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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, November 12, 2013 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 4 of 36 (7. #13-3631 LANDSOURCE, LLC (TODD HOLMERS), 3700 NORTHERN AVENUE, SUBDIVISION – PRELIMINARY PLAT – PLANNED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, Continued) The City Council should consider the following: 1. Does the Council agree with Staff and Planning Commission that development of this site should be via the Planned Residential Development process? Gaffron noted that development via the PRD process is technically a conditional use in the LR-1C district and requires concurrent approval of a conditional use permit. 2. Does the Council have any issue with the number, width, or usable depth of lots proposed? The property contains 3.74 acres of dry buildable land net of the wetland and required road dedication, which would potentially allow up to seven half-acre lots. Under Option 1, the applicant is proposing six lots ranging in dry buildable area from 0.72 to 0.82 acres. Lots 3, 4, and 5 have a portion of their dry buildable on the far side of the wetland. Option 2 also proposes six lots, each containing only dry buildable land, with lot sizes ranging from 0.18 acres to 0.43 acres. The layout under either options allows for lot widths of 78 feet, which is less than the 100-foot standard for the LR-1C district but sufficient to allow homes up to 50 feet plus in width while meeting the required 10-foot side setback requirements. The proposed homes on either of the two end lots are also shown as having 15-foot side setbacks to the existing neighboring homes as an added buffer to the neighborhood. Under either option, Lots 3, 4, and 5 would also be limited in buildable depth by the MCWD required wetland buffer, the City’s 10-foot setback from the edge of the buffer, and the front setback. This results in little flexibility for house placement and design. The applicant has performed a Conservation Design analysis and one of the recommendations of the report was to preserve the tree border adjacent to Northern Avenue; although, they do not go as far as to recommend a conservation easement be established there. Staff recommends the following: 1. Process the subdivision as a PRD which will allow for a defined relaxation of lot area, width, hardcover, lot coverage, and other applicable standards. 2. While Staff favors site plan Option 2, which preserves the northerly portions of the property in a single homeowners association-owned outlot subject to a Conservation Easement, either Option 1 or 2 is workable. 3. If visual density is a concern, require one or more of the methods noted above that could reduce the crowding effect. Item #02 - CC Agenda - 11/25/2013 Approval of Council Minutes 11/12/2013 [Page 4 of 36]