09-08-1986 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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.MINUTES OF THE REGULAR ORONO COUNCIL MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 8, 1986 #1022 CHARLES SCHALL CONTINUED Attorney Dave Singer stated that he concurred with staff's memo and the City Attorney's opinion, however he wanted to note that a bedroom could not effectively be added over the proposed garage at a lower height. Attorney MacKinnon stated, per City Attorney Thompson's memo, that if the Council grants a variance, its record should supports its findings of hardship in regard to both aspects of the variance i.e. the garage expansion and bedroom use. Therefore, Council must find the hardship with respect for the need for another bedroom meaning that applicant cannot put their property to a reasonable use without an additional bedroom. He stated that if Council approves this variance, they would be making a statement to the public that unless they have a 2 -car garage and a 2 -3 bedroom house, they do not have a reasonable use of their property. He also pointed out that the hardship findings made by applicant have not been verified by staff. Staff should determine as fact that the existing den can not be considered a bedroom or whether the basement could be used for additional bedroom area. City Attorney Barrett stated that , as he understands it, that Council must determine as a matter of fact whether the addition of the extra room is of significant consequence; if so, then they need to apply variance standards to the second room. If the Council determines that the height difference as a matter of fact does not rise to a matter of great consequence then they need not apply the variance standards. Mr. Schal 1 stated that according to the City's Building Inspector, in order to use the basement for a bedroom area, it would require code modification and /or variance. He also noted that that his house with the proposed addition would be 200 s.f. less and 30% less hardcover than the Rudd's property. He noted that any other alternatives mentioned have proven to be unfeasable. He stated that he does not feel asking for a two -car garage and a second bedroom is an unreasonble request. Mayor Butler stated that she felt the request for a second bedroom was reasonable and suggested that Councilmember Grabek's motion include the facts regarding the unuseable basement area and the facts of applicant's property vs. the Rudd property. Councilmember Grabek agreed to Mayor Butler's suggestion. 3