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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 23, 2013 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 4 of 11 (4. #13-3628 THOMAS POTTER ON BEHALF OF RODNEY AND BARBARA BURWELL, 1100 MILLSTON ROAD, VARIANCES – RESOLUTION TABLED, Continued) Levang asked how many stalls the garage would have. Potter indicated there will be four. Levang stated the hardship issue is a factor that needs to be taken into consideration on this application. Bremer asked if there were any public comments regarding the application at the Planning Commission meeting. Levang noted it was placed on the Consent Agenda. Curtis indicated there were no public comments received. Potter pointed out there is a fair amount of woods on the neighboring property that screens the structure and that the building is below the maximum height restrictions. McMillan stated it should not be the obligation of the next door neighbor to provide the screening and that trees do eventually die. Thiesse stated he does not want the City Council to get the impression the Planning Commission did not do their due diligence on this application. Reconfiguring this side loading garage is not possible since it cannot be reduced down to 20 feet and it cannot be moved forward due to the turning radii. Thiesse stated the applicants cannot reconfigure that structure in that location. Because of that, there is some hardship in that the only way it can work is in that location unless it is reconfigured for a different spot on the property. Thiesse indicated the Planning Commission looked at the application from that standpoint. Levang asked if what does not work is the four-stall garage. Thiesse stated loading from that direction does not work since it cannot be reduced down to 18 feet. The garage either has to be reconfigured to be loaded from a different direction or placed in a different location. McMillan stated she does not want to get into designing a new garage Curtis stated the property owner had indicated the removal of the existing garage provided more open space on the property in general and not that another structure could not be constructed there. Potter stated they are widening up the area by the garages and creating more green space on the property. Levang stated it still comes down to a practical difficulty. Bremer stated it would improve the massing appearance and would provide a benefit but that she does have a concern about it and is in agreement with Mayor McMillan. Levang stated she concurs as well. Item #03 - CC Agenda - 10/14/2013 Approval of Council Minutes 09/23/2013 [Page 4 of 11]