03-21-2011 Planning Commission Packet

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� � � 3 To: Chair Kang and Planning Commissioners Jessica Loftus, City Administrator From: Mike Gaffron,Asst. City Administrator-Long Term Strategy Date: March 17, 2011 Subject: #11- 3500 City of Orono - Zoning Code Amendment: Regulation of Boat Clubs Zoning District: B-2 Lakeshore Business District Eghibits A-Planning Commission Draft Minutes 2-22-11 B - Sample Marina Licensing Resolution- 1970s-80s C - Memo and Exhibits of 2-14-11 D - Letters Submitted by Neighbors to Sailors World at 2-22 PC Meeting At Planning Commission's February meeting a number of questions and concerns arose that resulted in tabling of the proposed amendment. Planning Commission noted that the term "boat club" is not clearly defined in the code, but needs to be carefully defined given the variety of boating options available today. Members questioned the need for parking standards for the boat club use, and asked staff to more clearly define the problem, to identify the objective the City would like to achieve, and to outline the options for achieving that objective. Additionally, Planning Commission suggested that other allowable uses within the B-2 District should be considered in terms of their impacts on parking. Definitions VJhile the Zoning Code does not specifically define "boat club", the entry within the Conditional Use section of the B-2 standards does specify that this term refers to "time share" situations. As noted in last month's discussion, during the Planning Commission's 1994 review of the B-2 Code the concept of boat club was informally defined as a situation in which there are "multiple persons sharing in the use of a single boat" (PC Minutes, January 4, 1994). This may occur via various methods;two that seem to be most common include: (1) Purchasing the right to share in the use of a variety of different boats owned by a single entity; or (2) Shared ownership and use of a single boat among multiple entities (fractional ownership). It has been suggested that a boat club structured per (1) is nothing more than a formalized method of boat renta.l, which is an allowed accessory use in the B-2 District. The zoning code does not define "boat rental". To differentiate between a boat club and boat rental, staff would suggest that in its most classic form, boat rental might be considered as a one-time transaction ' between a boat owner and a boat user for a single-day or short-term use, whereas a boat club suggests a longer-term relationship between the owner and user, for multiple uses on multiple occasions. Fractional ownership per (2) eliminates the transaction between the boat owner and the boat user, and therefore clearly does not fit the concept of a rental situation. The zoning code does not specifically address or attempt to regulate fractional ownership situations, yet they may have some of the same potential impacts as (1).