01-27-2014 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, January 27, 2014 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 5 of 32 (4. #13-3636 LIXIAO WANG, 3059 FARVIEW LANE – VARIANCES, Continued) Mattick stated given the time constraints, the resolution will need to be adopted at the next City Council meeting, and asked what the exact parameters of an approval would be and what the parameters of a denial would be. Levang stated if the garage depth is 23 feet, the City Council will deny the variance, and if the garage is less than 23 feet, the City Council will approve the variance and allow the garage addition up to 24 feet. McMillan stated if the garage is 18 feet deep, the City Council will follow the Planning Commission recommendation. Levang noted the Planning Commission recommended the deck not be permitted and also recommended any additional requests for hardcover to the driveway not be allowed. Mattick asked whether it is 18 feet in depth or less than 23 feet in depth. Mattick stated he would like to make sure that if the depth is somewhere in between those two numbers, that the motion would cover that. Printup stated he agrees with half of the potential motion, but that he has an issue with the part that says if it 23 feet or less. Levang stated they are saying he should have a functional garage and the standard is 24 feet. If it is 18 feet deep, the garage is not functional. Printup asked when the house and garage were originally constructed. Gaffron indicated 1979. Printup commented between 1979 and now, the garage was functional. Levang noted the interior wall was potentially moved. Curtis stated the elevator was added to that third stall in 2001. McMillan stated 20 feet tends to be the minimum depth of a garage nowadays. McMillan noted the City Council has a 23-foot depth from 2001 and an 18-foot depth from the builder for this application and that the City Council is attempting to figure out which number is correct. McMillan stated if the garage is substandard, then getting it to a standard, functional depth is what she is concerned about. McMillan stated the garage appeared to be functional in 2001 and that she is less concerned about the third stall because the focus by the Planning Commission and the City Council has been that the main two-car garage is functional.