01-09-2012 Council Work Session Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION JOINT WORK SESSION Monday,January 9,2012 5:00 o'clock p.m. ROLL CALL The Orono City Council and Planning Commission met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Lili Tod McMillan and Council Members Doug Franchot, Aaron Printup, and David Rahn; Planning Commissioners Laren Schoenzeit,John Thiesse, Lizz Levang, Jon Schwingler, Kevin Landgraver, and Alternate Planning Commissioner Dennis Walsh. Representing Staff were City Administrator Jessica Loftus, Assistant City Administrator of Long-Term Strategic Planning Michael Gaffron, Planning Coordinator Melanie Curtis,Planning Assistant Christine Mattson, Planner Ben Gozola, and Recorder Jackie Young. REVIEW OF DRAFT ORDINANCE Ben Gozola stated the purpose of tonight's meeting is to provide a quick overview of the recommendations of the Hardcover Task Force, its overarching goals, and the presentation of a draft ordinance. The overarching goals of the City in connection with the task force were to simplify the hardcover regulations,maintain historical protection levels, consider new technologies that can be shown to work, provide multiple avenues to comply with the code, and to focus on achieving desired results. Currently there are 10 separate sections in the City Code that include either a reference to hardcover or a regulation governing hardcover. Current regulations are established by overlay district and zoning districts, which include shoreland, industrial, and PUD/PRD. The general framework of the task force was to utilize available data to justify what will be considered hardcover under the new ordinance; target new regulations at currently regulated parcels; expand only in areas that will impact the City's overall stormwater quality; and focus on residential standards. The task force allowed for a four-step multiple avenue approach for compliance, examined past approvals to determine what historically has been allowed and use those standards to set the new thresholds; and used available studies to analyze current versus proposed standards. A four-tiered approval approach to setting hardcover allowances was considered in addition to past practice and historical data. Two of the overarching goals included providing incentives for eliminating legal nonconforming hardcover and linking the draft ordinance to the comprehensive plan. As it relates to the draft ordinance, Gozola indicated that a stormwater quality overlay district has been created. The task force is recommending an overlay district due to a number of reasons: The area receives waters that do not follow political boundaries,the closer a property is to receiving waters,the more important hardcover regulations become; the majority of current regulations are based on inclusion or exclusion to the shoreland overlay, and provides the best foundation for achieving the established goals. Included within Section II of the draft ordinance are definitions of building coverage,building footprint, and hardcover. Building coverage is defined as the total square footage of all building footprints on a parcel. Gozola stated by linking building coverage to building footprint,there will be consistency to what should be related terms. The definition of building footprint is the outline of the total area covered by a building's perimeter at the ground level. Hardcover is considered to be a constructed hard surface that prevents or retards entry of water into the soil and causes water to run off the surface in greater quantities and at an increased rate of flow than prior to development. Page 1 of 11