10-09-2017 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCII.MEETING Monday,October 9,2017 7:00 o'clock p.m. 12. #17-3968 SHARRATT DESIGN AND COMPANY OB/O FREDERICK AND PATRICIA JOHNSON, 1565 ORCHARD BEACH PLACE(PID 07-117-23-0026)—VARIANCE—Continued Dankey asked if he ever saw the history of the property. Johnson indicated he did not see that and that he has had the property since 2013. Johnson stated he has built on 4,000 square foot lots in the City of Orono many times and has never had any problems. Walsh commented they probably were not lakeshore lots. Johnson stated some were platted lakeshore lots in the Crystal Bay neighborhood. Crosby stated in that neighborhood the houses are more condensed and that it is a different style neighborhood. Dankey stated if she had built one of those houses on either side of this lot, she would have tried to buy this lot,but at the same time everyone is trying to abide by the building laws and they bought the lots that they could build on. Printup asked what the builder feels about the water runoff. Johnson indicated he would be the builder and that the building envelope is approximately 30 feet above the rest of the lot. Johnson stated the runoff is at the 75-foot setback. Dankey noted the corner of the lot is very steep. Johnson noted they are not building in a marsh and that the building area is sitting up quite high. Printup commented the rear setback variance would allow the house to be squared up. Les Delton stated the garage fell down in probably 1980 and that it really was not a garage. Delton stated maybe someone could have parked a car in it but that it was at least 1980 or 1981 when it fell down and that it has been 50 some years where there has not been a house on the property. Walsh stated the question is whether they should be allowed some flexibility on the rear setback or whether they should be required to comply with the 30-foot setback. Printup asked what a lot of record means. Mattick stated the City Code anticipates that zoning ordinances will change over time but that there will be existing lots. Mattick stated if the lot meets certain minimum criteria and was established by a certain date,it will be considered a lot of record,which allows someone to build on it at some point. Mattick stated a lot of record would not lose the rights it had earlier on. Walsh stated the lot is buildable but the building envelope is very small. Pat Cleveland noted this lot cannot meet the average lakeshore setback. Printup stated that could be considered a practical difficulty since it is considered a lot of record. Page 13 of 23