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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, June 8, 2009 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ PAGE 9 of 12 (5. #09-3404 PAUL AND MEGAN BENNETT, 500 HANLON AVENUE, Continued) Mattick stated the City Council does have the discretion to waive the fee if it chooses. Curtis noted the City has imposed double permit fees on other small projects in the past. Murphy stated a rough estimate of the fees would be $1200. Bremer commented that one of the reasons for the higher fees is to deter residents from constructing structures without the necessary permits. Mattick stated one of the options is to tear off the structure and then apply to the City for a building permit. Mattick stated one of the reasons for the higher permit fees is to compensate for the amount of time Staff has devoted to the application. Murphy indicated he is still looking for some rationale on why this took so long to come before the City Council and that given the circumstances, he is hesitant to waive any fees. Bennett stated the history of this project is rather extensive and that she was given varying stories and reasons by Staff, which is the major reason for the delay. Bennett noted her husband was sued in criminal court over the failure to obtain a permit and that they attempted to work with the attorney in that situation. They also met with the city administrator in an attempt to avoid the city hiring a criminal attorney to prosecute this case. Bennett stated also included in the hardcover calculation was a prior variance for an addition, which added to the confusion. Bennett indicated they were not trying to avoid anything in particular and were attempting to work with the City as much as possible to arrive at a reasonable solution. Bennett stated if you look at the correspondence, there has been come confusion over exactly what the rationale is on the City’s part and that they have spent a substantial number of hours trying to resolve this in a way that is favorable for everyone. Curtis stated there have been instances in the past where homeowner conducted projects have had the double permit fee waived. Curtis stated the initial notice came from the building inspector and that correspondence did go back and forth between the parties for a period of time, with Staff attempting to provide the information being requested. Franchot stated he has spoken to Megan Bennett about this situation and that in his opinion there was some miscommunication between the parties. In his view a $700 additional penalty is excessive given the relatively small nature of the project. Franchot indicated it was his understanding the applicants thought they were covered under the previous variance. Franchot moved, White seconded, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 5842, a Resolution Granting Variances to Municipal Zoning Code Sections 78-420 and 78-1403, for the Property Located at 500 Hanlon Avenue, with the after-the-fact double zoning application fee being waived but the double building permit fee being imposed as well as any other applicable fees. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. Mattick noted the applicants will need to obtain a building permit and pay the double permit fee. Item #02 - CC Agenda - 06/22/09 Approval of Council Minutes 06/08/09 [Page 9 of 12]