11-23-2015 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, November 23, 2015 7:00 o'clock p.m. McMillan stated the applicants did not have to do so many steps to mitigate, but that they are offering quite a few steps to mitigate. McMillan stated she does appreciate that and that in her view adding some more trees to the corridor would also be nice way to mitigate the impact. McMillan stated she would like to get through the idea of a temporary access road and get back to the applicants' right to use Heritage Lane. McMillan stated the issue is not whether the property owner's name is Jacobs or Jones and whether they live in a mansion or a cabin, but what she cares about is that the property owner has legal access to develop that northern parcel off of Heritage. Printup stated the burden undoubtedly falls on Foxhill. Printup stated people have aright to develop but noted there is not a public road that goes through there yet. Printup stated in his view it is worthy to explore an alternative route. Printup stated when they talk about concessions, he would like to thank Mr. Steadman for being open to those and that it is a significant step to alleviating some of the concerns of the neighbors. Printup stated in his view more concessions could be made. Levang stated she has spent many, many hours reviewing this application and that she met with Staff again today to review documents, including the engineering documents. Levang stated she has spent many hours thinking about this application and what she would like and what is right. Levang stated in her view she is an ethical person and that she works very, very hard at her job as a city council member. Levang indicated she has walked the land, came out to meet with one of the residents. Levang stated she does stand with the idea that Mr. Malkerson brought up about how in 1965 this road extension was agreed to. The fact that a road was not built is not known. Levang stated she attempts to treat people the same when she reviews applications and that she is very concerned about being able to walk away from this job and feel proud about the decisions that she has made. Levang stated this is a very difficult situation, but in her view at this point Mr. Jacobs has the right to use this land and she does not have the right to say he cannot use it. Council Member Cornick stated in his view the City Council cannot refuse anyone the right to use a public road, which is basically what the issue is, and that is where he stands on this. Walsh stated everyone has presented their case very well but he does not want this to be a situation where everyone is mad at each other. Walsh stated a lot of very good questions that have come out of this. Walsh stated he is in agreement with Council Member Printup that there is not a public road that services this property yet and it creates an economic burden and an additional liability on the City to have this road. Walsh noted it does need a variance to make it happen. Walsh stated he would disagree with Council Member Levang that this is a difficult decision. Walsh stated in his view there is a large burden being placed on the Heritage Lane residents and it would be a small burden to require the construction traffic to go through 1700 Shoreline Drive. Walsh stated it is his belief the applicant can somehow figure out how to make that work and that it would be a small burden instead of going through Heritage Lane. Walsh commented he appreciates the willingness of Mr. Steadman to consider not having Saturday construction and potentially changing the time from 8:30 to 4:00 Monday through Friday. Walsh stated everyone has to make some accommodations but currently all those accommodations are still going Page 18 of 41