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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, October 12, 2015 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 9 of 37 8. #15-3770 JON NORRIS AND CATHERINE MORRISON AND PATRICK AND MELISSA MULHERN, 460 ORCHARD PARK ROAD, PRELIMINARY PLAT (continued) Lot 1 consists of 10.68 acres but includes 5.42 acres of wetland. Lot 2 consists is 10.94 acres and consists of 1.58 acres of wetland. The applicants have provided a Conservation Design Report, which has been included in Council’s packet. The site is fairly open, with the only place with trees is essentially the area around the house, around the fence lines, and the wetlands. None of those areas are expected to be impacted. The City Engineer has provided some general and detailed comments and the applicant has submitted revised plans that appear to address many of those comments. Gaffron noted the revised plans have not been reviewed by the City Engineer at this point. The driveway length for Lot 1 extending from the point at which the shared driveways converge is approximately 900 feet. Fire Chief Van Eyll has indicated that if the house is sprinkled, that driveway can be as narrow as 12 feet. It is currently proposed at 10 feet, which will have to be expanded to 12 feet. If the house is not sprinkled, the driveway should be 20 feet in drivable width wherever possible. In either case, a loop should be incorporated into the driveway near the house for emergency and service vehicle maneuverability. The Council should consider whether there is a need to provide for any additional plantings or a landscape plan. If this was a formal private road rather than a driveway, the code would require one tree per 40 feet of frontage. The Planning Commission reviewed this application at their August meeting and found that it appeared to be compliant with code requirements, with the exception that the defined width of proposed Lot 1 as measured at the 10-foot front setback line is approximately 110 feet where 300 feet is normally required. The practical difficulty for this variance is the shape of the underlying property, with its relatively minimal frontage on Orchard Park Road. The Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the preliminary plat subject to a Conservation Design Report being submitted prior to Council review of the application. In addition, the applicant shall agree to construct the shared driveway as a development improvement rather than waiting for home construction to begin, adhere to the recommendations of the fire marshal as to individual driveway width and configuration, and addressing the City Engineer’s comments and recommendations prior to Council review. Gaffron stated the Council should review the conservation design materials and determine whether there are any potential concerns. The Council should also review whether a formal landscaping plan is required and confirm whether the necessary lot width variance for Lot 1 is acceptable. The final issue the Council should discuss is whether the location variances for the proposed pole barns located closer to the street than the principal residences might be supported. Gaffron stated if the Council feels that all issues of concern have been addressed, they should provide Staff with direction for moving forward. McMillan asked if access through the Jacobs Mills property would be on the east side of this development.