03/18/2013 Planning Commission Minutes

Metadata

Thumbnails

Annotations

MINUTES OF THE � ORONO PLANNING COMISSION MEETING Monday,March 18,2013 6:30 o'clock p.m. OLD BUSINESS 4. #13-3596 CITY OF ORONO,ZONING STUDY—ACCESSORY USES AND STRUCTURES,6:59 P.M.—8:41 P.M. Gaffron noted at the February meeting Planning Commission was introduced to the topic of unlisted accessory uses by City Attorney Soren Mattick. This was further discussed at the March 6 work session during which a number of currently unlisted accessory uses `customarily incidental to the primary residential use' were considered. The intent of this review process is to determine whether certain uses and structures that commonly appear at residential properties should be added to the Zoning Code listing of allowed Accessory Uses within each zoning district. For those that ultimately are chosen to be listed, parameters for allowable location, size and height should also be considered. The Planning Commission should also consider potential revisions to the sections of code providing for general standards for various accessory uses, as well as some definition revisions and the desirability(pro and con) of text additions formally stating that`uses not listed are not allowed'. In order to better assess the wide range of non-listed `customarily incidental' accessory structures and uses, staff has re-ordered and in some cases consolidated the list reviewed on March 6, and then assigned each of the items into one of three `priority' categories: 1)extremely common structures/uses-found at most residential properties;2) somewhat common structures/uses-found at many but certainly not all residential properties; and 3)marginally common structures/uses-found at a limited number of residential properties, or an as-yet relatively uncommon structure or use that may become more common in the future. A fourth category could perhaps be those structures/uses rarely if ever found on residential properties-these would clearly not fit the definition of being `customarily incidental' and have not been included for consideration. To facilitate discussion regarding appropriate standards for each use or group of uses listed, it may be useful to review how these items are addressed in other cities' codes. Excerpts from various nearby cities' codes have been included with many of the uses in the attached tables-these are not necessarily recommended text changes for Orono,but may provide a framework for discussion of what standards Orono may wish to incorporate for accessory uses that are ultimately added to the Orono Zoning Code. l. "Extremely Common" Structures/LJses • This category includes a variety of accessory structures or uses which staff and PC agreed are fairly obvious as being common within residential districts. These have long been allowed in the City(with or without the need for building permits)and are found throughout all zones in the City; from a common sense standpoint have been taken for granted as allowable, even though they have not previously appeared within the zoning district lists of allowed accessory uses; and in some cases standards for them are already established in the code.Table 1 (attached) lists these uses or structures and notes existing applicable code sections as well as sample standards for discussion. 2. "Somewhat Common" Structures/LJses These are structures or uses that may be common in some zoning districts but not others, or which reflect the needs/wants of a limited segment of the population, or which are decorative in nature rather than Page 6 of 24