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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, August 9, 2010 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 12 of 17 (7. #10-3477 JOHN ROEDEL, 4725 NORTH SHORE DRIVE, Continued) Murphy stated he did review the property and that the vacant lot next door is a mess and has some erosion problems. Murphy commented that this house is beautiful but that unfortunately the Supreme Court limits the City’s options. Murphy stated this is the first applicant who has stated he would be willing to provide some cushion to improve the permutation. Roedel stated when they purchased the property, it was blighted and that they have not caused this problem. They have complied with everything the City has requested of them, including the installation of a heated driveway at a cost of $50,000. They purchased the property on April 28th, filed their application on June 22nd, and the Supreme Court ruling came out on June 24th. Roedel noted they did submit their application prior to the Supreme Court ruling and that they were not aware of the case before it until after the ruling came down. Roedel stated he watched the entire Supreme Court hearing on Saturday. In that case the one neighbor had a flat roof garage and wanted to extend it up 10 feet, which would block the adjoining neighbor’s view. Roedel stated their project is not going to block anyone’s view and that all eight of his surrounding neighbors are in agreement. Four of the immediate neighbors are in attendance tonight and are supportive of the project. The City Council should do what the constituents want as long as it is in the best interests environmentally of the City, which they will be able to demonstrate. During the Supreme Court hearing, Paul Chamberlain was asked if there wasn’t a flat roof and the property owner wanted to increase the height of the roof by three inches to improve the water runoff, how he would feel about it, and Chamberlain said that it would be smart thing to do and they would be in favor of it. Roedel stated they are not even asking for a three-inch extension but would like to make the ground more permeable and more ecologically beneficial. On July 23rd, he had the property set up with top soil to sod and then there was a terrible storm. When he looked at the ground following the rainfall, the land was like rock and all of the top soil had washed down into the lake. Roedel indicated he dug down 30 inches and the pictures demonstrate that the area is not permeable. Roedel stated he would like to dig down under the patio area and fill it with rock and sand to increase the pervious material. Roedel stated in his view the Minnehaha Watershed District would be an expert on this so he contacted them and obtained some information from them. The representative from the Watershed District indicated he is in support of what is being recommended. Roedel stated it is difficult to understand why it would be denied because in his view there should have been some type of grandfathering allowed for under the Supreme Court ruling. What they are proposing would be more ecologically beneficial and they did not cause the problem. Roedel requested the City Council approve their application. Roedel indicated they also purchased the property because there is an electric tram on the property which would allow his partner to access the lake. Roedel stated his partner has multiple sclerosis and that her doctor has recommended she walk on hard, flat surfaces, and a pervious paver patio would allow that. Roedel reiterated they have the support of the neighbors on this project and that it would be ecologically beneficial for the area. Franchot stated at the Planning Commission meeting the four nay votes were due to the ruling of the Supreme Court and that the tenor of the discussion was that this was a reasonable request. Item #02 - CC Agenda - 08/09/2010 Approval of Council Minutes 08/09/2010 [Page 12 of 17]