03/15/2004 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Monday, March 15, 2004 6:00 o'clock p.m. (#14. #04-2997 CITY OF ORONO, BIG ISLAND CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, VARIANCES—Continued) formerly used on the north side of the wetland. That access was on private property, and the owner recently converted it to lawn area. The City has long held that the City has an obligation to provide reasonable access to the interior roads on the island for the occasional service vehicle, and for the needs of the few inland properties that do not abut the lakeshore. The driveway will constitute filling of 25 cubic yards of gravel in the 0-75' zone, requiring a CUP, and will constitute approximately 750 s.f. or 12% impervious surface in the o-75'zone. These impacts are unavoidable in order to provide suitable access, and have been minimized by limiting the width of the driveway to 10'. With passage of the WCA, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District was designated by the City as the responsible Local Government Unit (LGU) for administering the WCA regulations. These regulations provide degrees of flexibility for certain types of wetland alteration activities, which are seen as positive rather than detrimental, and they provide for mitigation of negative impacts when they are unavoidable. The appropriate applications are being made to the MCWD. MCWD approval shall be required before the project may commence. Gaffron noted that this application was prepared by Public Services Director Greg Gappa with the assistance of John Smyth, Water Resource Specialist with Bonestroo & Associates, the City's engineering and environmental consultants. Because wetland alterations are not allowed by Orono Code except by variance, the activity is required to be justified via the demonstration of a hardship. The commission was asked to review the hardship statements within the application packet. The need for access to inland properties is a valid hardship that supports this variance request. The locations of the few access points to the island were platted a century ago,before motorized vehicles were common. The access points generally were platted at low points in the topography, for obvious reasons. This is one of the only potential access points for the north half of the island, and the proposed work is necessary from a public a safety standpoint, as well as to provide access to inland lot owners. Access cannot be provided without work in the 0-75' zone. Gaffron stated that staff recommends approval of the variances and CUP to allow the wetland alteration and driveway construction project, including filling of a portion of the wetland, excavation within 26' of the wetland, and filling and hardcover within the 0-75' setback zone per the revised plan, subject to establishment of a Conservation and Flowage Easement over the wetland, and subject to MCWD permit approvals prior to commencement of construction activities. Page 41 of 48