Orono planners table retaining‑wall permit at 2545 Dunwoody Ave, ask for engineering and landscaping

The Orono Planning Commission on May 19 tabled a conditional use permit (CUP) application from Charles Cudd, LLC for new and enlarged retaining walls at 2545 Dunwoody Avenue, asking the applicant to submit engineering and a revised landscape plan before the item returns.

City planner Mr. Carney told the commission the proposal would place retaining walls inside the 75‑foot lakeshore setback and include increases in wall height and an extension of the retaining‑wall system. "With all the facts considered, staff recommends denial of the conditional use permit," Carney said, citing insufficient written justification for the increases and concerns about visibility and screening from the lake.

Applicant representative John Sonic said the existing limestone walls have deteriorated and that the work would improve slope stability and lake access for the homeowners’ extended family. "We're just trying to make that stairway a more usable stairway for the older people that are gonna come to visit and the grandkids to run up and down," Sonic said, describing fieldstone boulder walls, plantings between the rock faces, and a small sand blanket and beach area the applicant has already permitted with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District.

Commissioners pressed for technical evidence demonstrating a failing slope and for project changes that would reduce visual impacts. Several commissioners noted the applicant had indicated a willingness to reduce wall heights to about 4 feet in many places and to provide a more detailed planting plan. Chair Ballas said he could not support creating a wider, higher lakeshore area to reserve space for a future tramway that is not being installed now: "I can't get behind producing a spot for a tramway that isn't being installed," he said.

After discussion the commission voted to table the application with clear feedback: limit wall heights to a 4‑foot maximum where engineering allows, provide an engineering report demonstrating the minimum size necessary to address erosion and slope stability, and supply a site‑specific landscape plan showing species and locations for lake screening. The commission recorded the motion to table (mover: Commissioner Pirkle; second: Commissioner Jarnot). The motion carried with one commissioner opposed.

Next steps: staff and the applicant agreed the case will return with the requested engineering, revised plans and planting details; absent a commission decision it will be scheduled for city council consideration on June 9 per the staff presentation.