03/18/2013 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMISSION MEETING Monday,March 18,2013 6:30 o'clock p.m. When you look at the standards already in place for this item,they include Sections 78-1431 through 78-1440,which would be applicable to all accessory buildings and structures. Page 10 of the report states that all accessory buildings and structures on through lots located in R Districts shall meet principal building setbacks and have no negative impacts to adjacent neighbors or public right-of-way. Section 1432 requires that no accessory building or structure shall be constructed on any lot prior to the time of construction of the principal building to which it is an accessory and at the time of demolition of the principal building, all nonconforming accessory structures must be removed. Section 78-1433 states, "No accessory building in an R District shall exceed the height of the principal building, nor shall an accessory building exceed 30 feet in height. Gaffron indicated those restrictions have been in place for a number of years. Some cities limit their accessory structures to a height less than the principal structure or less than 30 feet. One of the reasons that the Planning Commission will see barns listed separately is that they are a structure housing animals. In the past the City would see barns that were higher than the house. Gaffron indicated he feels this may still be a potential issue in the future and perhaps should require a variance or a conditional use permit. Section 78-1434 covers area restrictions for an accessory building and states that in all R Districts, no accessory building shall exceed 1,000 square feet of footprint area; except that accessory structures in excess of 1,000 square feet will be allowed under certain conditions. Gaffron stated in his view there does not need to be any new buildings added to the list. Section 78-1435 talks about the location of the accessory building and states as follows: "Except as may be specifically provided, no detached garage or other accessory building shall be located nearer to the front or street lot line than the principal building on that lot." Gaffron stated in his view that is a basic requirement. In addition, Section 78-1435 requires that"Detached garages or other accessory buildings on lots which have frontage on a lake may be located between the rear yards of such lots and the principal building only if setback requirements of Sections 78-305(b), 78-330(b), and 78-350(b)are met. Detached garages on lots that have frontage on a lake may be located ten feet from the street or rear lot line when doors face away from the street and an adequate vehicle turnaround is provided on the site. This section does not apply to lakeshore lots that are divided by streets or private roads or are corner lots." Gaffron stated the issue here is whether or not on a lakeshore lot, such as a lot located on Shadywood Road where you can end up with a lot that is long and narrow, quite a few of those have existing and relatively new garages that are close to Shadywood Road. Those garages have to be located at least ten feet from the right-of-way line, and if they are less than 30 feet from the property line, have to have a side loading garage so they have room to park cars. The way the Code currently reads is that it is only detached garages and not the other type of buildings that might be located on a property. Gaffron questioned whether those restrictions should apply to other types of buildings and whether they should meet a different setback. Schoenzeit commented the alternative would be to require a variance. Berg asked if the house with the temporary car port would be allowed. Curtis stated the building code would address that and they would be considered a temporary structure. If they do not meet snow load requirements, it would be considered a temporary structure and would not be allowed on a permanent basis. Page 9 of 24