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ORONO JOINT PI�ANNING COMMISSION O <br /> & CITY COFT�CIL WORK SESSION <br /> Wednesday,March 2,2011 <br /> 5:30 o'clock p.m. <br /> ROLL <br /> The Orono City Council and Planning Commission met on the above-mentioned date with the following <br /> members present: Mayor Lili Tod McMillan, Council Members Doug Franchot,Aaron Printup; Planning <br /> Commissioners Kim Kang,Denise Leskinen, Loren Schoenzeit,Jon Schwingler, and Alternate David <br /> Rahn. Representing Staff were City Administrator Jessica Loftus,Assistant City Administrator of Long <br /> Term Strategic Planning Mike Gaffron,Planning Coordinator Melanie Curtis,Planning Assistant <br /> Christine Mattson, Consulting City Planner Ben Gozola, and Recorder Jackie Young. Council Member <br /> Cynthia Bremer arrived at 6:43 p.m., and Planning Commissioner John Thiesse arrived at 6:47 p.m. <br /> The work session was called to order at 5:38 p.m. <br /> NEW BUSINESS <br /> AARDCOVER REGULATIONS UPDATE <br /> Ben Gozola thanked the City Council/Planning Commission for allowing him to speak tonight. Gozola <br /> noted he has 12 years of planning and zoning experience and currently works for approximately 12 cities. <br /> Gozola noted on January 24, 2011,the City Council authonzed City Staff to begin the process of updating <br /> the City's regulations governing hardcover. One of the purposes of tonight's meeting is to discuss the <br /> general overarching goals that Staff should use as guideposts throughout the review process of the City's <br /> hardcover regulations. Staff will be seeking consensus from the group as to what general outcomes are <br /> being sought. <br /> Some of the overarching project goals to discuss include the following: <br /> 1. Simplification of the regulations so all parties understand what is required and how to comply. <br /> 2. Continuance of historically stringent standards for the protection of local water bodies. <br /> 3. Greater options for citizens to legally comply with code requirements in light of the revised <br /> variance standard established by the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2010. <br /> 4. Openness to new technologies as they may arise. <br /> 5. A transitioning of the City's focus away from"meeting minimum standards" towards <br /> "achieving desired results." <br /> 6. Reaffirming Orono as a civic leader in hardcover management policy. <br /> Gozola asked if there were any additional overarching goals that should be included. <br /> Kang commented the bullet that talks about transitioning from meeting minimum standards to achieving <br /> desired results is a good goaL Kang stated the City needs to clearly define what its desired results are. <br /> McMillan stated the original philosophy of Orono was fairly comprehensive and helped to reduce the <br /> __------------------ Page 1 -- - -- -- — <br />