10-15-2007 Planning Commission Packet

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L . , � . � 1VIIl�TUTES OF THE , ORONO PLANIVING COMMISSION MEETING . Monday,September 17,2007 6:00 o'clock p.m. , ; (#07-3312 Gary DeSantis,Continued) � ; The Planning Commission should consider whether the significantly substandard lot width impacts the ability to correctly subdivide this parcel. The goal of'this review is to provide the developer with an overview of the pertinent City ordinances and how they affect the proposed plat. ' Gronberg stated he has been involved in a number of applications before the City of Orono involving setback variances being routinely granted on cul-de-sacs,including Shadow Wood Farm,Meadow Wood Pond,Old Crystal Bay Road 2nd Addition,plus numerous other properties located at the end of cul-de- sacs. . ' - ; x Gaffron indicated that is correct. . Jl Gronberg inquired whether paving the entire road from Watertown Road into the cul-de-sac is necessary. DeSantis indicated it is considered a private road at the p esent time and asked whether it would still be considered a private road once it is paved. �i .t Berg stated it would still be considered a private road. Curtis stated the road would be maintained as a private roadway with underlying city/public easements for utilities. Gaffron stated in approximately 1984,there was a three lot�subdivision created and the cul-de-sac ended between the second and third lots. At the time Wear Lane was created, other lots were being created at approximately the same time, and there was not a requirement that the roads be paved. Since the 1980's, , the City has required that every private road be paved. Gaffron noted if this had been a four lot subdivision from the inception,the cul-de-sac would have been laid out differently. If that subdivision were done today,there would not enough acreage for the relocated cul-de-sac, and one or both lots would not have enough land to meet the two-acre minimum. � • . In 1994,the City's Code was changed to address situations where someone has a narrow corridor that accesses a home that essentially sits behind another house. The City allowed a road to go to that lot and established standards for a back lot that are difficult to meet in this case. One of the criteria is that the lot should consist of three acres and that the setbacks from the back lot should be 150 percent of the setback requirements for that zoning district. With this type of front/ba'ck lot situation,there is not sufficient acreage because the 30-foot corridor is not included in that calculation, and the north line of the south lot becomes functionally the front lot line. Gaffron indicated the only way to make this situation work is to create a layout that would have some fairly strange lots and that technically the 200 feet of lot width has to be met at the rear of the front yard and that a variance would be necessary. Gaffron noted the septic sites would have to be approved and the°wetland delineation must be approved prior to the City accepting it. Gaffron noted the City's wetland buffer requirement is being met. Gaffron stated if the Planning Commission is comfortable with granting width variances,there should be separation between the house sites that matches the goals for the two-acre zone. Gaffron stated it is a strange layout given the situation with the cul-de-sac,but that it is not that unusual. � PAGE 19 �