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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-09-24 City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 1 of 53 September 24, 2013 ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS CITY OF LIVONIA MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 A Special Meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Livonia was held in the Auditorium of the Livonia City Hall on Tuesday, September 24, 2013. MEMBERS PRESENT: Matthew Henzi, Chairman Craig Pastor, Vice President Sam Caramagno, Secretary Ed Duggan, Jr. Elizabeth H. McCue Kathleen McIntyre Robert E. Sills MEMBERS ABSENT: None OTHERS PRESENT: Michael Fisher, Assistant City Attorney Dennis DeMeyer, City Inspector Bonnie J. Murphy, Court Reporter, CSR-2300, CER-2300 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Chairman Henzi then explained the Rules of Procedure to those interested parties. Each petitioner must give their name and address and declare hardship for appeal. Appeals of the Zoning Board's decisions are made to the Wayne County Circuit Court. The Chairman advised the audience that appeals can be filed within 21 days of the date tonight’s minutes are approved. The decision of the Zoning Board shall become final within five (5) calendar days following the hearing and the applicant shall be mailed a copy of the decision. There are four decisions the Board can make: to deny, to grant, to grant as modified by the Board, or to table for further information. Each petitioner may ask to be heard by a full seven (7) member Board. Seven (7) members were present this evening. The Secretary then read the Agenda and Legal Notice to each appeal, and each petitioner indicated their presence. Appeals came up for hearing after due legal notice was given to all interested parties within 300 feet, petitioners and City Departments. There were 14 people present in the audience. (7:05) City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 2 of 53 September 24, 2013 APPEAL CASE NO. 2013-09-44: Brooke Bright, 20190 Joy, seeking to erect a 6-ft. tall privacy fence on a corner lot resulting in the fence being excess in height and the fence being located in the side and front yard which is not allowed. Fence Height Allowed: 5 ft. Proposed 6 ft. Excess: 1 ft. Henzi: Mr. DeMeyer, anything to add to this case? DeMeyer: The Department has nothing to add at this time, Mr. Chair. Henzi: Is there any questions for the Inspection Department. Caramagno: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Caramagno. Caramagno: Mr. DeMeyer, those commercial trailers that are in the yard, horse trailer and the 16-foot construction trailer, is that something that is normally there or have you had any complaints about it? DeMeyer: We’ve had some complaints about it. We have an open enforcement violation. One of our enforcement officers went out there and I believe talked to the homeowner and has given them more time to remove them. Caramagno: Okay. It’s something they use for business or is it personally owned, do you know that? DeMeyer: That I don’t know, I don’t know that answer. Caramagno: Okay. Thank you. Henzi: Anything else? Hearing none, will the Petitioner please come to the podium? Good evening. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 3 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: Hi. My name is Brooke Bright and my address that is on there is wrong, my address is 30190 Joy Road. Henzi: Tell us why you want to erect a fence. Petitioner: As I stated in here, I bought the house, the home was a foreclosure, I have put a lot of money into this home to try to make it awesome for the city, for us, for everyone involved. The fence that is around Joy Road and part of Danzig, 75 percent of my yard is already shadow box six foot fence. But the front of it is like chicken wire, with nothing but poison ivy and stuff that’s going through it. I am a single mother so it’s a little hard for me to keep up with my children, maintain the fence line and it’s basically just an eyesore. We get a lot of harassment from the passersby, the traffic, my children, my dogs. I get a lot of garbage in my yard. It’s just very hard to upkeep and maintain which is very stressful. Henzi: You alluded to something in your packet, I mean are you getting kids who are walking home from school who are cutting into your yard or throwing stuff in there? Petitioner: They’re cussing, yelling at my dogs, my children are present, there’s garbage constantly in my yard, yeah. Not just the kids from Franklin but also late at night they do all these things. Henzi: Any questions for the Petitioner? Pastor: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: How many dogs do you have? Petitioner: Three. Pastor: What kind? Petitioner: Two black labs and a pit. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 4 of 53 September 24, 2013 Pastor: Can you tell me something about these trailers that are on your property? Petitioner: Absolutely. I have a very funny yard, I gave copies of my property bounds to you guys so my house is almost 100 years old, I have almost an acre. So the way that my yard is set up, the way the front is not really the front, it’s the side, it’s just a very awkward set up. So where I have my personal horse trailer, it’s a small trailer, it’s very clean is as far back as I can get it. And I have spoken to every single one of my neighbors before I parked it there, they all said they were totally okay with it, it wasn’t an eyesore, I maintain it, I use it often. And that gentleman left a note on my door, I did not --- I had to come in here three days later after calling him several times a day to speak to him personally myself. He said that he wasn’t even sure that a neighbor called or there’s two houses, three houses being built down the street from my home, that really he just noticed it passing by it. So if there were any other complaints, not that I’m aware of. I did speak to all of my neighbors before I parked it there. I can move it. He told me after I came here and spoke to him not to really worry about it and anything past that, he would get ahold of me. The other one is my boyfriend’s work trailer. It’s a dump trailer. It’s sometimes parked at his house, it’s sometimes parked there, it depends on what’s closer to the job that he’s doing. It’s not that big of a deal, it’s just very convenient to have them there. And like I said, we have spoken to all of the neighbors and we’re very courteous and none of them had an issue. Pastor: Thank you. Sills: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Sills. Sills: How long have you resided at this address? Petitioner: Almost five years. Sills: Almost five years? Petitioner: Yes, sir. Sills: And how many children do you have and what are their ages? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 5 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: I have a daughter who will be eight on Thursday, I have a stepdaughter who is seven, my son is almost three and I’m eight months pregnant. Sills: Thank you. Henzi: Any other questions? Caramagno: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Caramagno. Caramagno: Dennis, what is allowed for a trailer, can the horse trailer stay if it’s behind the house? Explain that, if you will. What is she allowed here? DeMeyer: A camper or a horse trailer, I would guess would be allowed behind the house, a commercial trailer would not. And I don’t know how these enforcement violations came about, I don’t know if it was through a complaint, I just know that I looked in our system and saw that there was an open violation and that our enforcement officer had talked to her, had a conversation with her. But yes, if it was behind the --- it is a weird shaped lot. Caramagno: Yes, that’s for sure. So I guess if the house faces Joy, those trailers are behind the house, yet they’re on the grass and it didn’t look muddy when I went by the other day but it sure can be,, especially with the trailers on the lot. Petitioner: Like I said, I’ve lived there for almost five years and we do the best we can to maintain that home. It’s never looked ratted, tattered, the grass has never gone unmowed. We do take care of it. Caramagno: I’m not saying the house looks bad, it’s just the two trailers on the side there and the road. I guess I have another question or two for you. Petitioner: Okay. Caramagno: The internal fence, would some of that fence come down or all the fence stay up? I realize the internal fence is probably 25 feet off the road, the other side of the City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 6 of 53 September 24, 2013 horse trailer. Is that going to stay there, or is that going to be removed and brought closer to the road? Petitioner: That depends on what you guys allow me to do. I don’t know if she remembers, I was here, Bonnie, I was here like a month ago and we talked about it in great length of he didn’t know what I was allowed to do, he didn’t know what you guys would okay for us to do, if I would have to move my main fence along Danzig in. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to fence my yard, to keep my children safe at this time. We did talk about, too, you were concerned about the corner of Joy and Danzig, we will go on a 16-foot slant to bring it away from the road, these are all things that we’re aware of and willing to do. Like I said, the guy I spoke to was very unsure because of the odd shape of my yard, what I’d be able to do, what’s considered my front yard, my backyard, which is bad enough. Caramagno: I don’t have any other questions. Henzi: Any other questions? Pastor: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: You earlier stated that part of your lot has got shadow box fencing on it? Petitioner: Seventy-five percent of my yard does have the shadow box fencing. Pastor: Is that the shadow box fencing that’s in disrepair? Petitioner: There’s a lot it, yes, and technically, none of it’s owned by me, it’s all, every neighbor that’s touching my property has shadow box fence. Some of it’s falling down, it was not installed property, it wasn’t maintained. So I’ve spoke to a lot of my neighbors and we have decided that after we did this and decided what could be done, even if they did foot the cost of it, we would do the labor of either replacing, rebuilding it, restructuring it, making it sound and proper. I’m more concerned about the chicken wire wrapped in poison ivy. Pastor: Is the shadow box where the chicken wire is, the shadow box right next to it, is that on your property or is that on your neighbor’s property? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 7 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: The shadow box separates me and all of my neighbors. Pastor: You’re saying it goes down the side yard, it doesn’t go across the front yard? Petitioner: No, it does not. Pastor: Okay. Petitioner: However, my next door neighbor, down Joy, he’s got it the whole way down, the shadow box. Pastor: Yeah, that’s the one I was looking at. Petitioner: Yes. Pastor: Thank you. Henzi: You have a photograph of what looks like a wooden fence sort of arched at the top, is that the type of fence that you want to construct? Petitioner: That’s ultimately what we would like to do, however we’re okay with doing that shadow box also, like I said I’m okay with putting up any fence at this point but that is what we’d like to do, yes. Henzi: This is what you’d like? Petitioner: Yes. Henzi: What color? Petitioner: Just wood, just stain, clear. Henzi: Got it, okay. Any other questions? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 8 of 53 September 24, 2013 Pastor: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: You said you’re going to stain this? Petitioner: Yes. Pastor: That’s always a concern of mine because they seem to fall into disrepair quite often and at first when they go up, they look pretty and then five, six, seven years down the road they look like your neighbor’s. Petitioner: Like I said, I bought a foreclosure and I put a lot of money into that house to make it livable, I’m not about to let any part of it go down. Pastor: Thank you. Henzi: Anything else? Hearing none, is there anyone in the audience who wants to speak for or against the project? If so, come on up to the podium. Seeing non one coming forward, can you read the letters? Caramagno: We have an objection from Stringfield on 30340 Joy Road, (letter read). We have an approval from Gladys Fitzgibbon at 8968 Danzig, (letter read). Matthew Kelly at 8900 Danzig sends an approval, (letter read). An objection at 8917 Oporto from M. Golick, (letter read). And Ida Tuller at 8869 Danzig sends an objection, (letter read). Paula McDonald at 8932 Danzig sends an approval, (letter read). And Pam at 8887 Danzig, sends an approval, (letter read). Henzi: Ms. Bright, is there anything you want to say in closing? Petitioner: I just, I moved to Livonia for the schools for my children and stuff like that, so this was a project that I didn’t know would be such a big deal, I think to approve to have done. All I’m doing is like I said, just trying to up the value of everybody’s home, keep everybody safe and try to maintain the beauty and in the meantime keep it up, so that’s really all. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 9 of 53 September 24, 2013 Henzi: Okay. I’ll close the public portion of the case and begin the Board’s comments with Mr. Sills. Sills: Well, I, from what I observed, you’re a very proud homeowner of your home who takes good care of it. Petitioner: Thank you. Sills: Anything that you do fence-wise will be an improvement. Petitioner: Yes, sir. Sills: And I’m sure that your neighbors would go along with that. We did get a complimentary letter from John Gibbs, the Sergeant of Traffic Bureau from the Police Department, so considering all these things, your neighbors are kind of split on whether they approve this or disapprove it but we almost always approve six foot fences on the corner lot. Corner lots are very vulnerable to all sorts of things and I can appreciate where you’re coming from and with your small children I can appreciate that you’d like the safety of the yard and I will certainly be in approval for your petition. Petitioner: Okay, thank you. Henzi: Mrs. McIntyre. McIntyre: I don’t have any problems approving this fence. I give a lot of weight to neighbor’s concerns, most of the concerns were from neighbors that don’t live close that talk about depreciating property values and I’m not aware of any data that suggests that a privacy fence appropriately placed on a lot depreciates the home’s property value. The only concern I have is the parking of commercial trailers. I understand, Dennis, that’s not permitted? DeMeyer: Correct. McIntyre: And I would think it would be important for you to be compliant with that regulation, it’s not part of the fence, it’s another issue, but I just want you to follow the code. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 10 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: No one has ever spoken to me about the dump trailer. The only thing that gentleman spoke to me about was my horse trailer. And it doesn’t have any numbers or commercial codes or anything on it, either of them. McIntyre: Well, to have a horse trailer is permitted, but the commercial trailer, dump trailer, whatever you call it, those aren’t permitted. Petitioner: Okay. Like I said, this is the first that that has ever been brought to my attention so if we have to move it it’s not that big of a deal. And the ones that disapprove of the fencing involved, you know most of it has to do about the corner, so honestly, we’re already anticipating to pull it back from the corner to be safe to be proactive about that. Henzi: Mr. Caramagno. Caramagno: You know, again, there are fences on Joy Road and this one with the school being so close, a fence would be an improvement over what is there now, a chicken wire fence that’s entwined with all kinds of things. And you have an odd lot there, I’ll grant you that, with the internal fence or fences 25 feet off the road or whatever that is, I’d like to see exactly what is going to happen with that myself. I think you need a fence. But I’d like to see something more thorough on the northwest end of your property, so I would table this to have a little better plan myself although I’ll be in support of a fence, but just with a better plan. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: I kind of agree with Sam. I’m in favor of this fence, I believe you really need one. But I’d like to see a little more detail on it, too. And I’d rather see you have the fence that you propose rather than a shadow box fence, I don’t think shadow box fences are any good to you. Petitioner: Shadow box fences, they fall apart, they are a lot of maintenance. Pastor: Well, not only that, you can see right through it, if they’re teasing your dogs, they will tease them through the fence. But I too think tabling the resolution might be in order. Henzi: Mr. Duggan. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 11 of 53 September 24, 2013 Duggan: I will be in support of the fence, you’re right on the corner, you have to deal with people walking by, teenagers or anybody else at night. And the fence that you propose is an improvement to what’s there currently so I will be in support. Henzi: Mrs. McCue. McCue: I will also be in support. It’s a great improvement, like everybody said, with what’s there now. And I totally understand, with the kids and dogs out there, it doesn’t work either way so I will be in support. Petitioner: Thank you. Henzi: I, too, will support the request. There’s really nothing I can add. I agree with all the comments that have been made. I think that there’s good cause for construction of a fence on a major road like this, so the floor is open for a motion. Upon motion by Duggan, supported by Sills, it was: RESOLVED, APPEAL CASE NO. 2013-09-44: Brooke Bright, 30190 Joy, seeking to erect a 6-foot tall privacy fence upon a corner lot resulting in the fence being excess in height and the fence being located within the side and front yard which is not allowed. Fence Height Allowed: 5 ft. Proposed: 6 ft. Excess: 1 ft. The property is located on the north side of Joy, (30190), between Oporto and Danzig, Lot No. 140-01-0448-002, R-1 Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Fence Ordinance, Section 15.44.090,4,bii, and 15.44.090B, “Residential District Regulations,” be granted for the following reasons and findings of fact: 1. The uniqueness requirement is met because of the location of the home off Joy Road and traffic coming down Danzig. 2. Denial of the variance would have severe consequences for the Petitioner because of the necessity for the safety of her children and animals from vehicle and pedestrian traffic. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 12 of 53 September 24, 2013 3. The variance is fair in light of its effect on neighboring properties and in the spirit of the Zoning Ordinance because of its location on a corner lot and the Board traditionally grants variances for corner lots. 4. The Board received four (4) letters of approval and three (3) objection letters from neighboring property owners. 5. The property is classified as “Low Density Residential” in the Master Plan and the proposed variance is not inconsistent with that classification. FURTHER, This variance is granted with the following conditions: 1. That it be built as presented to the Board. 2. That the variance is good for six months. 3. That Petitioner comply with City ordinances regarding trailers on residential properties. ROLL CALL: AYES: Duggan, Sills, McCue, McIntyre, Pastor, Henzi NAYS: Caramagno ABSENT: None. Henzi: The variance is granted with three conditions. You’ve got to build it as presented with this type of fence in the spot where you presented it, it’s good for six months, that doesn’t mean it expires in six months it means you have six months within which to build the fence and then you’ve got to comply with the ordinance regarding the two trailers. Petitioner: That means getting the dump trailer gone and putting my horse trailer in the back, right? Henzi: Yes. If you have any questions what you need to do you can just go to the Inspection Department and talk to somebody. Good luck. Petitioner: Thank you. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 13 of 53 September 24, 2013 APPEAL CASE NO. 2013-09-45: Christine Scherrer on behalf of Maureen Adams, at 18151 Mayfield, between Curtis and Bennett, seeking to erect a 5-foot tall privacy fence on a corner lot resulting in the fence being in the side yard which is not allowed and the fence not aligning with any fence on the adjoining property. Henzi: Mr. DeMeyer, do you have anything to add to this case? DeMeyer: Not at this time, Mr. Chair. Henzi: Any questions for the Inspection Department? Hearing none, will the Petitioner please come forward. Good evening. Petitioner: (Christine) Good evening. Thank you for having us. This is my husband, Gene Scherrer. We just moved into the house three days ago so to be clear, we are now the owners of the house. At the time we did this, we had to get permission from the current owner and that’s at 18151 Mayfield Street and I’m Christine Scherrer. Henzi: Go ahead and tell us why you want to construct the fence. Petitioner: (Christine) We have two dogs and lots of family members with small children, nieces and nephews, godchildren, that come over often when we have birthday parties and thinggs like that. And we also live on a pretty busy corner lot and so we could like to erect a fence off the setback there for safety. And also, I wasn’t exactly sure if it was a 5-foot or 4-foot fence at the time that I applied for this, it’s going to be a 4-foot vinyl fence. Henzi: A four and not a five? Petitioner: (Christine) Yes, sir. Henzi: Okay. Anything else you want to say? Petitioner: (Christine) Not at this time. Henzi: I have a couple questions for you. You’ve got it all the way to the front of the house at least on the Curtis side, why is that? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 14 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: (Christine) To have a gate so that we can have it on either side of the fence. Petitioner: (Gene) Plus so I can access the tractor to get into the backyard. Henzi: Well, I understand that but the ordinance says you can only go to the rear of the house and I’m wondering why you need to come all the way to the front. Petitioner: (Gene) I just think the appearance and the appeal would look much nicer and the fencing is the vinyl and it’s going to match the trim on the house and everything. Henzi: Again, the question is if you’re proposing to take it all the way to the back lot line? Petitioner: (Christine) Up to the wooded part, yes. They said, the Building Department, that we didn’t have to take it all the way completely back because of the tree line that was there so almost all the way back. Henzi: And then you’ve got a photograph of the type of fence, you’ve got a white vinyl fence, is this the style of the one you want to put up? Petitioner: (Christine) The color would be a clay color but that would be the style. Petitioner: (Gene) To match the trim on the house. Henzi: And the shed or storage area? Petitioner: (Christine) Yes, sir. Henzi: Any questions? Pastor: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 15 of 53 September 24, 2013 Pastor: You want to put up a 4-foot fence? Petitioner: (Gene) A standard cyclone fence, a standard, normal height fence I believe is 4-foot is what I was told. And I don’t want to be secluded but I want to have some privacy and enough to keep the dogs in the yard. Nieces and nephews come over, it’s a big backyard to play in so. Pastor: What kind of dogs do you have? Petitioner: (Gene) Two English bulldogs. Pastor: You’re not afraid of them going over the fence? Petitioner: (Christine) They’re too fat. Petitioner: (Gene) English bulldogs, they’ve got really tiny legs and they weigh about 70 pounds, they’re not jumping dogs. Pastor: Okay. Petitioner: (Christine) But with the deer that come and visit one of our dogs could take off so. Pastor: Okay. That’s all I have. Henzi: Anything else? Any other questions. McIntyre: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mrs. McIntyre. McIntyre: Would you be willing to move the fence line back so that it comes all the way flush with the front of the house. The reason for the ordinance to go to the rear of the City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 16 of 53 September 24, 2013 house is not to create this fortress like, if there have been compelling reasons in the past we’ve allowed them to come forward of the rear of the house line. Petitioner: (Gene) We have garbage cans and stuff I put next to the garage, I want to kind of hide that because it looks so tacky when you come down Curtis and really that’s the only side of the garage I’ve got for garbage and stuff, the back of the house is all flowered and done and all finished around nice so this kind of will look nicer. Petitioner: (Christine) And it’s bigger on that side, I don’t think we could get the tractor through the other side so that would be the reason. McIntyre: Okay, that’s all I have, thank you. Henzi: I didn’t understand that last sentence about how the location of the fence would affect getting the tractor back there. Petitioner: (Gene) It doesn’t, she wasn’t thinking. Sorry about that. Petitioner: (Christine) Sorry. Petitioner: (Gene) We’re both nervous, sorry about that. Henzi: That’s okay. Any other questions? Hearing none, is there anyone in the audience who wants to speak for or against this project? If so, come on up. Seeing no one coming forward, can you read the letters? Caramagno: There’s an objection from Charles and Rosemary Martin at 33023 Curtis, (letter read). Hershel at 32850 Curtis writes an objection, (letter read). An approval from Ronald Kwasniewicz at 18221 Loveland. Richard and Sara Jones at 18275 Mayfield, (letter read), an objection. Susan Dattolo at18220 Loveland writes an objection, (letter read). And John Sietz at 18060 Mayfield writes an approval. Henzi: Mrs. Scherrer, anything you want to say in closing? Petitioner: (Christine) We’ve lived there for three days so we haven’t really had the opportunity to --- City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 17 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: (Gene) Meet neighbors or talk to anybody. Petitioner: (Christine) We did meet the neighbor behind us and next door to us and got the permission slips for that as required, but as far as anything else goes. Caramagno: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Caramagno. Caramagno: Did you cut down the spruce trees or where they down? Petitioner: (Gene) We took down pine trees along that line right there. Caramagno: So you did take them down? Petitioner: (Gene) Yes, sir. Caramagno: Okay. Petitioner: (Gene) They were dirty, the grass was dying all in the back yard because of the pine needles and also, Livonia’s property right there where you guys have three nice trees, the grass and stuff in there is all dead and the roots are coming out of the ground and stuff, it’s just not healthy for the trees. Henzi: I’ve got one more question. Your neighbor to the south has a partial privacy fence. Petitioner: (Gene) That’s actually, I believe, on our property. Petitioner: (Christine) Yes. Henzi: So it was there before you moved in? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 18 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: (Christine) Yes. Petitioner: (Gene) And then along down the side the neighbor also has like a wired fence hanging all over down the side there. And Curtis, there is what they call I guess a garden fence that’s in there but it does nothing to you know keep animals in, children in. That corner gets going pretty good right there. I’m not saying people speed but it is the flow to get through there. Henzi: I just want to follow-up. So the existing privacy fence, although you’re basically wrapping it around and your posts will meet up with what exists? Petitioner: (Gene) Yes. Henzi: And it’s not a vinyl, right? Petitioner: (Gene) Right. It’s a stained darker wood and it would be staggered from the privacy down to the end. Because I don’t want to be secluded, I just want to be able to keep animals in the yard but I still want to be able to see around to see what my surroundings are. Pastor: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: Did you say you have some chain link fence in the back of your fence? Petitioner: (Gene) It’s a wire fence. Petitioner: (Christine) Chicken wire. Petitioner: (Gene) Not --- I wouldn’t call it chicken wire, it’s like the square hex wire, it’s right there, along that side. And that carries on from not quite from where the privacy that’s existing there, maybe another five to six feet down and it goes all the way to the back of the yard and it just stops. Pastor: We have an ordinance that we can’t have fence on fence, so you can’t have two fences on the property line. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 19 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: (Gene) I don’t understand what you mean, I’m sorry. Pastor: You can’t put your fence next to an existing fence. Petitioner: (Gene) Well, he said he was going to take that fence down when we put our fence up. Pastor: Okay. Petitioner: (Gene) I did talk to him about it, he said good, if you put that up, then I’m taking this down because I don’t like it and it’s all hanging over anyways. Petitioner: (Christine) And there’s a big gap that if we let our animals out, they’ll go into his yard. Pastor: Okay, thank you. Henzi: I’ll close the public portion of the case and begin the Board’s comments with Mrs. McIntyre. McIntyre: I’m just curious, do you have an excessive number of trash receptacles? I don’t usually get letters mentioning that. Petitioner: (Gene) They are not mine, so are what’s left over and like we said, we just moved in. There’s like --- I don’t know why anybody in the world needs eight or ten garbage cans. Petitioner: (Christine) And we haven’t even had garbage day yet. Petitioner: (Gene) I’ll get it all cleaned up. McIntyre: And the other thing is, don’t be nervous. Are you new to Livonia? Petitioner: (Christine) Yes. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 20 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: (Gene) Yes. McIntyre: Welcome to Livonia. It’s really a great community. Petitioner: (Gene) Thank you. McIntyre: No reason to be nervous, we appreciate you people taking the time to be compliant and come here. Petitioner: (Christine) Everyone has been wonderful, too, coming to the City. McIntyre: Good. We’re glad to hear that. I don’t like the idea of the fence line coming all the way to the front of the house but I won’t object, I’d like to hear what my colleagues have to say about that positioning. First of all I don’t have any problems here for the reasons you are seeking to enclose your yard, they’re reasonable, and you live in a neighborhood and there are a lot of different styles of fences, and you took the tree down for the reasons you’ve outlined, it’s your property. Thank you for your time in coming in. Henzi: Mr. Caramagno. Caramagno: I think this is a nice fence plan. It’s a 4-foot fence rather than a 6-foot or 5-foot, it doesn’t stockade it. I, too, have a concern about the fence moving forward on the house, but when I’ve heard these cases in the past regarding that, they were people that have a small yard, they were looking for all the yard they could get. You’ve got a big yard. I haven’t heard why you’ve got to have that so I would like to see the fence to the back of the house. It sounds like a quality job, it’s going to make that corner look nice, so I will be in support. Petitioner: (Gene) Thank you. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: Yes, I think I can support this. I probably would have supported a 5-foot fence if they would have wanted it. It’s a large piece of property, they’ve got kids, dogs, and Curtis can get somewhat busy. I’m sorry if the neighborhood doesn’t want a clay colored fence going back to the property but I think you have the right to do it and I can City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 21 of 53 September 24, 2013 support it, but I’m not sure about coming all the way to the front of the house but I’ll support this. Henzi: Mr. Duggan. Duggan: I, too, will support it. I like the style of fence you chose and you went for the standard 4-feet instead of 5-feet so I appreciated that. You’re right off of Curtis Avenue, there’s a lot of traffic, so I will support it, I think it’s going to look great and welcome to Livonia. Petitioner: (Christine) Thank you. Petitioner: (Gene) Thank you. Henzi: Mrs. McCue. McCue: I, too, will be in support. I like the style, I like the height. I appreciate that anybody who is going to put that type of investment into their property, and again, welcome to Livonia. Petitioner: (Christine) Thank you. McCue: I have to say that I have to agree with the positioning of the fence, I don’t really think there’s a really good case for it having to be all the way up there. There are ordinances, and we have to have good reason to override them. So I tend to support the fence going to the back of the house but other than that I will support. Henzi: Mr. Sills. Sills: I will be in support because I think the fence will improve the appearance of your property. And I can’t understand why anybody would object to the fence. Henzi: This is a lot tougher for me than the case before because this is, you know, it’s not Joy Road. This is a pretty bucolic area, there’s not a lot of fences but the fact that you’re willing to go down to 4-feet makes it a lot easier for me and so therefore I have no problem. And I would like to see the fence in the back and let me maybe, hopefully explain more to you. The very few times that we will allow people to bring it up is City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 22 of 53 September 24, 2013 because they’ve got service vehicles or there are safety issues involved or the patio is right there and all the traffic is coming down Mayfield pointing to your patio, I don’t see any of those types of conditions and that’s why I’m not going to support that but other than that I am very pleased to approve the plan. Petitioner: (Christine) Can I ask a question? Henzi: Go ahead. Petitioner: (Christine) So on the side that faces Curtis, not all the way up to the front, what about on the opposite side of the house, can that be at the front? Petitioner: (Gene) That’s a very short span from the house to the other privacy fence that exists there. Henzi: Yes, I think you raised a good point, that that one already comes out up there. Petitioner: (Gene) Yes. Henzi: Personally I wouldn’t mind if you just brought your gate up there but on the Curtis side I think you should join at the back. Petitioner: (Christine) Okay. Henzi: Do you understand what I’m talking about? Petitioner: (Christine) Yes, sir. Henzi: Nobody brought that up, though. Petitioner: (Christine) I just want to be clear. Henzi: Yes, I appreciate it. So the floor is open for a motion. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 23 of 53 September 24, 2013 McIntye: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mrs. McIntyre. Upon Motion by McIntyre, supported by Pastor, it was: RESOLVED, APPEAL CASE NO. 2013-09-45: Christine Scherrer, on behalf of Maureen Adams, 18151 Mayfield, seeking to erect a 5-foot tall privacy fence upon a corner lot resulting in the fence being in the side yard which is not allowed and the fence not aligning with any fence on adjoining property. The property is located on the west side of Mayfield, (18151), between Curtis and Bennett, Lot No. 039-01-0083-000, RUF-C Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Fence Ordinance, Section 15.44.090A,4,bi, and 15.44.090B, “Residential District Regulations.” 1. The uniqueness requirement is met because of the nature of the property line and how it runs along the thoroughfare of Curtis. 2. Denial of the variance would have severe consequences for the Petitioner because she recently moved in and needs privacy and safety for her children and dogs. 3. The variance is fair in light of its effect on neighboring properties and in the spirit of the Zoning Ordinance because no neighbors will be disadvantaged by it and the request was adjusted to a 4-ft. fence. 4. The Board received two (2) letters of approval and four (4) letters of objection from neighboring property owners. 5. The property is classified as “Low Density Residential” in the Master Plan and the proposed variance is not inconsistent with that classification. FURTHER, This variance is granted with the following conditions: 1. That the fence be 4-feet tall and constructed as shown in the clay color. 2. That the fence on the north side of house start at the back of the house. 3. That the variance is good for six months. 4. That the five day waiting period be waived. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 24 of 53 September 24, 2013 ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: McIntyre, Pastor, Duggan, McCue, Sills, Caramagno, Henzi NAYS: None ABSENT: None. Henzi: Your variance is granted with conditions; do you want to hear them again? Petitioner: (Gene) Now, there’s a shed that goes on the back of the garage, so the fence can be no further than the back of the garage, not the shed, correct? Because there’s a shed, if you look at the pictures, there’s a shed built on to the back of the garage. Henzi: Yes. Petitioner: (Gene) So the fence on the north side can be stopped at the very back of the garage and across. Henzi: Dennis, the garage is on the Curtis side and at the rear of the garage there’s a storage area like a shed and it’s obviously built in so he’s asking if the rear of the house is where that shed ends because it’s fairly wide. Petitioner: (Gene) It’s as wide as the garage, yes, the shed is. Henzi: No, I mean, what is it, eight feet deep? Petitioner: (Gene) No. Henzi: Not quite? Petitioner: (Gene) No, no, maybe five, six foot. Henzi: Five, six? Petitioner: (Gene) Yes. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 25 of 53 September 24, 2013 Henzi: So is the rear of the property where the shed starts or where the garage starts? DeMeyer: Is the shed permanently attached? Petitioner: (Gene) It’s sitting on a slab back there. DeMeyer: Then I would say not. I would say it would be the house itself if it’s not added on to the back. Petitioner: (Gene) No, it’s not sewed in at all, no. McIntyre: I think our intention is it starts in the back of the garage and not on the back of the shed. Petitioner: (Gene) I just wanted to make sure, that’s all. McIntyre: Thank you for bringing that to our attention, we appreciate that. Petitioner: (Christine) What do we do next? Henzi: To get your permits? Petitioner: (Christine) Yes. Henzi: Just get with Bonnie. When would you like to start? Petitioner: (Gene) We’d like to start before the fall and winter break. Henzi: Do you want us to waive the five day period? Petitioner: (Gene) If you can, yes, because they have the fence in stock and it’s a good sized job. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 26 of 53 September 24, 2013 McIntyre: Why don’t we add that to the approval of the variance, that we’ll waive the five day period because you’re ready to get started. Petitioner: (Gene) Thank you. McIntyre: And again, welcome to Livonia, we hope you stay for a long, long time. Petitioner: (Gene) We plan to. Petitioner: (Christine) Thank you very much. Henzi: Is there support to add that to the motion? Pastor: Support. Henzi: All in favor say aye. Board (in unison): Aye. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 27 of 53 September 24, 2013 APPEAL CASE NO. 2013-09-46: Nancy Opatich, 20169 Merriman, seeking to construct a detached garage while maintaining an attached garage, resulting in excess number of garages and garage area. The existing shed will be removed. Henzi: Mr. DeMeyer, anything to add? DeMeyer: Not at this time, Mr. Chair. Henzi: Any questions for Mr. DeMeyer? Hearing none, will the Petitioners please come forward. Good evening. Petitioner: (Nancy) Hi. I’m Nancy Opatich at 20169 Merriman Road. Petitioner: (Bill) And I’m Bill Rathskeller, her fiancé, at 20169 Merriman Road. Henzi: Go ahead and tell us why you want to construct the garage. Petitioner: (Nancy) Well, first of all we have moved into Livonia about three years ago, we both combined households together, we’re both widows so we have decided we wanted to move in together. I have other, in my petition, I have a professional clown job I do on the side, so I have a lot of clown props that I still need to move over from my house that’s in Warren. And I have a lot of large clown props, stage props, and bicycles, tricycles, four wheel bicycles and the purpose of the two trucks you’ve probably seen out there, we need a truck when we’re towing our trailer for parades. So we want to try to clean up that area so the cars, we have two Jeeps and the two trucks, we want to clean that up so it doesn’t look so cluttered in that corner lot. Petitioner: (Bill) Plus, the garage space is going to come in handy because the rest of our clown props, we’re going to bring over to where we live now, over to our house. Petitioner: (Nancy) And I’d like to add one more thing, as we talk about the clown thing, I was just featured in the Detroit Free Press. Henzi: Sure. You want to pass it around. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 28 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: (Nancy) On the Sunday, turn the page and they were out to my home, I was featured in there as a resident living in Livonia so I thought that was kind of nice so I thought I would submit that to you, too. And we also have a clown convention coming to Livonia if you guys want to come. Henzi: Have you contracted with a builder? Petitioner: (Nancy) I haven’t made a contract yet but I have been in contact with a builder. Henzi: How did you arrive at 720 square feet? I mean, just give us an idea about the process. Petitioner: (Nancy) I was talking to John at the Building Department and we were making sure that we could present what our proposal was to get the variance. Henzi: And then what about the building materials, is it going to be vinyl siding or something else? Petitioner: (Bill) Well, it will be white vinyl siding on the sides and in the back and we will do the front in brick that’s on the house. Petitioner: (Nancy) Yes, to match the house, the house brick up front and we wanted to make it look nice. Petitioner: (Bill) Where the garage is going it will be brick, and it will be better if it looks like the house. There is vinyl trim on the gables and overhangs on the house itself. Henzi: And shingles to match, too? Petitioner: (Nancy) Oh, yes. I would want everything to match. Petitioner: (Bill) And the poor little shed that’s there, that will go. Henzi: Okay. Any questions? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 29 of 53 September 24, 2013 Pastor: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: What type of power to you plan to put in this garage? Petitioner: (Bill) Probably 110. Pastor: Just a couple circuits, you’re not putting separate power, separate panel? Petitioner: (Bill) No. I don’t think we need that. Pastor: Okay. Henzi: Any other questions? Duggan: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Duggan. Duggan: What’s the size of the shed, the square footage of the shed that you currently have? Petitioner: (Bill) Well, that’s about a 10 foot by 10 foot square building, so there’s not much square footage there. Petitioner: (Nancy) We have the snowblower --- Petitioner: (Bill) The snowblower, tractor --- Petitioner: (Nancy) The John Deere lawn tractor. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 30 of 53 September 24, 2013 Duggan: So it doesn’t do much for you as far as storage? Petitioner: (Nancy) No. Petitioner: (Bill) Well, actually our problem is going to be once we get approved, we’ve got to empty that shed and find a place to store that stuff while we get the garage built, but we’ll work that out. Duggan: Thank you. Henzi: Any other questions? Hearing none, is there anyone in the audience who wants to speak for or against the project? If so, come on up. Seeing no one coming forward, can you read the letters? Caramagno: Yes. An approval, (letter read), Tina at 31491 Norfolk. An approval, from 20121 Merriman Road, (letter read). Benjamin *** 31560 Norfolk Street, approval, (letter read). And an approval at 20135 Merriman, (letter read). Henzi: Is there anything you’d like to say in closing? Petitioner: (Nancy) Well, I just wanted to say the City has been really nice working with John and everybody and it’s been a nice experience. Petitioner: (Bill) And approaching you people has been a very good one, too. Henzi: Thank you. I’ll close the public portion of the case and begin the Board’s comments with Mr. Caramagno. Caramagno: You’ve got neighborhood support here, I think what you’re asking for is not unrealistic, it’s a quality piece of brick frontage, the garage. We’ve approved some jobs in this area in Livonia, Merriman Road specifically, between Seven and Eight on the north side, that area is improving and getting better and better, so I will be in support. Petitioner: (Nancy) Thank you. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 31 of 53 September 24, 2013 Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: Yes. I know there’s many garages in the subdivision behind you because I live in that subdivision so this is not unreasonable. You’ve got an excessively large lot, I don’t see any problems, so I can support this. Henzi: Mr. Duggan. Duggan: I, too, will support it. You know essentially it will take the place of the shed and it will give you more storage and it will be more appealing for you and your neighbors so I will be in support. Petitioner: (Bill) Thank you. Henzi: Mrs. McCue. McCue: I, too, will support. It definitely will be a nice addition to your property, you’ll remove the shed and this will provide you more storage, so I will be in support. Henzi: Mr. Sills. Sills: I will also be in support. I do have a question, do you ever intend to make that attached garage living space? Petitioner: (Bill) No. Petitioner: (Nancy) No. There’s only two of us so we don’t really need that. Petitioner: (Bill) There’s only two of us, we have grandkids, I have grandkids and they come over every now and then. Sills: I understand you need the storage space now but I’m looking at maybe ten years from now, maybe you’ll get out of the clown business and you might want to use that. Petitioner: (Bill) I just got into three years ago, she’s been doing it for twenty-five years. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 32 of 53 September 24, 2013 Sills: Okay. Henzi: Mrs. McIntyre. McIntyre: We’re delighted that you’ve consolidated to Livonia instead of Warren, we think you’ll be happy you made that decision, Warren is a fine community but we’re delighted you’re here in Livonia and that’s a nice article about you. I think you came here with justification for what you’re asking, I would always want to see, provided the lot size supports it and it’s all been done very nicely from an architectural and design perspective, I always would rather see that than a shed, so I will be in full support. Petitioner: (Nancy) Thank you. Petitioner: (Bill) Well, I did make some changes on that property this year. If you know where it’s at, it’s at the corner of Norfolk, there used to be those big huge bushes all around the front of the house, go take another look at them, they still turn red in the fall, though. They’re starting to turn red now. Petitioner: (Nancy) Now maybe our neighbors can see our Halloween decorations and Christmas decorations. McIntyre: Very nice. Petitioner: (Nancy) Thank you. Henzi: I, too, will be in support. Actually, I think that the proposed placement is very natural, you know this isn’t a huge lot, when I first saw the square footage it was a problem to me, however 24 by 24 is not extravagant, especially considering some of the requests that we get. And to be honest I’d rather see the vehicles that you have parked inside the garage so I will be in full support. Petitioner: (Bill) Thank you. Henzi: The floor is open for a motion. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 33 of 53 September 24, 2013 Upon motion by McCue, supported by Caramagno, it was: RESOLVED, APPEAL CASE NO. 2013-09-46: Nancy Opatich, 20169 Merriman, Livonia, MI 48152, seeking to construct a detached garage while maintaining an attached garage resulting in excess number of garages and garage area. The existing shed will be removed. Number of Garages Garage Area Allowed: One Allowed: 720 sq. ft Proposed: Two Proposed: 1,251 sq. ft. (576 sq. ft. proposed) Excess: One Excess: 531 sq. ft. The property is located on the west side of Merriman, (20169) between Norfolk and Fairfax, Lot No. 009-99-0014-003, RUF-A Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Zoning Ordinance 543, Section 2.10(5) “Definition of Miscellaneous Terms; Garage, Private” and 18.24 “Residential Accessory Building, ” be granted for the following reasons and findings of fact: 1. The uniqueness requirement is met because of the layout of the property and the need for additional storage due to the combining of two households. 2. Denial of the variance would have severe consequences for the Petitioner because it would reduce the available area of storage and force Petitioner to park cars outside. 3. The variance is fair in light of its effect on neighboring properties and in the spirit of the Zoning Ordinance because there are other properties within the area with similar set-ups. 4. The Board received four (4) letters of approval and no objection letters from neighboring property owners. 5. The property is classified as “Low Density Residential” in the Master Plan and the proposed variance is not inconsistent with that classification. FURTHER, This variance is granted with the following conditions: 1. That the garage be built as presented with the materials described with brick on the front portion. 2. That the shed be removed. 3. That the variance is good for six months. 4. That 110 volt standard electrical be used. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 34 of 53 September 24, 2013 ROLL CALL VOTE: Ayes: McCue, Caramagno, McIntyre, Duggan, Pastor, Sills, Henzi Nays: None. Absent: None. Henzi: The variance is granted, I’ll go over the conditions one more time. You’ve got to build the garage as presented with the materials in your presentation tonight, standard electrical service, 110 volt, you’ve got to remove the shed as presented, it’s good for six months which means you have six months in which to complete construction and brick front as stated in your oral presentation tonight. Petitioner: (Bill) No problem. Henzi: Good luck. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 35 of 53 September 24, 2013 APPEAL CASE NO. 2013-09-48: Jennifer Hengy, 18501 Wayne, seeking to erect a detached garage resulting in the garage being excess in height and in area. The existing detached garage will be converted into living space. Detached Garage Height Detached Garage Area Allowed: 15 feet Allowed: 720 sq. ft. Proposed: 20 feet Proposed: 800 sq. ft. Excess: 4 feet Excess: 80 sq. ft. Henzi: Mr. DeMeyer, anything to add to this case? DeMeyer: The Department has nothing to add at this time, Mr. Chair. Henzi: Any questions for Mr. DeMeyer? Hearing none, will the Petitioner please come forward. Good evening. Petitioner: Good evening. Henzi: What’s your name and address? Petitioner: Larry Hengy, 18501 Wayne Road. Henzi: Mr. Hengy, tell us why you want to construct the garage and convert the existing into living space? Petitioner: Well, we just moved from Northville to here in May from a 3,100 square foot house and this is a 1,600, so we downsized and my wife, she’s taking nursing, actually that’s why she can’t make it here now, she’s in class, and we have a lot of stuff. And I’m running a shop right now off of Glendale and Stark and we want to bring that, just all storage, that’s what I need, storage and we need that extra build. Henzi: Why do you need a 20 foot high structure? Petitioner: So I can get an upstairs on there, it’s a gable style garage, so I can have an upstairs, storage. So we’ll have two cars parked in there, a little bit of storage and then the rest upstairs. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 36 of 53 September 24, 2013 Henzi: Any questions? Pastor: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: What are you going to store there, you keep saying storage but you haven’t told us what you’re going to store there? Petitioner: My tools. I have all kinds of construction type tools. Nothing huge, I mean small power tools, a ladder, scaffold, everything that I can keep inside. Pastor: And the upstairs is fairly large. Petitioner: It will end up like a 12 by 30. Pastor: Those are pretty large tools, I don’t understand. I’ve got a lot of tools, too. Petitioner: Right. Pastor: You have square footage. Petitioner: Well, right now my shop is 1,100 square foot. Pastor: So you’re telling me you’re bringing your shop to your home, which I don’t believe we allow. Petitioner: I’m not, I’m not, I mean, I’m not working at the – in the garage, I won’t be working in there. I do remodeling so I just keep my tools there. I just --- no commercial truck or anything like that. It’s a small business, just my son and I run it. Pastor: What kind of power do you want to put in this garage? Petitioner: Just regular 110. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 37 of 53 September 24, 2013 Pastor: You putting a subpanel in or? Petitioner: No. Pastor: Just a 110 circuit? Petitioner: Yes, that’s it. Pastor: Are you keeping the shed? Petitioner: Yes. I need that for, we just bought a tractor. Pastor: Even with the garage you need a shed for the tractor? Petitioner: With the two cars parked in there and everything else, there won’t be a lot of room. Like I said, I have an 1,100 shop that’s full. I had a blade that you know to bend aluminum and that, you know, those are some large items that I have there, 40-foot extension ladders. Pastor: Thank you. Henzi: Any other questions? Caramagno: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Caramagno. Caramagno: How many people live in this home? Petitioner: Just three. Caramagno: Just three of you. And you want to convert your garage, what would that be? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 38 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: Just a hobby-shop like just living space. Caramagno: So the garage will turn into living space, one room or? Petitioner; Probably that, we haven’t really --- all we know is we’re going to wall off where the garage door is and we’ll probably make that decision when she gets out of school. Caramagno: How do you wall that off to make it look right? Petitioner: When we take the garage door off, just stud it in and put James hardy board on it and then paint it ash, the rest of it. Underneath each window there’s a little bit of wood panel, we’re just going to match that. Caramagno: Okay. What you’re asking for is a 20-foot tall garage, it’s probably going to look out of place. Do you have to do that high or is there another option? Petitioner: I mean, that’s the way the trusses are made. Caramagno: That’s the garage you chose and presented tonight, you know --- Petitioner: A bigger footprint of the garage itself to make it a 16-foot height, see, like I said, I have an 1,100 square foot shop I’m running and we don’t park cars there. Caramagno: What you’re presenting here tonight, in my opinion, doesn’t seem to fit. If you have a 1,500 or 1,600 foot shop, in my mind you need to start looking for that. Petitioner: The lot is deep and it’s going to be way back, I mean, we’ve got a lot of trees so it’s not something that’s going to be just standing out like that. Pastor: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 39 of 53 September 24, 2013 Pastor: Let’s go back to the attached garage. I heard you say you’re going to use it as a hobby shop? Petitioner: Well, she does, she does things with sea shells, with shells and that, so part of that would be for her to do her little thing and just make it into living space, TV room or something like that. Pastor: I can’t imagine a hobby shop being in a TV room. To me a hobby shop is you’re cutting wood, you’re gluing things, you’re making little trinkets, usually that’s what you mean by a hobby shop. Petitioner: Wood stuff I can do in the garage, I mean she doesn’t do it with the wood, she just makes things out of shells, she collects them when we go to Florida. Pastor: Thank you. McIntyre: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mrs. McIntyre. McIntyre: Have you given any thought to removing the shed and increasing the footprint of the garage? Petitioner: I would do that. McIntyre: When we’re putting additional garage space, I’d always rather see as long as it fits the lot and the lot supports it, a larger and I don’t know how my colleagues feel but a larger garage and get rid of the shed. Petitioner: Sure. McIntyre: So, I will submit that to my colleagues. Caramagno: Mr. Chair. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 40 of 53 September 24, 2013 Henzi: Mr. Caramagno. Caramagno: Sir, do you have a basement in this home? Petitioner: Yes. Caramagno: Finished, unfinished? Petitioner: It’s unfinished. Caramagno: Unfinished basement? Petitioner: Yes. Caramagno: Thank you. Henzi: Why do you want the garage so deep in the lot? If I was your next door neighbor, I’d want the garage much closer to the home because I wouldn’t want to look at a 20-foot garage. Petitioner: I have a big beautiful backyard, I just figured you’d say in the back there’s a line of trees between our neighbor behind us and I just figured setting back against that, it wouldn’t look so bad. Henzi: It would be out of the way? Petitioner: Right. Henzi: Can you explain for me a little bit more about the shop again, I’m completely unclear. So you rent an 1,100 square foot shop --- Petitioner: For storage, that’s all, just storage. Henzi: Okay. What do you store there? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 41 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: All my tools, I mean, I do all different type of construction and remodeling and that, I just don’t deal a lot with siding but I have my scaffold for siding, 24-foot long poles, I’ve probably got about ten extension ladders and just all my tools, I mean work benches and that. Henzi: So if you bring all of that stuff into this new garage, where are you going to store the shop? Petitioner: My lease is up in November, end of November, that’s what, we want to eliminate that extra expense because that’s costing us quite a bit every month and with her in school, she quit her job in August to go to the nursing school so that’s why we’re downsizing and we moved over here. Henzi: That makes it more clear, thank you. Any other questions? Hearing none, is there anyone in the audience who wants to speak for or against the project? If so, come on up. Seeing no one coming forward, can you read the letters? Caramagno: Yes. Francis Orr at 18240 Hampton Court sends an objection, (letter read). Marion Elkins at 35294 Lancashire Court, writes an objection, (letter read). Arthur Kassin at 35390 Lancashire, objection, (letter read). An objection from Donald Friske, at 18311 Wayne Road, (letter read). Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: I just have a question. Going back to this garage, do you have, it looks like a driveway of some sort, what type of material is that going to be? Going back to this garage --- Petitioner : Concrete. Pastor: It’s going to be concrete? Petitioner: Yes. Pastor: Thank you. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 42 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: And just to mention, there is a pole barn or garage just a little bit north on the east side of Wayne Road, just about four or five houses just south of Seven Mile on the East side. Henzi: All right. Is there anything else you want to say in closing? Petitioner: No. Henzi: Okay, thank you. I’ll close the public portion of the case and begin the Board’s comments with Mr. Pastor. Pastor: The way this is proposed I am not in favor of it. There’s no clear definition what you’re going to do with the house or the garage that’s attached to the house, it might be a game room, it might be a TV room, it could be who knows. I’m not in favor of garages with two floors in them, so I will be offering a tabling motion. Henzi: Mr. Duggan. Duggan: I will not support it as it was originally proposed, you know, I don’t like that you want to have two garages plus have a shed to go along with your basement. So if you’re willing to get rid of the shed, I could go along with that, especially if we get the concrete going to that garage, but as you have proposed I would vote no. Henzi: Mrs. McCue. McCue: Yes, I don’t think I could be on the supportive end either, I don’t like the height of the garage, I’m also a little bit concerned, I understand the cost reduction of not having a place to not have to store something there, but I am a little concerned with it becoming more of a commercial setting. And between my original thoughts, and a couple of the objections that we heard, I get the logic, I just don’t think that’s how we want it in our residential properties. So I don’t think I will be able to support that. Petitioner: Okay. Henzi: Mr. Sills. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 43 of 53 September 24, 2013 Sills: I think the building is excessive in size and you certainly don’t have any support from your neighbors, I wouldn’t want it in my neighborhood that way. I would entertain a tabling motion at this time for you to come back with a better plan than what you have submitted tonight. Henzi: Mrs. McIntyre. McIntyre: I would be in support of a tabling motion, I’d rather see a maybe a slightly larger footprint and elimination of the shed and I do think it would be helpful to have a little more definition of what you’re going to do with the house. I can certainly appreciate you’re new to the area and also we’re really glad you moved here and we’re certainly happy to work with you but there’s strong objections from the neighbors and based on the fact that I understand there is one similar structure in the broader vicinity but there aren’t many and what I’m hearing from the neighbors is that there is a lot of traffic and maybe traffic that is somewhat related to your business. Petitioner: I have no ---- my son is my only employee, that’s it, and he lives with us. I don’t know where they’re coming from. McIntyre: This is what we we’re hearing and we’d really like to work with you, and come back with a plan to take the height down into something that fits in better with that stretch of road, I’d be more comfortable with and certainly more willing to consider but I certainly can’t support it at this time. Henzi: Mr. Caramagno. Caramagno: I am not going to be in support of this, even the revised version, the neighbors in the general area are not interested in you running a business out of this garage, I don’t think that’s your intention there, I think it’s reasonable what you want, to eliminate those costs, I can see that, but not here, not in this neighborhood. Furthermore, it’s not a real clear explanation of why you need it, so I would support a tabling motion. Henzi: I would go along with a tabling resolution. You have to understand, there could be other people on your street, whatever, with remodeling businesses that work out of their home, but we’re not confronted with them right now. It’s my job to look out for the neighborhood and this community and determine what it is you want, I don’t know you, I’d like to hear more plans about it. You know, I have to admit that the excess is pretty small, it’s only 80 square feet with the height, that’s a deal breaker for me unless you give me a valid reason for why I need a second story. So I think that a tabling resolution would be fair and also tell you a lot of times we do that as a favor, you’ll be rescheduled City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 44 of 53 September 24, 2013 at your leisure, you don’t pay to come back, it allows you to take our comments into consideration and come back with a different plan. You don’t have to come back with a different plan but I would urge you to take what you heard today, so the floor is open for a motion. Upon motion by Pastor, supported by McCue, it was: RESOLVED, APPEAL CASE NO. 2013-09-48: Jennifer Hengy, 18501 Wayne, Livonia, MI 48152, seeking to erect a detached garage resulting in the garage being excess in height and area. The existing attached garage will be converted to living area. Detached Garage Height Detached Garage Area Allowed: 16 feet Allowed: 720 sq. ft Proposed: 20 feet Proposed: 800 sq. ft. Excess: 4 feet Excess: 80 sq. ft. The property is located on the west side of Wayne, (18501) between Banbury and Curtis, Lot No. 029-99-0007-002, R-4 Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Zoning Ordinance 543, Section 2.10(5) “Definition of Miscellaneous Terms; Garage, Private” and 18.24 “Residential Accessory Building,” be tabled so the Petitioner can take the Board’s comments into consideration. ROLL CALL VOTE: Ayes: Pastor, McCue, McIntyre, Duggan, Sills, Caramagno, Henzi Nays: None. Absent: None. Henzi: The next possible meeting would be October 22nd, you’ve got to get your materials into the ZBA office by Friday, otherwise November 12th is available. Petitioner: All right. Thank you. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 45 of 53 September 24, 2013 APPEAL CASE NO. 2013-09-49: Wendi Murray, at 20693 Josie Court, seeking to erect an inground pool with a 4-foot tall iron picket fence on a double frontage lot, resulting in deficient rear yard setback of both the pool and the fence. Henzi: Mr. DeMeyer, anything to add to this case? DeMeyer: Not at this time, Mr. Chair. Henzi: Any questions for Mr. DeMeyer? McIntyre: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mrs. McIntyre. McIntyre: What does the city require for picket fencing, how tall are the requirements, is four feet standard? DeMeyer: Standard is four feet. McIntyre: Okay, thank you. DeMeyer: You’re welcome. Henzi: Any other questions? Hearing none, will the Petitioner please come forward? Petitioner: Good evening. Henzi: Good evening. Petitioner: Wendi and Matthew Murray, 20693 Josie Court. Henzi: Go ahead and tell us why you can’t put a pool in a different spot and such that it would not create a deficiency? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 46 of 53 September 24, 2013 Petitioner: Okay. What I was told when we wanted to get the approval is that my yard, the way that it is shaped, is that I have two front yards, basically. If you could put a driveway through off of Eight Mile, it would be considered a front yard. So I’m here to petition that I have a front yard and I have a backyard. It’s kind of a pie shaped lot, if you went there you observed it, if we moved it all the way over it’s not going to be in line with the driveway. You’re at a distance from the patio, it’s more difficult to watch the children, there’s more view now from the cul-de-sac, it won’t look as beautiful as the way it’s written in the plan. It’s also now closer to my neighbor rather than closer to Eight Mile which is not intruding on their privacy, the noise from children playing in a pool. HenzI; So the reason is you don’t want to move it to the southwest because it would be right behind the driveway. Petitioner: Correct. When you pull in the driveway you would see the pool. So now I’m right next to my neighbor. My other neighbor is Eight Mile. Henzi: Why can’t you landscape away from that problem, you know, arborvitaes to shield between the driveway and the pool or something like that? Petitioner: We could definitely do that and we have some plans for that, especially in the back we want to put a nice pine tree so that actually when people are leaving the subdivision they’re not looking directly into our backyard, again to create privacy. But you can’t really put arborvitaes where you’re going to put the fence which would be at the end of the driveway. Basically where they want you to put it is when you pull in the driveway, there would be your pool, that would be the fence to walk into the backyard. Henzi: That would be if you’re fully compliant, right? Petitioner: Correct. So if you look at my backyard now it’s definitely not spaced correctly, you’d have this nice yard and you’d have a pool over here and a patio over here and this empty odd area here, so visually it wouldn’t be so attractive. Henzi: Any questions? Petitioner: I think the fencing is an issue, too, correct? Because of the way, how close I am to Eight Mile with the landscaping of the common area, I think that’s a problem as well. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 47 of 53 September 24, 2013 Henzi: Right. It’s not just that the pool is too close to Eight Mile and the fence meets the requirements. Petitioner: Okay. Henzi: Any questions? Pastor: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: You don’t have your patio on this plan, are you pushing it back away from the house? Petitioner: Yes. I have a --- the people that took care of the pool, they drew a makeshift picture, it’s not very attractive but I can give you an idea of the pool so we can pass this around. So the first brown area is the existing patio already, it’s stamped concrete. The pool concrete would then match and kind of flow into the pool area. I understand why that woman and man were nervous, I feel like I’m at the principal’s office right now and I did something wrong. Henzi: You’ve got what appears to be a wrought iron fence and it comes out towards Eight Mile, it goes to the property line, are you saying that that’s required or that’s what you want to do to make your yard as big as possible? Petitioner: If we move the fence in, it’s going to be right on top of the pool now. If you put the pool so that it complies with my patio, the fence is right on top of the pool, so that wouldn’t look very good either. Is that your question, did I answer it? Okay. Henzi: Any other questions? Caramagno: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Caramagno. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 48 of 53 September 24, 2013 Caramagno: Who asks tougher questions. us or the homeowners’ association? Petitioner: The homeowners’ association, they were fine. My neighbors were fine with the fence, I went to them and actually when they got their letter in the mail they said what’s going on. Caramagno: It’s a pretty tough group. Petitioner: It’s a new board now, not as tough. I’m curious to hear the letters, see what the letters say, that will be interesting. Caramagno: It’s always interesting. Henzi: Seeing no one in the audience, can you read the letters? Caramagno: One approval, (letter read), Pete Toladay. Petitioner: He’s the president, the new president. Henzi: Mrs. Murray, is there anything you want to say in closing? Petitioner: I think it will beautify the neighborhood, it’s a way to keep children in my home rather than somebody else’s, I’d rather keep an eye on all of them than someone else, it’s fun, let’s do it. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: Are you the one that originally built the home? Petitioner: Correct. Pastor: Okay, thank you. Petitioner: And that lot was chosen because of that. Of the three lots that were available, that was chosen because it was with the intention of putting in a pool. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 49 of 53 September 24, 2013 Henzi: You bought the biggest lot? Petitioner: Correct. Henzi: Okay. I’ll close the public portion of the case and begin the Board’s comments with Mr. Duggan. Duggan: I will be in support of your variance, you’ve got a unique property and a unique neighborhood and an association that has been historically difficult when they’ve come before us, so I will be in support once you got the unanimous approval of the homeowners’ association, I will be in support. Henzi: Mrs. McCue. McCue: I agree. I mean, you have a kind of odd shaped lot, it doesn’t make sense, it looks like you’ve explored every other option and your homeowners’ association is in full support so I will be as well. Henzi: Mr. Sills. Sills: The association is in agreement with you, I will be, too. Petitioner: Excellent, thank you. Henzi: Mrs. McIntyre. McIntyre: I think it’s a beautiful pool, I don’t know where you moved here from --- Petitioner: Far, far, away. McIntyre: Pardon me? Petitioner: Port Huron, Richmond area, east? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 50 of 53 September 24, 2013 McIntyre: We’re delighted to have you in Livonia. Petitioner: Thanks. McIntyre: And I appreciate the fact that you’re putting in a fence that’s compliant with safety code but also esthetically pleasing, I have absolutely no problem supporting this, you have an unusual lot and it’s clear why you can’t make it fit the way that it does. Petitioner: Appreciate that. McIntyre: So full support. Henzi: Mr. Caramagno. Caramagno: Whatever you presented tonight it’s clear that the pool is placed in the proper place in the yard. I mean it’s where it should be, you have the support of your homeowners’ association, so I will be in full support. Petitioner: Thank you. Henzi: Mr. Pastor. Pastor: Yes, I will be in support. You’ve done a nice job with this, I appreciate the fence, the fence will be beautiful, the pool looks nice, so I will be in support. Petitioner: Thank you. Henzi: I agree. I will be in full support, too. I think you’ve demonstrated a number of reasons of why the pool needs to go where you propose it, behind the driveway doesn’t make sense, so I think it’s a very well thought out plan, you bought this lot for that purpose and you have a hardship, there’s no doubt about it, based on the shape of the lot so I will be in support. The floor is open for a motion. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 51 of 53 September 24, 2013 Upon motion by McIntyre, supported by Sills, it was: RESOLVED, APPEAL CASE NO. 2013-09-49: Wendi Murray, 20693 Josie Court, Livonia, MI 48152, seeking to erect an inground pool and 4-foot tall iron picket fence upon a double frontage lot resulting in deficient rear yard setback of both the pool and fence. Rear Yard Setback of Pool Rear Yard Setback of Fence Required: 50 feet Required: 35 ft Proposed: 21 feet Proposed: 0 ft. Deficient: 29 feet Deficient: 35 ft. The property is located on the west side of Josie Court, (20693), between Sarah Beth and cul-de-sac, Lot No. 014-08-0003-000, R-4 Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Zoning Ordinance 543, Section 4.05, “Schedule of Minimum Front and Rear Yard Requirements in R-1 through R-5 Districts”, and Code of Ordinance, Section 15.44.090(3) “Residential District Regulations” and 15.40.100 “Location Restrictions – Homeowner’s Pool,” be granted for the following reasons and findings of fact: 1. The uniqueness requirement is met because of the unique configuration of the lot, the driveway and the adjoining property line. 2. Denial of the variance would have severe consequences for the Petitioner because there is no other spot to put the pool on the property. 3. The variance is fair in light of its effect on neighboring properties and in the spirit of the Zoning Ordinance because it has the unanimous approval of the homeowners’ association. 4. The Board received one (1) letter of approval and no objection letters from neighboring property owners. 5. The property is classified as “Low Density Residential” in the Master Plan and the proposed variance is not inconsistent with that classification. FURTHER, This variance is granted with the following conditions: 1. That the pool be built as presented with the fencing shown. 2. That the variance is good for six months. ROLL CALL VOTE: Ayes: McIntyre, Sills, McCue, Duggan, Pastor, Caramagno, Henzi Nays: None. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 52 of 53 September 24, 2013 Absent: None. Henzi: The variance with the two conditions, you’ve got to build the pool and the fence as presented and you’ve got to complete it within six months. Petitioner: Thank you for your time. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 53 of 53 September 24, 2013 ______________________________________________________________________ Motion by Pastor, supported by McCue, to approve the minutes of August 27, 2013. Motion carried unanimously. There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting adjourned at 8:44 p.m. _________________________ SAM CARAMAGNO, Secretary _________________________ MATTHEW HENZI, Chairman /bjm