10/18/2004 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Monday,October 18,2004 6:00 o'clock p.m. (Bill and Robin Grierson, Continued) except for a four by four foot landing,there would be 4.1 percent in the 0-75' zone. Curtis stated the applicant is aware that Staff is recommending this change. Leslie inquired whether the 7.3 percent excludes the patio. Curtis stated the patio is included in the 7.3 percent. Curtis explained she subtracted the patio and the addition and added in a small landing for the door,which reduced it to 4.1 percent. Curtis stated she is recommending that option rather than the 7.8 percent hardcover being proposed by the applicant on the west side of the residence. Hansen stated on the side of the proposed addition there is a jog there that ideally would work out aesthetically for the addition. Hansen stated the applicant is more than happy to remove all the rock and sacrifice the patio pavers in order to accomplish the addition. Bremer noted this would reduce the hardcover amount to a number other than the 4.1 percent and the 7.8 percent. Curtis stated it would be 4.5 percent. Hansen stated originally in the 0-75' setback the hardcover was at 16 percent. Bremer inquired what the hardcover would be in the 75'-250' setback and what the hardship is for granting a variance. Hansen stated the current garage is not very deep and is barely able to fit two cars. Hansen pointed out they are not requesting a three-car garage. Grierson stated the previous owners at the time the addition was constructed located the furnace in the garage. Grierson stated there currently is no place to put the furnace in the house. Grierson indicated the house is approximately 100 years old and has very little closet space. Grierson stated if they are able to extend into the 0-75' setback, they could possibly use a portion of that for a utility room. Grierson indicated she would prefer having the furnace located in the house. Rahn inquired whether any hardcover is being added to the front. Grierson indicated they are not increasing the hardcover in the front. Rahn commented his first inclination is to recommend the patio pavers be removed, which would give the applicant 347 square feet. Rahn suggested the applicants consider reducing the size of the rear addition. Rahn noted the garage is less than 20 feet deep and the applicants do have some issues with storage. Rahn stated he feels there is somewhat of a hardship but that the proposed hardcover exceeding 50 percent is too excessive. Rahn indicated he would prefer a redesign of the addition. PAGE 27