02-22-2016 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, February 8, 2016 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 17 of 32 11. #16-3803 STONEWOOD, LLC, ON BEHALF OF TASHITAA TUFAA, 1830 SHORELINE ROAD, VARIANCES AND CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (continued) Gustafson stated the white line on the homes shows the 65-foot width on the other homes. Due to the location of the proposed home, increasing the width of the structure would not impact the other adjoining homes. Across Heritage Lane there is a different side street setback. Gustafson stated they are attempting to avoid a long, narrow home by requesting the variance. Gustafson stated the neighbors may comment that the proposed home is inconsistent with the other homes in the neighborhood but that they have put together a slide show illustrating the footprint of other homes in the neighborhood. Gustafson noted the proposed home has a footprint of 2,881 square feet. Gustafson stated as it relates to the fence, it is for the safety of one of the children who likes to run and explore. Gustafson stated at their current home they have a similar fence that keeps him safely on the property. The fence has been pulled back a little bit further than what was originally requested while still creating a nice play space. Gustafson stated there could also be some gates in the fence if the neighbors would like that so the fence does not block the children’s route to the bus. The fence would be a wrought iron fence and would not really impact the views from any of the neighboring properties. Gustafson stated of the 19 homes on Heritage, nine of them have two curb cuts. Of the ones that have two curb cuts, they are all located on the same street and that they are only requesting one curb cut onto Heritage Drive. Gustafson stated the two curb cuts would allow for easier access to the property. Printup asked if the reason why the home is sitting crooked on the lot to prevent it from looking long and narrow. Gustafson stated they did that for the views and that they also did not want the garage doors facing Heritage Lane for aesthetic purposes. Gustafson stated they ended up putting the garage doors on the back of the house, which would also allow for a backup apron. McMillan asked if the garage would impact the neighbors more. McMillan stated there appears to be a lot of driveway even though they are under the hardcover limit and is related to the garage situation. McMillan stated she understands the desire to hide the garage doors, but that it is creating a lot more hardcover than what would normally be required. Gustafson stated they did not receive any comments from the neighbors regarding the driveway during the neighborhood meeting. Gustafson stated there are a number of communities that have architectural standards and typically one of the standards is to limit the number of garage doors that face the street. McMillan stated that may be a trade-off to the neighbor and that there can be more activity occurring on a driveway apron than what someone might think of. Gustafson stated they would likely soften it with vegetation and trees. McMillan indicated she basically has a concern with the amount of blacktop.