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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING <br />Monday, September 15, 2014 <br />6:30 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br />  <br />Page 16 of 59  <br />  <br />John Bessesen, Developer, stated the reason he got involved with this project is that he was interested in <br />doing some condominium/commercial development up by the church. Bessesen indicated they looked at <br />a number of options that would allow them to put as much density as possible on the site while at the <br />same time preserving the trees as much as possible. Bessesen indicated they looked at where the existing <br />easement is for the driveway, how many trees would be lost, and how much the terrain would need to be <br />cut in. Bessesen indicated the property behind the Lund’s store slopes gradually and goes up towards the <br />top of the ridge and that they wanted to put the twin homes up towards the top of the property towards the <br />commercial area as much as possible. <br /> <br />Bessesen indicated there are a number of people in his neighborhood and around the lake who are older <br />and would like to downsize, so he thought this would be a good spot for some empty nesters. Bessesen <br />indicated with a development for that age group, there usually is not a lot of traffic and they have a desire <br />for a smaller yard, which would help preserve the trees. In addition, it was felt that development of this <br />property would be a great opportunity to create a buffer between the single-family homes and the <br />commercial area located to the rear of this site. <br /> <br />Bessesen indicated the footprint of the units would be approximately1,600 square feet per unit, which is <br />fairly small, and that he tried to line the road up between this piece of property and the townhomes across <br />the street. Bessesen indicated he also purchased the piece of property next to the townhomes and that it <br />was developed for the house that currently sits there. Bessesen indicated he had to purchase that property <br />from the association and as part of that negotiation gave the owners covered dock slips. Bessesen stated <br />he spoke with the owner of that property last night and he indicated that he would not be able to really see <br />the development. The rest of the homes along Kelly would not be able to see the development. <br /> <br />Bessesen stated he is looking at approximately $650,000 per unit and that in his view there is a market for <br />that. <br /> <br />Tom Waslow, Architect, stated the whole area that is in the conservation easement would be fenced in <br />during the project so that no construction activity would disturb that area. Waslow noted this is a <br />preliminary plan and that there are still some engineering issues that will need to be worked out. Waslow <br />stated work is presently being done on a tree inventory and that they will take steps to protect as many <br />trees as possible as well as the underbrush. <br />Item #01 - PC Agenda - 10/20/2014 <br />Approval of Planning Commission Minutes 09/15/2014 <br />[Page 16 of 59]