Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2016-07-26 MINUTES OF THE 1,092ND PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA On Tuesday, July 26, 2016, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia held its 1,092nd Public Hearings and Regular Meeting in the Livonia City Hall, 33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan. Mr. Ian Wilshaw, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members present: Sam Caramagno Glen Long Betsy McCue Carol Smiley Peter Ventura Ian Wilshaw Members absent: None Mr. Mark Taormina, Planning Director, and Ms. Margie Watson, Program Supervisor, were also present. Chairman Wilshaw informed the audience that if a petition on tonight's agenda involves a rezoning request, this Commission makes a recommendation to the City Council who, in turn, will hold its own public hearing and make the final determination as to whether a petition is approved or denied. The Planning Commission holds the only public hearing on a request for preliminary plat and/or vacating petition. The Commission's recommendation is forwarded to the City Council for the final determination as to whether a plat is accepted or rejected. If a petition requesting a waiver of use or site plan approval is denied tonight, the petitioner has ten days in which to appeal the decision, in writing, to the City Council. Resolutions adopted by the City Planning Commission become effective seven (7) days after the date of adoption. The Planning Commission and the professional staff have reviewed each of these petitions upon their filing. The staff has furnished the Commission with both approving and denying resolutions, which the Commission may, or may not, use depending on the outcome of the proceedings tonight. ITEM #1 PETITION 2016-06-02-13 BANK OF AMERICA Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2016- 06-02-13 submitted by Security Vault Works, Inc., on behalf of Bank of America, requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(n)(3) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance#543, as amended, to construct and operate a freestanding drive-up ATM kiosk within the parking lot of the Merri-Five shopping center at 31072 - 31320 Five Mile Road, located on the north side of Five Mile Road between Merriman Road and Henry Ruff Road in the Southwest 1/4 of Section 14. July 26, 2016 27756 Mr. Taormina: This is a request to construct and operate a freestanding drive- up ATM kiosk within the parking lot of the Merri-Five shopping plaza, which is on the north side of Five Mile between Merriman Road and Henry Ruff. The zoning of this property is C-2, General Business. Merri-Five is considered a group commercial shopping center. It contains a total of roughly 77,000 square feet of gross floor area. Some of the main tenants include Merriman Drugs and Dollar Tree, which are located at the westerly end of the shopping complex, and AutoZone which is at the east end. Bank of America does not currently occupy a tenant space within the shopping center. Drive-up operations require waiver use approval under Section 11.03(n) of the Zoning Ordinance. The ATM kiosk would occupy an area of the parking lot at the west end of the shopping center. The arrangement would displace a row of 10 parking spaces that run along the shopping center's Merriman Road street frontage and are located between two existing drive approaches. The proposed ATM kiosk would not be located on a separate parcel nor would it have separate access to either Merriman Road or Five Mile Road. Instead, access to the kiosk would be provided by means of the existing driveways and drive aisles. The impacted area is roughly 150 feet in length by 30 feet in depth. The kiosk would stand approximately 9 feet in height. It would have a profile dimension of 8'8" and a width of roughly 3 feet. It would have a small canopy that would extend roughly 5 feet from the top of the kiosk to overhang the drive-up lane. There would be a curbed drive-up lane created between the ATM kiosk and the right-of-way of Merriman Road. What the plan illustrates is removing the parking adjacent to the right-of-way and sidewalk on Merriman Road, and creating an aisleway. The aisleway would then provide access for vehicles to pull alongside the ATM kiosk which would be created in a curbed island that would be located roughly 13 feet from the edge of the opposite curb. Customers would enter the one-way drive-up lane from the north and exit out to the south. The ATM kiosk would be situated on a curbed concrete island that would also include light poles, a clearance bar and protective bollards. There is 90-degree parking provided directly opposite the aisleway and the kiosk. That would not change. Drive-thru services are required to have a sufficient amount of waiting or stacking space provided at a minimum rate of four vehicles. The plan shows that there would be adequate stacking space to meet this requirement. Also, service lanes for drive-up windows are required to be at least 12 feet in width. This plan shows that the drive-up lane would be 13 feet, so this too is in compliance. Drive-up establishments of this type are not required to provide a by-pass lane for vehicles that do not use the drive-up window. The kiosk would be constructed out of formed July 26, 2016 27757 aluminum exterior panels that would be attached to a structural steel frame. With respect to signage, the elevation plan shows two small wall signs, one on the front and one on the back side of the kiosk. Although we don't have any dimensions or information regarding the exact size of the signage, we're not aware where signage of this nature would be permitted and will therefore require a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. In terms of setback requirements, structures within the C-2 zoning district are required to be at least 60 feet from any road rights-of- way. In this particular case, the ATM kiosk would be 22 feet from Merriman Road, and thus final approval would be contingent upon a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Additionally, drive-up facilities can only be used in connection with a principal use that is located on the site. In this case, the principal use is general retail and not banking. In terms of parking, in 2000, Merri- Five Plaza was granted a variance by the Zoning Board of Appeals for a total of 151 deficient parking spaces. In 2012, when the Tim Hortons was approved, the overall parking deficiency, using the data from 2000, increased to 196 spaces. However, the parking was reevaluated and the petitioner was able to demonstrate that by adding parking in the unused space at the rear of the center, that there was no increase in the deficiency. Since this proposal will result in 10 fewer parking spaces, final approval will either require a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals because of an increase in the parking deficiency or, instead, the petitioner can once again demonstrate that the total number of spaces is within the original variance granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals, and thus avoid the need to go to the Zoning Board of Appeals. There are no other site changes or improvements proposed as part of this petition. We're not sure how this construction would impact the landscaping along Merriman Road, but if it should, then plans should be submitted to show how that landscaping would be replaced and enhanced. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, go ahead. Mr. Taormina: There are four items of correspondence. The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated July 19, 2016, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced petition. We have no objections to the proposed waiver use at this time. The legal description included with the petition appears to be correct and should be used. The existing property is assigned an address of 31190 Five Mile Road for the entire parcel, with a range of 31072 to 31320 Five Mile Road and 15420 to 15430 Merriman Road for July 26, 2016 27758 the individual suites within the existing strip-mall building. The existing parcel is currently serviced by public water main, and storm and sanitary sewers, although the proposed project does not indicate any new connections or alterations to these utilities;" The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated July 14, 2016, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request to construct and operate a freestanding drive-up ATM kiosk within the parking lot of the Merri-Five shopping center located at the above referenced address. We have no objections to this proposal." The letter is signed by Keith Bo, Senior Fire Inspector. The third letter is from the Division of Police, dated July 25, 2016, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the plans in connection with the petition. I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Brian Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The fourth letter is from the Inspection Department, dated July 26, 2016, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above- referenced petition has been reviewed. A variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals would be required for the deficient number of parking spaces on this site. This Department has no further objections to this petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Assistant Director of Inspection. That is the extent of the correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Seeing none, is the petitioner here? We will need your name and address for the record please. Trajen Chastain, Security Vault Works, Inc., 980 Western Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana 46241. I am the general contractor. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anything you would like to what you've heard so far? Mr. Chastain: No. I'm here more to answer any questions or concerns that you might have. That was very well described, what we're trying to accomplish here. A little history here. I've been doing this kind of work for the banks, not just Bank of America but Chase banks, all major banks, Wells Fargo, the whole nine yards. These drive-up ATM kiosks are becoming a main stream item that all banks do nowadays. They're actually shutting down branches and stuff like this and putting these satellite ATMs out in the open like this, more so for customer convenience. A majority of the customers, not all, but a majority of customers have electronic deposits or they do their business through an ATM. The convenience of a drive-up kiosk like this in the community would be to, obviously the Bank of America customers want to do banking through an July 26, 2016 27759 ATM, where you do not have to get out of the vehicles. We try to keep it somewhat in an open area. The bank security has lighting standards where we try to maintain at least a two foot candle lighting area around the bank. Trees, bushes, we make sure the bushes don't get too tall. We don't want people laying around on the ground sneaking up on people. So we keep the area well lit. I understand we're by the street so that would obviously, whatever foot candles we have would be compliant to whatever city regulations might be. The flow of traffic, where we got it, you had an engineer look at it. So we try to keep the flow of traffic consistent with the rest of the parking lot. Are there any questions for me? Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir. We'll find out. Do we have any questions for the petitioner? Ms. Smiley You said these are becoming popular? Mr. Chastain: Yes. I've been doing it for eight years. This is very popular. Ms. Smiley: Do you have another one in Livonia? Mr. Chastain: I don't know. When Mr. Miller actually brought it to my attention, when I first talked to him a few months ago about this, he brought it to my attention that there actually wasn't any Livonia. And whether there is or not, I do not know, but I do know they are all over Detroit. I spend more time up here in Detroit than I do down in Indiana doing these kind of projects, ADA projects for banks and stuff like that. You'll find them in a lot of, Chase for a few years had a deal with Kroger. You would see them a lot in Kroger parking lots. I mean, really, Wells Fargo has a national deal with Menards to put their type of ATMs in their parking lots. What they find is, obviously, it's another source of revenue for the property owners, but unless you really get into a Black Friday or something, you really hardly ever have a hard time finding a parking spot to any of these businesses. So it's a means for two parties to put their product out there. The banks shutting down. I mean these ATMs now, they're getting so good, I mean, you can put 15, 20 checks in at the same time for deposit. So you really don't have to go inside the bank to do a lot of the business that customers do these days. Me, I'm a grandparent. If I got my grandkids with me, the bad weather is out, I don't have to get them all out and take them into the bank to do any business. I can just drive around the corner, take the kids with me, and do what we do. July 26, 2016 27760 Ms. Smiley I don't have a problem with a drive-up so you can send it to the bank. I guess my problem is with these kiosks out in the parking lot like that. Like you say, it's right off Merriman Road. There's a line of bushes and then you're going to have this, and people drive up or walk up to it. Mr. Chastain: Yes, ma'am. The reason it's by an intersection like it is and not in the middle of the parking lot is for exposure to people driving around. If they see something suspicious or police officer or someone drives around and they see something suspicious, we try to give it, not just for the publicity of hey, here we are, but it is for security purposes too for the customers using that ATM. A nice thing is, when you're in the parking lot like that, you can drive around and look yourself. If you see some people hanging around, you just don't feel comfortable, you just don't pull up. But we do try to keep it in a very open area and keep it well lit for the safety of the customers. Ms. Smiley Okay. And you think this is a new trend. I know banks are closing right and left, but it seems to me . . . . Mr. Chastain: I wouldn't say it's a new trend now. I've been doing it for quite a few years, but you're finding more and more banks going to it, doing this type of stuff. They're just not being able to justify having a gigantic building, and more and more people are getting used to using these drive-up ATMs and these kiosks, to where Bank of America can service the customers in this community, look to find a parking lot like we have here to try to put one of their banks in. So obviously, before we even get to this point, an agreement comes between the property owner and the sales management team with Bank of America that if it is permitted, then they're in some kind of agreement on a lease. Now I understand that it is a structure, but it is the type of structure where, in four or five years, if for whatever reason you decide to widen Merriman there, then that kiosk can easily be taken down just as well as it was put up. It's not the kind of structure where we expect it to be there 30 or 40 years, especially with technology now. Things are just changing so fast, but we do try to keep it close to the streets for that purpose. Thank you. Ms. Smiley Is there a Bank of America nearby? Mr. Chastain: I really don't know. If there was one close, they would probably try to put it on their lot if they had the capability of doing that. Sometimes they have stacking issues within their lots too. But I know I do a ton of work around town for Bank of America, but I don't know about the City of Livonia. July 26, 2016 27761 Ms. Smiley: Thank you. Mr. Ventura: At our study session, we talked about landscaping and we didn't see a landscape plan. I understand that we don't want to landscape this to the point where we obscure the visibility of the kiosk and the people that are using it, but on the other hand, this kind of looks like a billboard by the side of road for Bank of America, and there's got to be some advertising value just in that factor alone, whether anybody ever uses it. So my question is, is there a landscape plan that you brought with you tonight to show us? Mr. Chastain: I do not have a landscape plan in my possession right now, but there are many communities around Detroit that require some kind of landscaping. We'll put in low shrubs, day lilies, little stuff like that that just don't grow too big. So it's not to say that we can't, but we have to watch the kind of trees that we put up. We try to make sure there's always no limbs under six feet. Bushes don't get any higher than two or three feet for that very purpose. Mr. Ventura: But you have nothing with you tonight? Mr. Chastain: I have nothing, and sometimes that is brought to me by the Board itself. If it's a requirement from the Board, then we will take it back to the bank. But to say this, we do have those that do have a little landscaping area. Sometimes we just stripe if off. Sometimes the community don't want any more than that, or it's in an area that it would be the only thing that looks nice. Now I know that's a nice lot over there that the landlord has. It can be done, and even with recommendations from the city and what they would like to see, we can do that. We have done that so I hope that answers your question. Mr. Ventura: It does. Thank you. From a security perspective, if someone went there to use this kiosk and felt threatened or was threatened, is there any kind of an emergency alarm that they could pull or an alert? Is there something that would draw the attention of the public or the police to this location and say that somebody's in distress? Mr. Chastain: The reason they do that more so is because you will get those people that clown around and pull that and run. So we get false alarms. Now, we do have alarms in all the ATMs. We got shock alarms if you shake it, if you bang it hard, I know when I do any kind of construction around an ATM, I have to let security know because of the vibration. It sets it right off. But for a customer to July 26, 2016 27762 just come up and, hey, you hit this button and it's going to go off, they do not have that. Now, they do have cameras. They have overhead cameras and they have what they call transaction cameras in the ATM. So there's two cameras there, but they are not monitored. I mean there's not somebody sitting behind a desk somewhere watching those cameras, but we do have cameras in the ATM and outside the ATM. Mr. Ventura: We've heard some conversation about this being the trend in banking. Another trend in banking is everybody banking from their Smart phone. So what's the useful life of something like this? Mr. Chastain: Well, they continue to come out with new ATMs all the time. I know I have to learn. By trade, I'm a master electrician. They come out with these new ATMs all the time, but the thing is, the banking that you're talking about doing over the phone, you can't really get cash from to where a lot of merchants, you know, they got a lot of cash to put it in there for deposit for the night or if they need money, they'll go up the ATM. If you're running to the Dairy Queen with your kids or grandkids, you can take some cash out. So it's more for convenience, depositing checks or getting a little bit of front pocket cash. I mean I guess that's what they really use it for. Mr. Ventura: So as long as we still need cash, we'll need an ATM. Mr. Chastain: When that day comes, we don't need cash, I don't think we'll need ATM's anymore, but right now, if there's anything I've learned in the banking industry, especially with technology, nothing changes faster than some new invention that comes out every two or three years. Mr. Ventura: Do you know if there is a provision in the lease for this space that requires Bank of America to take this down? What's the sunset on this thing? Mr. Chastain: I know there have been situations where, I'm trying to remember the name of the city now over there on Nine Mile and John R, where when that lease agreement was up, the property had to be put back as was. If that's your question, then yes. That's not unusual to see that in the agreement. Mr. Ventura: Thank you. Mr. Long: Are there enough security bollards around this? I think there were four in the drawing. July 26, 2016 27763 Mr. Chastain: We do put four up. If there was no kiosk around the ATM, we would have seven. We call them security bollards. About five, six years ago around Detroit, some people were taking backhoes to ram these things, taking a backhoe, loading them on the back of a truck, and even though they had GPS's on them, some people were pretty clever about getting them out. We recovered half of them, the other half we really didn't, but that was five, six years ago. Now we've gotten a little smarter and clever. Now it's in a kiosk. It's tied into the kiosk. The kiosk is anchored to the building and those four bollards are there more for protection of the building in case someone runs up, accidentally runs up on it, protects the building and the kiosk. That was about five, six years ago. We had a real issue. All the banks did, but that got taken care of real quick as you would imagine. Mr. Long: Absolutely. The other question that I had and we talked about this at the study session as well, but with the location here and we have the gas station just to the south there, there's still enough room for fuel trucks to access the gas station? Mr. Chastain: Basically, there's parking spots there right now. All we're doing is getting in those parking spots and making use. We're not affecting the flow of traffic along that. I know the red lines come out into that driveway, but when we go and set that up, the parking spots are usually anywhere from 16 to 20 feet out. So with a four foot wide island and a 10 to 12, in this case, I think we've got 13 feet of drive-up lane accessible there, that does not affect the flow of traffic in or out around any of those parking spots. So it is back behind the curve there. Mr. Long: Okay. Thank you. Mr. Caramagno: A question that I didn't ask at the study session that I thought of since was, why this specific location right here in this parking lot? Mr. Chastain: Of the whole parking lot? Mr. Caramagno: Yes. Mr. Chastain: For one, security. We like to keep it by a main street like that. Obviously, you've got the Tim Hortons and the Wendy's and the other businesses along the front there. All banks try to get as close to the intersection as they can so the visibility, ten, twelve eleven, one o'clock at night, if somebody wants to do their banking, it's very open for other people to see what's going on there too. Not just the police officers because obviously police can't be everywhere at the same time, but having that visibility to July 26, 2016 27764 an intersection, bank security feels that's the best spot to put these type of kiosks as opposed to the middle of the parking lot where it's more hidden to a busy intersection. We always try to get a spot like that. Mr. Caramagno: I'm a little troubled with the location myself. I think it's an awfully congested area as cars pull in there for the drug store and come around. It's a busy location in my mind. To me, also, and I made this known at the study session, I just think the parking is too congested to that kiosk as well. Mr. Chastain: I will say at least the gas station is on the corner because sometimes they do get really close to intersections like that to where it affects the traffic flow in and out of the crossing like that. But we got that gas station back there, it really sits back a lot further than where the banks normally like to try and get them, but I understand what you're trying to say. Mr. Caramagno: It would be different to me if I heard people talking about a demand for drive-thru banking in the area. I've never even heard people ask for a demand of that to put this on this lot right here. It does nothing for me in my mind where it's at, so I just wanted to let you know that. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this petition? There is one gentleman coming forward. Warren Terrace, M-5 Holdings, L.L.C., 27600 Northwestern Highway, #200, Southfield, Michigan 48034. I'm one of the principals to the shopping center. We did try a couple other locations within the shopping center and what we found was that placing the kiosk at the end of one of the parking banks ended up taking 15 or 16 parking spots instead of the 10 along that west side. We've also looked at the site plan for the gas station and it doesn't pose any problem. I also went ahead and talk to Jack Fried at the Merriman Drugs and he had no objection to this location as one of the principal tenants right there that's involved in the community. That west side made it neater, cleaner, and pushed it out of the way of any of the parking or any of the drive lanes or any of the other traffic that's in that immediate area. It literally tucks it away on the side with the least amount of conflict in the parking lot to answer Sam's issues. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Are there any other comments you want to make? Are there any questions for this gentleman? July 26, 2016 27765 Mr. Terrace: The lease does call for them to be put back to its original condition if they ever depart the parking lot. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for addressing that. That certainly was one of our questions. Thank you. Is there anybody else in the audience?Are there any other comments from the Commission? A motion would be order. On a motion by Long, seconded by McCue, it was RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on July 26, 2016, on Petition 2016-06-02-13 submitted by Security Vault Works, Inc., on behalf of Bank of America, requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(n)(3) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance#543, as amended, to construct and operate a freestanding drive-up ATM kiosk within the parking lot of the Merri-Five shopping center at 31072 - 31320 Five Mile Road, located on the north side of Five Mile Road between Merriman Road and Henry Ruff Road in the Southwest 1/4 of Section 14, which property is zoned C-2, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2016-06-02-13 be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. That the plan labeled "Demolition, Grading & Site Plans" marked C2 dated March 21, 2016, as revised, prepared by Nelson and Stonefield Engineering & Design, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to, except as provided below; 2. This approval shall be subject to the petitioner being granted a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for deficient parking and any conditions related thereto, if deemed necessary upon review of an updated parking analysis by the Petitioner; 3. That a fully detailed landscape plan for the area adjacent to the freestanding drive-up ATM kiosk and the driveway islands shall be submitted to the Planning Department for approval prior to issuance of any building or engineering permits; 4. That the freestanding drive-up ATM kiosk shall be constructed in accordance with the set of plans marked Sheets 1 through 7 dated May 26, 2016, prepared by Point 2 Structural Engineers, Inc.; July 26, 2016 27766 5. That signage shall be limited to the kiosk only as shown on Sheet C3 of the above-referenced plans prepared by Nelson and Stonefield Engineering & Design; 6. That unless approved by the proper local authority, any type of exterior advertising, such as promotional flags, streamers or sponsor vehicles designed to attract the attention of passing motorists, shall be prohibited; 7. That no LED lightband or exposed neon shall be permitted on this freestanding drive-up ATM kiosk; and 8. That the specific plans referenced in this approving resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department at the time of application for building permits. 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. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion? I have one question for the maker of the motion. There was discussion about the lighting at the site. Is there any desire to put into the approving resolution any conditions regarding the amount of light that is used or shielded light? Mr. Long: Yes. I noticed that we did have #7 talking about the LED light band. I would obviously defer to the Planning Director as far as maybe some language on how we could put that in there so that we are providing enough security but we're not affecting any traffic or any flow on Merriman Road. Mr. Taormina: That is not a problem. Mr. Long: So yes, the maker of the motion would gladly insert that. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Thank you. And the supporter would be okay with that? Ms. McCue: Yes. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: If there are no other comments, a roll call would be in order. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Long, McCue July 26, 2016 27767 NAYS: Smiley, Ventura, Caramago, Wilshaw ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Mr. Wilshaw: That motion is not approved, which leaves us with an open floor for another motion. Mr. Ventura: I would offer a denying resolution. On a motion by Ventura, seconded by Smiley, and adopted, it was #07-79-2016 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on July 26, 2016, on Petition 2016-06-02-13 submitted by Security Vault Works, Inc., on behalf of Bank of America, requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(n)(3) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance#543, as amended, to construct and operate a freestanding drive-up ATM kiosk within the parking lot of the Merri-Five shopping center at 31072 - 31320 Five Mile Road, located on the north side of Five Mile Road between Merriman Road and Henry Ruff Road in the Southwest 1/4 of Section 14, which property is zoned C-2, the Planning Commission does hereby deny Petition 2016-06-02-13 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; 2. That a freestanding drive-up ATM kiosk at this location would increase congestion and confusion where vehicles enter and exit the site from Merriman Road, resulting in possible safety hazards; 3. That the layout of the shopping center was not designed for or intended to accommodate a freestanding, drive-up ATM kiosk; 4. That the increase in intensity associated with a freestanding drive-up ATM kiosk would be detrimental to and not in harmony with the character of the existing shopping center; 5. That the petitioner has failed to demonstrate that the site has the capacity to accommodate a freestanding drive-up ATM kiosk; and July 26, 2016 27768 6. That the proposal fails to conclusively deal with all the concerns deemed necessary for the safety and welfare of the City and its residents. 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. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion? Hearing none, please call the roll. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Ventura, Smiley, Caramagno, Wilshaw NAYS: Long, McCue ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion to deny is passed. The petitioner will have 10 days in which to appeal the decision in writing to the City Council. ITEM #2 PETITION 2016-06-02-14 LIVONIA MARKET II Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2016- 06-02-14 submitted by Livonia Market II, L.L.C., requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.47 and 18.58 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with a proposal to redevelop the property at 29659 Seven Mile Road, including demolishing the existing building and parking areas, constructing a new 37,000 square foot fitness center (LA Fitness) and 8,060 square foot freestanding multi- tenant retail building, and obtaining preliminary approval for a future commercial building, located on the south side of Seven Mile Road between Middlebelt Road and Melvin Avenue in the Northeast 1/4 of Section 11. Mr. Taormina: The subject property is the former location of a Farmer Jack grocery store. It's on the south side of Seven Mile Road just west of Middlebelt Road. The zoning of the property is C-2, General Business. Prior to this being a Farmer Jack, the site was constructed originally in the mid-1990's as a Builders Square home improvement store. The building has been vacant for the past several years. There is a single building on the property that measures roughly 110,000 square feet in total size. That building, as well as most of the existing site improvements, will be July 26, 2016 27769 demolished and removed as part of this proposal. Buildings that are in excess of 30,000 square feet require waiver use approval subject to the conditions set forth in Section 11.03(p) of the Zoning Ordinance. Anchoring the new development would be a 37,000 square foot LA Fitness. The building would be generally located in the southwest corner of the site. The new building would be set back approximately the same distance, 65 feet, from the property's rear lot line as the existing building that will be demolished. The minimum required rear yard setback is 60 feet. Located directly behind the site is multiple-family residential. The zoning is R-7, Multi-Family Residential. Commercial zoning exists both to the east, west and north of this property. Only the south property line would require the additional setback of 60 feet. Parking for the fitness center would be available on all four sides of the building. The proposed LA Fitness building would contain varied heights. The majority of the building is 24 feet, but at its highest point hear the main entrance, the building would reach a maximum of 35 feet. The building would be constructed mainly out of precast concrete wall panels that would be painted using three different neutral colors. Other materials include E.I.F.S. shown along the building's cornice as well as portions of the façade that are above the main entrance. There are aluminum storefront windows, and the central tower area would consist of a prefabricated metal panel material. Going back to the site plan and looking at what is referred to as Outlot B, this is a 8,060 square foot multi-tenant building that would be located in the northwest corner of the site. The setback of that building would be roughly 96 feet from Seven Mile Road and 59 feet from the west lot line. The required setback from Seven Mile in this case would be 60 feet, so the building fully conforms to that requirement. The building is shown containing three tenants at the present time, although that could vary. Once again, parking would be available on all four sides of the building. The primary building material in this case would be a masonry product called C-brick. That would be located on a majority of the building's four sides. The upper part of the façade contains some E.I.F.S. There are some other block materials that are used as accent bands, as well as some overhead canopies and awnings. This is a very similar design to what's directly across the street at Livonia Marketplace. Again, this is the same developer so they're going to be carrying over some of the same themes that were used in the construction of that project; namely, some of the building materials used for the outparcel buildings as well as some of the streetscape improvements. In terms of"Future Outlot A," this is a building pad that is shown in the northeast corner of the property. At this time, we don't know who the tenant would be. Construction of this building would have to come back for site plan approval at July 26, 2016 27770 a later date, but generally they're showing the future development in this part of the site with a 10,000 square foot building. Based on the parking information that is provided, it is presumed to be a possible restaurant tenant. It's been designed primarily for a potential restaurant user. The parking and circulation pattern would be completely reconfigured, although it would be very similar with mostly 90 degree parking to Seven Mile Road. There are two existing curb-cuts, one near the northeast corner of the site and the other near the middle of the site that would remain generally as they are today. There is a third existing driveway near the northwest corner of the property that would be removed as part of this development. So really, this new site would rely on two primary points of ingress and egress. The center of the main drive aisle leads directly towards the middle of the LA Fitness building, and that is a signalized intersection. There is rather large area in the southeast corner of the property that is devoted to stormwater management. This would be an open detention area. It would include two main parts to the system, which is referred to as a forebay which is where the water initially enters into the basin. It then flows into the main detention basin, which is the southerly part of this pond, and then it exits the basin via a restricted outlet pipe into the main storm sewer where it eventually discharges into the Rouge River. This is a required site element and has been designed to meet the Wayne County Stormwater Management guidelines. The plan shows a total of 523 proposed parking spaces. When we look at just the fitness center, that parks at a ratio of one space for every 160 square feet of usable floor area. That is what the ordinance requires, which would be a minimum of 185 parking spaces. The multi- tenant retail building would require another 43 spaces. If we assume Outlot A is developed as a restaurant, that would require an additional 117 parking spaces. Altogether, the ordinance requires roughly 345 spaces. Since the plan shows 523 spaces, there is more than ample parking to meet the ordinance. In fact, that surplus as we calculate it is approximately 178 spaces. Landscaping overall constitutes roughly 20 percent of the total site area, which does conform to the ordinance which requires a minimum 15 percent. The landscape plan provides for a variety of plant materials shown around the perimeter of the site as well as within the parking lot islands and aisleways. The detention basin would be seeded but we will ask that the perimeter of that basin, the shelf areas or the flat areas along the top edge of the basin, be sodded and irrigated just like the other landscaped areas on the site. Dumpster enclosures are shown along the rear of the proposed commercial buildings and restaurant. The screening material would be eight feet in height and that would be constructed out of C-brick to match the building materials. The July 26, 2016 27771 swing gates would be constructed out of prefinished metal panels. All of that conforms to our minimum requirements, as does the lighting. Site lighting is shown at 20 feet in height which is consistent with the City's guidelines for outdoor lighting. Lastly, with respect to signage, there is no information at this time regarding signage other than they would reface the existing monument sign along Seven Mile Road. That sign is conforming as it exists so there will not be a problem in refacing it. Back to some of the elements along Seven Mile Road, one of the features that is shown on this site plan and some details provided in your packet are the introduction of some masonry brick piers and fencing, similar to the treatments that were provided across the street at Livonia Marketplace but to a lesser extent on this site. The hardscape elements would be used to augment the main entryways. The sections of piers and fencing are shown on both sides of the main entrance drive leading to the development as well as the east entrance drive. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Please. Mr. Taormina: There are four items of correspondence. The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated July 19, 2016, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced petition. We have no objections to the proposed rezoning at this time. The legal descriptions located on sheet C-2.0 of the submitted drawings appear to be correct and should be used in conjunction with this petition. The existing parcel is assigned the address of 29659 Seven Mile Road. The lot is currently serviced with public storm and sanitary sewer, as well as water main. The submitted drawing does show a proposed detention basin, but does not indicate proposed utilities or calculations, so we cannot comment on the impacts to the existing systems at this time. It should be noted that the proposed development will need to obtain permits for the proposed utility work and soil erosion from the City of Livonia, as well as provide storm water detention per the Wayne County Storm Water Ordinance. Should the owner need to enter the Seven Mile Road right-of-way to revise utility service leads or alter driveway approaches, they will need to obtain permits from the Wayne County Department of Public Services."The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated July 25, 2016, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a proposal to redevelop the property at 29659 Seven Mile Road, including demolishing the existing building, construct a 37,000 square foot fitness center July 26, 2016 27772 (LA Fitness) and a 8,060 square foot freestanding multi-tenant retail building, reconfigure the layout of the parking lot and obtain preliminary approval for a future commercial building, located on the south side of Seven Mile Road between Middlebelt and Melvin Avenue in the Northeast % of Section 11. We have no objections to this proposal with the following stipulations: (1) Proposed LA Fitness and outbuildings A & B—place single sided No Parking signs on building or double sided along walkway on north, east and west. (2) Roadways and sidewalks must be maintained at listed dimensions. (3) LA Fitness and both outbuildings must have a roof access ladder mounted on the exterior, ladder port or equivalent. (4) These and other issues will be addressed during the formal plan review process."The letter is signed by Daniel Lee, Fire Marshal. The third letter is from the Division of Police, dated July 25, 2016, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the plans in connection with the petition. I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Brian Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The fourth letter is from the Inspection Department, dated July 26, 2016, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above-referenced petition has been reviewed. The following is noted: (1) Parking spaces shall be 10'x 20' and double stripped; (2) Parking lot pole lights shall not exceed 20' in height as measured from the surface of the parking lot or ground surrounding the base; (3) No signage has been, reviewed at this time. (4) There are only nine barrier free parking spaces shown where 11 barrier free spaces are required. Two percent of the total parking spaces provided shall be barrier free. This Department has no further objections to this petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Assistant Director of Inspection. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Seeing none, if the petitioner is here, we will need your name and address for the record please. Karl Zarbo, Director of Construction, Lormax Stern Development Company, 38500 Woodward Avenue, Suite 200, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48304. Thank you. I appreciate the time and the effort from the Planning Commission and certainly from the staff. I'm the Director of Construction for Lormax Stern Development Company. We are the owner and the manager of Livonia Market II. With me tonight is Gary Collins. Gary is the Director of Development for Fitness International. We're here tonight to really start the process to redevelop the approximately 10 acres at 29659 Seven Mile Road. As Mark mentioned, most of you are probably more familiar with it as the former Farmer Jacks. Ultimately in this process we are looking to attempt to achieve six different goals in the July 26, 2016 27773 redevelopment. Number one, as Mark pointed out, we will fully demolish the existing 110,000 square foot building, along with the existing site amenities that are there as you see it. Second would be to achieve the waiver use. Again, as Mark indicated, because the LA Fitness building is greater than the 30,000 square foot, it requires the waiver use. Again, we are anticipating the LA Fitness being on 4.47 acres. We were at the Assessor's Office today. The game plan is to create three parcels there, one of which would be the 4.47 acres in the center of the project for LA Fitness. The east and the west, while it would be two different parcels, would be one ownership and that would be through Livonia Market II. Again, we were at the Assessor's Office and started that process with that paperwork today. The site plan approval, as Mark indicated, is essentially for the outbuilding closest to Seven Mile and furthest to the west. That's a building that is a little over 8,000 square feet. It is a freestanding building. The intention is to be multi-tenant and it is to be a retail building. We have paper out working on that building but the lease isn't far enough long that we can tell you tonight who it is, but it clearly is retail. Essentially, that is all we do. It is clearly intended to be multi-tenant, and that's the game plan. The second building, which is really Outlot A, which is the more easterly building, shown as the larger of the two, approximately 10,000. In our terminology in our industry today, we would call that a spec building as we speak. We really have not tried to market that yet. Essentially, our feeling is that building may have more value and may allow us to kind of hone in on what we would like, certainly with input from the City, once we know where we're at with the rest of the project. In other words, the LA Fitness and the outbuilding will help to actually market and sell that and allow us to certainly make A choices instead of a B or a C choice. We plan, as we've indicated, to reconstruct all of the site elements across the entire site. That would include certainly the stormwater management system. We'll talk a little bit more about that. It certainly is not the low point of the site. So to get the inverts that are required for stormwater, all of the utilities will be redeveloped on this site. Again, as was indicated, we're required to do 15 percent landscaping. The current plan shows 20. In conversation with Mark Taormina, Mark suggested some additional landscaping along the west property line and that's along that Art Van border. Our architect is on vacation and we didn't have a chance to bring you back a drawing, but we agreed that we would do that. Mark's suggestion I think was a good one. Those are 20 foot deep spots. We would go to 18 foot and we would add 2 feet of additional landscaping. We can work out with staff if you'd like or certainly come back and return with another landscape plan, whatever the Commission's wishes are, but we think it's a good idea and it's something that July 26, 2016 27774 we certainly would agree to do. Along those same lines with the landscaping, I think Mark mentioned, we have the brick piers and they are at both entrances. I think if you look at the site plan, you don't see it on both but it's on the landscape plan. So we'll correct that to make sure it's shown on all the documents, but you will get those, the brick piers that kind of pull in and resemble across the street in all of the final plans. As we indicated when we started the process with the City of Livonia, this has been a very, very difficult site to get redeveloped. Essentially, it's because of what has happened with changes in the stormwater management. I would tell you, even two years ago, we looked at some way of trying to save the east and the south wall and see if somehow we could get around all of this with the County of Wayne with stormwater management. Not only did it not work, it wasn't what we wanted to present to you guys. So we have really come to the conclusion that what we're going to do is take an acre and a half of land. We're going to build a stormwater retention pond that will serve a 100-year event, and as Mark indicated, it is not fully engineered yet, but because of the expense involved with this, until we know we're comfortable with the City of Livonia, we're not going to spend those engineering dollars, but obviously that would have to be fully engineered and the compliance factor would be the 100-year criteria. Again, because of the kind of unusual expenses involved with that property, we wanted to state to you that we will submit to the City of Livonia for consideration for a Brownfield Reimbursement Agreement. We have a draft of that document. The language is fairly well set. It has a lot of similarity to what we did across the street. The items that really need negotiation are the value of the existing property at the date you lock down, the value of the reimbursable expenses, the eligible activities that are pretty much stated by ordinance but it's what the parties agree to for the dollar value of those eligible activities, and then the length of time for that Brownfield Agreement payback period. Those are essentially the changed items that are in negotiation, and we'll formally submit that probably in the next 30 days. So what's the rationale behind this? The rationale is basically that we've looked at a vacant building since 2007. We have not been able to find adaptive uses and we have not been able to repurpose this building. We've been through six or seven times with attempts with Mark, and we just could not get it pulled off. We're very, very conscious, by example, when we knocked down the mall across the street, we milled all of the asphalt, reused it. We took all of the cementitious products. We ground them. We reused them. So we're not in the business of just knocking things down to knock things down. For a point of reference, these bad boys are about three bucks a foot to knock down. So if it could have been reused, it certainly and July 26, 2016 27775 clearly would have been our first choice, but we're of the contention at this point that this building is really functionally obsolete and what we are proposing is a complete site redevelopment. Again, that would include the underground utilities, which some go back to when I had this property with Ramco Gershenson when there was Builders Square and some of the other uses. So we are not going to take the chances and our potential client does not want us to take the chances that for their grand opening the pipes would fail. We'll pull out the old existing utilities and completely re-engineer them. From an architectural standpoint, I think Mark did a real good job of trying to illustrate to you. We'd like the outbuildings to look like across the street. We've tried to pick out similar materials. It's the same architect. We would give you those finished materials 360 degrees around. As we did across the street, you won't have a cinder block back of the building. We like the awnings. We didn't go too crazy showing you colors and the awnings today because what we're learning is that's really become kind of a tenant business card. By example, if you see a Five Below anywhere in the country, you're going to see the blue front and the paint color now has a Five Below paint number. So tenants really kind of hold on to that as a business card and calling card. I think you'll get that warm fuzzy that you're coming into an area. This property would represent very similar to what you see across the street. Again, as we mentioned, we'll come into compliance and exceed your current landscaping requirements and, of course, that includes irrigation. The nice thing with that is, by going from what's out there to about 20 percent, it fairly dramatically changes the pervious and impervious ratio and certainly then the quality of the stormwater before it ever gets into the pond system. Now you'll have a complete forebay stormwater pond system. It is a complete 10 acre site that sheet drains. So the enhancements in the landscaping and the stormwater at a crazy, crazy cost is really a very environmentally friendly item. Parking lot lighting — all new parking light lighting, underground cable, bases, poles and state of the art LED fixtures. Again, we are meeting the criteria across the entire site that LA Fitness has set and we're finding that LA Fitness specification really is all of the top 30 or 40 national retailers are requiring it. We obviously will stay involved with staff as it relates to the perimeter property and make sure that there is, you know, no splash. No light leaves the property according to your ordinance. But again, you're going to have a brand new parking lot lighting system. Those brand new parking lot lights will be in a newly paved, newly striped parking lot and we will get at that handicap parking count. Our guys don't usually miss that. It sounds like we made a mistake there. That will be corrected. I think the other thing that we believe important to the city is that July 26, 2016 27776 this project now has sat for years and your tax income based on a taxable value is not something that is real attractive. We think when this is a finished component that your tax revenue certainly will be in an enhanced position. But I think along the way we're starting to look at what would be construction fees and review fees and municipal fees all the way along so I think there's an income stream that hopefully makes some sense to your team and is good for all of us. Also, there are two components of job creation here. Certainly those jobs that are created with construction, and let me be the first to say they are short term jobs. They are going to build it and leave. But again, you'll have some 55 or 56,000 square feet of retail that will stay here and remain. And those jobs are intended to be permanent. I think one of the best things though is that years ago when we stood in front of you when we talked about redeveloping Livonia Mall, we talked about that Livonia Marketplace kind of being a catalyst and we hope it kicked off that whole intersection. It's kind of cool to drive that intersection now and see that it's continuing to happen. Our neighbor immediately to the east of this project is in the final throes of his facelift. I think we really in submitting this feel good about something that we would be continuing to contribute to that strategy that was started several years ago. With that being said, I'd be happy to attempt to answer any questions that you might have. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Zarbo. There's not too many people that can give a more thorough presentation than Mr. Taormina, but I think you may have accomplished that. Are there any questions for the petitioner? Ms. Smiley: You literally have over a third of the parking that's not necessary. Are you going to use some of that to landbank? You have 178 parking spots in excess. Mr. Zarbo: I talked about that with Mark, and I think the area we can look at is the spec building. We can landbank there. The goal right now was to build what is shaded in gray, and we can hold off on the rest of that parking and landbank that. We can work through that with Mark. Ms. Smiley: Okay. Very good. You already mentioned all the things that were in the letters from the Fire Department and the other departments. You're aware of them and are addressing them. Mr. Zarbo: Oh, yes. Absolutely. Thank you. I missed one thing, if I may. One of the Planning Commissioners had asked about addressing screening for utilities in the back of the building. Our architect did July 26, 2016 27777 a criminal thing; he took a vacation this week. So we weren't able to bring you a plan, but we will look at that. I think we can screen that more effectively than we did across the street. So we heard that message and we'll get back to you folks through staff with some form of screening to hide the utilities for that outbuilding. Ms. Smiley: While we're on that, is this the prototype for LA Fitness? Mr. Zarbo: Yes. Ms. Smiley: They have all the windows in the front pretty much. How high are those windows in the back? Gary Collins, Director of Development, Fitness International, L.L.C., 100 Illinois Street, Suite 200, St. Charles, Illinois 60174. Fitness International is our parent company. The windows on the south elevation are positioned above the mirrors of the free weights that are in the center of the building. And then on the right hand side of the south elevation is daylight for the kids club that is located within the interior of the facility. Looking at the west elevation starting on the left hand side is the pool and then there's a couple exit doors and utility doors on that side. And then again on the east elevation, those windows are approximately 8 to 10 feet off the floor for daylight into the group exercise space. Ms. Smiley: So the interior of the building gets a lot of natural daylight. Is that what you're telling me? Mr. Collins: Yes, ma'am. Through the windows you see here as well as skylights. Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Anyone else? Mr. Ventura: Karl, as I said at the study session, I'm enthusiastic about your redevelopment here. I think that you've done, to echo the Chairman's comments, an outstanding job in presenting your intentions for this site. I only have two questions. I just want to clarify. Number one, are the materials for the outbuildings on the south side in this development going to be identical to or similar to those used on the north side of Seven Mile? I'm unclear about that. Mr. Zarbo: And I'm not sure I understand your question. We're talking about the outparcel? July 26, 2016 27778 Mr. Ventura: Yes. Mr. Zarbo: Yes. The question is . . . Mr. Ventura: Are the exterior building materials the same as those used on the north side of Seven Mile Road or do they differ? Mr. Zarbo: It's the same materials, just like across the street. Mr. Ventura: And is the extensive landscaping here irrigated? Mr. Zarbo: Yes. Mr. Ventura: Thank you. Ms. McCue: I think we mentioned this last week at the study session as well, but what is the logic of having two really large gyms in such close proximity? Just curious, because you basically have one essentially two miles away. Correct? I know you've done your studies. I have no doubt. Mr. Collins: Me, personally, no. I'm in construction development. I can tell you my territory is also in the greater Toronto area, and there are many, many towns that have high density, much like the City of Livonia, where we have four, five and six locations. Our real estate department has been around since 1984, since the company was founded. They do extensive research on this. Karl had alluded to some of the previous studies I'm sure Mark has labored over. We were a part of those potential developments. So we've been looking at this piece of property for four years, at least. The demographics show that Livonia can support another facility here. I hope that answers your question. Ms. McCue: Thank you. Mr. Zarbo: One of the comments that we made was that at one point when we had Livonia Mall open and operating, we had a lot of retailers that were also at Wonderland. One of the things that we found is that there are geographic boundaries that people won't cross. Not that you won't but if you take a look at this. 275 is a good example. 96 is a good example. 94 is a good example. The market itself in some cases gets segmented and carved up just by geographic boundaries. But the other thing that we found is that type of product isn't necessarily in this market, and I think Peter had done research and came up with a fairly impressive number, the number of units that certainly were in the Livonia Marketplace but I would just caution you that we think this is a product, and I'm not July 26, 2016 27779 going to say that it's unique, but we opened a small gym, if you will, across the street called Z Fit. There is nobody here that's ever heard of it unless you went by the property in the last couple weeks. You run that gamut really from that sort of mom and pop that will pick up on something that's really kind of hot, whether it's this kind of exercise, spinning, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, versus really a full service health club. And that's why we believe, and as no one says it better than them, they've researched this market for four years. We haven't been able to put the deal together. We think we're at reasonably close economics now, but Planet Fitness — I'm working on a Planet Fitness and I thought I would do that all night long. I apologize. LA Fitness has really spent a lot of time and effort and energy looking at this market. And when we're done with the site investment, they've got to build a very expensive building, shell and interior, so it's our bet they're not going to be wrong. Ms. McCue: Thank you. Mr. Zarbo: I hope that answered your question. Ms. McCue: Absolutely. Thank you. Mr. Caramagno: Two or three things. I appreciate the landscape on the east side along that wall. We talked about that some time ago. That does and is going to look nice I believe. My question for you is on the west side. When you said you're going to cut those spaces back to 18 feet. At what length on the property? Mr. Zarbo: We will rely on what Mark says, but I thought Mark had wanted the whole length of that to go from 20 foot deep parking to 18 foot deep. If that's what you guys and Mark wants, that's what we'll do. If you want that from north to south, we'll do whatever your direction is. Mr. Caramagno: Well, that's what I was asking. From north to south, was your intention the whole length? Mr. Zarbo: Yes. Mr. Taormina: They are all shown at 20 feet currently. I'm not aware that any of those spaces would interfere with any walkways. Under those circumstances, we can cut those back a couple feet and save him some paving, get some additional landscaping there and have no adverse effects. July 26, 2016 27780 Mr. Caramagno: I think that's fine. I think that's really going to spice things up over here. A couple other questions. Mark, you were concerned over the cover for the roof utilities. Did you mention that? Did I miss it? Mr. Taormina: That was something that was brought to the petitioner's attention following the study meeting. Language has been incorporated into the resolution and it's mentioned in our staff analysis. Since we have the construction manager for LA Fitness here, maybe it's an appropriate question for him, but the plans indicate that the rooftop mechanical equipment will be screened via the parapet. We looked at some photographs and, unfortunately, I don't have the photographs that clearly show the rooftop units in a different development are visible. So I'm just wondering if it's an issue to raise the parapet to cover any rooftop mechanical units. Maybe the petitioner can respond to how that would be handled. If they would have a separate screening material for those rooftop units or, as this plan indicates, they would be screened by the parapet walls, possibly either by repositioning those units or actually raising the parapet up a little higher. Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Collins, did you want to address that? Mr. Collins: Certainly, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mark. Being a prototypical building, we have successfully screened units using this parapet height. There were some photographs of another facility that was kind of an adaptation of this current design, which was a two story building that we had basically refaced. So some of those units were visible and individually screened. Our desire, as well as yours, is to screen the units from visibility. So if it becomes an issue, we would have to consider raising the parapet, but we have successfully been able to locate the mechanical equipment at the low point of the roof. It is internally drained and then piped out. So once we locate those units to the interior of the building, we're able to get those screened. Mr. Caramagno: Mr. Collins, what is the children's club? Mr. Collins: It's a babysitting service for members only. The overall facility is made available to ages 14 and above. So if someone comes in with an adolescent child and they want to get a workout in, we have someone there to watch their children basically while they're in the building. Mr. Caramagno: But it's not intended as a daycare facility. You can't just drop your children off, come back 10 hours later, and pick them up, can you? July 26, 2016 27781 Mr. Collins: Nope. They come in the door with you; they go out the door with you. People have tried that but it's all registered through their barcode. Mr. Caramagno: One last question. Mark, you had mentioned that the trash enclosures are going to be consistent with the building materials. Mr. Taormina: That's correct. Mr. Caramagno: All three of them? Mr. Taormina: We do have a typical detail and I'll throw this one back to Mr. Zarbo for a response because, again, this is a typical detail and they're showing as a material C-brick to match the building. So that would certainly apply in the case of Outlot B, but since they're using a tilt up concrete construction for the LA Fitness, it would not apply in that case. We would probably want to use a similar type of material that we're using here just to be consistent. Mr. Caramagno: I just wanted to make sure the three were at least similar, not three different materials. Mr. Zarbo: He's bigger than I am but I'll twist his arm and we'll get you the similar look on those enclosures. Mr. Caramagno: Great. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any other questions for the petitioner? Seeing none, is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this petition? Sally Fitzgerald, 29674 Clarita, Livonia, Michigan. I live in the Woods of Livonia condominiums. So I'm just curious to know, I guess it's the southern most boundary by the wall that separates the condominiums from this parking lot from the area that they're building. What are they going to propose to do with changes or what is it going to look like? Mr. Wilshaw: We can certainly ask the petitioner that question. Is there anything else you want to state while you're here? Ms. Fitzgerald: No. That was it. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, we'll find out an answer for you. Mr. Zarbo, do you want to address the existing conditions and any upgrades you plan? July 26, 2016 27782 Mr. Zarbo: Yes. As Mark indicated, the distance or the setback is the same. We are showing their south wall essentially where the existing wall is today. Their south elevation, as far as materials and look, is just as it's been shown on the plan. Mr. Wilshaw: So you would retain the existing wall or would you be demolishing and rebuilding? Mr. Zarbo: The new wall that will be built will be built essentially with the same setback or essentially in the same position as the wall is now. Mr. Taormina: Mr. Chairman, I think we need clarification. I think your question related to the screening wall. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, in the south. Mr. Taormina: And what Mr. Zarbo is referring to is the LA Fitness building wall. They would retain the existing masonry wall that exists at the property line as well as all the vegetation that currently exists. You have a pretty mature band of vegetation that runs along that south property line, and you can see from this plan that they intend to keep that to provide tree protection in that area to maintain that existing vegetation. Mr. Zarbo: Yeah, I apologize. As you can see, there are some islands that bump out, a little bit of detail in the corner, but essentially that south property line would stay the same. Mr. Wilshaw: And the condition of the wall currently is in good shape? Mr. Zarbo: We see one repair probably that was made several years ago, probably the size of this book. It's interesting when you look at that wall. That wall is a poured concrete wall. It's not brick or masonry. It was poured with forms. It has the look of brick, but that's a poured wall on a pretty good size footing and foundation. So the wall for its age, I think, is in actually pretty remarkable shape. Mr. Wilshaw: You would be making any necessary repairs to that wall if there are some that need to be made, patchwork or anything to get it all consistent and in good shape. Right? Mr. Zarbo: It isn't consistent because it moves and wanders, but yes, from a maintenance standpoint, correct. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Thank you. July 26, 2016 27783 Mr. Taormina: I think the resident has a follow-up question. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, ma'am. You have a follow-up question? Ms. Fitzgerald: You mentioned landscaping, something about along the wall. Mr. Wilshaw: Can you please address us? Ms. Fitzgerald: There's all dead trees there. All dead pine trees. It's a mess. I mean, that's why I'm asking. Are they going to landscape that to sort of block this view because it's deteriorated terribly since Farmer Jack moved out. Mr. Wilshaw: Well, thank you. I appreciate that. That's one thing by mentioning that, that's something that we can incorporate into our approving resolution if we choose to request that they upgrade any of the landscaping in that area. So thank you very much. Is there anybody else wishing to speak for or against the granting of this petition? Seeing no one coming forward, I will close the public hearing and ask for a motion. On a motion by McCue, seconded by Smiley, and unanimously adopted, it was #07-80-2016 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on July 26, 2016, on Petition 2016-06-02-14 submitted by Livonia Market II, L.L.C., requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.47 and 18.58 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with a proposal to redevelop the property at 29659 Seven Mile Road, including demolishing the existing building and parking areas, constructing a new 37,000 square foot fitness center (LA Fitness) and 8,060 square foot freestanding multi- tenant retail building, and obtaining preliminary approval for a future commercial building, located on the south side of Seven Mile Road between Middlebelt Road and Melvin Avenue in the Northeast 1/4 of Section 11, which property is zoned C-2, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2016-06-02-14 be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. That the Site Plan marked Sheet C-3.0 dated June 27, 2016, prepared by PEA, Inc., is hereby approved and shall be adhered to, except for the following changes: a) all perimeter parking spaces that do not interfere with sidewalks shall be reduced in depth to 18 feet in order to increase the amount of landscaping; b) at the direction of staff, the petitioner shall July 26, 2016 27784 be allowed to "landbank" parking pursuant to Section 18.37 of the Zoning Ordinance; and c) one or more sections of decorative pier and fencing shall be added adjacent to the east entrance; 2. That the Landscape Plan marked Sheet L-1.0 dated June 27, 2016, prepared by PEA, Inc., is hereby approved and shall be adhered to, except that additional landscaping shall be provided along the west side of the property; 3. That all disturbed lawn areas shall be sodded in lieu of hydro-seeding and irrigated, including along the upper fringe of the detention basin; 4. That underground sprinklers are to be provided for all landscaped and sodded areas, and all planted materials shall be installed to the satisfaction of the Inspection Department and thereafter permanently maintained in a healthy condition; 5. That the plan labeled "LA Fitness Building Elevations" marked Sheet A-2 dated June 29, 2016, as revised, prepared by Rogvoy Architects, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to, except that a brick or cultured stone wainscot shall be provided along the front and sides of the LA Fitness building, and the height of the parapet shall be raised, if necessary, in order to effectively screen all rooftop mechanical equipment; 6. That the plan labeled "Lease Floor Plan & Storefront Elevation" marked Sheet A-3 dated June 29, 2016, as revised, prepared by Rogvoy Architects, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to; 7. That any dead, dying or diseased landscaping along the south wall shall be replaced with like material and any damaged sections of the wall shall be repaired to the satisfaction of the Inspection Department; 8. That all utility meters on the outside of the buildings shall be screened in such a way that they are not noticeable to the general public; 9. That the issues as outlined in the correspondence dated July 15, 2016, from the Fire Marshal, including the recommendation of installing roof access ladders on all July 26, 2016 27785 buildings, shall be resolved to the satisfaction of the Fire Department; 10. That the three walls of the trash dumpsters areas shall be a minimum of seven feet (7') in height, constructed out of the same brick used in the construction of the buildings or in the event a poured wall is substituted, the wall's design, texture and color shall match that of the buildings and the enclosure gates shall be of solid panel steel construction or durable, long-lasting solid panel fiberglass and maintained and when not in use closed at all times; 11. That all light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in height and shall be aimed and shielded so as to minimize stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring into adjacent roadways; 12. That only conforming wall signage is approved with this petition, and any additional signage shall be separately submitted for review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals; 13. That no LED lightband or exposed neon shall be permitted on this site including, but not limited to, the buildings or around the windows; 14. That unless approved by the proper local authority, any type of exterior advertising, such as promotional flags, streamers or sponsor vehicles designed to attract the attention of passing motorists, shall be prohibited; 15. That the specific plans referenced in this approving resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department at the time the building permits are applied for; and 16. Pursuant to Section 19.10 of Ordinance #543, the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Livonia, this approval is valid for a period of ONE YEAR ONLY from the date of approval by City Council, and unless a building permit is obtained, this approval shall be null and void at the expiration of said period. 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. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion? July 26, 2016 27786 Ms. McCue: Should we add a condition as to how we want to maintain the area along the south property line? I don't know if we need to have that in there or not. Mr. Taormina: Yes. The suggested language would read something to the effect that they shall replace any dead, dying or diseased landscaping along the south wall with like materials. We will prepare language for that. Ms. McCue: And making sure that the concrete is in good order? Mr. Taormina: Yes, and repair any damaged sections of the wall. Mr. Wilshaw: I just noticed a couple things as we went through those conditions. Item #1 refers to landbanking just along the west side of the property. The petition had indicated he might possibly wish to landbank at one of the outparcels. Do we need to modify that verbiage slightly? Mr. Taormina: Yes. We will limit it to just the west side of the property. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. A little more generic. And also, Item #5, there is reference to raising the height of the parapet wall on the building. The petitioner has indicated that he believes that may not be necessary. Do we want to give him that option? Mr. Taormina: Yes. We will insert the language "if necessary" after the word "raised" and that should address that. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Just minor things. Is the maker of the motion okay with that? Ms. McCue: Certainly. Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. Thank you to the petitioner for coming in tonight. Mr. Zarbo: Thank you all very much. I know these are heavy packages and I appreciate all the help. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: We wish you good luck with your project. July 26, 2016 27787 ITEM #3 PETITION 2016-07-02-16 SMOKY'S CIGAR BAR Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2016- 07-02-15 submitted by Smoky's Cigar Bar & Lounge, requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(h) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance#543, as amended, to utilize a Class C liquor license (sale of beer, wine and spirits for consumption on the premises) in connection with the operation of a cigar bar at 37298 Six Mile Road, within the Northbrook Plaza shopping center located on the north side of Six Mile Road between Fitzgerald Avenue and Newburgh Road in the Southwest 1/4 of Section 8. Mr. Taormina: Northbrook Plaza is a multi-tenant retail center that was constructed around 2005-06. It is zoned C-2, General Business. The building contains a total of approximately 7,000 square feet with five tenant spaces. Current tenants include a Verizon store, Block Advisors, and a Prompt Urgent Care Center. There are two units that are at the east end of the center that are currently vacant. Smoky's would occupy the interior unit that is located adjacent to the east end cap. This unit previously contained an Ink Stop retail store. The space measures 20 feet in width by 70 feet in depth for a total of about 1,400 square feet. Smoky's Cigar Bar and Lounge previously operated on Seven Mile Road in Northville Township. All state licenses would be transferred to this new location. Total seating within the facility is estimated at about 20 to 22. The floor plan shows slightly less than that, but in discussion with the petitioner, they would like to emulate what was in Northville Township, and the seating there was around 20 or 22. Hours of operation would be Monday through Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., and then Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. As expected, the peak hours would typically be on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the evening. A Class C liquor license fall under the provisions set forth in Section 11.03(h) of the Zoning Ordinance. There are a number of special requirements that apply to on-premise liquor licenses. One of note is that there is a separation requirement so no new Class C-licensed establishments can be located within 1,000 feet of an existing Class C licensed business. There are two existing Class C licensed establishments within the 1,000 foot radius of this proposed business. The first is to the east located at the Key Bank Commons shopping center. It is Raj Palace Indian Cuisine. That's about 425 feet from the subject site. And then looking across Six Mile is Thai Basil, located at the Newburgh Plaza shopping center, roughly 700 away from the subject property. The 1,000-foot separation provision can be waived by the City July 26, 2016 27788 Council. The parking for Northbrook Plaza was designed based on a ratio of 1:125 in accordance with our standards for group commercial shopping centers where it's determined that more than 15 percent of the floor area would be utilized by places of assembly which includes restaurant uses. When we apply that higher standard to this, they are required to have 45 parking spaces. The shopping center has 49 spaces, so it complies with the Zoning Ordinance. Michigan's Smoke-Free Air law prohibits new cigar bars from opening, but it does not prohibit those that were in existence prior to May 1, 2010 from either remaining in operation or from transferring their license to a new location provided that certain conditions are met. Some of those conditions include that no less than 10 percent of the gross annual income can be derived from cigar sales. The other 90 percent can be from food and drinks. Should the sale of food and drinks exceed 90 percent of the gross, then the business would lose their cigar bar designation. Owners must file an affidavit and be approved by the State, and if the cigar bar is part of a larger establishment, it must be physically separated from the area where smoking is prohibited, and the smoke may not infiltrate the smoke-free area. So they will have to make special provisions incorporated into the design to make sure none of the smoke infiltrates into any of the adjacent units. No one under 18 years of age is allowed admittance into the cigar bar. Cigars have to retail for over $1.00 per cigar, and smoking other tobacco products within the cigar bar is strictly prohibited. Originally, Smoky's obtained their smoking exemption at their Livonia facility on Middlebelt Road, which operated as a tobacco specialty retail store. The smoke free law was enacted in 2009. Smoky's in Northville was opened about five years ago, at which time the owners transferred their smoking exemption to that new location. In 2015, Smoky's in Northville obtained a Class C liquor license and the approval from the state to operate a cigar bar. Smoky's on Middlebelt subsequent closed, and now the petitioners would like to transfer that cigar bar operation, which includes both the smoking exemption and the Class C liquor license, to this new location in Livonia. State Law allows cigar bars to include the retail sales of other tobacco products and accessories, but it prohibits persons from smoking anything other than cigars within the confines of the approved cigar bar, and that would include cigarettes and hookahs. So it is strictly cigars with the Class C license, all of which would be transferred to this new location. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Please. July 26, 2016 27789 Mr. Taormina: There are five items of correspondence. The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated July 18, 2016, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced petition. We have no objections to the proposed waiver use at this time. The legal description included with the petition appears to be correct and should be used. The existing property is assigned an address of 37290 Six Mile Road for the entire parcel, with a range of 37290 to 37308 Six Mile Road for the individual suites within the building. The existing building is currently serviced by public water main, and storm and sanitary sewers. Should renovations to the building require alterations to the existing services, drawings will need to be submitted to this department to determine if permits will be required." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated July 19, 2016, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request to utilize a Class C liquor license (sale of beer, wine and spirits for consumption on the premises) in connection with the operation of a smoke shop located at the above referenced address. We have no objections to this proposal." The letter is signed by Keith Bo, Senior Fire Inspector. The third letter is from the Division of Police, dated July 25, 2016, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the plans in connection with the petition. I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Brian Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The fourth letter is also from the Division of Police, dated July 25, 2016, which reads as follows: "We reviewed the plans submitted by Smoky's Bar & Lounge requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(h) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to utilize a Class C liquor license (sale of beer, wine and spirits for consumption on the premises) in connection with the operation of a smoke shop at 37298 Six Mile Road, within the Northbrook Plaza shopping center, located on the north side of Six Mile Road between Fitzgerald Avenue and Newburg Road in the southwest quarter of Section 8. 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, and stipulations and conditions set by the Traffic Bureau of the Livonia Police Department. We are available to provide any additional information you may desire on this subject." The letter is signed by Jeffrey Ronayne, Special Services Bureau. The fifth letter is from the Inspection Department, dated July 26, 2016, which reads as follows: July 26, 2016 27790 "Pursuant to your request, the above-referenced petition has been reviewed. This Department has no objections to this petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Assistant Director of Inspection. That is the extent of the correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Hearing none, is the petitioner here? We will need your name and address for the record please. Teresa Essa, 29360 Brooks Lane, Bingham Farms, MI 48034. This is my husband, Tony Jafer. Tony Jafer, 8292 Pineview, Mancelona, Michigan 49659. That's my wife, Teresa. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anything you would like to add to what you've heard so far? Ms. Essa: I appreciate your time and consideration. The only thing I wanted to add was about the seating. Currently what we had at Northville was, the capacity was 22. However, I think at any given time the most we've ever had there was probably 12, 13, 14 max. It was sporadic. There were days when I had zero. There were days I had four people. Days where we had, you know, a decent 10, 12 people. Mr. Jafar: Unless you had Michigan or Michigan State big time championship, or something with a local sports team, usually you can hit or miss, 8, 10. And there were times when we only had maybe two or three people. The main reason we really like that corridor, Six and Newburgh, when we did our marketing and we analyzed it, is when we started speaking to our customers that would walk into Smoky's at Northville. It seemed like 75 to 80 percent were from Five, Six and Seven Mile and Newburgh. So that was most of our base. And then also, the hotels. There were five hotels within that vicinity right there at Six and Newburgh that would come to Smoky's in Northville. Six and Newburgh would be a lot more feasible for us. That had a lot to do with it. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Thank you. Ms. Essa: The other thing is, first and foremost, we are a cigar lounge with the option of being able to have a drink, a beer, with your cigar, where it's more laid back. It's not like a bar with cigars. We're a cigar lounge with the option of being able to have a drink, which is nice. There's only a handful of places in Michigan where you can do that. You go to a restaurant you can have a drink but you can't enjoy your cigar. Like there is a handful of places where you July 26, 2016 27791 can do that. Our visibility, where I was at in Northville, was just horrible. This visibility here is really nice compared to where I was at so I definitely need a change and I think this would be great and I think it would be great for Livonia because there's a lot of cities, not a lot, but there's one in Westland. There's one in Birmingham. I think there's one in Clinton Township. And of course, downtown Northville. So I think it would be good for Livonia too. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions for the petitioner? Mr. Ventura: How large was your store in Northville? Mr. Jafar: 1,600. Mr. Ventura: 1,600? So this is approximately the same size? Mr. Jafar: This is a little smaller. It was 20 by 80. Yeah, 1,600. Mr. Ventura: The pictures that are in our package are of your Northville store? Mr. Jafar: Yeah. Mr. Ventura: And is that to illustrate that the Livonia store will look something like that? Mr. Jafar: Same layout, yeah. Same concept, same layout exactly. The bar might be a little longer, but yes, same concept, same layout, yeah. It will be a little smaller because of the square footage is maybe 150 feet smaller, but the same concept. Mr. Ventura: Thank you. Mr. Long: Can you speak a little bit to the ventilation system and how the air doesn't circulate into the next door neighbors? Mr. Jafar: We have smoke eaters. We have three of them. Each one of those smoke eaters, you really only basically need two smoke eaters in anything under 2,000 square feet. But we got three that we got from the Northville store that we own that will be installed in the new location that take the smoke, break it up, and suck it out. Also, that building is not an older builder. This building is newer than the building we were at in Northville so the exhaust fan and everything that is built in this building is basically put in for a restaurant. But we do have smoke eaters and we will install three smoke eaters that will be breaking up the smoke and the smoke will be taken straight out with the ventilation. July 26, 2016 27792 Mr. Long: In the study session we looked at the floor plan. You have the main door that faces Six Mile and then there was a rear door. Is that rear door going to be used for access or is that just going to be used for deliveries? Ms. Essa: I'd like it to be for access. Mr. Long: Okay, because you have so much of the parking back there. Ms. Essa: Exactly. There is a lot of parking in the back. Mr. Long: Okay. Thank you. Mr. Caramagno: I was going to ask you why Livonia and I think you did a pretty good job of answering that for the reasons you said, the hotels and the customers that are your base were going out to see you in Northville. So it seemed like a reasonable answer to me. Will there be any food at all here? Mr. Jafar: No. We don't want to get food but our license does not allow food. Ms. Essa: You can have like peanuts and chips if you'd like, but nothing prepared. Mr. Jafar: No hookah, no cigarettes. It's just cigars. Mr. Caramagno: Two other questions. I see in your picture here, this place had no ceiling, no drop ceiling. What will there be in the Livonia store? Mr. Jafar: There is a drop ceiling in the Livonia store. We can remove those if you want to. When you remove those, it helps the smoke eaters and the ventilation get out easier. But there was ceiling tile in the picture you're looking at. They were removed for the fan and the exhaust fan, for ventilation reasons. Mr. Caramagno: So the Livonia Six Mile store . . . Mr. Jafar: It does have a drop ceiling. Mr. Caramagno: It has it. Mr. Jafar: Yes. Mr. Caramagno: Are you saying it stays or are you saying it goes? July 26, 2016 27793 Mr.Jafar: We could leave it or we could remove it. It all depends on when they hook up the smoke eaters. They decide the better route to go. It would be nicer to move it because it gives a more industrial look, and it goes better with a cigar lounge when you have a more industrial look. Mr. Caramagno: I'm just wondering if that impacts the roofline and the smoke going into a neighbor's building. If you take the false ceiling out there, is there any possibility of smoke going into the neighbor's building through a utility area or a water line or something that's not very well sealed? Mr. Jafar: Those smoke eaters that we'll have in there, they do a pretty good job. With three of them in there, you only need two for under 2,000 square feet. You can look that up, but we've got three big smoke eaters and they do a pretty good job. We got a lot of compliments in regards to our lounge. We had very little air smoke compared to other cigar lounges because of the high efficiency smoke eaters. Ms. Essa: I'd have couples come in, a gentleman would bring his wife in and have a cigar. She'd have a glass wine and she'd tell me, oh, I go downtown Northville and I can't breathe in there. I don't know if they don't turn their smoke eaters on or it's just too smoky and I'm not going back there. But this place is great. I can breathe. It's not smoky. We definitely get compliments on it and the women typically that wouldn't want to go into a cigar lounge would come in. I mean our system does work very good. Mr. Caramagno: Mark, do you have any feeling at all about the ceiling? Mr. Taormina: The Inspection Department would have to make the call on that. If it's desired by the petitioner and if it's something that the building and fire codes will allow, then great. He may have to make some modifications in the separation between the units, but as long as it meets their requirements, then it sounds like it would be a nice alteration. But we'll leave that up to the petitioner and the Inspection Department. Mr. Caramagno: Good. My last question is, as I'm looking at your pictures here, I'm looking at your humidor that you built. Who built it for you? Ms. Essa: My brother does. Mr. Caramagno: Is he using new wood? Is he picking wood out of something else because some of this wood I'm looking at here, it looks like it's an July 26, 2016 27794 old door frame that was nailed up there used. What's the construction of the material? Ms. Essa: That was there when I moved into this spot. The woman that was there for 25 years, that was her existing humidor. So no, this will be new wood and it will be built from scratch. It's all cedar. Like I said, that was there for 25 years. We didn't change it when we moved in there. We just used what she had there, the existing humidor. But everything will be brand new, brand new wood, brand new doors, everything. Mr. Caramagno: That's good to hear. Mr. Jafar: It was an existing humidor when she bought it from Jan, so that's an old humidor. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for the petitioner? Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this petition? Richard George, 30303 Plymouth Road, Livonia, Michigan 48150. I've known Teresa. My family has known her our whole lives. She was a Livonia business person. I've been in Livonia since 1969. Her means of operation are the way she's operated her store, some of you might even know, she was in Livonia. People loved her. Her customers loved her. As a retailer, I respect her tremendously. She's helped me even when I was in business with teaching me about the cigar business. We do have a small cigar store for retail on Plymouth Road. Her location now, I've been there. I've enjoyed a cigar there and a drink. Her atmosphere is great. The smoke that you were talking about was diminished with their smoke eaters because they're overkill. The ceiling tiles that you're talking about, I'm wondering why they would want them in there because smoke absorbs into those. It holds it. And then they get an odor. So Teresa's family are very well learned in the cigar business, and I think they've done a phenomenal job there. I think she would be a welcome addition to Livonia from Northville, and her retail location where she was at did hinder her ability to run a business. There's not that many cars. She was in a dead center. I commend her for moving her location which is a big thing for her and hope that this body approves her petition. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. George. I appreciate that. Is there anybody else in the audience that wishes to speak this petition? Seeing no one coming forward, I will close the public hearing and ask for a motion. On a motion by Ventura, seconded by Caramagno, and adopted, it was July 26, 2016 27795 #07-81-2016 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on July 26, 2016, on Petition 2016-07-02-15 submitted by Smoky's Cigar Bar & Lounge, requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(h) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance#543, as amended, to utilize a Class C liquor license (sale of beer, wine and spirits for consumption on the premises) in connection with the operation of a cigar bar at 37298 Six Mile Road, within the Northbrook Plaza shopping center located on the north side of Six Mile Road between Fitzgerald Avenue and Newburgh Road in the Southwest 1/4 of Section 8, which property is zoned C-2, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2016-07-02-15 be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. That the use of a Class C liquor license at this location shall be permitted only under the circumstances that the standard set forth in Section 11.03(h) of the Zoning Ordinance, which specifies any new Class C-licensed establishment not be located within 1,000 feet of any other such licensed business, is waived by the City Council; 2. That the number of customer seats shall be limited to 22; 3. That the subject site has the capacity to accommodate the proposed Class C license; 4. That the proposed use of a Class C license is compatible to and in harmony with the surrounding uses in the area; and 5. That the proposed Class C licensed establishment would be utilized primarily as a cigar bar/lounge. FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was given in accordance with the provisions of Section 23.05 of Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Ventura, Caramagno, McCue, Smiley, Wilshaw NAYS: Long ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. July 26, 2016 27796 ITEM #4 PETITION 2016-06-LS-18 SALE OF CITY PROPERTY 15505 AUBURNDALE Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2016- 06-LS-18 submitted by the City of Livonia Housing Commission, pursuant to Section 3.05.050 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended, to determine whether or not to dispose of City- owned property at 15505 Auburndale Avenue, located on the west side of Auburndale Avenue between Five Mile Road and East Myrna Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 15. Mr. Taormina: This property is zoned RUF, Rural Urban Farm. Before City Council can approve the sale of any City-owned property to a private entity, the Planning Commission must first review the request and offer its recommendation as to whether or not there are any plausible alternative public uses for the property. This lot is described as Lot 661 of the Supervisor's Livonia Plat No. 10. The property is roughly 0.93 acre in size and has 100 feet of frontage along Auburndale Avenue by a depth of roughly 405 feet. There is currently a house located on Lot 661. The RUF zoning requires a minimum lot size of one-half acre, so this property fully conforms to the RUF District Regulations. The property is bordered to the north, south, east and west by similar zoned properties as well as single-family homes. The property was acquired in 2015 via the Wayne County tax foreclosure program using Federal Community Development Block Grant funds. The Livonia Housing Commission has deemed that the property is surplus and they have no future plans to utilize the site. The house on the property is in poor condition. In fact, I went through it with Mr. Inglis just last week. The plans would include razing the structure and then offering the lot for sale via the public bidding process. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Please. Mr. Taormina: There is one item of correspondence from the Engineering Division, dated July 19, 2016, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced petition. The Engineering Department has no objections to the proposal at this time. The legal description provided with the petition appears to be correct and is acceptable to this office. The existing parcel is assigned an address of 15505 Auburndale Avenue, which should be used in conjunction with this petition. Although storm sewer is not available to the property at this time, the existing building is currently serviced by sanitary sewer and water main. Any new July 26, 2016 27797 connections to these utilities, or revisions to the existing service leads within the right-of-way will require the owner to submit plans to the Engineering Department for permitting."The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Hearing none, is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this item? Tracey Emmanuel, Livonia Housing Commission, Patrick V. McNamara Towers, 19300 Purlingbrook Road, Livonia, Michigan 48152. I'm the Divisional Director of the Community Development Office for the Livonia Housing Commission. I'm here on behalf of Mr. Inglis. I don't have anything to add but I'm available if you have any questions. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you very much. Are there any questions for our housing staff? Seeing none, a motion would be in order. On a motion by Smiley, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was #07-82-2016 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on July 26, 2016, on Petition 2016-06-LS-18 submitted by the City of Livonia Housing Commission, pursuant to Section 3.05.050 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended, to determine whether or not to dispose of City-owned property at 15505 Auburndale Avenue, located on the west side of Auburndale Avenue between Five Mile Road and East Myrna Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 15, the Planning Commission has no objections to the sale of City-owned property located at 15505 Auburndale Avenue, subject to adopted policies and ordinances involving such transactions; further, this recommendation is based on a determination that there are no current or anticipated City uses for the property, and no compelling reason exists to delay the sale of the property as requested. Mr.Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. July 26, 2016 27798 ITEM #5 PETITION 2016-06-LS-19 SALE OF CITY PROPERTY 18071 FLORAL Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2016- 06-LS-19 submitted by the City of Livonia Housing Commission, pursuant to Section 3.05.050 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended, to determine whether or not to dispose of City- owned property at 18071 Floral Avenue, located on the west side of Floral Avenue between Lathers Drive and Curtis Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 12. Mr. Taormina: This is a very similar request as the previous item. It comes to us from the Housing Commission. In this case, the property is described as Lot 59 of the Thomas F. O'Connor's Park View Acres Subdivision. The zoning is RUF, Rural Urban Farm, and the property is bordered by residential zoning and single-family homes. The property is about 0.42 acre in size and measures 80 feet in frontage by 230 feet, with a total area of 18,400 square feet. It is slightly deficient in lot area. There is a house located on the property that would be removed, and it's the intention of the Housing Commission to put the property back on the market for an offer for sale. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Please. Mr. Taormina: There is one item of correspondence from the Engineering Division, dated July 19, 2016, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced petition. The Engineering Department has no objections to the proposal at this time. The legal description provided with the petition appears to be correct and is acceptable to this office. The existing parcel is assigned an address of 18071 Floral Avenue, which should be used in conjunction with this petition. The existing building is currently serviced by storm and sanitary sewer, and water main. Any new connections to these utilities, or revisions to the existing service leads within the right-of-way will require the owner to submit plans to the Engineering Department for permitting." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Ms. Smiley Through the Chair to Mr. Taormina, you said this lot is deficient in size. Doesn't it look like a lot of the parcels there are the same size? July 26, 2016 27799 Mr. Taormina: Yes, that's correct. This is very consistent with the pattern of development that's in the area. Removal of the structure would not jeopardize the buildable status. It would remain as a lawful building site by virtue that it's not held in common with any of the adjoining properties. Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any other questions? Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this petition? Tracey Emmanuel, Livonia Housing Commission, Patrick V. McNamara Towers, 19300 Purlingbrook Road, Livonia, Michigan 48152. I'm back if you need me. Mr. Wilshaw: Again, thank you for being here. It's always nice to have a representative from the Housing Commission in case we do have any questions. Are there any questions for the Housing Commission? None. Thank you very much for coming tonight. If there is no other discussion, a motion would be in order. On a motion by Long, seconded by Caramagno, and unanimously adopted, it was #07-83-2016 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on July 26, 2016, on Petition 2016-06-LS-19 submitted by the City of Livonia Housing Commission, pursuant to Section 3.05.050 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended, to determine whether or not to dispose of City-owned property at 18071 Floral Avenue, located on the west side of Floral Avenue between Lathers Drive and Curtis Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 12, the Planning Commission has no objections to the sale of City-owned property located at 18071 Floral Avenue, subject to adopted policies and ordinances involving such transactions; further, this recommendation is based on a determination that there are no current or anticipated City uses for the property, and no compelling reason exists to delay the sale of the property as requested. Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. July 26, 2016 27800 ITEM #6 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,091st Public Hearings and Regular Meeting Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the Minutes of the 1,091st Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on July 12, 2016. On a motion by Smiley, seconded by Caramagno, and adopted, it was #07-84-2016 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,091st Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on July 12, 2016, are hereby approved. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Smiley, Caramagno, Long, Ventura, Wilshaw NAYS: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: McCue Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,092nd Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on July 26, 2016, w:s adjourned at 8:58 p.m. CITY P NING COMMISSION am Ca amagno, Secretary ATTEST: Ian Wilshaw, Chairman