04-17-2000 Planning Commission Minutes

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ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES FOR APRIL 17, 2000 • (#2513 Connie Piepho, Continued) Stoddard moved, Nygard seconded, to recommend approval of Application #2513, Connie Piepho, 540 North Arm Drive, to permit construction of an inground swimming pool within the average lakeshore setback, and to grant a variance to the septic code and permit a drainfield site to be located less than 75'from the neighbor's well, subject to the neighbors'approval in writing prior to work being commenced on this project. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. (#3) #2549 DAVID LOVELACE, 220 BIG ISLAND - REQUEST FOR DOCK ACCESS, 7:00 p.m. - 7:37 p.m. David Lovelace, Applicant, was present. Gaffron stated this item appeared before the Planning Commission on November 15, 1999, where it was tabled to allow the Big Island property owners time to review the options and hopefully reach a neighborhood consensus of a dock location, with this issue being resolved by mid April. Gaffron stated City Staff has not been informed of any consensus from the neighborhood, with the City being obligated at this time to resolve this issue for the Applicant. Gaffron stated the plat of Moorse Island Park, which is the eastern half of the island, created a number of lakeshore lots, a number of inland lots, an interior right-of-way system with a number of alleys, roads and public areas extending from it to the lakeshore. All of these right-of-ways were donated and dedicated to the public use forever on the original 1887 plat. Gaffron stated it is his opinion the only reason the rights-of-way were platted this way was to provide for access to and • from the lake. These platted corridors exist today as undeveloped walking trails, which on occasion have been used for vehicular access. Gaffron noted some of these pathways are outside the dedicated right-of-ways, with the majority of the right-of-way boundaries not being visibly marked. However, utilities are generally located within the right-of-ways on Big Island. Gaffron stated Orono's zoning code recognizes the special access needs for Big Island inland lots and established regulations for where and how the island right-of-ways may be used. These regulations apply only to the RS District and not to the mainland. Lakeshore property owners with inaccessible shorelines may also need lake access. Inland lot owners need a place to land a boat in the summer. It is not unreasonable to provide a location where inland lot owners can dock a boat for extended periods while they are on the Island. However, owners of lots abutting the lakeshore should not be burdened with providing this access to the inland owners, while at the same time inland lot owners should not have the ability to hinder the public's use of the right-of-ways or access points. Gaffron stated City Staff has reviewed each and every one of the access points found on Big Island. Tonight's application deals with providing access to Parcel 2. Gaffron noted only two of the nine access points are suited for vehicular access, with Access Point C being 90'wide and Access Point H being 16'wide. Gaffron stated due to topography issues, the other access points are unsuitable for vehicular access. Access Points A and B are located on the north end and are fairly remote from most of the properties it could serve. Gaffron stated Access Point C is wide enough to accommodate a small number of conforming setback seasonal docks for inland owners while not blocking vehicular access. This right-of-way is the widest and historically the most used vehicular access for the Island and has an informally established dirt road leading to the interior right-of-ways. Gaffron stated the City's surveyors have • finished their review of Big Island this afternoon and have determined that the undeveloped roadway Page 5