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FILE#11-3503 ' <br /> 15 March 2012 <br /> Page 2 of 4 <br /> conditional uses allowed within the B-2 Zoning District. <br /> • "Business of Docking, Mooring or Storing Boats" means renting or otherwise <br /> providing space, including boat buoys, for docking, mooring or storing one or <br /> more boats belonging to persons other than the owner or occupant of the <br /> property, except when licensed as a joint use. <br /> b. 94-76: License Required. It is unlawful for any persons to engage or participate in <br /> business use without first having obtained an annual license therefore from the City. <br /> c. 94-100: Business Use Licenses Limited to B-2 Zone. No business use shall be licensed in <br /> any zoning district other than B-2, except when a business use is allowed by ordinance in <br /> another zoning district, such use conducted in said district shall not be required to obtain <br /> a license. - <br /> Background <br /> In May of 2011 the Planning Commission and City Council reviewed a potential amendment to the Zoning <br /> Code to address the multiple sections which in combination apply to dock rental in residential districts. <br /> The amendment was moved forward by the Planning Commission but tabled by the City Council for <br /> further study and discussion. It was recently placed on the February 27th Council agenda for discussion � <br /> and direction. �� <br /> From 1962 through 1994,. Orono codes allowed one or two boats not belonging to the <br /> owner/renter/occupant of a property to be stored at a residential dock in a residential zone in the City. <br /> In 1995,the code was revised so that no boats not belonging to the owner/renter/occupant of a property <br /> could be stored at a residential dock in a residential zone. That is the current code. The proposed new <br /> code language reviewed by the PC and Council at the May 2011 meetings and the recent February 27tn <br /> City Council meeting was intended to simplify and clarify the existing code language, but would not <br /> change the intent or impact of the code nor the way the code is enforced. <br /> At the February 27, 2012 meeting, the Council did not approve the dock rental ordinance amendment. <br /> Rather, on a vote of 3-1, Council directed staff to proceed with exploring two new alternatives for <br /> revising the code, and begin a new public review process at the March Planning Commission meeting. <br /> The existing code has been enforced primarily by complaint. The City receives a number of complaints <br /> each year, typically from neighbors of a residential property where one or more slips are being rented to <br /> non-owners/renters/occupants. Slip rental at residential docks has a history of negative impacts on <br /> Orono neighborhoods; traffic, noise and activity at odd hours, parking concerns, and the element of <br /> unknown persons in the neighborhood have all been cited by complainants as negative neighborhood <br /> impacts. <br /> At the February 27 Council meeting, one of the topics briefly touched on was whether the magnitude of <br /> private dock rental is at a level that justifies having a regulation at all, given that LMCD has a pro-active <br /> approach in annually inspecting docks that have 3 or more boats. Staff noted that the City receives a , <br /> half-dozen to a dozen complaints each year-yet this number has to be considered in perhaps more than <br /> one context. Below are some factors that speak to the magnitude and complexity of regulating private <br /> dock rental: <br /> � We have approximately 1,000 lakeshore residential properties in Orono, yet in any given year we <br /> get complaints about perhaps no more than 1 percent of our lakeshore lots.That seems relatively <br /> insignificant, and does not take inordinate amounts of staff time to deal with. Note that we are <br /> able to readily document at least 14 separate properties during the period 2009-2011 where we <br />