable number is. <br />Mattick stated the standard idea behind a nuisance is that it impacts a number of people. Mattick stated <br />what he is hearing as part of the discussion tonight is that if it is not bothering the adjacent neighbors, the <br />Council is not necessarily concerned about the person three doors down. Mattick stated this will be a <br />hard standard to enforce. <br />Printup asked if Staff has come up with any other cities regulating living walls. <br />Barnhart stated there are some cities on the West Coast that regulate living walls. Barnhart indicated part <br />of what has been drafted has been taken from the ones on the West Coast. Barnhart stated the challenge <br />he has is that several of the neighborhoods are organically grown and that he attempted to be very <br />cautious about just regulating living walls in the lake yard. Barnhart stated he is not sure how many <br />properties this ordinance would impact and that the City does not regulate landscaping currently. <br />Walsh questioned whether trees should be grandfathered in. Walsh stated in his view some of the living <br />wall language is awkward and that he would probably say, in such a manner that their spacing width is <br />equal or less than the height of the plants. <br />Barnhart stated as it relates to the grandfathering, the text amendment was approached as a nuisance, and <br />if it is strictly a zoning code issue, any living wall would be allowed to continue. <br />Mattick stated it is arguably a legal nonconformity, and if zoning concepts are applied to a plant, as the <br />plant grows, it would then be an expansion of a nonconformity. <br />Printup stated he understands the spirit of the ordinance, but where it becomes difficult is that on one <br />hand the City encourages protection of the environment and green space, but on the other hand the City is <br />not going to. Printup stated the more he hears about it, it starts to get nerve racking. <br />Loftus stated one way communities deal with living walls is to add it to the fence definition. Based on the <br />pattern and spacing of evergreens, it can be defined as a fence. Loftus stated it rarely works easily since <br />you will get into opaqueness. Loftus noted the City has strict regulations on fences currently but that a <br />lot of people will plant their trees in a zig-zag fashion, which has the same or similar effect, but since they <br />are not in a straight line, it technically is not part of that definition. Loftus noted Tonka Bay has included <br />living walls in their fence regulations but it does not necessarily resolve the disputes. <br />McMillan stated she would be interested in seeing Tonka Bay's regulations. <br />Walsh asked where the width is measured from. Walsh stated if the width is measured from the bottom, <br />someone could trim it up four feet and then it does not apply. Walsh stated he can envision a lot of issues <br />that are difficult to address. Walsh stated he would like to solve this problem but that there are too many <br />loopholes. <br />Page 19 of 24 <br />