08-25-2003 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, August 25, 2003 • 7:00 o'clock p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS While not on the agenda, John Jones, 3490 North Shore Drive, asked to present the process he'd endured in an attempt to build a new home. While he had since received his permit, Jones explained that the biggest problems he faced during the planning process were the height restriction and lack of a 2 '/2 story dcfnition. Originally, Planner Paul Weinberger assisted Jones in his planning, acknowledging that the City did not possess a'' /2 story definition. During a Planning Commission meeting, Jones explained that Gaffron used a definition from an architectural guide and an example from Edina's code, which allowed 60% living space above 5' in height; whereas, 40% of the story needs to be below 5' high for the half story. Jones showed overheads depicting what was approved. He pointed out that Edina's code excludes the stairway from the calculation; however, when he attempted to pick up his permit from Orono, Orono indicated that they would not exclude the stairway from the calculation. Jones questioned why, if Orono had no definition of its own, and used Edina as its model, why the stairway would not be excluded, similar to the code they quoted. White asked what size home they were proposing. Jones indicated that the home fit a mere 1300 s.f. footprint. While he understood the City's desire to restrict massing, Jones pointed out that discussions regarding this small home have been ongoing for over a year with the City. • Murphy asked Jones to identify the specific issue he had with the process. Jones explained that, since the City has not defined its definition and adopted that of Edina's and the architectural guide, he did not know how to go about applying for a variance. He stated that he has not requested any height variance, and does not wish to do so; however, Jones would like to alter the space on the half story to exchange the unlivable stairwell space for livable space. In addition, the building inspector told him he must enclose the half story deck and cuuiii A as living space. Jones asked the Council to acknowledge that the plan he had submitted met code and complied with the 30' height limit and pseudo half story definition, pulled from Edina's ordinance and the architectural guide. Charlotte Lipa, 3490 North Shore Drive, pointed out that the half story definition referred to by the Planning Commission and Gaffron was never added to the zoning code. She voiced her frustration, after running in circles and having done additional research of other community's codes over the past year, Lipa asked the Council to come to some type of resolution for them. Since no code exists, no building inspector seems to be able to sign off on their request, nor do they know how to ask for a variance to get what they want. Jones added that, during the planning process, they came before the Planning Commission 3-4 times with different plans based on different requirements thrown at them each time they came before the Commission. Lipa reported that, after many weeks and many calls waiting for the building inspector to review their permit application, it wasn't until the day before her excavator was scheduled when she showed up to pick up the permit that Oman flagged their permit saying they did not meet the • definition they were given for the half story. Page 5 of 14