Mar 16, 2026 Planning Commission

[1) Call to Order]

[00:00:04]

GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO THE MONDAY, MARCH 16TH, 2026 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING FOR THE CITY OF ORONO.

WE START EVERY MEETING WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN.

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.

ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

THANK YOU. FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS THE APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA.

[3) Approval of Agenda]

I'LL SECOND. MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.

AYE. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 17TH, 2026 MEETING AGENDA.

[4.1) Planning Commission Minutes of February 17, 2026]

SECOND. MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.

AYE. MOTION CARRIES. MOVING ALONG HERE. PUBLIC HEARINGS, NUMBER FIVE.

[5.1) LA26-000008, Brent Walton, 2405 Dunwoody Avenue, Hardcover Variance (Melanie Curtis)]

MISS CURTIS. THANK YOU. THE APPLICANT IS REQUESTING A HARDCOVER VARIANCE TO CONVERT THE EXISTING DRIVEWAY HARDCOVER TO A GARAGE ADDITION CHANGING THE NATURE OF THE HARDCOVER.

THEY ORIGINALLY RECEIVED VARIANCES FOR THIS PROJECT IN 2024.

THE PROJECT HAS BEEN DELAYED AND NOW THE APPROVALS HAVE EXPIRED.

FEBRUARY 2025. SO THEY HAD TO SUBMIT A NEW APPLICATION.

THE PROPERTY HAS LEGAL, NONCONFORMING, HARD COVER CONDITION OF 33.5% HARD COVER OR 25% IS ALLOWED.

THIS IS APPROXIMATELY 1100 SQUARE FEET OVER THE LIMIT.

THEY'RE PROPOSING TO CONSTRUCT THE ATTACHED GARAGE OVER THE EXISTING DRIVEWAY.

A HARD COVER VARIANCE IS REQUIRED TO CONVERT THE DRIVEWAY HARD COVER TO BUILDING HARD COVER.

THE PROPOSAL WILL RESULT IN A 155 SQUARE FOOT REDUCTION IN OVERALL HARD COVER.

CITY CODE ALLOWS FOR THE RELOCATION OF LEGALLY NON-CONFORMING HARD COVER, PROVIDED THAT THE RELOCATION DOES NOT PHYSICALLY ENLARGE THE SIZE OF THE NONCONFORMING USE, AND THE RELOCATION DOES NOT CHANGE THE CHARACTER OF THE NONCONFORMING USE.

BECAUSE THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST IS TO CHANGE FROM DRIVEWAY HARD COVER TO BUILDING STRUCTURAL HARD COVER, IT CANNOT BE APPROVED ADMINISTRATIVELY. WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS APPLICATION.

IN THEIR PRACTICAL DIFFICULTY ANALYSIS, THE APPLICANT HAS IDENTIFIED THE RELATIVELY LONG NARROW SHAPE OF THE PROPERTY AS A PRACTICAL DIFFICULTY SUPPORTING THEIR REQUESTED VARIANCE. THEY SHOULD BE ASKED FOR ADDITIONAL TESTIMONY.

I DON'T BELIEVE THEY'RE HERE. REGARDING THE APPLICATION, IF THEY WERE HERE REGARDING PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES, STAFF DOES AGREE THAT THE NARROW SHAPE OF THE PROPERTY AND THE EXISTING CONDITION CREATE DIFFICULTIES FOR THE PROPERTY OWNER TO EXPAND THEIR HOME.

STAFF IS RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF THE VARIANCE RESULTING IN THE REDUCTION IN HARDCOVER TO ALLOW THE ADDITION.

I CAN SHOW YOU THE PLANS FOR THE PROJECT. AND I WILL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

THANK YOU, MISS CURTIS. ANY QUESTIONS FOR STAFF? I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION. HOW IS THIS APPLICATION DIFFERENT THAN THE APPROVAL FROM 2024? IT IS NOT. OKAY. DO THEY CURRENTLY HAVE A GARAGE AND THIS IS JUST AN EXTENSION OF THE GARAGE? YES. SO THE EXISTING GARAGE IS SHOWN HERE.

SO IT'S JUST EXPANDING THE GARAGE AND THE EXISTING GARAGE IS REMAINING GARAGE.

I THINK WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS LET ME JUST SEE HERE.

I THINK MAINLY THEY'RE ADDING ON AND GAINING LIKE LIVING SPACE ABOVE THE GARAGE.

OKAY. BUT YEAH, I AM NOT SURE. IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE KEEPING THE GARAGE AS GARAGE.

OKAY. THAT ISN'T PART. I MEAN, THE DISTINCTION OF THAT IS NOT PART OF THEIR APPLICATION.

SO, AND THEN COULD YOU JUST REVIEW THE CHANGE IN HARDCOVER? THEY ARE REDUCING SOME HARDCOVER IN THE DRIVEWAY.

YEAH, THEY ARE THAT GREEN SECTION. THEY'RE PULLING OUT SOME OF THAT BACKUP APRON, BUT THEY'RE LEAVING ENOUGH SO THAT THEY CAN STILL MANEUVER FORWARD OUT OF THE.

YEAH, AND IT'S MORE THAN OFFSET BY THE EXTRA LITTLE HANGOVER OF THE DRIVEWAY.

YEP. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR STAFF?

[00:05:06]

IS THIS PUBLIC HEARING FIRST I APOLOGIZE, PUBLIC HEARING FIRST, THEN WE'LL GO TO THE APPLICANT.

IT'S PUBLIC HEARING. THOSE WHO WISH TO SPEAK TO BE HEARD ON THE TOPIC, PLEASE COME ON UP.

STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD. SEEING NONE, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND NOW OPEN IT UP FOR THE APPLICANT IF THEY ARE HERE. NOT SEEING THE APPLICANT. SO WE'LL SKIP THAT PART.

BRING IT UP HERE FOR DISCUSSION. ALL RIGHT. SOUNDS LIKE IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.

IT'S A HARD COVER APPLICATION. MISS CURTIS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUMMARY.

I DON'T HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS. IT SEEMS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.

OBVIOUSLY THE, THE CAUSE BEING EXPLAINED. IF THERE'S ANY OPINIONS, I'D LOVE TO HAVE THEM HEARD.

IF ANYBODY HASN'T. I APPRECIATE A DECREASE IN THE HARDCOVER.

IT'S ALWAYS HELPFUL. I AGREE. YEAH, THAT'S ALWAYS WHAT WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR IS AN IMPROVEMENT OF THE POSITION.

DOESN'T SEEM TO BE AFFECTING OR IMPACTING NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES.

NOT TO REHASH IT. I GUESS MY POSITION IS IF WE HAVE, IF EVERYONE'S IN AGREEMENT THAT IT'S REASONABLE, CERTAINLY WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION INSTEAD OF CONTINUING TO CIRCLE. I CAN MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE AS APPLIED.

WE HAVE A MOTION BY MISS PRCHAL TO APPROVE AS APPLIED. DO WE HAVE A SECOND, SECOND, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER JARNOT.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. NEXT WE GOT 5.2. LA26-000006.

[5.2) LA26-000006, Dovetail Renovation o/b/o the property owner, 2090 Shoreline Drive, Average Lakeshore Setback Variance  (Melanie Curtis)  ]

ALSO, MISS CURTIS. COMMISSIONER. JUST FOR THE RECORD, I JUST WANT TO WELCOME SAM TIFF BACK INTO THE MEETING.

AS OF 6:05 FOR THE MINUTE TAKERS. THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. THE APPLICANT IS PROPOSING TO CONSTRUCT A MINOR ADDITION TO AN EXISTING BAY WINDOW AREA ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE HOME, WHICH IS LOCATED WITHIN THE AVERAGE LAKESHORE SETBACK.

THE AREA ON THE SURVEY ON YOUR SCREEN IS THE ONLY AREA ON THE PROPERTY THAT IS NOT WITHIN THE AVERAGE LAKESHORE SETBACK.

THE PROPERTY IS A PENINSULA AND IT'S CONNECTED TO THE NEIGHBORING PROPERTY TO THE NORTH BY A SIX FOOT WIDE STRIP OF LAND RIGHT HERE.

IT IS THIS PIECE HERE. THE PROPERTY, THE NEIGHBORING PROPERTY IS LOCATED ACROSS THE BAY AND IT IS THE ONLY ADJACENT PARCEL WHICH IS USED TO CALCULATE THE AVERAGE LAKE SHORE SETBACK.

THE PROPOSED ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS ON THE PROPERTY ARE SITUATED APPROXIMATELY 105FT FROM THE ORDINARY HIGH WATER LEVEL, WHILE THE PROPOSED BUMP OUT IS WITHIN THE AVERAGE LAKESHORE SETBACK, IT WOULD BE SUBSTANTIALLY FARTHER FROM THE OHW THAN THE EXISTING STRUCTURE.

YOU CAN'T SEE IT. IT'S SO SMALL. WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS APPLICATION.

IN THEIR APPLICATION, THE APPLICATION IDENTIFIED THE PROPERTY'S LOCATION AND ORIENTATION AS A PENINSULA.

THE APPLICATION OF THE AVERAGE LAKESHORE SETBACK REQUIREMENT CAUSES A PRACTICAL DIFFICULTY.

THEY PROVIDED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION WITHIN THE PACKET.

AND ARE HERE TO SPEAK IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRACTICAL DIFFICULTY.

STAFF FINDS THAT THE PROPERTY'S ISOLATED PENINSULA CONFIGURATION FUNCTIONING LIKE AN ISLAND, FUNCTIONS LIKE AN ISLAND. AND ALTHOUGH IT SHARES A SIX FOOT CONNECTION WITH THE PROPERTY ACROSS THE BAY IT CAUSES AN EXTREME AVERAGE LAKESHORE SETBACK OVER THE SUBJECT PROPERTY.

NONE OF THE EXISTING OR PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS ON THE PROPERTY BLOCK THE NEIGHBOR'S VIEWS OF THE LAKE.

THE UNIQUE CONDITIONS SATISFY THE PRACTICAL REQUIREMENT FOR THE REQUESTED VARIANCE.

STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF THE AVERAGE LAKESHORE SETBACK AS APPLIED.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE. OTHER THAN JUST TO SHOW THE PLANS HERE, THE YELLOW LINE REPRESENTS THE THE EXISTING CONDITION. SO THIS IS THE EXISTING BAY THEY'RE PROPOSING TO ADD.

THE GRAY. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MISS CURTIS.

DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS FOR STAFF AT ALL? ALL RIGHT.

SEEING NONE, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND OPEN IT UP FOR PUBLIC HEARING.

IF ANYBODY WISHES TO BE HEARD ON THE APPLICATION, PLEASE COME ON UP.

STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS. SEEING NONE, WE WILL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND THEN OPEN IT UP FOR THE APPLICANT IF THEY WISH TO BE HEARD ON THIS TOPIC,

[00:10:07]

WE'LL BRING IT BACK HERE FOR DISCUSSION. SO WE'VE GOT A SUMMARY.

IT'S OBVIOUSLY A PRETTY DIFFICULT PLACE TO PUT A BUILD.

BUT I DO SEE IN THE STAFF SUMMARY REPORT THAT THIS APPEARS QUITE MINOR.

IT'S ESSENTIALLY A BAY WINDOW, YOU KNOW BUT THEN I SAW THE, THE ILLUSTRATION OF THE, THE CANTILEVER.

COULD YOU JUST CLARIFY THAT BECAUSE I JUST SAW IT AS BAY WINDOW IN THE APPLICATION, BUT THEN I SAW THE RENDERING WHEN YOU FOR THE APPLICATION IN THE BACKGROUND, I HEAR THERE'S AN EXISTING BAY WINDOW ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE HOME. THE ADDITION WILL BE LOCATED. IT'S THAT BAY WINDOW AND THEN THE EXPANSION OUT.

IS THAT, HOW MUCH FURTHER FROM THE BAY WINDOW DOES THAT GO? JUST. JUST SO I HAVE IT CLEAR. YEAH. IT'S THIS IS THIS SEGMENT IS FIVE FEET. OKAY. AND THE YELLOW REPRESENTS THE BAY WINDOW EXISTING.

YEAH. AND IT'S A IT'S A BAY, BUT I THINK IT'S FLOOR.

I THINK IT'S FLOOR TO CEILING AREA. SURE, SURE.

OKAY. PERFECT. THANK YOU. THAT WAS THE ONLY QUESTION THAT I HAD.

COMMISSIONERS. DO WE HAVE ANY OPINIONS OR PERSPECTIVE ON THIS, PLEASE? MR.. BOLLIS. YEAH. WE'VE SEEN EXTREME ALS SETBACKS BEFORE.

I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE TOP TWO THAT WE'VE SEEN.

IF YOU LOOK AT THAT YELLOW PORTION OF THE BUILDABLE AREA, THAT REALLY IS A PRACTICAL DIFFICULTY FOR THIS LOT.

THE THE LOCATION SEEMS TO CHECK ALL THE BOXES FOR ME, ESPECIALLY THAT IT'S, WELL WITHIN THE 75 FOOT DISTANCE FROM THE LAKE.

SO I DON'T SEE ANY REASON TO NOT APPROVE. I WILL ALSO USE THIS TIME JUST TO FURTHER CLARIFY FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T HERE AS WE SOMETIMES CONTINUE TO GET PUSHED BACK AND HEAR FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS ABOUT CONCERNS AROUND APPROVING AVERAGE LAKE SHORE SETBACK VARIANCES AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE VARIANCES AND THE 75 FOOT VARIANCE REQUEST. AND AGAIN, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE AVERAGE LAKESHORE SETBACK VARIANCE OR, OR LIMIT IS ESSENTIALLY FOCUSED AROUND NOT IMPEDING NEIGHBORS VIEWS.

AND AND, AND, AND SO REALLY IT'S ABOUT ABOUT MAINTAINING A NEIGHBORLY BUILDING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF THE LAKE BY, BY ALL, AND IN PARTICULAR THOSE PROXIMAL PROPERTY OWNERS. OBVIOUSLY, GIVEN THE FACT THAT THIS IS A PENINSULA, IT PUTS AN EXTREME SLANT ON WHAT THE AVERAGE LAKESHORE SETBACK WOULD BE. SO AS CHRIS MENTIONED, AS COMMISSIONER BOLLIS MENTIONED, A REALLY EXTREME EXAMPLE OF HOW THIS IS AN EXTREME PRACTICAL DIFFICULTY FOR THIS PROPERTY.

GIVEN THAT THIS IS A SMALL UPDATE TO A HOME AND WELL WITHIN THE BUILDING ENVELOPE AND OUTSIDE OF THE 75 FOOT, THIS IS VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD FOR ME AND I WOULD BE HAPPY TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE.

THANK YOU, MISS PRCHAL. ANYBODY ELSE? QUIET NIGHT.

WELL, IF THERE'S ANYBODY THAT WOULD BE SO INSPIRED TO SECOND A MOTION IF THERE WAS ONE.

SECOND. LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET A MOTION FIRST.

[INAUDIBLE] OKAY. CAN WE HAVE A SECOND? OKAY, SO JUST FOR THE RECORD, WE HAVE A MOTION BY PRCHAL, SECOND BY WELTZIN. IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS APPLICATION? ALL RIGHT. SEEING NONE, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.

AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. QUICKLY MOVING ALONG HERE.

[6) Other Items]

YES. JUST AS A INFORMAL UPDATE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HOSTING ANOTHER WORK SESSION HERE IN THE SPRING REGARDING KIND OF A HIGH LEVEL LEGAL REVIEW.

WORKING THROUGH SCHEDULING THAT IT LOOKS LIKE IT WON'T, WE WON'T BE ABLE TO GET THE CITY ATTORNEY HERE BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING.

JUST WITH HIS SCHEDULE AND DEMAND. SO I'LL BE SENDING OUT A DOODLE POLL MOST LIKELY LATER THIS WEEK WITH SOME TIME BLOCKS.

AND WHICHEVER ONE I CAN GET MAJORITY OF YOU AT WILL, WE'LL GET IT SCHEDULED.

[00:15:01]

BUT IT'S LOOKING FOR A MID APRIL LEGAL REVIEW, HOPEFULLY THE SAME WEEK AS OUR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING.

BUT SOMEWHERE IN MID-APRIL WE'LL, WE'LL TRY AND GET ANOTHER WORK SESSION GOING.

WONDERFUL. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. ALL RIGHT. WELL, THIS IS THE SHORTEST MEETING WE'VE EVER HAD.

IF THERE IS ANY OTHER ITEMS, OTHERWISE WE WOULD CERTAINLY MOTION TO ADJOURN.

SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL RIGHT. MOTION BY BOLLIS TO ADJOURN.

SECONDED BY WELTZIN. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.

AYE. MOTION PASSES. MEETING ADJOURNED. 15 MINUTES.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.