03-23-2015 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, March 23, 2015 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 9 of 18 (6. #14-3700 CITY OF ORONO – AMEND CITY CODE SECTION 78-1379, SMALL WIND CONVERSION SYSTEMS (WECS) SECOND REVIEW continued) Levang stated she is very firm on the 10 acres and that if it is 100 feet from the principal structure and 100 feet from the lot line, she could live with that. Levang indicated she likes the 300 feet, but that does not appear to be feasible. Cornick stated he also is in agreement with the 10 acre minimum since it will be easier to enforce. McMillan stated she is basically fine with the draft ordinance and that in her view the commercial could be the same as residential. McMillan stated if there becomes an increased demand for WECS, the Council can review the ordinance and make changes, but that the Council needs to make sure they are not a nuisance for someone. Cornick asked if it possible to set a range so that does not have to be a fixed number. Mattick stated if there is a range, there would need to be a way for someone to determine what the ultimate setback should be. If the Council wanted to do away with the 100-foot setback, one way to do that is to say that the setback from the property line should be 1.5 times the height of the structure, which would account for the fall-away zone. Mattick stated he would not advise doing a range just for the sake of doing a range. Cornick stated he likes the formula option. Mattick stated that is an option and that instead of requiring100 feet from the property, the Council could make it 1.5 times the height of the factor, but that would make it closer to the property line. Gaffron stated they could also use a factor of 2, 2.5 or 3. Cornick stated it might be better to just stick with a solid number. McMillan stated in her view a solid number would make things easier and would help prevent any kind of shadow or flicker from occurring on the neighboring property. Levang stated if someone cannot meet those setbacks, they can apply for a variance. Levang indicated she is in agreement with Mayor McMillan on the commercial and that the two policies should match. Levang stated at the time the City hears more requests, they can look at amending those, but at this point she likes keeping them the same. Printup noted the commercial areas are busier or have a more intense use. Levang asked how many vacant commercial properties there are. Gaffron stated depending on the definition of vacant, there are three. Gaffron stated in terms of properties that have the potential to have something built on because they are currently vacant, there is the office/condo site, which has individual lots that have not been built on. Gaffron noted no part of that could meet the 100-foot setback and that the only 10 acre property is Morrie’s. Levang stated she is comfortable at this time with having the two areas the same.