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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING <br /> Monday,October 19, 2015 <br /> 6:30 o'clock p.m. <br /> Barnhart stated the City has a pretty rich history of preservin�lake views from residential property into <br /> the lake area by prohibiting or regulating structures. It is recognized that landscaping can have the same <br /> effect as a structure and there has been some interest expressed by some residents that the City look at <br /> regulating landscaping in the zone near the lake. <br /> The proposed ordinance defines a living wall and establishes the same as a nuisance when placed within <br /> the average lakeshore setback. A living wall must be evergreen plants planted. Evergreen plants include <br /> pine, arborvitae and spruce. Other plants such as lilac, dogwoods, etc., that may provide similar screening <br /> characteristics part of the year are not included as these varieties are not likely to be chosen for nuisance <br /> landscaping. Trees placed by nature,regardless of size,type, and location, are not a living wall and non- <br /> evergreen trees planted are not a living wall. This ordinance only identifies living walls in the required <br /> lake yard. Barnhart noted living walls are frequently used for screening throughout the city. <br /> The definition of a living wall in the ordinance means a combination of three or more evergreen plants <br /> that are six feet or more in height and planted in such a manner that their spacing is equal to the width of <br /> the plant. Barnhart stated evergreens that grow on their own would not be considered a living wall. <br /> Schoenzeit asked what would happen if something meets the nuisance definition. <br /> Barnhart stated the property owner can trim the tree or shrub back to the point where it is no longer six <br /> feet high or widen the width of the plant space or they can remove part of the living wall providing an <br /> opening to the lake. Barnhart stated alternative aggressive solutions would likely be similar to how the <br /> City pursues other nuisance situations. <br /> Schoenzeit asked if it would be considered a living wall if there is a four feet space even though the row <br /> of trees is 100 feet long. <br /> Barnhart stated if there are three or more trees in a row and one is removed every so often,it would no <br /> longer be considered a living wall. Barnhart stated he does recognize that this is not a perfect solution but <br /> that Staff is attempting to balance reasonable landscape goals with the reasonable expectation of <br /> someone's view of the lake. <br /> Page 27 of 44 <br />