01-22-03 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Wednesday, January 22, 2003 6:30 o'clock p.m. (#02-2860 SUNSTATE CONCEPTS,Continued) Gaffron identified 6 issues for consideration by the Planning Commission and indicated that staff would recommend approval of the lot area variance. On the other hand, Gaffron stated that staff would recommend denial of the side setback variance and approval of the front yard setback variance relative to the alternate plan. He continued, that staff would recommend the new home be connected to municipal sewer rather than reconnected to the existing septic system at completion of construction and that the applicant be required to have the wetland delineated prior to construction of the 2nd-story deck to ensure it meets the minimum wetland setback. Although he had submitted an alternate plan, Gorr stated that he would prefer to retain the 4-stall garage. With regard to hardship, Gorr maintained that LR-1A is an inappropriate zoning district for small lots,not to mention,the limitation posed by wetland encroachment on this property. As he would be building over the existing foundation with no room for a basement, storage would be limited,therefore Gorr requested he be granted a 4-stall garage to offset this limitation. Adding storage behind the garage might encroach into the pool area. Chair Smith suggested,relative to the garage, to merely construct a deeper garage for storage. Gaffron reminded the Commission that the applicant would need to maintain a 10' setback between the pool and structure. Gorr maintained that building a deeper garage would cut into the limited usable yard and cost more to redo the foundation. Chair Smith pointed out that not having room to store your belongings was not considered an acceptable hardship. Neighbor Lenny Dayton, across Heritage Drive to the south, asked how high the two story home would be. Gaffron indicated that the home met height standards at a proposed height of 27'. Dayton inquired whether the size of the home was of issue, since the footprint appears to be much smaller than the proposed construction. Chair Smith stated that the size of the home did not seem to be in question. Gaffron noted that the home will be significantly larger than the original 36X45. Additional spaces of 18X30 with bonus room above the garage and 40X 23 would be constructed. Dayton asked what the proposed setback to Heritage would be. Gaffron indicated that the setback would be measured 10' back from the cul-de-sac, and that the applicant was asking for a variance to be 28' instead of 50' from the setback. While Chair Smith stated that she saw no problem allowing the lot area variance, she felt there was inadequate hardship displayed to support the side setback. PAGE 15 of 29