Commission approves deck reconfiguration and hot tub variances, asks for hardcover clarifications

The Orono Planning Commission voted to approve multiple variances for deck reconstruction and an above‑ground hot tub at 1080 Ferndale Road West (LA 25‑26), after staff concluded the property’s proximity to the lake and Ferndale Marsh left no practical building envelope.

Melanie Curtis, the city planner presenting the item, said existing improvements are within the 75‑foot lake setback, the 25‑foot wetland setback and the average lakeshore setback; staff concluded those constraints, combined with LR1A district setbacks, effectively eliminate the legal building envelope and found practical difficulties supporting requested setback variances. Curtis also recommended denial of the proposed hardcover increase unless the applicant offsets added hardcover elsewhere on the property.

Homeowner Griffin (identified in the hearing) said the hot tub is a temporary above‑ground unit and that structural repairs to an aging glulam beam required moving and enlarging portions of the deck. He told commissioners the hot tub added roughly 49 square feet and that corrected hardcover calculations show the property would increase hardcover by about 59 square feet (from 603 to 662 square feet).

Commissioners concluded there was limited ability to shift the deck because wetlands and lake setbacks constrain alternatives, and they approved the setback and hardcover variances as applied. Staff asked that the applicant demonstrate where any hardcover reductions would occur if the council requires them before final action.