11-14-2011 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, November 14, 2011 7:00 o'clock p.m. • (5. 11 -3527 JASONAND JODYSMITH, 2690RAINEYROAD, Continued) Thompson stated the concern is the plot of land where a potential future road would be located. This is a heavily wooded area and they would not be encroaching on that area at all. They would still be 10 to 15 feet from that area. No trees would be disturbed and no sight lines would be changed. McMillan noted there is 14 feet before they hit the 50 -foot setback to add on to the garage, and noted that only one stall in the existing garage is substantially impacted by the stairs. McMillan asked whether that 14 feet would solve that issue by allowing them to create another stall to take the place of the one that the owners are attempting to replace. Thompson stated they did discuss that option but they are a growing family and they would also like room for storage and large vehicles. It would be in their best interests to have a larger space. The property owners do not want to keep those items outside. Jody Smith stated the stairs to the basement also affects the second stall as well. The first stall is only 15 feet and is very small. They both drive SUV's, which means you have to wiggle in and angle the vehicle to avoid the stairwell. Smith stated it affects the entire double garage and that they would like two full stalls for two cars. The area by the stairwell would be used for storage. The extra stall would for storage as well. Rahn noted the outlot is to connect a future road and asked what the standards are for a private road. • Rahn stated it is his understanding private roads do not need to meet city standards. Gaffron stated the city standard generally for a private road is 24 feet and potentially 28 feet paved within that 50 -foot corridor. Based on the number of houses located on the road, it would require at least a 24 -foot road. Rahn asked whether the City has a history of taking over private roads. Rahn commented the City has allowed people not to build roads necessarily to city standards if they are private, but that may be different if the City takes over that road at some point in the future. Gaffron indicated the City has seldom taken over a private road. The one instance he can remember is a situation where the private road was intended to be continued to the property to the north but the owner of the private road said he was going to charge the next developer a high dollar amount to use that private road. Eventually the City took over that portion of the road. The City has a strong history through the years of providing connecting corridors. The intent is to create through roads. If the City is forced or chooses to take over a private road, maintenance is easier with through roads. Rahn stated having a 40 -foot setback approved previously, he would be on board with a single stall. If the current property owners looked at the records, they would have seen that the previous owner was given a 40 -foot variance, which is what he would be willing to approve. Rahn stated in his view the 40- foot variance is a happy medium between the 30 and the 50. Bremer asked if they approve a 40 -foot setback, whether they would be able to construct a double garage. • Page 4 of 16