10-14-2002 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2002 6. #02 -2822 Danielle Henely, 3422 Livingston Avenue—Variances—Resolution No. 4872 — Continued conditional use permit per Section 10.03 Subdivision 10 to allow an accessory building to be constructed on the subject property closer to the street than the principal structure and on a through lot; with the new language in Item 4I included in the resolution. Vote: Ayes 5, Nays 0. 10. Appeal of Administrative Decision —Fox Street Driveway Weinberger stated that the applicant was appealing the denial of a request for driveway access permit for property located at 2530 Fox Street. At the time the lot was created, in 1996, it was planned to use a shared driveway that also serves two lots to the north. The 2530 lot was required to enter into a driveway maintenance agreement with the lots to the north. The applicant was requesting direct access to Fox Street. The staff recommended denial in order to limit the number of direct driveway access points to Fox Street, according to the Comprehensive Plan stating that the number of curb cuts and access points be limited. While Fox Street is not termed arterial, it is one of only a few through streets that do 0 receive additional east -west traffic. • The letter requesting appeal stated that the driveway would have a steep incline for access. Staff found that the direct access from Fox Street would have an average elevation change of 10% to the turnaround site, where the access from the shared driveway would have an average elevation change of 5% to the turnaround, therefore the driveway from the shared access would have less elevation change than the direct street access. Staff concluded that the shared driveway would be the appropriate access to the property. Troy Prosa of Formation Architects stated that the percent grade from Fox to the turnaround is greater than the grade from the shared drive, but they were measuring from the street to the garage, where the residents will be parking. He stated that the grade from street to garage is less than the grade from the shared access to the garage. He stated that the driveway approach approved by the City would result in the loss of 7 -10 mature trees, including the oldest tree on the lot. With the approach from Fox, they would minimize tree removal. Murphy asked what their major concern was. Prosa stated that their two major concerns were preserving the trees and the grade of approach. Sansevere asked if maintenance of the shared drive was a concern. Julie Johnson stated it was not. If they were grandfathered in to the maintenance agreement it would be fine with • 4