10-25-2010 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, October 25, 2010 7:00 o'clock p.m. (6. #10 -3483 CITY OF ORONO —ZONING AMENDMENT— COL UMBARIUM, Continued) Murphy stated given the fact that columbaria house people's remains, the ordinance needs to be done right and that he would not be opposed to tabling this to allow Staff to look at that issue. Bremer stated Council Member McMillan makes a good point. Since the city park adjoining the Good Shepherd site is a fairly wooded lot, it already serves as screening. Bremer stated in her view the requirement for year -round screening is not a fence since it will not serve the purpose of shielding the neighbors. The ordinance. addresses that by incorporating a 50 foot setback. Curtis pointed out the fence was an option and not a requirement. Evergreen trees could serve as year - round screening. Bremer stated the memorial garden is the equivalent of patio pavers. Bremer commented there are a number of families who would love to get this process over with and that she would prefer the ordinance not be tabled. Loren Davis, pastor of Good Shepherd, stated one of the things he spoke about with Council Member McMillan was that it would be good to distinguish between in ground memorial gardens and above ground structures. Good Shepherd is looking at constructing a 5 -foot memorial wall with a bench surrounded by a garden where the cremains would be placed. The property slopes down and is fairly wooded. It would be helpful if there was a distinction between above ground and in ground. Davis asked • whether any structure over six feet would need to be 50 feet away from an adjoining property. Curtis indicated structure setbacks would depend on the size. Davis stated in his view anything over six feet would be 50 feet. The wall or columbaria are created to be at a level where people can touch them. Good Shepherd has been planning this for five or six years and that there has been a lot of thoughtful planning that has gone into their memorial garden. The garden is set in a very natural setting and the woods located on the city -owned property create a good barrier. Murphy asked whether Pastor Davis considers memorial gardens to be a natural sanctity area and whether they want to have a peaceful experience for the people who visit the garden. Davis stated part of the peacefulness of a memorial garden is that it is set in a natural setting. Approximately one -third of the church property consists of wetland and that they have attempted to locate it away from residential properties in order to achieve a degree of privacy. Murphy asked Pastor Davis to describe how the remains will go into the ground. Davis indicated there will be a sidewalk coming out from the church, which goes into the garden. The sidewalk turns into a cross, with circular bands of grass or soil that are approximately 1.5 feet wide going around the sidewalk. Franchot stated his concern is that the ordinance broadly addresses every church property. Franchot asked how many churches there are in Orono. • Gaffron indicated there are eight or ten. Page 6 of 17