11-24-2003 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2003 • 7. #03 -2950 David and Tara Gross, 2635 Countryside Drive West—After-the-Fact Variance Resolution No. 5080— Continued next door neighbor along that property edge. No one had any concerns. They shopped for the court and chose a green one that is not too visually disturbing. He had assumed the sport court company pulled a permit. They assumed he had. The company installed the court and after the grading was done, they put the court at 6' instead of the 12' where it had been flagged for installation. Over the summer, he was approached by Bruce Vang who told him that the court was too close to the property line. He applied for an after -the- fact variance after consulting with an attorney. Mr. Gross stated it looks like they delayed parts of the process, but he responded to every City request promptly and complied with all the deadlines. He offered to plant a row of arborvitae along the property to screen it from the neighbors. The Planning Commission voted against it. He would consider moving the sport court to another spot on the property. He stated the alternate location chosen by the Planning Commission would not work well for them. They could reduce the size of the court at the current location. Or they could do soil tests to possibly move the alternate location of septic and shift the sport court away from the property line. Sansevere asked how they failed to get a permit, when the contract with Sport Court stated permits are the customer's responsibility. Mr. Gross stated that they have never had to pull a permit for other projects. The contract was a 4 -page document and customer responsibility was in no way flagged for them. It was his error, however, Sport Court admitted they used to pull permits and this was the first year they did not pull permits. Now because of mistakes like his, they are again pulling permits for customers. Sansevere asked about the alternate site and sight lines. Mr. Gross stated there is a sunroom off the house they can't see around, as well as a row of mature spruce trees. He added they are concerned about people coming off the road to approach their four young children. Sansevere asked if the yard will be fenced. He said it would be. He also said the pool is kept covered, so they are not worried about that as a hazard. Sansevere asked if they have a hardship. Mr. Gross stated they would have to remove a number of mature trees. Mr. Gross stated that he feels singled out when he sees the other sport courts around Orono that are up against lot lines. Barrett stated that the authority of the City to grant variances comes from the State statute, which sets out determinations that can be seen in the resolution. Key is the City's obligation to follow the law. Also, understand that if the law is read loosely in one case, it is difficult to not read it loosely in another case. Council's task is to apply the law to the application before them. They have had similar unfortunate cases in the past. • Murphy stated he received two calls from John Bowman regarding the application. His 7