06-25-2012 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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r� MINUTES OF TBE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, June 25, 2012 7:00 o'clock p.m. (3. #10 -3491 CITY OF ORONO -HARDCOVER REGULATIONS AMENDMENT, Continued) Gozola indicated they do have a caveat for Tier 1 that says beyond 250 feet, the hardcover threshold goes to 30 percent, which matches the City's current regulations. McMillan stated if the total lot area is included in the calculation, theoretically on a long lot, they would be able to use that space towards their calculation, which would increase the overall hardcover. Bremer stated the lot area would not change beyond the 250 to 500 foot zone. Bremer noted there used to be a zone for 500 to 1000 and another zone past the 1000 foot mark. There are lots of properties that fall into the category of 500 to 1000 and they will no longer be at 35 percent but at 30 percent. Rahn asked whether a piece of property 300 feet long would be Tier 1 or whether it would be split up into two different tiers. Gozola indicated it would be in Tier 1 and that Tier 1 is the only tier that is spht.up. The Planning Commission recommended that it woul'be best for Tier 1 parcels that have over 1,000 foot lots to say that the 25 percent is going to only regulate the OHWL to 250 feet out, which matches existing code. Anything beyond that would be regulated at 30 percent. Bremer stated she is in agreement there has to be some type of regulation in the larger areas. Bremer • commented she is not sure there is any logic for the numbers beyond 500 feet. Gozola stated he would not recommend going from 30 to 35 percent to guard against hardcover that is probably not going to occur at 30 percent. Rahn stated the two tiers bring basically what the two zones brought. If the Tier 1 properties are all one zone, people would have a tendency to construct one larger building. When there are two zones, there is a tendency to say that they are allowed another footprint. Bremer stated the reason for raising this is that there will be people, especially the Tier 2 properties, who will naturally go to the different zones rather than the tiers. In some ways it continues on the old practice of calculating hardcover. Rahn commented there would still be that break for the longer lots. Bremer stated the longer Tier 1 lots will not be that numerous but that it could be a point of questioning the tier assignment. Franchot commented that is a natural consequence of not starting with a clean slate but rather simplifying and cleaning up the language. McMillan stated she personally would like 25 percent in Tier 1. Once you get to the 250 -foot mark, it tends to revert back to the old division and brings in some confusion. • Rahn'stated he would like some additional time to study the ordinance. Page 9 of 15