HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2013-08-13MINUTES OF THE 1,042 ND PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
On Tuesday, August 13, 2013, the City Planning Commission of the City of
Livonia held its 1,042nd 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 7:00 p.m.
Members present: Scott P. Bahr R. Lee Morrow Lynda L. Scheel
Carol A. Smiley Gerald Taylor Ian Wilshaw
Members absent: None
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 tum, 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 fling.
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 2013-07-02-17 50 SIPS WINE
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2013-07-
02-17 submitted by Nicole Grenon requesting waiver use
approval pursuant to Section 10.03(8) of the City of Livonia
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to utilize an SDM liquor
license (sale of packaged beer and wine) in connection with a
specially food and wine store (50 Sips Wine, L.L.C.) at 37522
Ann Arbor Trail, within the retail strip center located on the north
side of Ann Arbor Trail between Newburgh Road and Horton
Avenue in the Northeast 1/4 of Section 31.
August 13, 2013
25901
Mr. Taormina: This is a request to utilize a Specially Designated Merchants
license, or an SDM liquor license, which would allow for the sale
of packaged beer and wine products within an existing retail
step center located on the northeast comer of Ann Arbor Trail
and Horton Avenue. This is properly that is approximately 300
feet west of Newburgh Road. The size of the parcel is 0.82
acres. It includes 225 feel of frontage along Ann Arbor Trail and
134 feel of frontage along Horton Avenue on the west side of
the property. The current zoning of the property is C-1, Local
Business. There is a commercial retail building on the property.
It measures roughly 7,150 square feel in gross floor area and
can be divided into seven tenant spaces. Currently, there are
five businesses in the strip center, including 50 Sips Wine.
There is one vacant unit. The other tenants include American
Appliance, which occupies two of the units, Groomingdales Pet
Grooming, Thomas Labs, and Family Cuts. 50 Sips Wine is a
specially food and wine store. It will be occupying the west end -
cap unit in the shopping center. The unit measures
approximately 975 square feel in area. SDM liquor licenses
require waiver use approval under Section 11.03(8) of the
zoning ordinance. The petitioner has indicated that they would
like to utilize the subject SDM license in order to sell wine and to
conduct wine lasting events. As an SDM licensed business, 50
Sips will be allowed to conduct wine lasting events on the
licensed premises under certain conditions. These are rules
recently promulgated by the Michigan Liquor Control
Commission and as they relate to wine tasting events for SDM
licensed businesses. The following conditions have to be mel:
(1) The customer cannot be charged for the tasting of wine; (2)
Tasting samples provided do not exceed three servings at up to
two ounces of wine, and a customer shall not be provided more
than a total of three samples within a 24-hour period; (3) The
merchant must first obtain an annual wine lasting permit from
the MLCC, and the MLCC has to be notified, in writing, at least
10 working days prior to the event. A couple of other conditions
are (1) that the merchant, agent or employee must first
successfully complete a server training program, and (2) beer
and wine used for the tasting must come from the Specialty
Designated Merchants inventory. There are a couple of special
provisions that apply to SDM licensed businesses. One is that
they cannot be located within 500 feel of any existing SDM
licensed establishments. There is one existing SDM-licensed
business currently in operation within this specified distance,
and that's the 7 -Eleven store which is at the southwest corner of
Newburgh and Ann Arbor Trail. It is located roughly 500 feet
from the proposed store. So approval of the SDM license this
evening would have to be subject to the waiving of the
August 13, 2013
25902
separation requirement by the City Council by a supermajodly
vote in which two-thirds of the members concur. The other
requirement is that the proposed business cannot be located
within 400 feet of any church or school building. 50 Sips does
comply with that provision of the law. The closest existing
church is Cornerstone Church which is at the northwest comer
of Newburgh and Ann Arbor Trail, and that's roughly 490 feet
away. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental
correspondence.
Mr. Morrow: Please
Mr. Taormina: There are four items of correspondence. The first item is from
the Engineering Division, dated July 30, 2013, which reads as
follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering
Division has reviewed the above -referenced waiver use
approval request. The written legal description is correct. The
address for this site is confirmed to be 37522 Ann Arbor Trail. It
appears that 50 Sips line will occupy the building and no site
work is anticipated outside the building. Thus, no anticipated
review would be required by the Engineering Department." The
letter is signed by Todd Zilincik, P.E., City Engineer. The
second letter is from Division of Police, dated July 23, 2013,
which reads as follows: "1 have reviewed the plans in connection
with the petition. I have no objections to the proposal." The
letter is signed by John Gibbs, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The
third letter is from the Division of Police, dated August 1, 2013,
which reads as follows: 'We have reviewed the plans in
connection with 50 Sips line - SDM License, located at 37522
Ann Arbor Trail (within the retail strip center located on the north
side of Ann Arbor Trail between Newburgh Road and Horton
Avenue in the Northeast 1/4 of Section 31). After reviewing the
plans with the Chief of Police, we have no objection to the
waiver being granted contingent that the petitioner complies with
all state laws, city ordinances, stipulations and conditions set by
the Livonia Police Department Liquor Investigation Unit as
approved by the Chief of Police, stipulations and conditions set
by the Traffic Bureau of the Police Department. We are
available to provide any additional information you may desire
on this subject." The letter is signed by Jeffrey W. Ronayne,
Special Services Bureau. The fourth letter is from the
Inspection Department, dated August 12, 2013, which reads as
follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above -referenced
petition has been reviewed. The following is noted. The
petitioner is located closer than 500 feet from an existing SDM
license. A waiver from Council would be required to maintain
this deficiency. This Department has no further objections to this
August 13, 2013
25903
petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Assistant
Director of Inspection. That is the extent of the correspondence.
Mr. Morrow:
Does the Commission have any questions of the Planning
Director? Seeing none, is the petitioner with us this evening?
We will need your name and address for the record please.
Nicole Grenon,
50 Sips Wine, L.L.C., 18285 Wormer, Detroit, Michigan 48219.
Mr. Morrow:
Thank you very much. You've heard the presentation by the
Planning Director. Tell us a little bit about your operation.
Ms. Grenon:
50 Sips Wine will be a specialty food and wine store selling only
domestic products, including wine. I brought samples of some
of the sluff that we have like zucchini relish. I have syrups, an
olive oil tasting bar where you can serve yourself and taste as
well. Those are the types of food products we have. Also some
jellies and other vinegars and such in addition to the wine.
Mr. Morrow:
Tell us a little bit about the wine tasting and sale.
Ms. Grenon:
Under the stale license, as Mark staled, I'm allowed to give six
ounces per person during a taste. In the paperwork I have, it
says you can do six one -ounce pours but if it's now three two -
ounce pours, that's fine, but it cannot exceed six ounces total
per person.
Mr. Morrow:
So will they be domesfic wines or will they be imported wines?
Ms. Grenon:
They will be domestic wines. Michigan, California, Oregon,
Washington. Ohio we'll have right away, and Virginia and New
York right away. We'll add as we go.
Mr. Morrow:
When will you start your operation?
Ms. Grenon:
The wine tastngs wont begin until probably September.
Mr. Morrow:
Based on the approval process?
Ms. Grenon:
Yes.
Mr. Morrow:
But you are open now?
Ms. Grenon:
Yes, for the food products.
Mr. Morrow:
The food products. Let's see if we have any questions of you
from the Commission.
August 13, 2013
25904
Mr. Taylor: Were you in this type of business before, or what did you do
before this?
Ms. Grenon: I just retired from the Air Force, so this is my retirement to
myself.
Mr. Taylor: How long were you in the Air Force?
Ms. Grenon: Twenty years.
Mr. Morrow: Well, we thank you for your service.
Mr. Taylor: Thank you for your help. So this is a new venture for you then?
Ms. Grenon: Yes. I have a Masters Degree in Business that I obtained
during my service.
Mr. Taylor:
Do you have a partner.
Ms. Grenon:
I do not have a partner, no.
Mr. Taylor:
Okay. Well, good luck. Thank you.
Ms. Smiley:
Could you tell us what your hours of operation would be.
Ms. Grenon:
Right now, they are Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m.
Monday and Tuesday we close at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday
through Saturday we'll close at 7:00 p.m. I am permitted
Sunday sales under the Michigan Liquor Control Commission
license. However, I'm not sure at this time if I will be open on
Sunday, but if I were, it would be like 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Ms. Smiley:
Just to confirm, you're already operational with your olive oil and
jellies and those kinds of things.
Ms. Grenon:
Yes. I have a license from the Department of Agriculture for a
food establishment license that was already granted.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you
Ms. Scheel: The wine tasting portion, is that something by event only or any
time someone stopped in and wanted to taste a certain wine
that they're interested in?
Ms. Grenon: From what I understand, its anytime. But if I have a special
event where I'm doing something extra, then what the license
and the permits that I have is for, that's when I have to do the 10
day notice to the State to gel a special event permit.
August 13, 2013
25905
Ms. Scheel:
Thankyou.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Are you going to be carrying any beer products at your store?
Ms. Grenon:
Not at this time, no.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Just wine, okay. How did you decide to gel into this type of
business as you thought about what sort of business you'd want
to start?
Ms. Grenon:
I love food and wine. Because of all the places I've traveled and
all the wine tastings I've been to, I tried to combine the best of
my experiences at all the different food and wine places to roll it
into what I want to offer my customers at the store.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Excellent. And you've had an opportunity, I believe you said at
our study meeting, to meet with the owner of the 7 -Eleven that's
nearby.
Ms. Grenon:
Yes, he came over once he got the letter.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. And he's okay with you operating your business knowing
that its really not serving the same type of market that his is?
Ms. Grenon:
Yes, he offered to lel me advertise in his window.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Very good. That's good business on your part. Excellent. How
are your patrons going to know about these wine tastings? Are
you going to have an invitation list that you're going to email
people or people sign up to be notified of these tastings?
Ms. Grenon:
I do have a web site that has a calendar of events on it where
they'll be listed there. People who sign up for the mailing list will
receive an additional notification. They'll get a direct email from
me. There's a web site called Iocallineevents.com where you
can post events for free, and then there's other social media,
Twitter and Facebook, that you can advertise on.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Excellent. Okay. So you have a few methods that you've
already thought of to promote your business and let people
know that it's out there. And of course, the five or six people in
the audience that are listening as well will gel an opportunity to
know about your business and hopefully visit it as well.
Ms. Grenon:
I'm also a member of the Detroit Regional Chamber of
Commerce and just met with Dawnne Toppa from the Livonia
Chamber to sign up for that as well.
August 13, 2013
25906
Mr. Wilshaw:
Good. You can also probably give a ring over to the Observer
and lel them know about your business. They always like to
highlight new businesses that are opening up and show what
they do and lel people know about these new businesses in the
community. That's another thought. So it sounds like you have
a very unique niche that you've come up with, a high scale food
and wine store. I think it sounds very nice. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow:
One final question inasmuch as Mr. Wilshaw brought out the
fad that you have a web site, would you share that with us
tonight?
Ms. Grenon:
Yes. Its 50sipswine.com.
Mr. Morrow:
Thank you very much. If there are no more questions, I'm going
to go to the audience. Is there anybody in the audience that
wishes to speak for or against the granting of this petition? Sir,
we'll need your name and address for the record.
Thomas Eidson, 9721 Newburgh Road, Livonia, Michigan. We are within
walking distance of the location, and we are in favor of the
application. We would like to see that strip mall succeed as well
as possible.
Mr. Morrow:
Thank you. Is there anyone else? Seeing no one coming
forward, a motion would be in order.
Mr. Taylor:
I love wine loo, so I'm going to ask for an approving resolution.
On a motion by Taylor, seconded by Wilshaw, and unanimously adopted, it was
#08-46-2013
RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been
held by the City Planning Commission on June 11, 2013, on
Petition 2013-07-02-17 submitted by Nicole Grenon requesting
waiver use approval pursuant to Section 10.03(8) of the City of
Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to utilize an SDM
liquor license (sale of packaged beer and wine) in connection
with a specialty food and wine store (50 Sips Wine, L.L.C.) at
37522 Ann Arbor Trail, within the retail strip center located on
the north side of Ann Arbor Trail between Newburgh Road and
Horton Avenue in the Northeast 114 of Section 31, which
properly is zoned G7, the Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2013-07-02-17 be
approved subject to the following conditions:
1. That the use of an SDM liquor license at this location shall
be permitted only under the circumstances that the
August 13, 2013
25907
standard set forth in Section 10.03(8)(1) of the Zoning
Ordinance, which specifies that proposed SDM licensed
establishments shall not be located within five hundred feet
(500') of any existing SDM licensed establishment is
waived by the City Council; and
2. The Petitioner shall not engage in any form of solicitation
for business within the public right-of-way of Ann Arbor
Trail.
Subject to the preceding conditions, this petition is approved for
the following reasons:
1. That the proposed use of an SDM liquor license at this
location complies with all of the special and general waiver
use standards and requirements as set forth in Sections
10.03 and 19.06 of the Zoning Ordinance #543;
2. That the subject site has the capacity to accommodate the
proposed SDM liquor license;
3. That the proposed SDM liquor license is compatible to and
in harmony with the surrounding uses in the area; and
4. That the granting of this petition will not increase the
number of SDM liquor licenses in the City of Livonia.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 19.05 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. Good luck.
Ms. Grenon: Thank you very much.
Mr. Wilshaw: Was there a request for a seven day waiver on this? I'm going
to offer that.
Mr. Morrow: My comments still apply. Mr. Wilshaw has another resolution.
On a motion by Wilshaw, seconded by Scheel, and unanimously adopted, it was
#08-47-2013 RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby
determine to waive the provisions of Section 10 of Article VI of
the Planning Commission Rules of Procedure, regarding the
effective date of a resolution after the seven-day period from the
August 13, 2013
25908
date of adoption by the Planning Commission, in connection
with Petition 2013-07-02-17 submitted by Nicole Grenon
requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 10.03(g) of
the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to
utilize an SDM liquor license (sale of packaged beer and wine)
in connection with a specially food and wine store (50 Sips
Wine, L.L.C.) at 37522 Ann Arbor Trail, within the retail strip
center located on the north side of Ann Arbor Trail between
Newburgh Road and Horton Avenue in the Northeast 1/4 of
Section 31.
Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an
approving resolution. The reason we are moving this forward is
because the young lady is already in operation and we'd like to
see her gel up and running as quickly as possible.
ITEM #2 PETITION 2013-07-02-18 MOTOR CITY PAWN
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2013-
07-02-18 submitted by Mark Aubrey requesting waiver use
approval pursuant to Section 11.03(v) of the City of Livonia
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to operate a pawn shop
(Motor City Pawn Brokers) at 17235 Middlebelt Road, located
on the west side of Middlebelt Road between Six Mile Road and
Curtis Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 11.
Mr. Taormina: This is a request to operate as a pawn broker. The proposed
location is on the west side of Middlebelt Road between Six Mile
and Curtis Avenue. It's roughly 400 feel north of Six Mile Road.
The property measures about 1.56 acres in area. It includes
211 feel of frontage along Middlebelt Road and has a parcel
depth of roughly 447 feel along its east property line. The
property is divided into two zoning classifications. The easterly
280 feel is zoned G2, General Business, and consists of an
11,713 square fool building and surrounding parking area. The
westerly 178 feel is zoned OS, Office Services, and consists of
what is left over from a parking lot from the previous business.
The building on this site has been vacant for several years. Its
previous occupants included a karate school and more recently
a fitness center. Looking at the surrounding area, to the south
are a variety of commercial buildings that front along Middlebelt
and Six Mile, most of which are zoned C-2, General Business.
To the west are the Brookview Park site condominiums zoned
R-1, Single Family Residential. To the east across Middlebelt
Road are commercial properties under the C-2 zoning
August 13, 2013
25909
classification. Directly to the north is the site of the Valley
Woods condominiums, which is zoned R-7, Multiple Family
Residential. Motor City Pawn Brokers currently operates a
pawn shop in Livonia. It was established before the passage
earlier this year of the amendment to the Zoning Ordinance that
made pawn shops a waiver use in the C-2 zone. The existing
business is located on the south side of Grand River Avenue
between Inkster and Eight Mile Road. The Petitioner has stated
that if this request is granted he will more than likely continue
operating the Grand River store. Motor City Pawn Brokers is
family owned and has been operafing since 1990. They have
four locations currently. They are in Roseville, Warren, Livonia
and Ferndale. Pawnbrokers are regulated by the Stale of
Michigan. In general, they provide short term loans on mostly
all merchandise of value. Loans are typically for periods of
three months but can be extended or renewed. By law, the
interest that pawnbrokers are allowed to charge is restricted to
three percent per month. Pawn shops are now treated as a
waiver use under Section 11.03(v) of the City of Livonia Zoning
Ordinance. There are three special requirements that apply to
pawnbrokers under that provision of the law. The first is that
there shall be no outdoor sales, storage or display of
merchandise; secondly, ingress and egress shall be available
from a public street having an existing or planned right-of-way
width of at least 120 feel as shown on the master thoroughfare
plan; and thirdly, there is not a similar use within 1,000 feet
measured from any property lines. In terms of the parking, this
is the site plan that shows the location of the building in
relationship to the parking immediately behind the store.
Required for this type of use would be the sum total of the
various uses within the building. When we break that down by
the amount of retail area within the structure, that is computed
on the ratio of one space of every 150 square feet of floor area.
We also look at the number of employees, computed on the
basis of one parking space needed for each employee, and then
also the amount of area devoted to storage. The parking for
that is computed at a ratio of one space for every 500 square
feel of useable floor area. All combined, Motor City Pawn
Brokers would be required to have a total of 56 parking spaces.
The site plan indicates that there would be 42 striped parking
spaces available to customers and employees, mostly in the
parking lot directly behind the building. There is additional
parking available to the south but the condition of that lot
currently is very dilapidated. For any additional parking or
overflow parking to occur there, improvements to that parking
area would be required. This shows the breakdown of the
various uses within the building, including the showroom area,
various storage areas, employee access as well as restrooms
August 13, 2013
25910
that would be provided for customers and employees. This is a
rendering of the front of the building and the improvements that
would be made. In general, it would include painting the
building and all trim work around it. In terms of signage, while
he's not showing any particular wall sign, there would be a need
to change the monument sign out front to advertise the new
business. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the
departmental correspondence.
Mr. Morrow: Please
Mr. Taormina: There are four items of correspondence. The first dem is from
the Engineering Division, dated July 30, 2013, which reads as
follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering
Division has reviewed the above -referenced waiver use request.
The written legal description is correct. The address for this site
is confirmed to be 17235 Middlebe/t Road. The City of Livonia
will require storm water detention for this site, because the
petitioner is proposing to reconstruct the existing parking lot.
The petitioner will need to submit plans that will follow Wayne
County storm water ordinance which falls under their jurisdiction
for review and approval meeting their requirements. There is an
existing 184nch storm line along the west side of Middlebe/t
Road, heading north that discharges into the Tambusi Creek.
Middlebe/t Road is under thejurisdiction of Wayne County. Any
proposed work within the Wayne County right -0f --way would
require a permit. A soil erosion and sedimentation control
(SESC) permit will be required and involve separate plans to be
submitted if the proposed site is one (1) acre or more or within
500 feet of a lake or stream. This permit and associated fees
will be handled by the Engineering Department before any work
commences." The letter is signed by Todd Zilincik, P.E., City
Engineer. The second letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue
Division, dated August 5, 2013, which reads as follows: "1 have
reviewed the petition for a waiver use approval to operate a
pawn broker facility on the property at the above referenced
address and have noted the following. (1) This proposal is a
change of use for the address in question. This requires that the
location must conform to current NFPA 101 standards, 2012
edition, for New Mercantile Occupancies. (2) Chapter 35, New
Mercantile Occupancies, and Chapter 7, Means of Egress, must
be conformed to which includes Emergency Exit Signs,
Emergency Lighting, Exit Pathways, Travel Distance, Occupant
Load, and Extinguisher Requirements. These issues and other
code requirements will be addressed during the plan review
process. We advise that no use of this facility be conducted
prior to inspections and approval of any/all NFPA codes relating
to New Mercantile Occupancies. Providing that all details in
August 13, 2013
25911
regards to New Mercantile Occupancies are followed and
inspected prior to tenant use, this department has no objections
to this petition." The letter is signed by Daniel Lee, Fire
Marshal. The third letter is from the Division of Police, dated
July 24, 2013, which reads as follows: "1 have reviewed the
plans in connection with the petition. 1 have no objections to the
proposal." The letter is signed by John Gibbs, Sergeant, Traffic
Bureau. The fourth letter is from the Inspection Department,
dated August 12, 2013, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to
your request, the above -referenced petition has been reviewed.
The following is noted. (1) This building is required to be
registered in the vacant and abandoned program per City
Ordinance 2844. All required fees are to be paid,, inspections
shall be conducted and any and all violations shall be corrected.
A certificate of re -occupancy shall be issued after the conditions
set forth in 15.51.090 (E) are fully satisfied. (2) The parking lot
shall be repaired or replaced and restriped as necessary.
Parking spaces shall be 10' wide and 20' deep and double
striped. (3) Barrier free parking spaces shall be provided per
code and be property signed, pavement striped and property
located. (4) This petition is a change of use and would require
that the building meet all current Michigan Building Codes
including the Michigan Barrier Free Code. This will be
addressed further at the time of our plan review if this project
moves forward. This Department has no further objections to
this petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Assistant
Director of Inspection. I'll note too, Mr. Chairman and
Commissioners, that we have received and you have in your
possession all the letters received and email correspondence
from the neighbors. I count a total of 20 letters, all of which are
in objection to the proposed use. These are mostly from
persons residing in the vicinity of the proposed Motor City Pawn
Brokers. To capsulize what those concerns are, they express
the concem for safety, attracting a criminal element to the
neighborhood, property devaluation and that the proposed use
would be contrary to the goal of the City being family oriented.
Mr. Morrow: The Commission is in receipt of all of those letters, and I assure
you they've all read them prior to this meeting. With that, are
there any questions of the Planning Director? Seeing none, is
the petitioner here?
Mr. Bahr: Mark, you touched on this briefly but I think it's probably worth
just emphasizing for the record because I know we had the
question at the study meeting. I imagine some of the people
here do as well. The existing pawn shops in the city, can you
just say again why those were here without coming before this
Board whereas this one is coming before this Board?
August 13, 2013
25912
Mr. Taormina:
It is because of the recent change to the Zoning Ordinance that
requires pawn shops to be treated as a waiver use requiring the
same type of review that is being considered this evening. That
amendment to the ordinance was enacted in January or
February of this year. It's a relatively new change to the code.
The existing pawn broker shop on Grand River near Eight Mile
Road preceded the enactment of that ordinance, and I think
there's another one on Middlebell Road which was approved
just prior to the enactment of the ordinance.
Mr. Bahr:
Thanks.
Mr. Morrow:
Is the petitioner here this evening? We will need your name and
address for the record please.
Tony Aubrey, 43459 Chardonnay, Sterling Heights, Michigan 48314.
Mr. Morrow:
You've heard the presentation. You can add to it and make any
comments you'd like to make.
Tony Aubrey:
Thank you. First of all, I'd like to tell you that my son, Mark, and
myself, we've been doing this for a few years. We have several
locations. They are all flourishing well. As far as an explanation
for the industry, there's a great need in Michigan for the
underemployed, for the senior citizens, for many aspects of
different people from different walks of life that use our services.
Michigan has the lowest interest rate in the country as far as
pawn brokers. We also serve a purpose for people that are on
fixed incomes that need money for gasoline or utility bills or
medication. Myjob here tonight is to convince everyone that we
don't cater to some undesirables. We cater to hard working
people that just need us because they're unbankable. Our
competition is not second hand dealers. Our competition is truly
banks. There's 80 million people in the United States that are
unbankable, and we fill that void for the person that is unable to
get that credit from the bank. They bring their collateral to us
and we are able to give them a low interest loan. We enjoy a 92
percent redemption mtio. Most of our customers do come back
for their merchandise. We comply with all the ordinances and
the police regulations in every city that we're in. And another
reason I feel that we minimize the false perception that some
people may have of what this industry does is because when a
customer comes into our store, they have to hand us their
Michigan state ID or drivers license. We enter this information
into the computer. We take their thumb print. We give a
detailed description of the item that they brought and within 24
hours we submit it to the local police department. In addition to
August 13, 2013
25913
that, as you said earlier, we have an existing store on Grand
River just south of Eight Mile. It's a 4,500 square fool building.
Within two to four months, that building will be full. This is
merely an extension off that because of the demand in the area.
There really is very few legitimate pawn shops. We consider us
a legitimate pawn shop. We don't cheat the customer. I
welcome everyone to visit our locations. They're extremely
clean, extremely professional. We give an extensive training
program to all our brokers. There isn't really a legitimate one
west of Telegraph going all the way to Ann Arbor. As I said, our
stores are the cleanest in Michigan. They will continue. No
blight or crime. This building, like you said, has been vacant for
quite some time. It is in need of extensive repair. We plan on
spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to renovate the
building. We also anticipate to employ 25 new employees all
from the area. Also to employ contractors to renovate the
building. We have a training program for our brokers and their
starling pay is equivalent to the Big Three. We also offer a
health care program through Blue Cross. Within a year, 25 new
jobs, good paying jobs also I might add. My son, Mark, would
like to touch on some facts that some of our neighbors here may
not be aware of.
Mark Aubrey, Motor City Pawn Brokers, 43333 Chardonnay, Sterling Heights,
Michigan 48314. What I would like to talk about really is two
things here that I could also pass around to you if you would
like. One of which, a year long study that was done in North
Carolina. What this is, is a problem solving for police and police
departments. Its a year long study they've done regarding the
correlation between pawn shops and burglaries and crime in the
area. After about a year of data analysis, what they have found
is there is absolutely no correlation between a true pawn broker
and crime in local communities, which is all here if you'd like me
to pass it around. Another thing I would like to talk about is our
training manual. About 50 percent of our training manual, what
R consists of is a customer screening process. What I mean by
that is, we train our managers and employees to screen every
customer that comes in with an item, meaning for stolen
merchandise, for example. If there is a guitar, for example, that
comes in, we require employees to ask questions regarding how
they acquired it or what they know about. If they do not know
anything about it, they would turn it away. What we have
experienced in the past several years is less and less stolen
merchandise that comes into our pawn shop. As a matter of
fact, it's less than 1/20th of 1 percent, which is less than the
national average. And for that reason, we very rarely see stolen
merchandise or those kinds of customers come into our stores.
Like my father mentioned, our stores are clean. I think a lot of
August 13, 2013
25914
the false perceptions that many people are here for tonight is
because of maybe reality TV shows. If you're familiar with Hard
Core Pawn or some of the shows that are on TV, that is actually
the opposite of how we operate. We don't operate anything like
them. As a matter of fad, I can't remember the last time we had
an unhappy customer or a customer screaming or fights outside
or fights in the parking lot. We actually have none of that. As a
matter of fact, we don't have any security guards and we
haven't had any problems in 30 years. What we consist of
mainly is a quick, confidential lmnsaction that mainly takes three
to five minutes. The customers are in and out. As a matter of
fact, at two of our four locations, we don't have a showroom.
We don't have an area where customers can come in and shop.
Its strictly collateral loans. I think that is what most people
miss, and when they think pawn shop, they think of the reality
TV shows or certain movies. Its a bad depiction of what we're
about and what we do. What we do is service the financial
customer or the customer who is unbankable or underbanked,
which is millions of Michiganders. That's what we're about.
That's what I brought here to show you. I really think people
have the wrong perception. If they went to any of our stores,
they would see a clean store, no irate customers, quick
confdenfial transactions. It's in and out and we do a lot of good
in the community and a lot for the people in the banked and
underbanked. That's all I would like to add. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow: Just one follow-up question. For the benefit of the Commission
and the audience, kind of walk us through. Your customer
comes in to pawn an item. What happens after that and tell us
about your loan policy and things of that nature.
Mark Aubrey: Sure. What our customer would do would bring in collateral,
which could be anything from a musical instrument from a tool
to a piece of jewelry. They would come in to get a collateral
loan. Our collateral loan consists of a three month loan. That
three month loan is at a three percent interest rate, which is
three percent a month. So for example, if a customer borrowed
$100 to fill up their gas lank, let's say, it would cost them $3.00
per month, plus in Michigan you're allowed a $1.00 storage fee.
So really it's $4.00 per month. That loan is for three months.
Whether they would take the option to make the interest
payment every three months to extend it if they can't afford to
get it out after three months, they would pay the $4.00 times 3,
which is 3 months, which is $12.00. They would pay $12.00 to
extend that loan for another three months. That's mainly what
we do. Whether people need gas money to get to work, to pay
for bills, to pay their electric bills. Whatever it may be, that's
what we're here for and that's what our loan consists of.
August 13, 2013
25915
Mr. Morrow: Thank you. Let's see if the Commission has any questions
Ms. Smiley:
I would assume that you have some kind of security inside the
building. What kind of security do you have and what would that
involve?
Mark Aubrey:
As a matter of fad, we don't have any security. My father
opened his first store in Warren 30 years ago and we have not
had one problem. Like I said, we don't gel the riffraff. We don't
attract any riffraff. We don't attract any crime. We're strictly
confidential and quick transaction. We haven't seen any
problems in 30 years. It's a bank for the unbanked and the
under -banked. So we dont see any problems at all.
Ms. Smiley:
Whatlype of articles are typically sold in yourstore?
Mark Aubrey:
Sold? We take a wide range of items. Jewelry, musical
instruments, tools, electronics, TVs, laptops, firearms, you name
it. A wide range of items.
Ms. Smiley:
How many firearms would you sell in a year?
Mark Aubrey:
How many firearms would we sell in a year? As far as selling, I
would say in the hundreds. As far as collateral loans on
firearms, in the thousands. What I mean by collateral loans is
we don't get a chance to sell them because 92 to 95 percent of
our customers come back for their merchandise. They would
use a firearm as collateral to receive a loan which is mainly what
our business is. We're really not in the business to buy and sell
like most people would think. We lake in collateral to give the
customer a loan. If you're counting firearms as far as loan
items, ifs in the thousands.
Ms. Smiley:
Okay. And this collateral, you have no protection for it, like your
employees are not armed?
Mark Aubrey: The manager at each store has a firearm on them. We have an
FFL license which is a Federal Firearms License at each store,
which is a federal license, as well as we need a stale and city,
which is why we're here. Every manager is armed. We have a
bulletproof cage for security of jewelry. We have high tech
safes, actually the best safes in store jewelry. So as far as
security in that regard, the customers' merchandise, is very
good.
Ms. Smiley: Have you had any incidents or problems at your sites?
August 13, 2013
25916
Mark Aubrey:
We have not had one problem in 30 years. I can't recall since
I've been doing it as well as my father, for 30 years we have not
had one incident of any crime.
Ms. Smiley:
Okay. And you haven't unwittingly fenced or sold items that
were stolen?
Mark Aubrey:
No, ma'am. No. That us knowingly was stolen, no. Not at all.
Like I said, I have my training manual here. We strictly
discourage taking in stolen merchandise, and we tryto prohibit it
as much as possible. That's how we operate all of our stores.
Ms. Smiley:
If you took an item per se, like an automobile or something, you
would have that person's title for that automobile and use that
as collateral?
Mark Aubrey:
Correct. They would have to have the title and if there was a
lien on the title, they would have to have the lien released, so
the car would have to be paid off. They would have to prove
ownership, registration as well as their drivers license. Yes.
Ms. Smiley:
And this would include your store in Livonia as well as your
other stores?
Mark Aubrey:
The store in Livonia does not take automobiles strictly because I
know Livonia prohibits outdoor storage of items, so we do not
do that. We do that at the other three locations, which is
Ferndale, Warren and Roseville.
Ms. Smiley:
Something like a computer or a television, would you have a
sales receipt on those? How could you establish ownership?
Mark Aubrey:
Just by what I said in our training manual. If it's a new item, we
require receipts. If it is a used item, we do the best we can to
establish ownership. For example, if a laptop has a password
on it, we would require the customer to have the password. If
not, we turn it away. That's one example. Like I said, in our
training manual we do the best we can to try to screen every
customer that comes in. I would say about 6510 70 percent of
customers bring in the same collateral. So if they bring in one
item, it's a first time customer, they bring in a laptop, about 65
percent of them bring in the same item repeatedly to get a loan.
They would pick it up, bring it back, pick it up, whenever in need
of a loan. That's about 65 to 70 percent of our business is
repeal items and repeal customers.
Ms. Smiley:
Thankyou.
August 13, 2013
25917
Mr. Wilshaw: Just to expand on Ms. Smiley's questions. It sounds to me like
what you're telling me is that basically you have to try to
determine if someone is the rightful owner of a product, if you
can't definitively establish it, through some sort of paperwork.
So if I come in say with my lawnmower, its my word against
yours that it's my lawn mower, and you have to basically
interrogate me with a few questions to try to determine if d really
is my mower. Is that correct?
Mark Aubrey:
Exactly. What we would do is ask you simple questions which
most criminals would not know. What is the brand? What is the
model number? How do you start it? You'll be surprised what
kind of customers don't know that kind of information and the
ones that do not, we turn away. We've built a reputation over
the years in that regard to where we don't see many criminals
any more. We see the working person that needs a collateral
loan, and like I told Mrs. Smiley, it's repeat items. Seventy
percent of our customers are repeat customers, as well as their
items. Seventy percent of their items are repeat items. It's
mainly a collateral loan business. It's really not what you see on
TV. Like I mentioned earlier, two of our, half of our stores don't
even have showrooms, so we're strictly in the collateral loan
business and in the financial service industry, not so much the
buy -sell like some other businesses that use the word pawn are.
Mr. Wilshaw:
You mentioned that your store in Livonia is not going to take in
cars. Are you referring to your current store in Livonia or are
you referring to this store?
Mark Aubrey:
I'm referring to both of them. Per Livonia ordinance, it is illegal
to store any outdoor items, so we would not be able to take cars
at both locations.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. You are required by stale law to house all the
merchandise that people bring in for collateral on-site at all
times.
Mark Aubrey:
That is correct. Yes, the item would have to be on-site and it
would have to be available to the customer. If they were to
come in to redeem their item, we would have to have access to
R to give it back.
Mr. Wilshaw:
So you can't tell them, hey, come back in a couple days while I
go gel it out of storage or something?
Mark Aubrey: No. Absolutely not
August 13, 2013
25918
Mr. Wilshaw:
You said that you comply with local requirements or stale
requirements to report your items that you intake to the police.
Can you explain that process to us a little bit?
Mark Aubrey:
Yes. Every item that comes in, we would require from the
customer a finger print, their right thumb print actually, their
drivers license, ID number, expiration date, their address as well
as the item model number, sepal number and description of the
item. That would be uploaded every 48 hours to the local police
station as well as other police stations in Michigan.
Mr. Wilshaw:
That's a system called LeadsOnline.
Mark Aubrey:
There's a system called LeadsOnline which we do at three of
the four locations. Ferndale is the only one who doesn't do it
because they haven't required us to do so yet, but I'm sure in
the future they will. Right now in Ferndale we hand it to them in
paper form which it would be the same thing, the same
reporting.
Mr. Wilshaw:
You use that in Livonia as well, that system. Right?
Mark Aubrey:
In Livonia, we use LeadsOnline. Yes.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. I read an article in one of the local papers from Iasi year,
June of 2012, Iasi year, about a law suit that you had initiated
against the City of Warren about complying with the
LeadsOnline system. What's the status of that situation?
Mark Aubrey:
That is accurate. That is resolved. That is accurate because of
the fact that the City of Warren wanted to charge us a
transaction fee of 50 cents per transaction. What that does, like
I was explaining the loan. Mr. Taormina mentioned that we're
only allowed to charge 3 percent. So on some of these loans,
we're only allowed to make 50 cents. So if we're only allowed to
make 50 cents and the City of Warren wanted to charge us 50
cents, that would basically wipe out all of our profit on that loan.
So that was the complaint that we had with the City of Warren
which is resolved now.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. And the City of Livonia does not ask you to pay a 50 cent
fee or anything like that?
Mark Aubrey:
The City of Livonia is not charging for LeadsOnline. No.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. Those are my questions for now. Thank you.
August 13, 2013
25919
Ms. Scheel:
You referred to a training manual that you have for your
employees.
Mark Aubrey:
Yes.
Ms. Scheel:
If there was an instance where you were found to have
accepted stolen merchandise, how does your training manual
speak to that, and is there any penally that's issued by the cities
that you're in or the stale where you're licensed for accepting
stolen merchandise?
Mark Aubrey:
Yes. Like I said, our employees aren't super detectives so once
in a while one piece of stolen merchandise will fall through the
cracks, and if that does happen, sometimes the local police
station or neighborhood police officer would confiscate the
merchandise. So it's to our benefit not to take stolen
merchandise because if the item had been confiscated, we
would lose out on our money, as well as the merchandise,
which is why we are very strict when it comes to screening the
customer and try to figure out who is the true owner, which 99.9
percent of the time, it's a true transaction. Ifs the actual item of
that customer who just needs a loan and needs to make ends
meet. That's pretty much it.
Ms. Scheel:
Is there a penalty assessed to your business if there's stolen
merchandise accepted at all?
Mark Aubrey:
Well, the penalty would be we lose out on our money. We
would lose out on our money as well as the merchandise.
There's really no upside for us to take such merchandise.
Ms. Scheel:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Taylor:
The Council in their wisdom a few months back decided to
make this a waiver use in a zoning district. They did that mainly
because of the problems we might have with this type of a
business coming in. The way you describe your business, it
sounds like you should change your name from a pawn shop to
some sort of a loan outfit because you're whitewashing the
pawn shop image I know with what you do. And you may have
a very legitimate business. I don't know that. But then, you
know, there may be a need for this type of business in certain
places, but I don't think it's needed in Livonia.
Mr. Morrow:
Please. This is a public hearing and please refrain from these
outbursts, please.
Mark Aubrey: They are in existence because they operate with a second hand
dealer license and what they do is buy the merchandise from
the customer, like I mentioned the $100 loan. What they would
do is purchase a laptop for $100 and they would promise to sell
it back to the customer within 30 days, not 90 days, which is the
legal loan term, and they would sell it back to the customer in 30
days for a 30 to 40 percent markup. So the customer would
have to purchase it back at $130 or $140 versus if they came to
August 13, 2013
25920
Mark Aubrey:
And I would respond to that as I strongly disagree only because
I have the facts and I have the data. And the data is, there is an
extremely strong demand in Livonia, as well as the surrounding
communities, and I see that at our Livonia location now. People
are coming in droves. They need loans. They are not bankable
and they need credit. So they bring their merchandise to us and
we extend that credit to them. So Mr. Taylor, I'm sorry. I would
have to strongly disagree with you because I have the fads on
my side and I have the data. The reason for that is, the Livonia
location is expanding faster than the other three locations that I
have. And I see the merchandise come in droves and I see the
shelves filling up. In two years, I filled up that store thinking that
it would take five to len. The customers and the clientele in this
area, there's an extremely high demand for what we do and for
the financial service industry in this area.
Mr. Taylor:
You have a spot in Livonia. As far as I'm concerned, you have
one now and I dont want to see another one.
Mr. Bahr:
You talk about the demand in the area. Do you keep records of
where your customers are from?
Mark Aubrey:
Yes, Ido.
Mr. Bahr:
Can you tell me what percentage of your customers are from
the City of Livonia?
Mark Aubrey:
Percentage of the customers from the City of Livonia, my best
guess is anywhere from 30 to 40 percent. I would say 60 to 70
percent is from surrounding cities, I think Farmington, Redford,
and Detroit.
Mr. Bahr:
You talked about this at the study meeting. You talked about it
here. You've done a really nice job of explaining your
perception of the difference between your operation and the
other so called pawn shops. I just have to ask the question.
How do those other pawn shops, if they're not operating
according to regulations, how are they in existence? How are
they not prosecuted?
Mark Aubrey: They are in existence because they operate with a second hand
dealer license and what they do is buy the merchandise from
the customer, like I mentioned the $100 loan. What they would
do is purchase a laptop for $100 and they would promise to sell
it back to the customer within 30 days, not 90 days, which is the
legal loan term, and they would sell it back to the customer in 30
days for a 30 to 40 percent markup. So the customer would
have to purchase it back at $130 or $140 versus if they came to
August 13, 2013
25921
a true pawnbroker, which is myself, it would be $104. That is
the difference between the two, and what you see mainly in the
State of Michigan and what most people are used to, is a buy-
back store. There's only a handful of true pawnbrokers that I
can maybe count on my fingertips, which most people I'm sure
are not familiar with. What they are familiar with are the second
hand dealer buy-back stores, which there are a few in Livonia, a
few in Farmington as well as Redford, because of strict zoning
ordinances for pawn shops and because of that, you see a lot of
sort of speak illegal pawn shops. What they do is a buy-back for
their customers.
Mr. Bahr:
You said that you don't have showrooms at your other locations.
Did I hear that correctly?
Mark Aubrey:
I dont have showrooms at two of the four, which is in Femdale
and Warren. Yes.
Mr. Bahr:
So what is the purpose of the showroom and I might add what
appears to be a pretty large showroom at this locafion?
Mark Aubrey:
Only because it is a large location and some of the items we
would have to showcase. The other reason is to show the
customers which items we do lake. And just for the record, the
showroom sales might account for maybe two to three percent
of our total sales, which is not much at all.
Mr. Bahr:
Okay. You staled earlier, I thought, that 90 - 91 percent of your
customers come back to get their items. How do those
numbers add up?
Mark Aubrey:
Well, that's a different ... that's for the pawn. As far as total
revenue, our sales in the showroom would account for two to
three percent.
Mr. Bahr:
Also, just trying to get a better understanding of the operation of
the business, what percentage of your customers are repeat
customers?
Mark Aubrey:
I would say anywhere from 65 to 70 percent. Of those
customers, I would say 6510 70 percent of their items are also
repeal items.
Mr. Bahr:
Okay. I think that handles everything for now. Thanks.
Mr. Morrow:
I have one question. Assuming that you're not doing a lot of
retail, and let's say the pawn is forfeited, what happens to that
Rem after the pawn is forfeited?
August 13, 2013
25922
Mark Aubrey: Ninety-five percent of those items are, number one, if its gold, it
would be refined and wholesaled. Number two, if its an
electronic item or tool, it would be sold on Ebay or at auction. If
it's a firearm, it would also be sold at auction to a licensed
firearm dealer only. The other two to five percent would be in
the showroom.
Mr. Morrow: Thank you. Are there any other questions? If you'll step aside,
I'm going to go to the audience and ask them to come forward
and speak to whether they are for or against the granting of this
petition. Because of the number, we want to gel your message
across. We dont want to gel into a lot of redundancy, but you
will be allowed to speak. Is there anyone in audience wishing to
come forward? If you would line up at either one of these
podiums and we will need your name and address for the
record. Before we gel started, make sure that your comments
are directed to the Commission and not to the petitioner. We
don't want to gel into any type of argument back and forth. So
on that note, we'll start over here. We'll need your name and
address for the record.
Donna DelFavero, 29504 Bobrich, Livonia, Michigan 48152. 1 live right next door
to the proposed pawn shop. My father moved us out here in
1948 when it was still a township and the malls were farms and
we watched the changes being made in Livonia over the years.
Its always been a family friendly oriented place to live and it's
had a great reputation. Some of the businesses that we see
coming into this community now aren't family friendly, and I
don't think this pawn shop is going to be family friendly. I don't
know of any business that has been in business for 30 years
and has not had one problem. I think if this type of business
comes into the community, it should be in a more industrialized
area where there's fewer residences around. I dont know how
any of you on the Commission would feel if a pawn shop were
put right next door to your home, and that's what's happening to
us that live in Valley Wood. We have children living there, and
we just do not feel this is a safe thing. I love Livonia, and I'd like
to see it stay a safe community -oriented city. Thank you.
Paula Vomn, 17430 Brookview, Livonia, Michigan 48152. 1 live directly behind
the pawn shop. I know this is an emotional pefition being
brought up. I heard yesterday in the morning on talk radio, they
were talking about this and people everywhere are looking at
Livonia to see what Livonia is going to do about the situation.
My mother was broken into on Christmas night. They actually
broke into her house and went in her bedroom and they took her
jewelry. That's it, jewelry and money, and that's all they took. I
August 13, 2013
25923
talked to the police officer afterwards and he told me that this is
common. That they do this a lot and they go right to the pawn
shop because there's no sepal number or they can tell you
whatever story they need to tell. I mean what do you say with
jewelry? My grandmother gave this to me or whatever and you
believe them, but people are desperate right now. I worry about
teenagers in the area knowing that its close by that they would
start ... you know, we dont have an ADT or anything, but if this
would pass, I would feel I would absolutely need to gel ADT or
something to guard my house and I've never felt ever, and
people would laugh at me and they'd say, oh, you think Livonia
is so safe, but that's basically the way I feel. If you dont lock
your door, you don't worry about it, but if I knew that this was
right in my backyard, which we live on the ravine and it's right
on the ravine right next to us, I would feel that way. So thank
you.
Marsha Jones, Valley Wood Condominiums, 29466 Bobrich Street, Livonia.
Michigan 48152. First of all, I'd like to say that I came to Livonia
in '58, so it was a new city for me from Detroit. And I went to
Bentley and growing up there, everybody was family and we
helped each other. I see it now. I come back full circle. I left
and came back to Livonia just from Sunset Hills Subdivision.
That's where I grew up. And it's still the same. People are still
home -bodied people. And I moved into Valley Wood seven
years ago, and I fell right away at home and people look out for
each other there. Having this pawn shop come in, it was like a
shock to me. Like I said, I have never been one to come
forward and speak up about something I disagree on, but this
I'm definitely disagreeing on. We have Shooters, which is kitty
corner to the Core gym, and they were broken into. Four men
and a van came and stole 20 to 30 guns and came into our
Valley Wood because there's no exit, but they didn't read the
sign. The police got them, but its awful waking up in the
morning to see the police force underneath your bedroom
window looking for guns. I know now that there are more pawn
shops in Livonia on Middlebell and Merriman, and I'm in
agreement. I don't think we need another one. We've got a
cash checking store across the street on Six Mile going east
and a liquor store. We have six churches on Six Mile between
Merriman and Middlebell and three day care centers in there.
There is a school, Coolidge, which is in the subdivision that I
grew up in, and I don't know. I just feel like people who come to
these places are desperate, and that's all I have to say.
Linda Dodd, 14387 Doris, Livonia, Michigan 48152. Hi there. I haven't been
here as long as these ladies, but I've been here about 24 years
and its a wonderful city. I just wanted to say I've been reading
August 13, 2013
25924
a lot over the past year or two about Livonia's vision and our
vision for the future. I think that two pawn shops in Livonia is
sufficient. I happen to live by the Five Mile and Middlebelt one
and didn't get a chance to speak on it. So that's why I came
tonight. I just think Mr. Taylor is right on task. They have one in
Livonia and that should suffice our needs at this point, and we
should look to what our vision should be for the future.
Dave Cunningham, 29533 Bobrich, Livonia, Michigan 48152. 1 live in the Valley
Wood condominium area. I'll be very brief. I'm a 30 year
resident of Livonia and I won't tell you the history of it. I'll just
reiterate a lot of what people have said and that's why I'm here.
I'm concerned about the safety, my safety and also the safely of
my neighbors and I wish there was another altemative. I don't
think a pawn shop in that residential area is a good idea. Thank
you.
Dolores Ackroyd, 16790 N. Stanmoor Drive, Livonia, Michigan 48152. 1 live less
than half a mile from this establishment. I also own a
condominium in Valley Wood, which I hope to move there at
some point. I have an issue with this for several reasons. One
is the density and diversification of business. There are already
two; they own one. Secondly, this is a huge establishment.
They say they don't have a showroom, but let's face it folks.
This is going to be a showroom for the other places that don't
have a showroom. With regard to them bringing jobs to the city
and paying Big 3, let's face that one too. The Big 3 pay isn't
anything now compared to what it was at one time.
Mr. Morrow: Ma'am, address the Commission please
Ms. Ackroyd: Yes, thank you. The business in and of itself is a predatory
business. If someone does need that, they can travel a short
distance up to Grand River and get the services. The density of
business doesn't need to be increased to the point of having
another one, which is why the Commission in their wonderful
sight has made the waiver necessary. With regard, the FFL, the
Federal Firearms License, I don't know how, if there's anyone
here from Shooters but what that does for these gentlemen is it
allows them to take delivery of a firearm shipped in from
anywhere to someone who is not licensed. You cannot ship a
firearm over a state line. So if I go on online and I want to buy
an AK47 from Oklahoma, I have to find an FFL to ship it to,
someone to take delivery of it, to look at the paperwork and give
it to me. That more than anything is disturbing to me. We have
Shooters Service who are very reputable. I have shipped
firearms into the stale. They do a wonderful job. It is their
business. They are thereto protect and do things property. The
August 13, 2013
25925
FFL that these gentlemen possess allows them to lake delivery
of firearms in our city and give them to anyone outside of our
city. Anyone can come in from any city to FFL and get delivery
of anything. So that more than anything is the most disturbing
thing to me. You know, the FFL is said to keep them safe.
Well, if their business is so safe, why do they need that?
Nichole Majdali, 29463 Bobrich, Livonia, Michigan 48152. 1 just wanted you to
see the face of somebody who walks home at night and I park
against that wall. I just find it not good for our neighborhood,
good for my safety. I fell very safe for 10 years here. I leave
my window kind of cracked. It's locked but I just dont have a
good feeling about this. I don't think it helps our city. I don't
think it helps the value of my property and I just dont think it's a
good thing. I've never seen reality TV. I dont think you need to
see reality TV to know what a pawn shop brings into your
neighborhood. So that's all.
Spiro Neku, 15240 Arnold Drive, Clinton Township, Michigan. I'm here to
support the Motor City Pawn even though I don't live in Livonia.
I've been to their stores. Theyre very clean, neat. Their
employees are courteous. They know what to do. I've been in
there so many limes to pawn my sluff because I fell five years
ago and broke my back and I lost everything. I didn't even know
what a pawn shop was. Like they mention, it's for the people
that aren't loanable, which I'm not because when I fell, I lost
everything. They run a good business. I've taken most of my
wife's jewelry there. Everything we own is there and I pawn it. I
pay it every three months and if I need more money on my loan,
if they can extend it and give me more money, they do it. I
mean you see all kinds of walk of life walking in their stores.
I've never seen a fight or a problem in their stores. I know
there's a lot of negativity even though I don't live in Livonia. I
wish there was one near me, but I have to go to the Roseville
store and my daughter works at the police department. If they
get stolen merchandise there, they send it out to the pawn
shops what to look out for. Before I pawned all my sluff, for
insurance purposes I look pictures of my jewelry. That way if
something did gel stolen, I would take it to them and tell them
keep an eye on it if this comes in, or if you received anything
that looks like this. But every time I've gone in there, I overhear
their employees. They ask for ID. They get their thumbprints.
They ask them all kinds of questions. They take serial numbers
down off the merchandise. I've never seen a problem at any of
their stores and I've been to all of them, as much stuff that I've
had to pawn to survive.
August 13, 2013
25926
Myrtle Kelly, 30425 Lyndon, Livonia, Michigan 48154. I've been a resident for
over 50 years. I love my city. I think it's a great city. I think City
Council does a great job, but please, don't let us have this big
new pawn shop. We don't need it. Thank you.
Jim Rhoad, 17204 Brookview, Livonia, Michigan 48152. 1 can look out my deck
and see this building. I have two teenage children that are
home every day for two hours before I gel home from work. I
understand that they say the element is low, one to two percent,
but I still have concerns as a father that this potential one or two
percent criminal element could be a fence hop away from my
children. I am strongly opposed to this plan.
Nancy Savageau, 19066 Norwich, Livonia, Michigan 48152. I'm a newcomer to
Livonia. I was bom here in 1963. 1 came back here to raise my
family. Drug my husband over from the east side. We've been
really happy here and I think part of Livonia's attraction is that
you've been able to attract and retain families. People stay here
throughout their lives. We need to keep attracting families or
families that are considering moving to Livonia, and driving
down Middlebelt they see two pawn shops three miles apart.
Are they going to say, wow, this is a place we'd like to live, or
are they going to say, well, let's keep looking. Lets look in Novi,
all the communities that we're competing with, Canton,
Northville. Do they have pawn shops? I don't know, but it
would certainly give me some concem if I was looking for a
home if there were pawn shops in this area. And the other thing
is, they're talking about spending hundreds of thousands of
dollars to renovate the building and paying great wages, yet 50
cents a search for this police search to go through the records
to see if items are stolen, that's loo expensive. We're paying
the police. These police officers could be on the street. Instead
they're combing through records and combing through stolen
items, performing a service for them to make sure that their
items aren't stolen. I just think that one pawn shop is enough.
People can go other places. They can branch out. They can
propose a store in Westland or Belleville or further western
communities to service those folks. I don't think we need
another one. Thank you.
Jerry Morrone, 29622 Lamar, Livonia, Michigan. I live in the Sunset Hills
subdivision, just north of their location. I listened to their
presentation and I thought it was nice. However, I think this is
the wrong type of business to bring into Livonia, especially in
this area. One of the reasons is that by their own words, they
said that their customers are in and out of there in five minutes,
which is really great. However, I really doubt that they're going
to be able to determine what is fraudulent ID or fake ID, lel
August 13, 2013
25927
alone determine which items are stolen. These are major
problems. Plus most of the people that have items stolen don't
have good identification on their items. Therefore, this type of
business encourages theft. I strongly disagree with this type of
business being in this area. Thank you.
Maggie Caldwell -Harrell, 17134 Brookview, Livonia, Michigan. While I'm a part
of the community that here's today, I've lived in Livonia for 11-
1/2 years and I do love the city. I am a working woman, a
career woman. My husband is retired and he is somewhat
disabled, and we are aging. We live on Brookview. Literally,
when I say I'm part of the community, what I want to stress
more is, if they were to remove the fence where the medical
building is, that business could become my backyard. What I
would like to ask, I won't repeal a lot of the other things I've
already heard said, but I heard the Commissioner ask the
business owners what they have for security, and they said
pretty much nothing, if I understood that correct. So what I
would like to suggest if they are permitted to do this, we don't
need them in our community because I did google pawn shops
in Livonia today. I found four. I found theirs. I found two more
on Middlebell by a different name. Well, four and one's right at
Farmington. It's actually in Farmington Hills, but it's on Eight
Mile. It's not theirs but it's a different one. So that's four pawn
shops right in the Middlebelt area. If I wanted to pawn
something, I could do that faster than I could gel to a grocery
store basically because there's just a Kroger. We just don't
need that. If they are permitted, and I hope theyre not, but if
they are and because theyre right in my backyard and the risk
of the clients that they may draw, I would like to ask that they be
required to have cameras because that fence and the growth
back there and you know, what are we going to have to protect
ourselves? I mean I can just see us being cherry pickers. You
know, someone just coming cherry picking us, our things.
That's what l want to say. We don't need them.
Michael Bell, 17177 Brookview, Livonia, Michigan. I live right across the street
from that lady right there, and also be a neighbor to the new
business. I heard a lot of good things from the people. I have
six and eight year old daughters. My wife and I were both bom
and raised in Livonia. We both decided to buy a house back in
Livonia and raise our kids here in Livonia. My neighbor Jim said
L We just don't get that safe feeling. They said it themselves.
They do have one percent chance of undesirables or however
you want to mention it. I don't want to be the one percent. I live
right there in that backyard. He also said that only 30 or 40
percent of his business is from Livonia residents. I think the
pawn shops in Livonia that they already own should be able to
August 13, 2013
25928
suffice that 30 percent just fine without having to add any more
pawn stores. That's all I have to say. Thank you.
Nikia Brockinglon, 29456 Bobdch, Livonia, Michigan. Valley Wood condos. I am
a single female. The reason why I bought my condo in Valley
Wood is for safety. I stay alone. I work different hours, and I
work in the inner city. I know what's it's like to watch the reality
shows. I don't watch it because I live R. When I come to
Livonia, I want to feel safe. I want to feel like my home is my
home. If they put that pawn shop next door to me, I won't feel
safe. I won't feel like Livonia is my safe haven anymore. So I'm
really, really opposing this pawn shop being next door to me. I
work odd hours. I come in the middle of the night sometimes,
and you never know what's next door, and I do not want a pawn
shop next door.
Ron Cooper, 17232 Brookview, Livonia, Michigan 48152. I've been a resident of
Livonia for my whole life, 51 years. Our backyard, sitting on our
patio, would also face this business. I have teenage kids and I
also have a 10 year old that frequently would cut through the
field or around the street over to the Steak in Shake or up to the
corner. I'm not sure that if this business was allowed to be put
in this area that they would be able to do that anymore. I also
have major concerns about home ownership and home values
in the area going down because of this business coming in. To
piggyback off of something that the gentleman who supported
the business, he said that he drove a long way to go to that
pawn shop because they were so good. Well, if we already
have one in Livonia, I'm sure anybody in Livonia who needed a
pawn shop could go to one that we currently have. We do not
need a second pawn shop. Thank you.
Brian Dukay, 36886 Harper, Clinton Township, Michigan. I'm here in support of
the pawn shop. I've known the Aubrey family now for several
years. They have multiple locations. I have been in and out of
every one of their establishments, even in the back of the
buildings. If this were a bank that were opening up, nobody
here would be questioning it at all. They'd be opening up;
they'd feel safe. The reality is, you've got a better chance of
robbery in a bank than you do in a pawn shop. What they do is
collateral loans. That's what they do. I've been in their stores.
I've seen their customers. I've seen their relationships. I've
seen the people they work with. Unbelievable. Unfortunately,
reality TV has really brought a bad name to legitimate working
businesses. As a result, we have the turnout that we have
tonight. Some other type of business, we wouldn't even be
questioning it. These people have great relationships with the
customers. You come in; you're comfortable; you're by first
August 13, 2013
25929
name basis. I think it would be an asset to the city. I think it
would be an asset to the community. They invest money into
their businesses. They redo them. They keep them clean.
They keep them safe. They keep them groomed. They even
landscape them. I think it would be a travesty if you turn around
an opportunity to take a vacant building and a vacant piece of
land and turn it into something useful.
Mr. Morrow: Thankyou foryour input
Denise MacMartin, 17370 Brookview, Livonia, Michigan 48152. 1 am also right
behind the pawn shop that they want to propose. I have a
problem with, they said one percent is undesirables and that
they've had nothing happen in their store. What about outside
of their store? I mean we already have the liquor shop, the cash
shop. I mean there's so many things right around there that
people will hang out and loiter. I have children. I don't want
them to have to worry about walking to Walgreens. I dont think
this is something we should have in our community. I moved
here when I was 15 and I moved only two blocks away from my
mother when I got married 29 years ago. There is no reason for
us to have another pawn shop in Livonia. I am opposed to it
totally.
Sandy Taylor, 30633 Lyndon, Livonia, Michigan. My house happens to be right
by the other pawn shop on Middlebelt. These people here are
telling you how they feel, that their perception about a pawn
shop. For many people, perception is reality, and for me, I feel
the same way. My reality when I saw that pawn shop going on
Middlebelt, I couldn't wait to get home and tell my husband,
there's a pawn shop on Middlebelt right by our house. I believe
it's a slippery slope. When I start seeing check cashing stores
go in, pawn shops, that's not a good sign. To me, that's a
slippery slope. That's a tale of the limes. I'm going to take
them al their word that they're everything that they say they are,
but when I think about the perception of them, right or wrong,
perception is reality for a lot of people. If I was coming to
Livonia now like I did 15 years ago, if I was shopping for a home
and I seen those pawn shops and I seen the check cashing
stores, I would, like the other ladies, look in Novi. I would look
in Wixom. I would look in South Lyon. I would keep looking. It
wouldn't be in Livonia. Not now.
Sarah Maria Ackroyd, 16790 N. Stanmoor, Livonia, Michigan 48152. Like a lot
of these folks, I'm opposed to the pawn shop. I grew up in the
City of Redford and the City of Redford has changed a lot. I
have major concerns about Livonia going down the same path.
I'm sure these gentlemen personally are great people as
August 13, 2013
25930
individuals. I just don't agree with their business. Like many
folks have said before, it's not a family friendly business.
There's check cashing places you can go to. They already have
the same style businesses. Like there's four others in Livonia. I
think we're good. There's some in Redford. There's some in
Detroit and we're close enough to Detroit. I feel like we're fine.
Let's put a teddy bear store in there or something for kids. Let's
do something for the community. Put a church in there,
anything, a rec center. I mean let's extend the rec center and
make it a new extension for kids and families. I feel like
honestly if we need something in there, yes we do. I pass it
everyday. I just dont think that's something that needs to go in
there.
Russ Smith, 18138 Middlebelt, Livonia, Michigan. Buying, selling, trading,
borrowing, has been in America since its beginning. The very
first years Americans traded. My objection to this proposal is
the word pawn broker, pawn shop. By the petitioners own
admission, it conjures up a very bad image. In the movies, you
see people going into pawn shops. The man behind the screen
trading. So I think I have no objection to the business if it was
jewelry buy and sell or we trade, but the word pawn, I've even
heard them referred to as hot shops, and I think it conjures up a
very bad image of Livonia.
Chris McDonald, 30181 Greenland, Livonia, Michigan. The question is to the
Commissioner. On September 11, you proposed to Council the
ordinance in which we're here today for. On December 5, the
Council passed that ordinance. Now, it wasn't until January 9
that Livonia Pawn asked for an Occupancy Permit to go in
where they're at. That was approved on January 21 of this
year. My question to you is, how did they gel in without coming
here first?
Mr. Morrow:
Are you talking about the current one that's in operation?
Mr. McDonald:
Yes, sir.
Mr. Morrow:
Well, there was no ordinance against them coming in.
Mr. McDonald:
The ordinance was passed on December 5, 2012, by the City
Council.
Mr. Morrow:
Let's clear it up with Mr. Taormina.
Mr. Taormina:
I'm actually looking at the schedule of the meetings. December
5, you're correct is when the Council held its public hearing.
The first reading was on December 19; second reading and roll
August 13, 2013
25931
call was on January 14. Then of course the ordinance is not
effective until it's published, which probably took place at least
two weeks beyond that dale. As I indicated earlier, the other
shop that's been referred to on Middlebell Road, occupied that
space that just prior to the effective dale of the ordinance. They
slipped in basically.
Mr. Morrow:
This is not a pawn shop per se, right?
Mr. McDonald:
It says Livonia pawn.
Mr. Taormina:
Yes. It says pawnshop.
Mr. Morrow:
But theyre not license as a pawn shop?
Mr. Taormina:
That I don't know. They would have had to go through a waiver
use had the ordinance been in effect at the time.
Mr. Morrow:
But the ordinance was not in effect at that time.
Mr. Taormina:
That is correct.
Mr. McDonald:
For the ordinance, it says that once its passed by the Council, I
have it right here with me. Its effective the day they pass it. Its
in the ordinance.
Mr. Taormina:
I'm not sure what he's looking at but I'm looking at the schedule.
Mr. McDonald:
Its 1.01.020 of the ordinance.
Mr. Taormina:
Mr. Chairman, again, this is off subject, number one. Number
two, I'd be happy to meet with the gentleman and show him all
the dales when this matter was under review.
Mr. Morrow:
Apparently there is a conflict on the document you have, which
the Director has not seen, and he's got the official record right
here. So we'll reconcile that at another time.
Mr. McDonald:
One last thing. I had a business in south Livonia years ago. It
was when gold and silver became a real big thing, buying it. I
can remember coming to the office in the morning and people
sitting out there in their cars waiting to go in with their sluff. It
scared the heck out of us. And twice we were locked down
because stolen stuff was coming in there. This was in Livonia,
and I think it brings ... I have to agree with everyone here. It
brings a different element to the table. They have to report
anything that's stolen. If something is stolen, if somebody is
August 13, 2013
25932
there, the police are going to be called. It creates a different
kind of activity. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow:
Thank you, and I invite you to contact Mr. Taormina and he'd be
happy to sit down with you.
Mr. McDonald:
Okay.
Pal Bess, 17423 Brookview, Livonia, Michigan 48152. I live right behind where
they're looking to put in their business. I'm opposed to it for
exactly the same reasons that everyone else is that's voicing
their concern, but I think as a Board, you need to look at what
business that you're pulling into Livonia. If you've already got
multiple pawn shops in Livonia, do you really need another one
there? I dont think so. I think Livonia needs to take a look at
everything that they're doing to bring in a different type of
business, to keep the community going and keep the family-
oriented feel of Livonia because otherwise you're going to lose
people and you're going to get people that are not going to look
at Livonia to move into it. I think if you're arguing over what to
name a pawn shop, that should tell you right there. That's not a
good thing. If people are looking to change the name pawn to
sell something else, that should be a red flag for you. I'm
opposed to this 100 percent. I think you need to revisit that.
Mr. Bahr:
Mr. Chair, am I allowed to make a comment right now?
Mr. Morrow:
Is it a question of the lady that was just up here?
Mr. Bahr:
Its a comment.
Mr. Morrow:
Yes, you can make a comment.
Mr. Bahr:
This might be a good time to just address something that I think
is a common misconception, and that is, as the City of Livonia,
we dont business plan. We don't pull businesses into the City.
Any citizen or any business owner has an opportunity to petition
the City to come in, which is exactly why we're here tonight.
That's come up several times in some of the correspondence.
Its come up a few times tonight. I just wanted to clarify that so
that everybody is aware of that. This is the first step that
anybody can take to petition the City and that's what we're here
to discuss tonight. Thanks.
Mr. Morrow:
Thank you, Mr. Bahr. Let's see, where did I leave off?
August 13, 2013
25933
Don Borgula, 18420 Fremont, Sunset Hills, Livonia, Michigan. My family also
has a contracting office business at Six Mile and Middlebelt in
one of the office buildings there. We're very opposed to this
place being turned into a pawn shop. A couple of reasons. It
kind of signals that the city is on a desperate route for accepting
any businesses. As Mr. Bahr brought out, this is the first step
for a business to approach Council to accept their business plan
or whatever for opening up a business in the City of Livonia and
I think it really sends out a wrong message to other developers
that want to come into the area and open up other stores.
There is strong demand here in Livonia for other stores to open
and I think by rejecting and opposing this particular petition for
business, it would send a good signal to other developers that
want to come into the city.
Blake Koenig, 29530 Bobrich, Livonia, Michigan 48152. 1 just wanted to make a
point. He said that most of the people that come in there, you
know he asks them questions and sluff and if they don't know
the answers to what theyre purchasing, that they turn them
away. Well, what about the people that are actually criminals
that do this for a living? They bring in sluff and know the
merchandise. What do they do then? I mean, I went into the
pawn shop. I saw the tools. They use tools and whatnot and
rings. A lot of the sluff you can't prove that its actually
somebody elses even if you do fax it over to the police
department. There's no way to tell. I've had problems with my
car. My rims got stolen. You know where that stuff goes? It
goes to places like that. They pay $25 for a set of rims, and
then I ended up fling with the insurance company, and they cost
$3,000. That's what they do. They buy up sluff cheap and then
they sell it at a profit which I just don't see the point of this pawn
shop coming into our area. Thank you.
Judy Kanack, 35765 Minton, Livonia, Michigan 48150. 1 don't live anywhere near
the proposed site for the pawn shop, but I'm here tonight
because I'm opposed to it. I've lived in Livonia for 30 years. My
daughter and son-in-law just purchased a home on Seven and
Merriman. The gentlemen have written their business off as the
friendly building and loans. I think they neglected to point out
that many of their customers are drug addicts, alcoholics, and
gambling addicts that need cash and they're turning in their
merchandise. So please don't take Livonia in the wrong
direction. If you do so, we might as well put up bars on the
windows and open strip clubs. Thank you for your time.
Sigmn Lobo, 17476 Brookview Drive, Livonia, Michigan 48152. 1 live right behind
where the pawn shop is proposed to be put. I just wanted to
say I was at the other pawn shop in Livonia. I went by there
August 13, 2013
25934
today to just take a look. I missed it by five minutes. I got there
at five after 6:00 and they close at 6:00. But this place is on
Grund River right between Eight Mile and Inkster. It's a very
commercial area. This is a good place for a place of business
like that, not in the back of our own backyards, not in a
residential area where our kids are and where our families are.
That's why, nothing against the people, but not in our
backyards. Put it somewhere where it's more appropriate.
Thankyou.
Mr. Morrow:
I see no one else coming forward. I want to thank you for your
input and your decorum in conducting this public hearing. I'm
going to give the petitioner a chance to wrap this up, and then
we'll move it to the Commission.
Mark Aubrey:
Thank you. I just want to mention, I understand why
everybody's here, but I think it's safe for me to say that most of
these people speaking here tonight have never been inside an
actual pawn shop or never came into an actual Motor City Pawn
Brokers or needed an actual collateral loan because they're
short on whatever it may be, but I promise if they did come to
one of our stores, it would change their perception and might
change the way they think. That's all I have to say. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow:
Thank you very much. With that, I'm going to close the public
hearing.
Ms. Scheel:
Mr. Wilshaw, did you want to speak first?
Mr. Wilshaw:
Go ahead.
Mr. Morrow:
Did you want to make a comment?
Mr. Wilshaw:
I had a question for the petitioner.
Mr. Morrow:
Okay. Sir, one of the Commissioners has a question for you
before I take the motion.
Mr. Wilshaw:
My question is regarding the number of incidents that you've
had at your stores. You mentioned that you haven't had in the
years of business that you've been operating any incidents at
your stores. However, we know there's a certain amount of
merchandise that is going to come into your store that is stolen.
How many times do you think the police have to contact your
business in a typical year to recover any stolen merchandise or
you have to report stolen merchandise that you've recovered?
August 13, 2013
25935
Mark Aubrey: Sure. Let me clarify that. I know a few people came up here
and mentioned one percent or two percent. I said 1/20th of 1
percent, which is probably less than your local grocery store.
We very rarely get stolen merchandise, and if we do, it would be
one or two times a year that the police department would have
to confiscate that. The answer to your question is one to two
limes a year is something confiscated that slips through and
gels to us.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. The reason I ask is I'm looking at some correspondence
that I received from the Livonia Police Department in regards to
your current facility which shows that they had to contact your
store in the past year on almost nine occasions to recover either
stolen merchandise or to investigate merchandise that arrived at
your store. I'm trying to understand exactly how infrequent
these things are when I'm seeing nine incidents in the past year
at your current store.
Mark Aubrey:
That's because what you're seeing is just when an officer calls
to investigate, and 99.9 percent of that people don't pursue it.
Like I said, the one or two items that are confiscated, there is an
actual court case and the due process went through. In those
instances, officers would inquire about the item, who brought it
in and 99.99 percent of those is a family related incident, which
maybe it would be a brother who brought in the guitar or a
daughter or sibling, and they wouldn't want to press charges.
So that actual item did not get confiscated, but that's what that
is. But an actual truly legitimately stolen item per store, I would
say is one to two confiscations per year.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow:
I know I had closed the public hearing, but apparently I was a
little loo quick with the gavel, so I made a Chairman's decision
to allow that follow up question. Now ft's officially closed.
Ms. Scheel:
First of all, I want to thank everybody that came out this evening
in the audience, whether you were speaking against this
particular item or for it, its great that you have a cencem for our
community and that you're willing to put in your personal time to
come out and speak for Livonia. We truly appreciate that. Mr.
Taormina had mentioned that we received over 20 pieces of
mail, whether it was hard copy or email from community
members. I want to make sure I mentioned that again to say
thank you for caring to send in information to us to let us know
how you feel about this topic. I also wanted to thank the
business owners for considering expanding in Livonia. It's nice
that businesses like what we do in Livonia and the traffic we gel
August 13, 2013
25936
in Livonia, that they feel that theyre able to do good business in
Livonia. However, I do not feel at this time that this is a good fit
for this particular area in the community or that we need another
store of this kind in Livonia being that we do have many
locations of this type in this area. So for those reasons, I'm
going to offer a denying resolution this evening.
On a motion by Scheel, seconded by Taylor, and unanimously adopted, it was
#08-48-2013 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been
held by the City Planning Commission on May 14, 2013, on
Petition 2013-07-02-18 submitted by Mark Aubrey requesting
waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(v) of the City of
Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to operate a
pawn shop (Motor City Pawn Brokers) at 17235 Middlebell
Road, located on the west side of Middlebell Road between Six
Mile Road and Curtis Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section
11, which property is zoned OS and G2, the Planning
Commission does hereby deny Petition 2013-07-02-18 for the
following reasons:
1. That the petitioner has failed to affirmatively show that the
proposed use is in compliance with all of the special and
general waiver use standards and requirements as set
forth in Sections 11.03 and 19.06 of the Zoning Ordinance
#543;
2. That the City is currently well served with similar uses to
that which is being proposed;
3. That the petitioner has failed to demonstrate the need in
the area for the type of commercial service proposed to be
operated on the subject site;
4. That the submitted plans fail to address how the rear
portion of the site will be improved and maintained;
5. Per the Livonia Police Department, pawn shops attract a
criminal element by serving as a place for criminals to sell
stolen goods;
6. Community response to this proposal is that the proposed
use would not be a good fit for the neighborhood;
7. That the petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated that
the proposed use would be compatible to and in harmony
with surrounding uses in the area; and
August 13, 2013
25937
B. That the proposed use is contrary to the goals and
objectives of the Zoning Ordinance which, among other
things, are intended to insure suitability and
appropriateness of uses.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 19.05 of
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended.
Mr. Morrow: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Wilshaw: Just a comment. I appreciate Commissioner Scheel's
comments about the residents who have come out to speak and
other folks in the community, both for and against this petition.
As Mr. Bahr pointed out, every business owner has the
opportunity to come to the City and present a request to us for
approval. This is a particular case, because it is a waiver use,
that requires specific approval for these types of business in our
community so that we can have greater control over these types
of businesses within our community. We need to give those
business owners an opportunity to present their case, but in the
same respect, we also respect the concerns of the community
and its residents, especially those who live in the immediate
area. We had a number of residents that came here tonight and
many of them came up to speak, some 30 or 40 residents came
up to speak, and the vast majority of them live immediately in
the area around that pawn shop. I take what they have to say to
heart and I give them a lot of credibility and respect for what
they have to say because they're the ones that are going to
have to live next to that business when it's in place. I don't live
behind this business, but they do and they have to live with it. I
want to hear what they have to say and what kind of business
they want in that location. There was an article in the Detroit
Free Press a couple years ago about pawn shops and
specifically mentioned the Motor City Pawn Warren location. In
that article it was staled that three pawn brokers stand behind a
bulletproof glass window with a loaded 12 gauge shotgun
hanging on the back wall and a loaded pistol on the counter in
plain view to deter anyone who might consider robbing the store
which handles thousands of dollars worth of cash every day.
That quote makes me think that this is probably not the type of
business that I want in this location. I think this type of business
has a legitimate purpose. I think that these are good business
owners that seem to ran good establishments in other
communities, and they have one in our community. I think that
particular location serves the needs of the residents in this area
already that want to go a pawn shop. I don't think we need
another location right nearby. Thankyou.
August 13, 2013
25938
Mr. Bahr:
Just add a couple things. I've learned a lot in the last week. I
want to thank the petitioner. He's been very professional in his
dealings with us. He's been very courteous the whole way.
He's sat through a lough meeting tonight. I didn't know a whole
lot about pawn shops and I think this very well could be a
legitimate business. I'm generally a pretty business friendly guy
up here. I've supported resolutions for businesses when we've
had residents here opposing them. In general, I feel that
government needs to gel out of the way and lel businesses
operate. However, when it comes to zoning, when it comes to
planning, the reason why we have a Planning Commission, the
reason why we have a zoning ordinance is because you have
essentially among communifies in this state and this country a
free market of communities. If this is to the detriment of our
community to do this, some other community will pick it up, but it
doesn't ft the environment that we've tried to create in this
community. It probably is a very legitimate business, but
perception is reality. That perception comes from somewhere.
For those reasons, I just don't think it fits what Livonia is and so
I intend to support this resolution.
Mr. Morrow:
Thank you, Mr. Bahr. Is there anyone else?
Mr. Taylor:
Just by the comments that were made by the Commissioners up
here and by the petitioner, all I can say is, it's great here in
America, isn't it? How we can talk and do what we want to do
and say what we want to say. The petitioner has a right to
come before us and you have the right to say, we don't want
him there. I'm glad things are going on and it sounds like
they're working out all right for you. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow,
Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted. Mr. Aubrey, as I said in my opening
remarks, you have 10 days in which to appeal our decision in
writing to the Livonia City Council, and should you do that, then
the residents would all have an opportunity at the City Council
level to come to those meetings. We want to thank you for
coming tonight.
Ms. Scheel:
I have a question, and it's probably to Mr. Taormina. If the
petitioner chooses to take this to City Council, the residents that
spoke this evening or the residents that we've received
correspondence from, are they notified, besides the letters
within x amount of feet, but are they also notified if it goes to
City Council, or does it start all over with those only notified
within x amount of feel?
August 13, 2013
25939
Mr. Taormina: The notification is the same as it was for this hearing. It's 300
feel from the property in question. The decision this evening is
final unless the petitioner decides to appeal in writing to the City
Clerk within 10 days. In that instance, a public hearing would be
scheduled and persons would be notified in advance of that
hearing date.
Ms. Scheel: Okay.
Mr. Morrow: So if you were notified of this meeting tonight, you'd be notified
again. Otherwise, ft's just word of mouth.
(Unidentified audience member): I live within 100 feet of the property.
Ms. Scheel: Its 300 feet.
(Unidentified audience member): The subdivision behind us didn't gel one, so it
needs to be taken out more to 300 feet versus 100 feel.
Mr. Morrow: The Planning Director, I'm pretty confident, he's been doing this
for many years, and I can only assume the mailing was correct.
(Unidentified audience member): No, it wasn't.
Mr. Morrow: He will take it under advisement.
Mr. Taormina: If I could just point out, this properly does not go all the way to
the fence line. There's another properly in between. That may
be the reason, and I'd be happy to show anyone after the
meeting why it is that maybe you did not receive a notice.
Ms. Smiley: Is it in the paper?
(inaudible comment from audience)
Mr. Morrow: If you want to discuss it further, but we've got to continue our
meeting. With that, that concludes the petition.
ITEM #3 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 4041" Special Meeting
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the
Minutes of the 400 Special Meeting held on July 2, 2012.
On a motion by Taylor, seconded by Wilshaw, and adopted, it was
August 13, 2013
25940
#08-49-2013 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 402otl Special Meeting held by
the Planning Commission on July 2, 2012, are hereby approved.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES:
Taylor, Wilshaw, Bahr, Smiley, Scheel, Morrow
NAYS:
None
ABSENT:
None
ABSTAIN:
None
Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carded and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
ITEM #4 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,041" Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next dem on the agenda, Approval of the
Minutes of the 1,041" Public Hearings and Regular Meeting
held on July 9, 2013.
On a motion by Bahr, seconded by Smiley, and unanimously adopted, it was
#0830-2013 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,041n Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on July 9,
2013, are hereby approved.
A roll call vole on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following
AYES:
Bahr, Smiley, Wilshaw, Taylor, Scheel, Morrow
NAYS:
None
ABSENT:
None
ABSTAIN:
None
Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carded and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,042otl Public
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on August 13, 2013, was adjourned at 8:54
p.m.
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
Lynda L. Scheel, Secretary
ATTEST:
R. Lee Morrow, Chairman