06/20/2005 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Monday,June 20,2005 6:00 o'clock p.m. (#05-3121 Narrows Saloon, Continued) 2. Amendment of the existing conditional use permit to allow outdoor seating at the front of the building along Shoreline Drive measuring approximately 532 square feet in area or approximately 30 additional seats,which would require that the existing sidewalk easement in favor of the City be encroached upon by approximately 4.5 feet. 3. Amendment of the existing conditional use permit to allow outdoor seating at the rear of the building adjacent to the City-owned parking lot but within the applicant's property, measuring 1,666 square feet in area or approximately 84 additional seats. 4. Interior side yard building setback variance(east side)to permit a 13' by 16' kitchen addition approximately 8.2 feet from the side lot line when 15' is normally required and 8.2' currently exists. 5. Front yard building setback variance to permit a front yard setback of 9' when 35' is normally required and 16' currently exists to allow construction of a vestibule. The vestibule addition would encroach 4.5' onto the sidewalk easement and have a 0' setback from the highway easement). 6. Front and rear yard variances would be required as a front yard of 20' is normally required and an unobstructed rear yard of 30' is normally required where proposed vestibule and planter boxes would encroach on these yard requirements. Gaffron stated the applicants are proposing to construct a 13'by 16' kitchen addition to the northeast corner of the building. The eastern side lot line requires a 15-foot setback where the existing building and the proposed addition are only 8.2 feet from the lot line. The kitchen addition would be solely located on the applicant's property where it would not encroach on any of the many easements currently restricting the property in some way. The property consists of.31 acres or 13,656 square feet where a minimum lot area of approximately 20,000 square feet is required. Gaffron noted this is an existing lot of record and lot area is not an issue. Gaffron stated hardcover on the site is virtually 100 percent and would normally be allowed 35 percent. Gaffron stated the applicants are not proposing any change to the hardcover except for possibly incorporating some small green areas in the front. The applicants are proposing increasing the structural coverage on this lot from 35 percent to 38 percent. Gaffron stated a kitchen addition at this location would reduce the existing 25.5 foot wall-to-wall separation between the corner service station and the Narrows building to just under 21 feet, adding to a more congested situation both visually and from a traffic standpoint. The access driveway easement corridor into the City parking lot at this location is 15 feet wide,within 0.7' of the existing Narrows building and within four feet of the service station. Given that the access driveway has a bend in it just north of the Narrows building, further restrictions by a kitchen expansion in this are would be inappropriate. One option to consider would be to offset the kitchen addition at least five feet westward along the north side of the building so that the visual and functional constrictions are minimized and the separation between the Narrows and the service station does not decrease. Staff finds that a side setback variance to allow the kitchen addition as proposed would not be appropriate. A side setback variance of about two feet for the northeasterly corner of an offset rectangular PAGE 26