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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, October 12, 2015 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 32 of 37 15. #15-3783 JOHN T. BESSESSEN/DAVID DELANEY, 2465 SHADYWOOD ROAD AND 2500 KELLY AVENUE, SKETCH PLAN (continued) Wasmoen stated that might be a problem if you are building million dollar homes right behind Lunds. Wasmoen stated they moving towards something that feels like the right solution with the smaller footprints and not having access onto Kelly Avenue. Wasmoen asked if the Council would like to see one less house on each side of the street. Wasmoen noted since the Planning Commission meeting, they actually took one the homes on the Kelly side and moved it over to the other side and spread the remaining homes out a little more. Wasmoen noted they are not planning on stripping the site clean and that they want to work with the trees. In addition, the conservation area will help create a site that will not be seen from Kelly. Wasmoen stated in his view they have managed to get to a level of density that is workable with perhaps a couple of the homes removed. Wasmoen noted there is a lot of grade changes in the area where they moved the one house and that they do not want to create big retaining walls. Wasmoen stated they would like the homes to fit in with the grade without changing the slope too much. Levang stated she has walked the property four or five times now and that she does not understand the Delaney Drive piece and the density. Levang stated when you walk from the back of the dental office and into the woods, she is not sure how there can be that many lots on that side of Delany Drive. Levang stated in her view the density is too high there but that she does appreciate the fact that the access onto Kelly has been taken off. Levang stated she would still like to see a reduction in the number of lots near Kelly Avenue and that in her view a 75-foot lot is too narrow for the type of homes that should be put there. Levang stated they could put million dollar homes up there but they cannot have them on 75-foot lots. Levang asked if the developer could have some units that are more affordable and then some higher cost homes. Levang encouraged the developer to be more creative and consider a mixture of homes or three- or four-plexes. Levang stated the less desirable lots would be the lots on Shadywood, which could perhaps be a little less in price, and then stepped up from there going towards Kelly. Levang stated one of the things they are struggling with in Orono is affordable housing and that there should be a mixture of house prices. Levang stated they could look at perhaps having more homes on the Shadywood side than what is being proposed. Wasmoen stated one of the options for that type of townhome is something called a big house, which looks like a larger home but contains three or four townhomes. Wasmoen stated there is an area on Humboldt near Robbinsdale where that has been done. Levang stated she would like to see something like that, which is attractive and meets the City’s desire to see more affordable housing. Levang stated she would also like to see a lot of the trees remain. Wasmoen stated preserving the trees has always been one of their goals. Cornick asked what the biggest barrier is to the Kelly Avenue side having three or four homes.