05-11-1999 Council Minutes Special City Council Meeting

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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 11, 1999 • neighborhood and would be reduced if the driveway was paved. Odors are a minor issue and should not pose any problem. There is no street lighting being proposed at this street intersection and headlights from vehicles entering and exiting at the new access will not shine directly at any neighboring homes. There also will be a minimal visual impact to the neighborhood by opening this access. Gaffron commented that Woodhill Country Club does not propose to install a gatehouse, but the Club is proposing to have a gate or chain across the access that would be opened at 7:00 a.m. and closed at 8:00 p.m. The Club closed this access in 1980 due to security issues, and at least one neighborhood resident has expressed concerns regarding security. The City, independent of this proposal and this application, authorized a traffic management study for the segment of County Road 15 from North Shore Drive to Ferndale Road West for the purpose of analyzing traffic movement and access from cross streets, to look at methods to improve east -west traffic movement that could provide some relief to County Road 15, to look at the feasibility of providing a frontage road on the north side of 15 between Woodhill Road and Orono Orchard Road, and to look at the feasibility of installing a stoplight at North Shore Drive and at Orono Orchard Road. One of the conclusions of the study was that access to Woodhill Country Club would be vastly improved with the provision of a traffic signal at Orono Orchard Road. Gaffron noted that the City has received numerous letters from the neighborhood residents regarding this application and that those have been included as an exhibit in the City Council's packet for their review. In addition, included is a traffic study by Benshoof & Associates on behalf of the neighborhood residents as well as a letter from Attorney Bruce Malkerson on behalf of certain homeowners in the neighborhood. • Gaffron stated the City should consider whether Woodhill Country Club has provided sufficient justification to warrant consideration of a second access to the property and whether Woodhill Country Club has adequately demonstrated that other secondary access options are either not feasible or are inferior to the proposed Woodhill Avenue access. The members of the City Council should also consider whether the potential public health, safety and welfare concerns do not outweigh the benefits of allowing Woodhill Country Club an access to Woodhill Avenue. City Council should also address the other questions on pages 15 and 16 of the May 5, 1999 Zoning Administrator's report in reaching an opinion on whether an amendment to the conditional use permit should be approved. City Staff is recommending that if the City Council determines that some limited use of the access is appropriate, some minimum conditions be attached to such approval. First, if the Club's access to County Road 15 is closed for whatever reason for an extended period other than a short-term emergency situation, the City must have the right to reconsider the Club's Woodhill Avenue access conditional use permit to allow consideration of all alternatives for provision of proper and adequate access for the Club and other potential access users, and consideration of the impacts of those alternatives. Secondly, the City should establish triggers which will allow review of the Woodhill Avenue access conditional use permit, including but not limited to those proposed by the Club, a review based on the amount of actual traffic using the access, and a review after some given time period of the situation. Gaffron suggested that if the City Council concludes that approval of the access is appropriate, Council should direct City Staff to draft a conditional use permit approval resolution with appropriate findings and conditions for consideration at the May 24th Council meeting. • B. Council Questions of Staff Page 5