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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, November 14, 2011 7:00 o'clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 3 of 16 (5. 11-3527 JASON AND JODY SMITH, 2690 RAINEY ROAD, Continued) future connection to Gander Road. The private road outlot has not yet been developed with a road. It currently is wooded land and visually appears merely as part of the applicant's property. However, this configuration makes the east lot line a "side street lot line" with a required "side street yard" of 50 feet in which structures are normally not allowed. A similar request by the previous owners was made in 2006. The owners at that time were requesting a setback variance to allow a 40-foot setback where a 50-foot setback is required in order to construct a garage addition. Staff and the Planning Commission recommended denial of the former request. However, the City Council voted to approve the requested setback variance. The owners did not construct the addition and the variance has since expired. At their October meeting, the Planning Commission voted 4 to 1 to recommend denial of the side street setback variance consistent with Staff recommendation. The dissenting Commissioner felt the applicants had demonstrated practical difficulty. Planning Staff continues to recommend denial of the setback variance for the reasons outlined within Staff's report. Thompson stated the garage is limited in space and pointed out the entrance to the house that is located in the garage. The practical difficulty is the steps going into the basement protrude into the garage and take away a substantial amount of space to park a car. To address this issue, they are proposing to add a 32' x 26' foot garage. The proposed garage encroaches 12 feet into the setback for the road, which is proposed to be constructed at some unknown point in the future. Without the road, they would be within eight feet of the 30-foot yard setback. The property owners have looked at a number of options for designing the garage and have narrowed it down to this proposal. The other practical difficulty is a secondary drain field and a number of trees. The primary septic system is also in the way and limits their ability to construct an outbuilding. Thompson stated in his view it is not feasible to construct a building on any other part of the lot. The Planning Commission had suggested that maybe the garage could be located closer to the street in front of the exiting garage. Due to the layout of the property, it would be a huge eyesore because it would be very noticeable from the street and would change the overall appearance of the home. Thompson noted the same variance was granted a few years ago but the previous property owners elected not to construct the garage at that time and the variance expired. The previous City Council found that the conditions of the existing property are peculiar to it and do not apply generally to the other properties in the zoning district; granting the variance would not adversely affect traffic conditions or create other dangers to the neighboring properties; would not merely serve as a convenience to the applicants but is necessary to alleviate a practical difficulty to the applicant; the garage is necessary to preserve a substantial property right for the applicants; and the proposal is within the spirit and intent of the zoning code. Item #03 - CC Agenda - 11/28/2011 Approval of Council Meeting Minutes 11/14/2011 [Page 3 of 16]