11-09-2015 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Monday, October 19, 2015 6:30 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 2 of 17 Schoenzeit asked if it would be considered a living wall if there is a four feet space even though the row of trees is 100 feet long. Barnhart stated if there are three or more trees in a row and one is removed every so often, it would no longer be considered a living wall. Barnhart stated he does recognize that this is not a perfect solution but that Staff is attempting to balance reasonable landscape goals with the reasonable expectation of someone’s view of the lake. Schoenzeit stated trimming it back to six feet would be enough to help mitigate it but removing every third tree would not be. Barnhart stated when the City is in the process of enforcing the ordinance, some type of guidance has to be given. Schoenzeit stated there are hundreds of examples of this in the City and that they need to know what the intention of the living wall is. Schoenzeit stated in his view taking out every third arborvitae is not going to mitigate this nuisance. Barnhart stated a living wall is defined in a specific way in the ordinance and the property owners will be advised what they need to do to ensure it is not a living wall. Barnhart stated he does recognize there will always be some visual impacts for property owners who choose to plant a tree in the 0-75 foot zone. Barnhart stated if the Planning Commission has some specific recommendations for enforcement, those can be incorporated. Schoenzeit stated currently there are neighbors feuding over this and that the City has an obligation to fix things, but if the nuisance enforcement does not have sufficient strength, the City will not solve anything. Lemke asked if he would have to trim the tree down to six feet if it grows over six feet and is located in the 0-75 foot zone.