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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSTUDY - 2018-09-05 CITY OF LIVONIA – CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 Meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. by President Toy. Present:, Brandon Kritzman, Scott Bahr, Cathy White, Kathleen McIntyre, Brian Meakin, Jim Jolly and Laura Toy. Absent: None. Elected and appointed officials present: Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development; Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Paul Bernier, City Attorney; Susan M. Nash, City Clerk; Brian Kahn, Director of Emergency Preparedness; Doug Moore, Superintendent of Public Service; and Mayor Dennis Wright. AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: During Audience Communication, Brian Kahn, Director of Emergency Preparedness, came to the podium to inform everyone about an educational opportunity that’s free to the public being hosted by Police Chief Curtis Caid in regard to potential legislation that’s coming up for the legalization of marijuana. It will focus on the consequences that occurred in other states that have legalized marijuana, whether it be social or economic and the consequences thereof. It will be held at St. Mary’s Cultural Center, 18100 th Merriman Road, on September 18 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. NEW BUSINESS: 1. REQUEST FOR DESIGNATION AS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION: Theresa Diefenbach, Director, Festival of Trees, re: as required by the State of Michigan to obtain a Charitable Gaming License to allow a fundraiser event for the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation. Theresa Diefenbach, Director of Festival of Trees, 18381 Westchester, Livonia, th presented this request to Council. She stated this is their 34 year raising funds for Children’s Hospital of Michigan, having raised over $18,000,000 to date which is being utilized for pediatric research and currently there is $7,000,000 of research being done in Michigan and they are the largest contributor to the research center for Children’s Hospital. White asked what happens to the trees when the festival is over and Diefenbach replied that they try to sell all of the trees which are donated to them by English Gardens, their sponsor, the goal is to sell all of the trees but some get donated to children’s groups or homes that may not be able to have a holiday. 2 White offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT President Toy asked for the date of the event and Diefenbach replied that the th Preview Gala is on November 17, 2018 and the Festival starts November 18, 2018 and runs through November 25, 2018 at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn. Meakin questioned why they would need a Charitable Gaming License for this event this year and Diefenbach replied that she thinks changing the address to her home in Livonia triggered that. 2. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE SIDEWALK REQUIREMENT: Aaron and Ashley Johnson, re: to remove the existing sidewalk in front of their home located at 18363 Foch. Aaron and Ashley Johnson, 18363 Foch, presented this request to Council. Aaron stated that they are requesting to remove the sidewalk as their road runs from Seven Mile down to a dead end which was once a school and is now the State Crime Lab. He indicated that out of the three blocks on his side of the street there are only two houses that have a sidewalk, his and one other, and they do not attach. In the whole three-block radius there are only five houses that have sidewalks and none of them attach. He stated the one in front of their home is decaying and decrepit and broken up and is a trip hazard. He produced photographs for Council to view. Vice President Jolly spoke about Livonia valuing sidewalks and by ordinance all new construction must have sidewalks but in light of the pictures he would offer the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Bahr stated he does not have an objection to it going on the Consent Agenda and indicated he did drive around the neighborhood and saw the condition of the sidewalk and stated that this is a dead end street and he doesn’t have a problem with this request. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, stated that Aaron Johnson did come to the counter in the Engineering Department to ask about the condition of his sidewalk and what should he do. Zilincik informed the Johnsons that the price of the sidewalk waiver was going up to $250 shortly and that Johnson took it upon himself to find out the proper way to handling this situation. Zilincik stated that Council will be receiving a letter from the Engineering Department stating they are in agreement with the removal of same. He indicated this is only the second time in the ten years he has been with the City that a sidewalk removal has come before Council. 3 Bahr asked Zilincik through the Chair if this was done at the homeowners expense and Zilincik responded yes and Bahr thanked the Johnsons for helping clean up the neighborhood. White stated that she is happy it is being removed as she handled many sidewalk liability cases against the City. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 3. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE SIDEWALK REQUIREMENT: Kim A. Kostich, Anchor Homes, LLC, re: for the newly constructed home located at 16752 Harrison. Kim Kostich, 13121 Nine Mile Road, South Lyon, Michigan, presented this request to Council as the representative of Anchor Homes. He indicated he doesn’t believe there are any sidewalks in the neighborhood and would provide no connectivity as it would be a sidewalk to nowhere. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, stated that the Council will receive a letter from the Engineering Department stating they are in agreement with the waiver. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 4. VACATING REQUEST: Jeffery and Tracy Nolte, re: for developer not to install new sidewalk behind properties; vacate pre-existing public sidewalk that runs along Plat 94 of Arbor Estates Subdivision, to be vacated and made part of Plat 94 for the property located at 9386 Knolson Street; and request help from the City or developer of Washington Park in removing current sidewalk and hauling cement to recycling location. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented this request to Council. He stated this matter will be referred to the Planning Commission who will hold a Public Hearing and to report back to City Council whether or not to vacate a 10- foot wide public walkway. It was a right-of-way created in 1966 with the planning of Arbor Estates Subdivision, and it lays adjacent to lot 94 in the Arbor Estates Subdivision, it being a public walkway that goes between two homes, and used to provide access to Washington Elementary School back then. Going back to the discussion with Washington Park, the new subdivision, it was determined as part of that development that this walkway would tie into a new walkway that would then traverse along the back of some homes right up to Ann Arbor Road. He stated the Noltes approached the Planning Department to discuss the need for this public walk and they went back and reviewed the minutes from the discussion, and it was in the final approval that the walkway be continued, connecting to this walkway 4 and that she was informed of the steps to take to resolve this concern is to vacate that walkway, it is right-of-way, and in doing that they would subsequently request the elimination of the continuation of the walk to Ann Arbor Road. So, this would be the first step in the process, is to refer this request to the Planning Commission for their report and recommendation back on this item. He went on to state looking at this in the future, should this move forward, they would subsequently have to amend the site plan for Washington Park to eliminate that sidewalk. The question of how the sidewalk is removed and whether or not easements are retained, those are all things that will come up in discussion as they review this item. He said this is a referral to the Planning Commission to hold a public hearing which is the normal procedure for vacating any right-of-way. Vice President Jolly asked if his recollection was correct that the developer was good at working with the surrounding residents, to add a play structure in this development and how does the walkway tie in and provide access. Tracy Nolte, 9386 Knolson Street, stated the walkway doesn’t go directly to the play structure, it goes right to Ann Arbor Road and the purpose they were trying to reroute the sidewalk was to keep the kids off the main road and this does not solve that problem. Vice President Jolly stated it was hard to determine from the documents in their packets how this walkway plays into where the play structure is and who in surrounding neighborhoods may have access via this walkway. Tracy Nolte replied by saying the play structure is at the corner of Hix and Ann Arbor Road. Taormina stated that unfortunately the walkway does not appear on their graphic, but he pointed out the storm water detention basin in the northwest corner, and what will become a public park is immediately to the east or on the right hand side of that basin. He indicated there was discussion at one point of bringing the sidewalk, routing it a little bit differently but it was determined to bring it and connect it to Ann Arbor Road and it really doesn’t serve any purpose or add advantage to any of the residents in Arbor Estates because they can take the sidewalk on Knolson up to Ann Arbor Road and then walk across to the play structure. And for the residents within Washington Park it really doesn’t offer any advantage either because they’ll have their own separate walks along Liberty Drive. When it is shown in the full context and how it relates to both subdivisions and the sidewalk connection, it is appropriate for the Planning Commission to review it and report back. Bahr asked if nothing is done with this, would the sidewalk proceed with being built from the end of this sidewalk out to Ann Arbor Road and Taormina replied in the affirmative. 5 Taormina stated that Ms. Nolte’s concern is largely with respect to the maintenance of the walkways as she has lived adjacent to the walk on Lot 94 for a number of years and she can state its current condition and she questions whether or not they will be properly maintained once the sidewalk is completed. White stated she sees this as a two-part request, the primary request being the vacating request and the secondary request is the issue of who is going to remove the current sidewalk and haul the cement to the recycling location which is an issue that will not be dealt with by the Planning Commission, so that issue will tag along and come back to Council for ultimate determination. She went on to state that she would like to see some report and recommendation from either Planning or Engineering on that part of the request so that Council will know Administration’s view on that, the issue of whether the City will participate in the removal of the sidewalk. Taormina stated with the vacating of that 10-foot right-of-way, it’s his understanding according to statute, that normally it would go to the adjoining property owners on either side of that right-of-way. In this particular case, the property to the north is not a part of the plat, so he believes all ten feet would be dedicated to the Noltes, so they would take possession of that property and that sidewalk would become theirs, and their responsibility to remove. There is more than likely the need to retain an easement through there and he believes Engineering has done some preliminary review of this and there is a utility that possibly goes through there, a storm sewer, so there would have to be an easement retained through that portion of the property if it is vacated. White then said the issue of whether or not the City would help remove the sidewalk is not really something that Council will be addressing and Taormina replied it won’t be germane to the Planning Commission discussion but Engineering and Planning will report back. White stated she would like to include that in the direction for this item. Vice President Jolly stated that he was looking on the computer to see what would be the alternative path to go to Ann Arbor Road and stated that if the purpose of this was to get to the play place that will be at the Washington Park development, he doesn’t like the alternative, that is asking for children to cross three parking lot entrances to a liquor store on their way to the play place. He indicated he doesn’t see how this is better for the community, how it will serve the community better. He indicated if you look at the neighborhood as a whole, there is a significant amount of houses, possibly a hundred, that could benefit from this. He reminded his colleagues of the conversation that took place with the neighbors that demanded the play place. He stated on the record he doesn’t like this, he doesn’t think it’s a good idea. He appreciated the Noltes’ interest in doing this as a homeowner that abuts the sidewalk but the community is not better served by this. He expressed his concerns with children crossing three entrances to a liquor store 6 to get to the play place when there is an option now on paper that will be fully implementable in the near future. Zilincik stated that if the sidewalk is vacated then it’s a matter of constructing the sidewalk as Jolly stated along the property line up to Ann Arbor Road, that will be in the report and recommendation as far as continuing with the proposed plan if it’s vacated or not. The sidewalk in the rear of Lots 42, 43, 44 and 45, up to Ann Arbor Road, that would be something in the report and recommendation to Council if it is determined to be vacated. Vice President Jolly asked for clarification of Zilincik’s comment and Zilincik replied that if it is determined by the Planning Commission that that is vacated, is the sidewalk necessary running north and south along there, that would be something that was dedicated as part of an easement back there, he assumed that would be gone. He stated that part of the plan itself is that the sidewalk be removed and be eliminated, on the revised plan that sidewalk would be there with the vacated sidewalk. Tracey Nolte, 9386 Knolson Street, Livonia, came to the podium. She stated to vacate that sidewalk, as Jolly had stated, kids from the neighborhood would go that park and that nobody from her neighborhood goes to that park because it’s small. The City put one in another piece of land that’s on the other side of the subdivision that her son actually goes to and other kids in the neighborhood go to because it is a nicer area and it keeps them away from the road. She said right now nobody is maintaining that sidewalk, it’s overgrown, and can’t be traversed. The builders behind her house removed two slabs of cement already and it is full of weeds. She indicated she mows the grass on her side, there’s only a foot of it, but the other side is not taken care of, nobody does anything with the sidewalk. President Toy asked whose sidewalk was it and Nolte responded that it used to go right up to Washington Elementary School. Vice President Jolly asked the Law Department through the Chair, when such right-of-ways exist, whether they lead to existing schools in Livonia or like this, at one time went to a school and now leads to something else, is it the responsibility of the property owners on either side to care for that property or whose responsibility is the sidewalk. He stated City sidewalks belong to the City but residential homeowners are required to care for either side of the sidewalk and make sure it’s not overgrown. Paul Bernier, City Attorney, responded that City ordinance requires the homeowners abutting it to take care of the property. So whoever is abutting the property has the requirement. Much like the sidewalks, when you talk about normal sidewalks, they are City property but the ordinance requires the homeowners to maintain them and there have been cases where that has been 7 decided that the City has the right to require the homeowners to do it, so both property owners abutting it should be taking care of that property. Jolly asked Nolte if she is taking care of her portion of the sidewalk and the neighbor on the other side is not, that should be brought to the attention of the Inspection Department. He went on to state that he would drive to the property to see what the situation is. He also asked Nolte if she was present at the meeting where the play structure was requested by the neighbors and she responded that her husband was. Jolly stated he does not want to make a rash decision or a hastily made one without considering everything that they’ve gone through and talked about up to this point. Nolte stated that kids will cut through people’s houses and not use the sidewalk because they can. Bahr asked if the yards are typically fenced in her area and she replied yes. He then asked how kids can cut through and she responded that the new subdivision will not have fences. Bahr asked the Law Department through the Chair, in a case like this when the sidewalk goes between two houses, it is “split ownership” of the sidewalk or does it really belong to one or the other. Bernier replied that that is a question that he has never researched but would state it is probably much like on the City’s borders, for instance Eight Mile, half of it belongs to Farmington, half of it belongs to Livonia. Bahr then went on to say the Planning Director commented that this should be sent to the Planning Commission and the comment that Vice President Jolly said reflected exactly what he was thinking and that he feels it makes sense to send it to the Planning Commission and he offered that resolution for the Consent Agenda. Meakin stated that White’s resolution should be added to the Consent Agenda as well. DIRECTION:1) REFER TO PLANNING COMMISSION CONSENT 2) REFER TO ADMINISTRATION FOR COST ANALYSIS CONSENT 5. REQUEST TO APPROVE ALLIANCE OF ROUGE COMMUNITIES (ARC) ANNUAL ASSESSMENT FOR 2018: Public Service Division, re: in the amount of $34,203.00 from funds budgeted for this purpose. Doug Moore, Superintendent of Public Service, presented this request to Council. He stated these are the annual dues to Alliance of Rouge Communities (ARC) and Livonia has been a member since 2004 from the inception. This year the dues reflect a $5,700 increase for several reasons and most of them are because of the new MS4 permit that has been preliminarily adopted by the State. It’s been a two- 8 year give and take process between ARC and the State to get this so they will accept. There are increased mandates that have to be taken care of as part of this and ARC is going to help do most of this for Livonia, they’ve already started to inspect the outfalls, there are approximately 600 in the City of which 150 have to be done a year and ARC has already inspected those and if they hadn’t the City staff would have to do them. There are increased public education expenses which is basically the DPS staff, and ARC, and neighboring communities getting together to put on proper lawn care and other classes for the public to attend. And there has been an increase in paperwork that ARC will do for the City and there has not been any increase in the dues since 2004. He stated Livonia is one of the biggest communities, one of the top three, along with Southfield and Farmington Hills. Meakin stated this is an ongoing membership and as much as he doesn’t like the increase with the mandates coming from the State about the extra work, there is not much choice in the matter and offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. McIntyre stated she has an understanding of everything that ARC does and asked Moore if the City would bear significantly higher costs if they were done inhouse and Moore indicated yes. President Toy inquired about the public education classes and asked when the last one was done. Moore replied that about every other year Friends of the Rouge contacts the City and they are held at the library, and he cited the frog and toad study would be another and Rouge Rescue as well. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 6. REQUEST TO ACCEPT A U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 2018 JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT (JAG) IN CONJUNCTION WITH WAYNE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Division of Police, re: to purchase law enforcement equipment, no matching funds are required. Brian Kahn, Director of Emergency Preparedness, presented this request to Council. He stated he is requesting Council’s authorization for the Division of Police to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with Wayne County’s Department of Homeland Security and to accept $9,013.00 in funding available under the U.S. Department of Justice, under the Justice Assistance Grant. The application will be done by Wayne County with Livonia as a subrecipient of this. The funds are eligible to purchase Law Enforcement equipment,that may include computers and office safety equipment, planning, evaluation and technology improvement. He 9 stated there are no matching funds for this and the expenditures will be reimbursed through the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. White offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. McIntyre asked Kahn if they know what the funds will be utilized for and he stated that they are required to put out a budget and a lot of it has to do with technology at this point in time but the budget is subject to change. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 7. REQUEST TO ADVISE THE WAYNE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICES (PERMIT SECTION) THAT THE CITY HAS APPROVED THE STORM SEWER PLANS AND WILL ACCEPT JURISDICTION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE STORM SEWER WITHIN THE PROPERTY LOCATED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF SEVEN MILE ROAD, WEST OF MIDDLEBELT ROAD, AND REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY ENGINEER TO EXECUTE A WAYNE COUNTY PERMIT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY: Engineering Division, re: for Livonia Market II, located in the Northeast ¼ of Section 11 and for owners, Livonia Market II, LLC c/o Lormax Stern Development Company, to reimburse the City for any such maintenance that may become necessary. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented this request to Council. He stated this is an effort to close out the project and refund the bond and insurances and that this is one of the formalities that is required to do that and that’s the storm water agreement that was initially approved by Wayne County, and the City wanted to wait until the project was completed to those standards and upon Council’s approval it will be sent to Wayne County for final acceptance and then release the bonds and insurances for this project. McIntyre offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 8. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2018-07-02-15 submitted by MA Designers Inc. to operate a full-service restaurant (Burgerim) within the Livonia Plaza Shopping Center, located on the south side of Five Mile Road between Merriman Road and Henry Ruff Road (30991 Five Mile), in the Northwest ¼ of Section 23. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economical Development, presented this request to Council. He stated Council is familiar with this shopping plaza, the Livonia Plaza, which contains the Kroger Grocery Store and this restaurant would be located closer to 10 the west end of the plaza, it would measure about 1,870 square feet, and it will be called Burgerim Restaurant. The seating does exceed thirty so it’s classified as a full service restaurant, there will be a total of forty-one interior seats, there are no plans currently for any outdoor seating and there are no modifications to the building proposed, they are all interior renovations with the one exception being the installation of a sign, they would be entitled to 20 square feet on the front of the building. Parking is adequate for the proposed use and the Planning Commission is recommending approval. Amad Berry, 30991 Five Mile Road, came to the podium. He stated they are requesting the extra seating to make the restaurant more family oriented. There is an elementary school across the street and there are other stores in the plaza that draw families like Kroger’s and TJ Maxx. President Toy asked what occupied the space before and Berry responded that he thinks it was a Curves or some type of exercise place. McIntyre asked the Petitioner if he is confident that there is sufficient foot traffic in that plaza to ensure the success of the restaurant and what his marketing plans were. Berry replied that the franchise itself, was the fastest growing franchise in 2017 and they not only attract foot traffic but they also have delivery service. He said there is plenty of foot traffic because of the other tenants in the plaza. President Toy asked what kind of food it will serve and the Petitioner replied that burgers and fries are the main menu but there are eleven different kind of meats, gourmet sliders that are bigger than the normal slider. President Toy asked if there were other locations of this restaurant and Berry responded that there are none currently in Michigan but seven are opening up, the closest one that’s open is in Ohio, but there are restaurants opening up in Bingham Farms, Southfield, Auburn Hills, Dearborn, and the Livonia location. Vice President Jolly stated that people will always need to eat and that filling the empty retail stores with restaurants is a good idea and offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 9. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2018-07-02-16 submitted by Players Golf & Event Center to utilize a Class C liquor license (sale of beer, wine and spirits for consumption on the premises) in connection with operation of an indoor golf facility, located on the south side of Eight Mile Road between Farmington Road and Gill Road (33463 Eight Mile Road), in the Northeast ¼ of Section 4. 11 Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented this request to Council. He stated this is a request involving a Class C Liquor License within a shopping center, formerly known as the Philmar Plaza, it’s located on Eight Mile, just west of Farmington Road. This center underwent a fairly substantial renovation a few years ago, it was part of a two building complex, you may recall the building immediately to the west was also recently renovated and repurposed as a dog day care facility. This space was previously occupied by Village Green Florist, it’s about 3,000 square feet. The Petitioner’s plans are to occupy this area, this principal use would be golf simulators, so it would be an indoor recreational activity, something that is permitted under the Zoning Ordinance. What you’re considering this evening is the Class C License that would go along with the use. The ordinance requires that a license of this type be at least 1,000 feet distant from any similar licensed establishment. GSubu’s Leather Bottle on Farmington Road is within that 1,000 foot radius, so this is something that would require a waiver of City Council from that requirement and that would require a separate resolution in which at least two-thirds of the members of the City Council concur. There are no modifications proposed to the exterior of the building. Again, the only change would be the addition of the sign on the front of the building. Parking is determined to be adequate for the site and with that, Madam President, I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have. Mark and Lori Skreija, 33463 Eight Mile Road, came to the podium. He indicated they are opening a golf simulator room, very similar to X-Golf in Novi. It’s an indoor facility where you can play golf all year round. The reason why they want the liquor license is that most of their competitors serve alcohol at their establishments and most people will come in and play a couple hours of golf, so they’d like to sell pitchers of beer. It’s not going to be a full blown bar, X-Golf has something very similar to what they’re gearing towards. It won’t be a destination for people to come up and drink. President Toy asked if the Petitioners if they had ever owned anything like this before and Mark Skreija replied no, but that his wife’s family are golf professionals, her sister is a golf professional, and he has a couple friends that are golf professionals, one is at Orchard Lake Country Club and the sister was a golf pro at Franklin Hills Country Club. She stopped working about six years ago when she had her daughter and now she’s ready to get back to teaching golf. McIntyre stated that consistent with the comment that Vice President Jolly just made about the evolving use of strip centers, she likes the fact that this is something new but a business model that seems to work, MGM was one of the first in the area and made a big splash with it. Skreija stated that MGM has a Top Golf room you can rent out for the night which is very similar to what they’re doing. 12 McIntyre went on to state that she likes the hands-on operation by the Skreijas and makes a lot of sense and seems to be in character with not creating any problems with that strip center. She stated it’s a nice idea and feels it’s an appropriate place for a Class C License and she offered an approving resolution. Vice President Jolly stated as they are out and about in the community he is often asked why there is not a Top Golf facility in Livonia and indicated he was in support of it. Meakin asked if this is the same operation that’s doing the Poker Room and Skreija responded yes, that they had an event center on one side which they had geared towards birthday parties, office parties, golf leagues which we are going to try and pitch. He stated they have been recently approached by a few charities that were at another Livonia establishment that he understood is going to be torn down, and that he was approached to have Millionaire Parties, so they are appropriate events hosted by 501(c)(3), so that space will be rented out to them. Meakin then asked the Petitioner if they were subletting the space and the Petitioner responded that they will be leasing out their event space. Meakin then asked Taormina if there are any requirements on these kind of poker rooms. Taormina replied those are licensed and sanctioned by the Michigan Gaming Control Board. The Police Department is aware of it and it’s been reviewed by Captain Ronayne, so they’re aware of the move from Doc’s Sports Retreat which has served as a main venue for these millionaire parties for some time now and an alternate location will now be Player’s Golf & Events Center, as is Wintergarden and a few other locations in the area. He indicated that Aim High Proceeds is the provider in this particular case and are all regulated by the Michigan Gaming Control Board. Skreija also indicated that they had met with Bob Anderson, because they were unfamiliar with Charitable Gaming and they were worried it may affect the golf business, so Bob Anderson who does the licensing through the Michigan Charitable Gaming Control Board, came to the facility and approved the proposed events. President Toy asked if there was an approving resolution on the table and McIntyre responded she made one. Taormina then stated that this item would need to go on the Regular Agenda because it does require a separate vote. DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR 13 10. SITE PLAN PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2018-05-08-05 submitted by Brian Tominna to construct additions and remodel the interior and exterior of the existing restaurant (One Under) located on the north side of Five Mile Road between Ellen Drive and Levan Road (35780 Five Mile Road), in the Southeast ¼ of Section 17. Councilmember Meakin and Councilmember Kritzman stepped down at 9:00 p.m. to avoid any perceived conflict of interest. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economical Development, presented this request to Council. He stated this is a request to expand and remodel the facility known as One Under. The site is about 1.6 acres, and the history of this existing full service restaurant and banquet facility originally was owned by the City of Livonia and leased to a private operator. For a long time it was known as Bobby’s Country House. In 2000, the City sold the restaurant to the new owners who changed the name to Sand Traps on Five, that lasted a few years and then the property was sold once again to the Tomminas and they changed the name to One Under. So the operation of the restaurant is subject to a cross access and parking agreement with the City in conjunction with the operation of Idyl Wyld Golf Course. What that means is the parking is shared between both uses. The site of the restaurant contains 108 parking spaces but the additional parking for the golf course brings the total number of spaces to 212. The agreement allocates a certain number of parking spaces during the prime golf season which is April through October and this limits the amount of seating to 288 and during the winter months as the golf operation slows down and cease, then all of the parking at the site is dedicated for use to the restaurant and banquet facility. There are a number of additions plan and he described the plans that he put on the screen. He indicated that the orange colored boxes represent where the major additions would occur to the building. He put up the first floor plan and the largest addition on the right hand side of the drawing measures about 1,370 square feet. It’s 24 feet by roughly 57 feet and it extends the restaurant out for that distance, 24 feet, not necessarily to add seating to the facility but to rearrange the individual components within the area. So there will be an expanded lounge area, central to this area is a new walk-in cooler, those of you familiar with this know that there is a cooler that is used to store a lot of the beer products that sits adjacent to the bara, that will now be relocated and be a central part to the dining area, kind of a showcase. This also allows the bar area to expand, not in terms of seating but to give the employees a little more room, an additional hostess station, and storage as well as a new stage area, vestibule lobby. Those are the additions that are shown on the upper part of the graphic. 14 He put the second floor plan on the screen and stated the green area represents a porch that would sit above the main addition, the area on top of that is the second story to what will be a vestibule providing secondary access to the banquet facility, that’s one of the things that’s missing as part of the restaurant today, especially the upper level, the banquet hall, has very limited access. So this will provide another means of primarily emergency egress for the banquet facility, something that is really needed and then some additional storage on the bottom part of the drawing. He put the main addition on the east side of the building on the screen and stated that the materials used in the construction are a composite of wood siding primarily, there are also other materials including brick, block and stone. On the right hand side facing the golf course, that will be the main entrance to the restaurant now so one of the significant changes is that no longer is the entrance coming from the east side of the building in the middle of the building but it will be on the north side through this new vestibule and lobby. The patio has also been restructured on this plan, it’s been reconfigured since most of that addition is extending east into what is currently patio area, that patio has been reconfigured, it’s narrow, it still contains roughly thirty seats which was what was approved previously. He pointed out the extension of the balcony across the front of that second level lobby so that’s another change shown to the plans as well as this projection of the roof above the addition providing covering for people who want to use a patio area in connection with the banquet facility. So this would not serve as seating for the restaurant, it would really just provide an outdoor sitting opportunity for people using the banquet facility. He indicated that what will be seen from Five Mile Road includes not only the main addition, the changing roof line, but also some improvements to what are currently the utility areas as part of the restaurant. There is an extended wall along the south side that would screen a lot of the mechanical equipment that will be needed to support the expansion. There’s a storage unit that’s provided here adjacent to the entrance going into the banquet hall on the upper level, that is something that is sorely needed for anyone that is familiar with One Under, the storage is very tight throughout the building so this provides a needed storage. One thing that may need to be looked at is the material used for the screening along this side of the building, they’re showing a grey polished block, there is that stone material that runs along the base of the addition, it might be something to consider running a base with maybe a couple courses of that dry stack stone along that screened wall and possibly the addition on the upper part, depending on the amount of landscaping that’s going in there to screen it. He put an oblique perspective of the building on the screen to give a better sense of what it’s going to look like, at least the area on the balcony and the porch area on the second level of the building. New roofing would also be a part of the 15 proposal, there’s an asphalt shingled roof, it shows a new metal roof that would be a part of the improvements and then with the redesigned outdoor patio some other features including some fireplaces will be a part of the sitting area. Samples of materials were provided, burnished block which is the dark grey dry stack stone, the synthetic wood panel, are really the primary materials being used in the construction. The Planning Commission has reviewed and is recommending approval. This plan is a slight deviation from the plan that was reviewed by the Planning Commission, it actually includes some of the suggestions that were made at the Planning Commission hearings, principally the addition to that porch area on the second level of the banquet facility. Bahr asked if the signage would need to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals and Taormina responded that according to the plans that were presented as New Data for the meeting tonight, it will have to go the Zoning Board of Appeals. Bahr commented on the rendering in a favorable way but expressed concern about the wall on the south elevation and asked the Petitioner’s rationale was for it. Tommina responded that originally they were going to put rooftop units on the patio and due to them scaling back they decided to put them by that wall and screening it with the decorative stone or brick. He stated they have a dumpster right there and that screening alone should make that area significantly nicer, so that is part of the reasoning. Bahr asked if that is the same material that is being used on the larger wall and Tommina responded in the affirmative. Brian Tommina, 1781 Applebrook, Commerce Township, came to the podium. Vice President Jolly stated the one thing that stands out to him is the outdoor patio area on the lower level, that oftentimes people who would be frequenting One Under particularly after playing golf and have an interest in being outside, may not want to be so blocked in by the fencing. Tommina responded by saying the fencing is a slotted wall where you can see in and out of. There’s going to be landscaping inside and outside of that fencing and that they want to enclose the lower level patio so they can open garage door bays up so they could be used year round. The design gives it a little bit of privacy but with the slats being about 6 to 8 inches apart to allow visibility, but it does overlook the parking lot. Vice President Jolly expressed some concern on the height of the fence and Tommina replied that on the Five Mile side they’d like to keep that at full height but 16 the other sides could be lowered or raised to give it contrast and will address that issue. McIntyre asked for samples of the grey blocking that would both be used for screening and on the wall. She then commented that she liked the fencing that is proposed. Vice President Jolly asked if the New Data received from the City about outstanding balances owed by the Petitioner had been taken care of and Tommina responded yes. President Toy commented on the screening of the mechanical units in a favorable way and commended Tommina on his investment in the community. McIntyre also asked the Petitioner to address the acoustics of the building. Bahr stated he no longer has concern over the wall issue he brought up earlier and offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR Councilmember Meakin and Councilmember Bahr returned at 9:22 p.m. 11. SITE PLAN PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2018-06-08-07 submitted by Brashear Tower Limited Development Housing Association, L.L.C. to remodel the exterior of the nine-story independent senior housing facility, known as William W. Brashear Tower, located on the west side of N. Laurel Park Drive between Six Mile Road and University Drive (17841 N. Laurel Park Drive), in the Southeast ¼ of Section 7. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented this request to Council. He stated this is a nine-story independent senior housing facility located on Laurel Park Drive North, this building was constructed around 1980 and has roughly 195 apartment units and a total of roughly 170,000 square feet. In 2014, the Planning Commission and Council reviewed a request by the then time owners to renovate the exterior of Brashear Tower. The architect at that time which are the same ones that are working on the project today, described how there were issues with the exterior of the building, some cement asbestos type of panel that the building is constructed of currently and they were experiencing considerable issues with that system and to resolve it they developed a new siding material or the plan at that time was to reskin the building, if you will, with an aluminum or an aluminum composite material, keeping the old material on there but drilling in and making quite an effort in order to frame the building, in order to make the changes, to reseal and properly weather seal the building. 17 There are new owners today and the project was never undertaken and they’ve gone back to the architects to try to rethink this project in terms of a better system, what they believe would be a more cost effect as well as an improvement over the system. This would again completely renovate the exterior of Brashear Towers, not using the aluminum composite material but using a combination of E.I.F.S. materials and the Planning Commission spent quite a bit of time discussing with not only the contractor but also a representative from Dryvit, the manufacturer of the material with the owners as well as the architect on this new type of system. Because it does include a new direct E.I.F.S. material on the lower level which is very similar to a brick, but it is E.I.F.S. nonetheless and does come with a substantial warranty. The benefits it provides are esthetics probably more than anything more than anything because what you’re looking at today is substantially different from the design we looked at some four years ago, which was more of a plain look, whereas this allows many other features to be added that would not have been added under the previous design. The cornice treatments, for example, are different, it’s a brick pattern that engulfs the majority of the exterior. There are a variety of colors that are offered as part of this design. After quite a bit of review and debate on this, the Planning Commission is recommending approval. The same gentlemen that were part of the Planning Commission review are present to answer any questions of Council and there were meetings that included Mr. Kritzman on the particular product and design and I’m sure he’ll be able to offer his thoughts on this as well. President Toy asked if the brick came in any other colors than the red color and Taormina replied it comes in multiple different colors and stated the pallet of colors was approved by the Planning Commission. Keith Acton, 6060 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee, President of Silver Tree Residential, owner’s agent on behalf of the property came to the podium. He thanked everyone involved with the project and handed out samples of the color of brick. He stated in May they purchased this property from the original owner and that they are owners and managers of apartment buildings throughout the United States. He stated they own 45 buildings that are similar construction. This building as the other buildings, are focused on the elderly that have Section 8 contracts on them to provide rental subsidies to their residents. This building here is comprised of 195 units plus one manager unit with residents that meet the age requirement of 62 and older plus their income is either at low or very low income status. They are paying roughly about 30 percent of the gross adjusted income. They are some of the most wonderful people, I’ve walked every apartment in this building, great interior, the exterior, though, needs some TLC and that is why they are before Council tonight. This is a building here that has over time has aged and as the building ages, as weather hits it, there are leaks that 18 come up and with this solution that they are offering, it’s going to provide a new envelope that’s going to be a single source that will from top to bottom be covered with the same products all installed by the same contractor. At the same time we do this, we’re also going to be installing new windows into the building so the weather efficiency is going to be better as well. He welcomed questions from Council and introduced Marty Smith from Siegal/Tuomaala who is the architect for the project and John Powers who is the national technical advisor for Dryvit, and Jeff Sailors with Sailors, Inc. located out of Ottawa Lake, Michigan and he is going to be the contractor here. Vice President Jolly stated that the design presented tonight looks like the Hampton Inn that was just built in Livonia, the color pallet, everything. Kritzman stated this is a project that has been looked at for years, Brashear Towers, and he is ecstatic to move off the previously proposed solution and yes, he feels it does bear a striking resemblance to the Hampton Inn but is part of the vernacular of architectural design where it is right now and he feels this is an appropriate solution. He stated he appreciates the contrast in the design and the materials and he wishes they had a little more of that on the new Holiday Inn. He stated he thinks this will be a very handsome looking building and it will stand out in a very positive sort of way. He mentioned the fact that this is an E.I.F.S. based product which they really don’t go out their way to approve, but this is a very unique case where there is asbestos, concrete, panel construction as the exterior of the building, between that and the affordable housing that’s contained within it and the desire to maintain its operation during the renovation, this is offering a very unique solution with a far more advanced version of any E.I.F.S. product he’s ever seen. He indicated the like the design and an appropriate opportunity to use this product. President Toy asked if the product will fade. John Powers, National Technical Director with Dryvit, came to the podium and stated the colors they are using are inorganic pigments which are going to be standard colors so they will not be prone to fade and there’s a component to the warranty for that as well. Meakin asked Powers to address the issue of leaks in the Dryvit product. Powers responded that the systems that are used and mandated by Code today are moisture drainage assemblies that they incorporate air, water, vapor, thermal barrier in their design. The warranty itself is renewable so the original warranty will be for twelve years, at the end of that warranty term, it’s renewable by the owner having a third party forensic firm review the building, perform any maintenance and the warranty is reissued. The second part of that warranty is performance based, not only on performance of the system but also on drainage, there is a drainage component to the warranty should there be problems then the framing and/or sheeting would be replaced as 19 a part of that warranty as well. So you’re going to find a very advanced technology system in comparison to what you’re referring to in the past which would have been a barrier assembly. President Toy asked how long the warranty is and was told twelve years. She then asked what happens when the warranty expires and Powers responded that typically if there is going to be a problem with the building it will show up within the first five years but recognize the technology offered for this particular project has been tested on fifty-year weather exposure so it’s not something intended to last five years. Ultimately the current maximum test for weatherization is a fifty-year weatherization test. President Toy inquired if there will be more landscaping added and Acton responded they are working on a landscaping plan currently. He indicated they will also be adding an arched walkway on the front elevation and an arched cover way for the residents to walk to their vehicles and there will be seating for the residents. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda and stated it’s a nice addition to the City and long overdue. The building was weathered so it will make a nice addition to the corridor. DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR 12. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO LIVONIA CODE OF ORDINANCES, AS AMENDED: Department of Law, re: to Title 15, Chapter 44 (Fences) of Section 090 to include a paragraph that was inadvertently deleted when the recodification of the Code of Ordinances occurred on April 23, 2018. Paul Bernier, City Attorney, presented this request to Council. He indicated when Council approved the changes to the ordinances, this one was inadvertently left out and they want to correct it before there is a problem. White offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None. As there were no further questions or comments, President Toy adjourned the Study Session at 9:39 p.m. on Wednesday, September 5, 2018. DATED: September 11, 2018 SUSAN M. NASH CITY CLERK