06-23-2014 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL Monday, June 23, 2014 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 25 of 30 (8. 14-3666 LUKE KUJAWA ON BEHALF OF EOF INVESTMENTS, LLC, 1440-1442 SHORELINE DRIVE – REZONING, Continued) Levang stated she would like to take the personalities out of this application and focus instead on the residential or commercial zoning issues. Levang stated the City Council makes decisions that have to last the test of time and there may be different property owners at some point. Kujawa stated he was looking through one of the old applications to the LMCD and at the time the dock configuration was approved, the properties to the north, 1442 and 1440, were zoned commercial. Kujawa stated it was during that application time that they were switched to residential and it likely was because Jim Rivers wanted to lower his taxes. Printup suggested Staff create a historical record for these lots to see how they have evolved over time. Gaffron indicated he would be able to put together a complete history on the zoning of the various properties given some time. McMillan stated to her understanding the majority of the marinas in the area are located within residential districts and that they have all had to deal with the constraints of having residential around them. McMillan stated for the most part the marinas have been able to conform and get along with the residents and that she would like to see that continue. McMillan stated rezoning of the properties is a serious issue and that all the issues need to be balanced. McMillan stated she cannot stress enough the importance of having a substantial buffer between the marina and the residential property and that both parties may not get everything they would like. McMillan stated the application will go back to the Planning Commission unless the applicant elects to withdraw his application. Mattick stated a formal motion is not required but would be up to the discretion of the Council. Gaffron stated his understanding is that two out of the three Council Members are not interested in pursuing the creation of a sub-district and that they are more interested in looking at leaving 1440 as residential, perhaps rezoning 1442 commercial, requiring buffers and exploring further other items that are critical to the site. Gaffron stated in his view the best way to deal with this would be to go through a Comprehensive Plan Amendment process. McMillan stated since the City Council is not interested in pursuing a sub-district, it is then up to the applicant to decide what he would like to do. Gaffron stated if the applicant chooses not to withdraw the application knowing that the City Council’s action will be to likely deny the application as applied for, it will be up to the applicant on whether he wants to submit a Comprehensive Plan Amendment. McMillan stated the Planning Commission will need to review the application again if it is not withdrawn.