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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING <br />Monday, July 21, 2014 <br />6:30 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br />  <br />Page 15 of 30  <br />  <br />Gaffron stated the house has a peak height of 44 feet from the lowest point at grade to the peak. Gaffron <br />stated the building technically meets the definition of building height because it meets a 30-foot building <br />height by definition. Gaffron stated if the question is whether the height of each of the floors is reduced, <br />would the height of the building be reduced and have less of an impact to the neighboring property than at <br />44 feet, then in that situation the peak height could be reduced down to 40 or 42 feet. <br /> <br />Schoenzeit stated a redesign could help support their position. <br /> <br />Leskinen stated even if there are three short stories, that would still be a problem since there would still be <br />three stories. <br /> <br />Gaffron stated it is not too tall but that it exceeds the number of allowable stories. <br /> <br />Johnson stated the problem is when they read the City’s ordinance, they thought it meant the level before, <br />which is two-thirds of the basement. Johnson indicated they were not thinking that it went up to the next <br />story to figure that out. Due to the extreme slopes on the site and the erosion that has happened over time, <br />you end up with a situation where the City is not allowing for the floor of the garage and the floor of the <br />house. Johnson stated if a different set of rules are imposed that says because the garage floor is not close <br />to the main living floor, then that creates an issue, but that is not what the ordinance says. <br /> <br />Thiesse stated he would disagree with Mr. Johnson since it says the floor above the basement and not the <br />floor adjacent to the basement. <br /> <br />Johnson stated there are two floors. <br /> <br />Thiesse stated there is only one floor above the garage. <br /> <br />Schoenzeit stated if the majority of the basement is six feet, it would be considered a basement. <br /> <br />Johnson asked if you would not use the majority of the floor that is over the basement as it relates to <br />figuring the six foot line. <br /> <br />Schoenzeit stated you would use the floor above from where you are measuring. <br /> <br />Johnson stated they did not understand the ordinance to be saying that. Johnson stated the house has been <br />broken into two wings and that they did not see anything in the ordinance that would cover that. <br /> <br />Gaffron stated he does not agree with Mr. Gronberg’s analysis that because this is over 50 percent, you <br />should be using the other one. Gaffron stated they should be using the floor above the basement that goes <br />across the entire length of the house. Gaffron noted Staff has had this discussion with the applicants and <br />their representatives. <br /> <br />Johnson stated the house is approximately 2,500 square feet for the upper two stories and the basement is <br />1,000 square feet. <br /> <br />Gronberg asked if there will be any discussion about the contours. Gronberg stated they would like to use <br />the natural contours for determining the height of the story. <br /> <br />Item #01 - PC Agenda - 08/18/2014 <br />Approval of Planning Commission Minutes <br />[Page 15 of 30]