06-17-2002 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Monday,June 17, 2002 6:30 o'clock p.m. (#02-2793 REVIS STEPHENSON III,Continued) a 4:1 slope,pointing out that typically the City requires grading projects to have a finished slope of no greater than 3:1. Since the City of Orono requires a 26' setback to wetlands, Weinberger stated that the proposed grading plan did not impact the wetland or wetland setback. Currently however, the fill is located as close as 17' to the edge of the wetland, with an average distance from the hill to the wetland boundary of between 20- 25'. Weinberger expanded on the three recommendation proposed by staff.: 1)The variance request to allow encroachment of the base of the hill to within 26' of the wetland be denied. 2)The portion of the after-the-fact permit for the existing grades is not consistent with the City's general recommendations that newly created slopes not be less than a 3:1 slope. In essence the applicant had extended his back yard an additional 38'. 3) Staff has requested that Mr. Stephenson have the adjacent property owners join him in this application since the request is to allow the land alteration beyond the property lines. -Comments from the adjacent neighbor to the north,Toby Dayton, state that he has no issues with the project and is in full support of it. He views it as an improvement to the property with regard to safety and believed the drainage was improved. A late fax submitted by neighbor Robert Hare supported the results of the project. Weinberger then cited 6 conditions in his report that should be included as part of any recommendation. Mr. Stephenson questioned Weinberger whether his intention was to approve the sideyards as long as neighbors voiced their support. Weinberger indicated that with neighbor support, it would create a better scenario; however, questions remain regarding allowing the slope to be less than 3 to 1 and fill to remain within 26'of the wetland. Mr. Stephenson maintained that the land alteration on the overhead slide had been corrected. The existing grade is currently 2.9, since much of the fill tends to settle by one third over time. He believed the silt fencing in place as of late had worked effectively in containing the fill. He asked if the sides could be approved if the current slope is 3:1. Although feedback from the City Engineer had not been collected,Weinberger stated his desire was to schedule the issue for this evening in order to prevent any further delays. Mr. Stephenson stated that, early on,the construction people did not have adequate silt fencing and dumped more dirt than he had originally intended. Mr. Stephenson questioned their motives to get rid of as much fill as they could and new silt fencing was constructed to replace the old after going over it. In PAGE 11 OF 29