01/17/2006 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Tuesday,January 17,2006 6:00 o'clock p.m. (#OS-3135 ALLEN AND DEANNA MUNSON, CONTINUED) Jurgens stated in his view the major issue on this application is the potential impact on the Wagener property with the fill and that he would like to see an agreement that both parties are okay with the fill. Jurgens stated some of it is a design issue and that it does not constitute a hardship to place the residence in the proposed location. Jurgens stated he would like to see those issues addressed prior to moving forward with the application. Kempf inquired how far onto Wagener's property the retaining wall is located. Gaffron stated the majority of the retaining wall is on Wagener's property. Jurgens pointed out the retaining wall has a back fall to it. Gaffron illustrated the retaining wall and the lot line on the overhead. Gaffron indicated Wagener is the high side and Munson is the low side. Gaffron stated the City's code does not allow fill within five feet of a property line. Munson stated the water runs around both sides and will continue to do so after construction. Munson stated the grade would still be one foot below Wagener's property following the fill. Bremer asked for public comment. Peter Johnson, Attorney-at-Law,noted he did submit a letter to the City. Johnson stated he would like to address the claimed hardship and the history of the property. Johnson stated the property owned by the Munsons was originally owned by the Wageners but was divided of£ Johnson stated this is a self-created hardship, if a hardship exists at all. Johnson stated this is a 1.6 acre lot, which allows plenty of room to construct a substantial home, and that he does not see the hardship to construct the home within the average lakeshore setback. Johnson stated the Wagener's view of the lake would be blocked by the proposed residence,and requested the Planning Commission to visit the Wagener lot to see what impact the residence would have on the Wagener residence. Johnson stated after the property was purchased by Wagener, there was a garage improvement, and in order to do that improvement,he was required to take all that drainage on his property down to the lake, which required him to build up that side of the lot. Johnson stated the City of Orono required the construction of the rock retaining wall that this applicant is now proposing to bury under ground. Johnson stated Wagener is interested in being a good neighbor,but that if the house were lower, it would not impact the lake views. Johnson stated while this is clearly an unusual situation with the way the homes are configured,he would point out that as a consequence of that, the Wageners have very little protection from encroachment into PAGE 17