HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2015-03-03 Cet-CAL0
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MINUTES OF THE 1,068TH PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
On Tuesday, March 3, 2015, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia
held its 1,068th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting in the Livonia City Hall,
33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan
Mr Lee Morrow, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7 03 p m
Members present: Kathleen McIntyre R. Lee Morrow Carol A. Smiley
Gerald Taylor
Members absent: Scott P Bahr, Ian Wilshaw
Mr Mark Taormina, Planning Director, and Ms Margie Watson, Program
Supervisor, were also present.
Chairman Morrow informed the audience that if a petition on tonight's agenda
involves a rezoning request, this Commission makes a recommendation to the
City Council who, in turn, will hold its own public hearing and make the final
determination as to whether a petition is approved or denied The Planning
Commission holds the only public hearing on a request for preliminary plat and/or
vacating petition The Commission's recommendation is forwarded to the City
Council for the final determination as to whether a plat is accepted or rejected If
a petition requesting a waiver of use or site plan approval is denied tonight, the
petitioner has ten days in which to appeal the decision, in writing, to the City
Council Resolutions adopted by the City Planning Commission become effective
seven (7) days after the date of adoption The Planning Commission and the
professional staff have reviewed each of these petitions upon their filing The
staff has furnished the Commission with both approving and denying resolutions,
which the Commission may, or may not, use depending on the outcome of the
proceedings tonight.
ITEM #1 PETITION 2015-01-01-01 NASSER ABUNAB
Ms Smiley, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2015-01-
01-01 submitted by Nasser I Abunab, pursuant to Section 23 01
of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended,
requesting to rezone the property at 27840 Plymouth Road,
located on the north side of Plymouth Road between Inkster
Road and Deering Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 25,
from OS (Office Services) to C-1 (Local Business)
,
March 3, 2015
26746
Mr Taormina This is a request to rezone an existing developed property from
its current zoning classification OS, Office Services, to C-1,
Local Business The property is located on the north side of
Plymouth Road It is three blocks west of Inkster Road at the
corner of Deering and Plymouth Road The property measures
roughly 90 feet in frontage along Plymouth Road It has a depth
of 110 feet and a total land area of just under a quarter acre
This is a parcel that is located mid-block between the streets of
Deering and Cardwell Avenue The site contains an existing
2,500 square foot commercial building There is one tenant in
the building currently, Southgate Computer Solutions While
there are no current plans to redevelop or modify the site, the
real purpose of the rezoning is to enable the use of the building
and site for either office and/or retail purposes The current OS
zoning is limited to general and medical office uses, whereas
the C-1 zoning would allow for a variety of neighborhood-
oriented commercial or retail uses such as barber shops, beauty
salons, electrical and appliance, apparel, and florist shops, as
well as office C-1 is a broader zoning classification allowing for
retail uses in addition to office uses Parking on the site is
adequate to support the C-1 zoning If we apply the general
retail parking requirements of one space for every 150 square
feet of useable floor area, there would be a total of 13 parking
spaces required The site contains 16 off-street parking spaces
To the west is an existing office building To the east is a
parking lot that is zoned both OS and P, Parking The larger
parking area to the east is owned and utilized by Mama Mia
Restaurant and Banquet Facility which is located on the east
side of Cardwell Avenue To the south across Plymouth Road
are a variety of commercial uses zoned C-1 and C-2 To the
north, in addition to the vacated alley, there are residential
homes that are part of the Schanhite's Marquette Manor
Subdivision zoned R-1, one family residential The proposed
change of zoning is supported by the Future Land Use Plan
which recommends general commercial for this area With that,
Mr Chairman, I can read out the one item of correspondence
Mr Morrow- Please
Mr Taormina There is one item of correspondence from the Engineering
Division, dated January 30, 2015, which reads as follows "In
accordance with your request, the Engineering Division has
reviewed the above referenced planning petition We have no
objections to the proposed rezoning petition at this time The
addresses of #27840 Plymouth Road is correct for the subject
parcel, and should be used in connection with this petition The
legal description included with the petition appears to be correct
and is acceptable to this department. The plans submitted with
March 3, 2015
26747
the petition do not give any indications of changes to the
existing building or utilities, so we cannot comment on any
impacts to the existing systems at this time Should the owner
decide to change the existing building layout, or make changes
to the existing utility leads, full site plans will need to be
submitted to this department to determine if Engineering
Department permits will be required " The letter is signed by
David W Lear, P E , Assistant City Engineer That is the extent
of the correspondence
Mr Morrow- Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Seeing none,
is the petitioner with us this evening? Please step up to the
podium We will need your name and address for the record
please
Nasser I Abunab, 27840 Plymouth Road, Livonia, Michigan 48150 I am
petitioning for the building located at 27840 Plymouth There are
two addresses 27840 and 27844
Mr Morrow. Thank you, sir You've heard the introduction of the petition Is
there anything you'd like to add to it?
Mr Abunab It's all adequate The only thing I needed to add is that the name
of the company is Plymouth Computer and Phones Sales and
Service The address is in question It's one building but it has
two addresses, 27840 and 27844 Plymouth Road
Mr Morrow Okay Is there anything else you want to add?
Mr Abunab If you have any questions, I'm ready to answer
Ms Smiley Am I to understand from this picture that there is a computer in
there and then there is also a law firm in there? Is there also a
law firm in your building?
Mr Abunab No, ma'am They sold the building to me I bought it from the
law firm that owned it before
Ms Smiley. Okay So there's just one tenant in there right now?
Mr Abunab Correct.
Ms Smiley. Okay Thank you, sir
Mr Morrow. Any other questions? Are you planning any major revisions to
the building?
Mr Abunab No major construction, sir
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26748
Mr Morrow. As indicated in the letter from Engineering, there will be no
change of electronics or anything of that nature?
Mr Abunab No, sir No major construction
Mr Morrow If there are no other questions, I'll ask you to step aside
Anyone interested in speaking for or against the granting of this
petition, please come forward and we will need your name and
address for the record
Christopher Martin, 12275 Inkster Road, Livonia, Michigan 48150 Thank you,
Lee I spoke on behalf of Mama Mia's not too long ago when
they were in front of the Planning Commission here So I'm just
going to do a little bit of a repeat from that particular evening
And the fact that for years I went to the Plymouth Road
Development Authority meetings, and once again, a lot of
money had been spent along Plymouth Road, whether it be the
brick work, the wrought iron, the fancy lamp posts, a series of
paving brick, a variety of different things, upkeep of some of the
city owned parking lots on the south side So I'm very familiar
with the area I've lived in Livonia all my life I would certainly
want this to be a success I mentioned before that there are
more vacancies on Plymouth Road than ever before, and that's
absolutely correct. It doesn't make any difference how much
money that the city has thrown on the north and south sides of
Plymouth Road there The fact of the matter is that there are
more vacancies than ever, and how are you going to deal with
that? That's the issue Are games going to be played with
various people that want to move in there? I would hope that it
would stop and that you encourage people I was delighted with
the fact that Mama Mia's went through pretty smooth as far as
the exterior renovations of the building I would like this
gentleman, Mr Nasser, to also succeed over there I know
what happened to me and I wouldn't want that to happen to
anybody So once again, this is something I want to see
succeed, and once again, this is in close proximity to Mama
Mia's It's just across the street, just across Cardwell So those
two things and others that will improve that area, I would greatly
be in favor of that. So let's have this run through pretty smooth
and later on when the guy wants to put a sign up, let's not trip
him up too much on the sign later on because he has to be able
to let people know what service he is providing in there
Mr Morrow. We will certain work with him in that direction
Mr Martin You're a gentleman, Lee, but I wish a lot of people would be like
you, to be quite honest.
March 3, 2015
26749
Mr Morrow. Thank you Anyone else in the audience wishing to speak on
the granting of the petition? No one is coming forward On that
note, I'm going to close the public hearing and ask for a motion
On a motion by McIntyre, seconded by Taylor, and unanimously adopted, it was
#03-10-2015 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been
held by the City Planning Commission on March 3, 2015, on
Petition 2015-01-01-01 submitted by Nasser I Abunab,
pursuant to Section 23 01 of the City of Livonia Zoning
Ordinance #543, as amended, requesting to rezone the property
at 27840 Plymouth Road, located on the north side of Plymouth
Road between Inkster Road and Deering Avenue in the
Southeast 1/4 of Section 25, from OS to C-1, the Planning
Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that
Petition 2015-01-01-01 be approved for the following reasons
1 That the proposed change of zoning is compatible to and in
harmony with the surrounding zoning districts and land
uses in the area,
2 That the proposed change of zoning would provide
opportunities for a greater variety of uses to serve the area
as well as the City as a whole, and
3 That the proposed change of zoning is supported by the
Future Land Use Plan which recommends general
commercial use in this area
FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 23 05 of
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended
Mr Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted It will go on to City Council with an
approving resolution
ITEM #2 PETITION 2015-02-08-02 N C. DESIGNERS
Ms Smiley, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2015-
02-08-02 submitted by N C Designers & Contracting, Inc
requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18 58 of the
City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in
connection with a proposal to construct an addition to the Mobil
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26750
gas station at 37921 Ann Arbor Trail, located on the southeast
corner of Ann Arbor Trail and Ann Arbor Road in the Northeast
1/4 of Section 31
Mr Taormina This is a request to make modifications to an existing corner gas
station The property is located at the southeast corner of Ann
Arbor Trail and Ann Arbor Road The zoning map shows the
location of the property in relationship to the surrounding
properties and zoning This site is a little over half an acre in
area It contains 130 feet of frontage on Ann Arbor Trail, which
is to the west of the site, and approximately 165 feet of frontage
on Ann Arbor Road to the north The existing gas station and
convenience store on the property is about 1,275 square feet.
The aerial photograph shows the conditions on the existing site
There are three structures The one at the bottom is the
convenience store and gas station The two other structures
located closer to Ann Arbor Road and Ann Arbor Trail are the
overhead canopies that protect the gas pumps There are two
canopies, one is between the building and Ann Arbor Trail on
the north side, and the other canopy is situated between the
building and Ann Arbor Road on the left hand side Vehicles
can enter and exit the site using four existing drive approaches
two off of Ann Arbor Trail and two off of Ann Arbor Road The
request this evening is to expand the building in a northerly
direction toward Ann Arbor Trail This would require removal of
the existing pumps and overhead canopy The enlarged
building would add about 1,025 square feet consisting mostly of
retail Once complete, the gas station and convenience store
would total about 2,300 square feet. They are not quite doubling
the size of the building On the earlier plans, they showed
conceptually how there might be potential for a future drive up
window along the east side of the building However, this would
constitute an additional use of the property and require separate
review and approval of a waiver use and is not part of the
current request. The current site plan does not illustrate a drive-
thru That's something that would have to come back to us in
the future The petitioner has also submitted a revised
landscape plan This is one of the items that we discussed in
the study session The new plan shows new plant materials
consisting of trees, shrubs and perennials, located along the
perimeter of the site, at the entrances off of Ann Arbor Road,
including around the sign, as well as adjacent to the building
These areas altogether constitute about 10 percent of the total
site area However, this does not include the landscape areas in
the abutting rights-of-way including the additional area where
the westerly approach on Ann Arbor Trail will be removed and
converted to lawn One thing that does not show up well on this
plan but is part of the proposal is the elimination of one drive
March 3, 2015
26751
approach The one that they propose to eliminate is the westerly
drive off of Ann Arbor Trail The notation on the plans states
that the approach is to be closed and that it would be restored to
lawn after removal of the existing concrete In terms of the
exterior of the building, they provided some elevation views and
renderings This is a perspective view that shows the canopy
that would remain along Ann Arbor Road and what the actual
building would look like The exterior finish of the new building
would consist of a combination of brick, as well as EIFS or
dryvit. The darker banding would be stone accents On the front
of the new building, there is a considerable amount of glazing or
glass extending around the building The architect is here so I
will let him address the architectural features in greater detail I
will note that the building has been extended in height anywhere
between 17 and 21 feet. There are a couple of varying heights
so they have some nice offsets for this building that provides
some interest, but the height will also be sufficient to cover or
shield any roof-mounted mechanical equipment. I'd also like to
point out that the ordinance requires setbacks of buildings to be
at least 60 feet from any adjacent rights-of-way The enlarged
station would be setback 63 feet from Ann Arbor Road
However, with the extension to the north, it would be setback
only 32 feet from Ann Arbor Trail So it is deficient in its setback
adjacent to Ann Arbor Trail and would require a variance from
the Zoning Board of Appeals should it move forward this
evening Lastly, with respect to parking, the proposed building
would require a total of 12 parking spaces The plan shows 14
off-street parking spaces would be available so it does comply
with the city's parking standards With that, Mr Chairman, I can
read out the departmental correspondence
Mr Morrow Just one question I know we discussed the dumpster at the
study session If you could touch on that.
Mr Taormina Yes The dumpster will be relocated Currently, it's directly
behind the building in the area that shows the loading zone It's
going to be positioned in the southeast corner of the property
and it would be shielded There's a wall along the property line
A new wall would be built to shield the dumpster both from the
south, east and north sides, and then it would contain gates and
those would have to be kept closed at all times when it's not in
use Immediately to the east of this property is a residential
apartment complex, and to the south is McDonald's, so this is
closest to both the apartment complex as well as McDonald's
Mr Morrow. Thank you Now we can proceed with the correspondence
March 3, 2015
26752
Mr Taormina There are four items of correspondence The first item is from
the Engineering Division, dated February 20, 2015, which reads
as follows "In accordance with your request, the Engineering
Division has reviewed the above referenced planning petition We
have no objections to the proposed site renovation at this time The
legal description provided with the petition appears to be correct and
is acceptable to this office The existing parcel is assigned an address
of#37921 Ann Arbor Trail which should be used in conjunction with
this petition The proposed plan indicates that project will consist of
removal and replacement of the existing service station building which
may require Engineering Department permits. The submitted
drawings do not provide any information regarding the existing utilities
and service leads for the proposed building, so we cannot comment
on any impacts to the utilities at this time The owner will need to
submit plans to this department prior to construction to obtain
Engineering Department permits for any work within the Ann Arbor
Trail right-of-way, and for any changes to the existing service leads.
The owner may also need to obtain permits from the Michigan
Department of Transportation for any work within the Ann Arbor Road
right-of-way " The letter is signed by David W Lear, P E ,
Assistant City Engineer The second letter is from the Livonia
Fire & Rescue Division, dated February 23, 2014, which reads
as follows "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in
connection with a proposal to construct an addition to the gas
station on property located at the above referenced address
We have no objections to this proposal " The letter is signed by
Keith Bo, Sr Fire Inspector The third letter is from the Division
of Police, dated February 18, 2015, which reads as follows "I
have reviewed the plans in connection with the petition I have
no objections to the proposal " The letter is signed by Joseph
Boitos, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau Lastly, we received an email
correspondence, dated February 18, 2015, which reads as
follows "I say no to the southeast corner The only addition to the
Mobil Station located on the southwest corner should be on the
south side of the building located on the corner of Ann Arbor Trail
and Ann Arbor Road depending on the location of underground
storage tanks and utilities " Donald Kleinknecht, Livonia, Michigan
There is no address Thank you
Mr Morrow. Are there any questions of the Planning Director?
Ms McIntyre Mark, where is the deficiency in the setback?
Mr Taormina That would apply to the distance between the building and the
property line to the north towards Ann Arbor Trail
Ms McIntyre Towards Ann Arbor Trail Okay Thank you
March 3, 2015
26753
Mr Taormina Looking at the site plan, you can see where the building is
situated closer to Ann Arbor Trail than it is to Ann Arbor Road
Ms McIntyre Thank you
Mr Morrow Anything else? Any other questions of the Planning Director?
Mr Taylor Mark, did they plan some landscaping where they are going to
take the driveway out?
Mr Taormina They are just showing that the area would be restored with
lawn There is an existing large tree located to the east of the
approach On the other side of the sidewalk in this landscaped
area, a number of new shrubs and perennials are depicted
around the existing sign There is going to be landscaping on
either side of that area, but they are not showing any additional
plantings other than grass for where the actual approach will be
removed
Mr Taylor. I know at our study session you said you weren't real satisfied
with the landscape plan Does it satisfy you now?
Mr Taormina I am satisfied The plan has been done by a professional
registered landscaped architect who does a lot of work in the
city So we're much happier with this plan than we were with the
previous design
Mr Taylor Thank you
Mr Morrow If there are no other questions, I'll request the petitioner to come
up and give us his name and address for the record please
Nasser Choucair, N C Designers & Contractors, 16030 Michigan Avenue,
Dearborn, Michigan 48126
Mr Morrow You've heard the introduction to your project. We will give you
the opportunity to expand on that and then we may have some
questions for you
Mr Choucair Actually, Mr Taormina briefed enough about the site I just
want to say, because there is a question in regards to the
approach, that's in the right-of-way so we're going to keep it
lawn Inside the site, we put enough shrubs and we hired a
professional landscape architect which is, as you see, he filled
the whole plan
Mr Morrow. So we are gaining some greenspace?
March 3, 2015
26754
Mr Choucair Yes
Mr Morrow. Anything else?
Mr Choucair I have some material for you to look at if you'd like — the stone,
the brick.
Mr Morrow We would look forward to that. You can show us right from your
podium there
Mr Choucair The stone on the right hand side, that's going to be on the
column as you see on the building The rest of the building is
going to be dryvit and brick. Now the front, it's all glass
unfortunately So we can't have much brick, but on the sides
and the back, mostly it's a brick. The off white color, it's an
EIFS It gives the stone more impact to show the dominate
color, white That's why we picked these colors
Mr Morrow How about the pylons on the gas island?
Mr Choucair They stay white as they are Mobil has their own colors Some
people are putting brick or stone on them If it's needed, we'll
put it on, but sometimes, myself, as an architect, I don't like it.
The only reason why really because canopies move, and a lot of
people have been doing a lot of sites and when these canopies
move, if someone puts these brick not the right way, they will fall
from the top I don't recommend it really But some owners,
they like it, but myself, I don't recommend it.
Mr Morrow What is the material you are proposing?
Mr Choucair It's steel columns, actually Normally, Mobil can put aluminum
paneling on them or they leave them as they are and they paint
them, and they put their design on the outside of the canopy
with the sign Now they do the signs built into the canopy and
they look nice
Mr Morrow Does the Commission have any comments on that?
Ms Smiley. Not on that specifically, Mr Chair, but do you know this Donald
Kleinknecht or why he's opposed to this?
Mr Choucair Who is this?
Ms Smiley. The guy who wrote the email? He said, "I say no to the
southeast corner The only addition to the Mobil station located
on the southwest corner, should be on the south side of the
building "
March 3, 2015
26755
Mr Choucair I have no idea who this person is
Ms Smiley. Okay I don't know anything from this email other than he
doesn't want it, but I don't know why
Mr Morrow Well, there is no explanation It's just his thinking on it.
Ms Smiley. Okay Where is the air? Where do you get the air for tires and
stuff?
Mr Choucair Probably they are going to put it near the dumpster parking
They're going to be placing it over there because we have little
space
Ms Smiley. Okay You have no problem with the traffic pattern getting your
tankers in?
Mr Choucair No, because tanks, I asked the owner about that. Tanks only
come from 3 00 in the morning to 6 00 a m They drop off their
fuel They're not even willing to come when traffic is in that site
They come after midnight. All this traffic is really slow when
they come, and whoever is leasing or owning the gas station, he
tells the jobber that brings the fuel in, that I do not want this
truck to come during the day, or my slowest days or I have no
traffic early in the morning 3 00 a m And most of the trucks,
they come after 1 00 a m or 6, 7 and that's it. They'll stop
putting their fuel in
Ms Smiley. Then this gas station is open 24 hours?
Mr Choucair I think they are going to open it 24 hours as it is now
Ms Smiley. Thank you
Mr Morrow How much will it cost to get air?
Mr Choucair Nothing I know the City of Livonia wants it free
Mr Morrow I wanted to get "free" on the record in deference to Mr Taylor
You can hold him accountable for that.
Ms McIntyre Just a further question along Mrs Smiley's line of questioning
about the underground storage tanks, understanding that the
trucks come from 3 00 a m to 6 00 a m Can you get vehicles
to the pumps while the trucks are there? That's my one concern
with eliminating the other driveway I don't know exactly how
the tankers pull in to fill it, but it would look like
March 3, 2015
26756
Mr Choucair Do you see these little circles?
Ms McIntyre Yes, I do see that.
Mr Choucair They have to come next to them or over them so he can dump
the fuel For this gas station, or a thousand other gas stations, I
see how they do it. In the middle of the parking lot, they put
their cones around it and start dumping the fuel
Ms McIntyre But could you still get vehicles to the pumps?
Mr Choucair They have to go to another gas station or pull from the other
side because this takes about half an hour
Ms McIntyre Okay So the answer is, while there is a tanker there filling the
underground tanks, you probably would not be able to have
vehicles obtaining gas
Mr Choucair No
Ms McIntyre It's really a decision for the business owner that he's willing to
forego gas sales
Mr Choucair At 3 00 a m , there is no one there He just dumps his fuel and
goes
Ms McIntyre I had one other question On your materials, I think we asked
you if those were going to be brick panels or actual brick, and
do I recall that you said that's an actual masonry product.
Mr Choucair Yes And this one is going to be paneling, the stone Stone
paneling and brick.
Mr Morrow What will go on the dumpster walls?
Mr Choucair Brick.
Mr Morrow It will be a brick?
Mr Choucair Yes, definitely
Mr Taylor I wasn't quite clear on your question about the support columns
What was the final answer on what you were going to do with
those? The reason I'm asking is because our Condition 7
reads, "That the support columns of the gas pump island
canopy shall be covered with the same back or stone used in
the construction of the building" "
March 3, 2015
26757
Mr Choucair If you want it like this, I'll just put it in there and we'll do it.
That's fine But as I've been doing this for 20 years, I don't like
that because it's not really very I don't support it because
there is movement in the canopies They move
Mr Taylor You say the canopy moves because of the wind?
Mr Choucair Yes
Mr Taylor And it changes the brick?
Mr Choucair They would get lose and fall I've seen them in like three Shell
gas stations I did for people but I did not do the columns
Someone else did the columns and they were falling and calling
me, please, find us a solution, and there is no solution They
are going to always fall
Mr Taylor Mark, do you have a comment on that?
Mr Taormina Obviously, they'd have to tie them in properly and secure them
with proper support and tiebacks to prevent them from falling
off That's something we'd have to address with our Inspection
Department if they have any additional precautions they take
under these circumstances We've successfully done this in a
number of gas stations I don't see what the real drawback to
doing that is I think it's just a decision It's really an aesthetic
thing at this point, but it can be done properly with proper
construction
Mr Choucair Installation is the problem, whoever installed them We did one,
one time, that's at Levan and Plymouth That's a big gas station
with arches even Nothing happened because the guy who
installed them, he knows what he's doing They are still there
since 2005 maybe Myself, I won't put them in there, but if the
city would like us to do the columns the same as the building,
why not. We'll find a way
Mr Morrow I'd like to leave it in the resolution and you'll have a chance to
address it at the City Council and ultimately Inspection But
we'd like to see the brick. If it changes, it's out of our control
Ms McIntyre I was just going to thank Mr Taylor for bringing that to our
attention, what was in the resolution, and I think the bricks
certainly gives it a more upscale, aesthetically pleasing look.
The concern is always, certainly first and foremost, you don't
want bricks falling on vehicles or falling loose Are bricks more
susceptible to damage at that location? And then you have an
•
March 3, 2015
26758
issue where you have bricks that maybe are unsafe but they
don't look good, but I would certainly support keeping it in the
resolution, maybe looking at some of the other service stations
where we have bricks and seeing how they look a few years in
Do they look better or worse than a steel column? Thank you
Mr Morrow I think if anybody can engineer it, Nasser can do it. He's the
resident expert on service stations
Mr Taylor. You've got to get a good Italian brick layer
Mr Morrow Anything else?
Mr Taylor Only that I was going to bring up the fact that we questioned the
sign out in front. Evidently it conforms
Mr Taormina It conforms and I don't think there's any intention of modifying it.
It's a good looking sign It's relatively new and fully conforming
to the ordinance In fact, I think it's below our ordinance
standards as it exists right now
Mr Taylor. Good
Mr Morrow- I think the service station at Levan and Five Mile is one of their
current upgrades I don't know if you're familiar with that one or
not, but when I go by it, it looks a lot like these renderings that
you have here
Mr Choucair At Levan and
Mr Morrow Mobil
Mr Taormina At the northeast corner
Mr Choucair The Mobil on which
Mr Morrow. Levan and Five Mile
Mr Choucair Levan and Five Mile?
Ms McIntyre I'm thinking of the one on the southeast corner
Mr Morrow- This is a Mobil station because I go by it when I pick up Joe and
drop off Joe all the time
Mr Taormina There are some similarities
March 3, 2015
26759
Mr Morrow- Yeah, because not too long ago, I pulled in there and the station
was certainly due for an upgrade, and now I noticed it has
Anyways, that's off the subject.
Ms Smiley. Are you going to have somebody in there like a Subway or
something?
Mr Choucair That is a franchise but we don't know who is going to come in
As Mr Taormina said, the drive-thru is going to be for a different
meeting because if the tenant that is going to come there, Tim
Horton's, Starbucks, anybody, Subway, if they want a drive-thru,
then we have to come back. But we located the building now
for a drive-thru
Ms Smiley. How about signage? There is no signage at all on the front of
the building, right?
Mr Choucair Yes I mean if they want to put a sign, they have to pull the
permits, so I didn't put anything, but there are canopies on the
buildings if you zoom in There are little canopies They are
really nice canopies I put them in a couple gas stations You
see them? They're about like 12 inches But if you look from
below, they would look like there is a griddle there
Ms Smiley- I was just thinking if they wanted a sign that said Subway or
something
Mr Choucair But we cannot put any signs up until we know who's taking the
space
Ms Smiley. Would he have to come back for signage then, Mark?
Mr Taormina. No, not as long as it's conforming signage I think the resolution
reads, this petition would allow for conforming signage and any
additional signage would have to go before the Zoning Board of
Appeals
Mr Morrow And if they come back for a drive-thru, we'll have the chance to
find out who it is
Mr Choucair Yes, what kind of franchise it's going to be
Mr Morrow Is there anything else? Is there anybody in the audience that
wishes to speak for or against the granting of this petition?
Seeing no one coming forward, I will ask for a motion
On a motion by McIntyre, seconded by Taylor, and unanimously adopted, it was
March 3, 2015
26760
#03-11-2015 RESOLVED, that the by the City Planning Commission does
hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2015-02-08-
02 submitted by N C Designers & Contracting, Inc requesting
approval of all plans required by Section 18 58 of the City of
Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with
a proposal to construct an addition to the Mobil gas station at
37921 Ann Arbor Trail, located on the southeast corner of Ann
Arbor Trail and Ann Arbor Road in the Northeast 1/4 of Section
31 be approved subject to the following conditions
1 That the Proposed Site Plan marked SP-1, dated February
12, 2015, prepared by N C Designers & Contracting Inc ,
is hereby approved and shall be adhered to,
2 That the Landscape Planting Plan marked LP-1, dated
February 24, 2015, as revised, prepared by Nagy Devlin
Land Design, LLC , is hereby approved and shall be
adhered to
3 That all disturbed lawn areas shall be sodded in lieu of
hydroseeding,
4 That underground sprinklers are to be provided for all
landscaped and sodded areas and all planted materials
shall be installed to the satisfaction of the Inspection
Department and thereafter permanently maintained in a
healthy condition,
5 That the Exterior Building Elevation Plans marked sheets
A-2, dated February 12, 2015, and A-3, dated February 4,
2015, prepared by N C Designers & Contracting Inc , are
hereby approved and shall be adhered to,
6 That all rooftop mechanical equipment shall be concealed
from public view on all sides by screening that shall be of a
compatible character, material and color to other exterior
materials on the building,
7 That the support columns of the gas pump island canopy
shall be covered with the same brick or stone used in the
construction of the building,
8 That any illumination of the pump island canopy shall be
restricted to the undercarriage and all light fixtures shall be
recessed and made flush with the established ceiling,
provided, however, that this section shall not apply to those
specified signs which are expressly allowed by the district
regulations contained in this ordinance,
March 3, 2015
26761
9 That the three walls of the trash dumpster area shall be
constructed out of the same brick used in the construction
of the building or in the event a poured wall is substituted,
the wall's design, texture and color shall match that of the
building and the enclosure gates shall be of solid panel
steel construction or durable, long-lasting solid panel
fiberglass and maintained and when not in use closed at all
times,
10 That all light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in
height and shall be aimed and shielded so as to minimize
stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring
into adjacent roadway;
11 No outside storage, placement or display of merchandise
shall be permitted at any time on this site, however the
prohibition shall not apply to the display, on the pump
islands only, of oil based products as permitted in Section
11 03(12)(a) of the Zoning Ordinance,
12 That free air shall be provided at all times this station is
open for business The free air shall be dispensed at the
point of service without having to enter the station or the
performance of any extra action in order to obtain the air
without charge,
13 That no vehicle vacuum equipment or the outdoor
placement of propane cylinder storage units shall be
permitted on the site,
14 That the sale of ice shall be restricted to the inside of the
building,
15 That only conforming signage is approved with this petition,
and any additional signage shall be separately submitted
for review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals,
16 That no part of the pump island canopy fascia, with the
exception of the lettering and embossed logos, shall be
illuminated,
17 That no LED lightband or exposed neon shall be permitted
on this site including, but not limited to, the pump island
canopy, building or around the windows,
,,
March 3, 2015
26762
18 That the specific plans referenced in this approving
resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department
at the time the building permits are applied for; and,
19 Pursuant to Section 19 10 of Ordinance #543, the Zoning
Ordinance of the City of Livonia, this approval is valid for a
period of ONE YEAR ONLY from the date of approval by
City Council, and unless a building permit is obtained, this
approval shall be null and void at the expiration of said
period
Mr Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted It will go on to City Council with an
approving resolution We wish you success and thanks for
coming this evening
ITEM #3 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,068th Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting
Ms Smiley, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the
Minutes of the 1,068th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting
held on February 10, 2015
On a motion by Taylor, seconded by McIntyre, and unanimously adopted, it was
#03-12-2015 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,067th Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on February
10, 2015, are hereby approved
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following
AYES Smiley, McIntyre, Taylor, Morrow
NAYS None
ABSENT Bahr, Wilshaw
ABSTAIN None
Mr Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,068th Public
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on March 3, 2015, was adjourned at 7 51
pm
C PLANNING 'MISSION
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Carol A. Smiley - ecreta
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R. Le Morro , Chairm n