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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, August 12, 2013 <br />7:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br />  <br />    Page 27 of 37   <br />(10. #13-3614 FRED JOHNSON ON BEHALF OF PATRICIA L. PFEFFER, 1565 ORCHARD <br />BEACH PLACE – VARIANCES, Continued) <br /> <br />Printup moved, Anderson seconded, to recommend denial of Application No. 13-3614, Fred <br />Johnson on behalf of Patricia L. Pfeffer, 1565 Orchard Beach Place. <br /> <br />Bremer asked what the difference is between this lot of record and the state law that gives owners of lots <br />of record some rights. <br /> <br />Mattick stated the nonconformity does not comply with today’s rules regarding setbacks, etc., and that the <br />fundamental premise of a nonconforming was that they would gradually go away. The legislation <br />primarily dealt with lakeshore lots. With the increase in the number of lakeshore lots, some legislation <br />was passed guaranteeing owners of smaller lots the right to proceed with building without having to get a <br />lot area variance provided some criteria is met. One of those requirements is the lot must have a <br />minimum of 10,000 square feet and all other zoning requirements. <br /> <br />Mattick stated when Staff reviewed this application, it was determined that the application does not meet <br />all of those requirements. Mattick stated in this particular instance the change in the state statute does not <br />help the applicant. <br /> <br />Bremer asked if a house existed on the lot now, whether the owner would be allowed to rebuild. <br /> <br />Mattick indicated they would be allowed to rebuild in that situation but at this point it is treated as a <br />vacant lot. <br /> <br />VOTE ON THE ABOVE MOTION: Ayes 5, Nays 0. <br /> <br />PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR/CITY ENGINEER’S REPORT <br /> <br />11. ORONO PUBLIC SCHOOLS – STOP SIGN REQUEST <br />Struve stated on June 26 he received a letter from the Orono Public School District making a request to <br />add at the north school entrance by the middle school and the high school a 4-way stop sign. There are <br />currently stop signs for the parking lots and the school district would like to add one additional stop sign <br />for northbound traffic. <br /> <br />Based on some past information regarding traffic patterns and traffic counts, which was compared to the <br />warrants for this stop sign, it was determined, it does not meet the warrants for a stop sign. Struve <br />indicated there is a provision to allow for some flexibility to conduct an engineering study. There are <br />some traffic concerns that arise mainly in the afternoon based on the information provided by the Orono <br />Public Schools. Approximately 350 students per day traverse the roadway. <br /> <br />Struve indicated he did present the request to Police Chief Farniok, who is also in support of adding the <br />stop sign in this location. There are some concerns about traffic potentially backing up on to County <br />Road 6. If the Council decides to move forward with the creation of a 4-way stop, the stop sign will be <br />monitored once school starts to see if traffic is actually backing up and the stop sign can be removed if <br />necessary. <br /> <br />McMillan asked if the stop sign would help with the buses and pedestrian traffic. <br />Item #02 - CC Agenda - 08/26/2013 <br />Approval of Council Minutes 08/12/2013 [Page 27 of 37]