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Home My WebLink AboutPLANNING MINUTES 2019-08-27MINUTES OF THE 1,148th PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA On Tuesday, August 27, 2019, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia held its 1,148th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting in the Livonia City Hall, 33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan, Mr. Ian Wilshaw, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members present: David Bongero Glen Long Betsy McCue Carol Smiley Peter Ventura Ian Wilshaw Members absent: Sam Caramagno Mr. Mark Taormina, Planning Director, and Stephanie Reece, Program Supervisor, were also present. Chairman Wilshaw informed the audience that if a petition on tonight's agenda involves a rezoning request, this Commission makes a recommendation to the City Council who, in turn, will hold its own public hearing and make the final determination as to whether a petition is approved or denied. The Planning Commission holds the only public hearing on a request for preliminary plat and/or vacating petition. The Commission's recommendation is forwarded to the City Council for the final determination as to whether a plat is accepted or rejected. If a petition requesting a waiver of use or site plan approval is denied tonight, the petitioner has ten days in which to appeal the decision, in writing, to the City Council. Resolutions adopted by the City Planning Commission become effective seven (7) days after the date of adoption. The Planning Commission and the professional staff have reviewed each of these petitions upon their filing. The staff has furnished the Commission with both approving and denying resolutions, which the Commission may, or may not, use depending on the outcome of the proceedings tonight. ITEM #1 PETITION 2019-07-01-06 TISEO ARCHITECTS, INC. Ms. Smiley, Acting Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2019-07-01-06 submitted by Tiseo Architects, Inc. pursuant to Section 23.01 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, requesting to rezone a portion of the shopping center property at 19043-19053 Middlebelt Road, located on the west side of Middlebelt Road between Clarita Avenue and Seven Mile Road in the Northeast % of Section 11, from P, Parking to C-1, Local Business. August 28, 2019 29331 Mr. Taormina: This is a petition involving rezoning of a portion of the Mid-7 Plaza shopping center from P (Parking) to C-1 (Local Business). Mid-7 shopping center is located at the southwest corner of Middlebelt and Seven Mile Roads. The parcel is roughly 5.36 acres. The shopping center itself is roughly 55,700 square feet. Most of the available parking is located between the store fronts and Middlebelt Road. The main tenants include Pet Supplies Plus which is located at the north end of the plaza. Planet Fitness is located closer to the center. The site consists of three zoning classifications, C-1, C-2, and P. The north half of the plaza is zoned C-2 (General Business), while the south half is zoned C-1 (Local Business). The main parking lot is zoned P (Parking). The request here is to rezone the southerly 65 feet of the parking district to C-1 in anticipation of constructing a free-standing drive - up ATM kiosk for Citizens Bank. The proposed C-1 zoning would extend the existing C-1 zone along the south side of the property and under Section 10.03(I) of the Zoning Ordinance, drive -up windows are treated as a waiver use within the C-1 zoning district. In the existing P (Parking) district no building or structures are allowed. if the zoning is approved, it is the petitioner's intent to file an application for a waiver -use for the drive -up banking kiosk. This kiosk would occupy an area that is roughly 20 feet by 90 feet in length along the south side of the property. It would require the removal of nine parking spaces. Per the city's parking regulations, Mid-7 Plaza is required to have a total of 302 parking spaces, and even though nine of the spaces would be lost, there would still remain 307 spaces resulting in a slight surplus of five parking spaces. Drive -up services are required to have stacking equal to a minimum of four car spaces in addition to the space at the drive -up window or facility. In this case, the plan shows two spaces plus the space at the ATM. Drive -up windows are required to be at least 12 feet in width for services lanes that provide access to those windows. In this case, that requirement is being met. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please. Mr. Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated August 2, 2019, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced waiver use petition. We have no objections to the proposed project at this time. The existing parcel is assigned the range of addresses of #19043 thru #19053 Middlebelt Road and #29475 thru #29493 Seven Mile Road, with the address of #19043 Middlebelt Road being assigned to the overall parcel. The legal description provided with the petition appears to be correct and August 28, 2019 29332 should be used with the subject petition. The existing building is currently serviced by public sanitary, storm and water main. The information submitted does not indicate any new connections to the existing utility services, so it appears that there will not be any additional impacts to the existing systems at this time. Should the ownerneed to make alterations to the existing services, drawings should be submitted to this Department to determine if permits will be required. Should the owner do any work within the Middlebelt Road or Seven Mile Road right -of ways, they will need to contact the Wayne County Department of Public Services for any permits that may be required." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is from the Finance Department, dated August 15, 2019, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the addresses connected with the above noted petition. As there are no outstanding amounts receivable, general or water and sewer, 1 have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Connie Kumpula, Chief Accountant. The next letter is from the Treasurer's Department, dated August 9 , 2019, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the Treasurer's Office has reviewed the name and addresses connected with the above noted petition. At this time there are taxes due, but they are not delinquent, therefore 1 have no objections to the proposal."The letter is signed by Lynda Scheel, Treasurer. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Mr. Wilshaw: Is the petitioner here this evening? We will need your name and address for the record please. Ben Tiseo, 19815 Farmington Road, Livonia, MI, I am here to address a couple of items that were brought up at the study session. The issue with the stacking, I do understand that four are required and we have three. We did that based on the data that Citizens put together. They examined the transactions of each of their drive -up ATM's and they rarely even have three stacking. Four would be excessive. The three stacking happens at very minor parts of the year. That is why we chose to reduce the stacking the three instead of the four as stated in the ordinance. The two things that I wanted to address tonight was 1. The need for the drive -up ATM and 2. The security. With me tonight is Drew Chretien. He is the real estate transaction manager with Citizens and he can address those concerns a lot better than I can. Drew Chretien, Citizens Bank, 1 Citizens Bank Way, Johnston, Rhode Island, In regard to the need for the ATM, the branch on Middlebelt Road is closing effective October 16t" and we have one ATM on the August 28, 2019 29333 premises. It is a walk-up ATM outside and in the last 12 months that ATM did 48,000 transactions, which is relatively high considering it is an exterior walk-up, and in a place that people probably don't want to get out of their car's half of the year. Close to half of the transactions were deposits and the other half were withdrawals, so it is a full -service machine. That really helps with the teller transaction volume. At that machine alone, there was about $5.5 million of deposits in the last 12 months and $4.9 million of withdrawals. At the receiving branch that we will be consolidating the Middlebelt branch to is on Five Mile Road. It is our east Livonia branch. That has one drive -up ATM and in the last 12 months did about 80,000 transactions, which is very high. It did about $7.2 million worth of deposits and $6.8 million of withdrawals in the last 12 months. We feel that combining those two transaction volumes would be far too high for one machine to handle alone. Plus, with the closing of the branch we would likely migrate a lot of deposits and withdrawals that came from the drive -up teller window at the Middlebelt branch into customers migrating over to using the full -service ATM drive -up for that purpose. As far as security concerns, year-to-date throughout the bank we have a portfolio of 1,200 branches and 3,000 ATM's. We have had two incidences of attempted theft year-to-date; both were unsuccessful skimming attempts. We don't see a concern from a security perspective. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, we appreciate that background. Do we have any questions for our petitioner? Mr. Bongero: So, you are going to lease this whole section of parking lot? Mr. Chretien: Correct. Mr. Bongero: Is it established like this is your piece? Is this exactly where it is going to go? Mr. Chretien: Yes, that is correct. Mr. Bongero: You would just lease it from a landlord? Mr. Chretien: Yes. Mr. Bongero: Just looking at it, 1 know there's nobody leasing some of those buildings. I was there tonight and there is nobody next to the Wendy's really. That parking lot was pretty much empty. In the event, let's just say, the desire would be to get that strip mail full. It seems weird. It's right at the end, right up by that building. You know what I am saying, by the sidewalk? Is that going to give August 28, 2019 29334 people when they are filing in ... just whatever store is, say it's packed at Christmas time, do you see any potential for a log jam? I am just wondering if it should be slid down further to the east? Do you know what I am saying? Mr. Chretien: I do. Your saying it's too tight to the corner of the wig shop there. Mr. Bongero: Seems like it. When I was out there, I made the turn. I was trying visualize where it is and I said it might be kind of awkward, everybody backed up right there. I don't care. If it works, it works. I was just thinking, can you slide it down? Mr. Tiseo: We did look at that. After analyzing that, looking at the flow, we felt that it would be best... instead of going down the lane and turning into the drive -up, it is a lot easier and more efficient to turn from that aisle, go perpendicular and then turn into the drive -up. There should never be any back up in that area anyway. It is a lot easier to make a full left hand turn into there then make a right- hand turn and then make another right and then make a left into it. Mr. Bongero: So, this little thing is strictly for cars to drive up? They aren't gong to park and walk-up? Mr. Tiseo: No. Strictly a drive-thru ATM. This design was actually based on two that we just recently completed in Berkley and one is in Taylor. Mr. Wilshaw:: Do we have any other questions for the petitioner? Mr. Ventura: Mr. Chretien, I listened carefully to your comments regarding the existing ATM that you have at banks. Most of the banks that I am familiar with allow you to make deposits with your cell phone. Do you not have that service? Mr. Chretien: We do have that service. Not all customers utilize it. Mr. Ventura: The fact that 50% or roughly 50% of the transactions that you talked about happening at the ATMs that are attached to banks, could it be replaced with a cell phone? The only part of that transaction is to get cash that can't be done with a cell phone. Mr. Chretien: In theory. Not all deposits are pure deposits. The machines do check cashing. Mr. Ventura: I can deposit a check on my phone and then I have to go someplace to get cash. So, it is to get cash? August 28, 2019 29335 Mr. Chretien: Correct. Mr. Ventura: So, I can go to a Walgreens or I can go to a Kroger, or I can go to any number of places and buy something and get more cash. Get cash back. I can buy something for ten dollars and the teller would give me 60 dollars back and take it off my ATM card. Do you guys not have that service? Mr. Chretien: We have that service. Mr. Ventura: You have that service. So, I think I can conclude that this is to get cash that doesn't want to go into a store. Mr. Chretien: We have had that service for years and in the last 12 months as a matter of fact. Mr. Ventura: I understand why a bank would want to have basically a ten by ten lighted billboard on every parking lot in town. I get that part. That's good banking business and good advertising. I am trying to understand what this really brings to the population of Livonia that they don't already have. I understand that maybe somebody wants to rob one of these things isn't going to approach a bank because there are a lot of people around a bank and the Police know where the banks are. Our police department will make passes through banks just to make sure they know what is going on around there, but we do not have enough police in our department to go by every parking lot in town if we start letting these things be all over the place. An isolated machine sitting in a parking lot seems to me to be a lot easier pickings than an ATM attached to a bank where there are a lot of people and a lot of traffic. I am still trying to find a reason that this installation fulfills that can't be taken care either by your cell phone or at a branch bank or in a store, a retail store, a Walgreens or a Kroger or any one of the other many drugstores that are around town. Yeah, there are a few cash transactions that... a few kinds of transactions that people do that you have to have cash. 1 am not sure 1 want to encourage those transactions on every parking lot on every street corner of our city. My bottom line here is, other than the fact that this is a great way to get advertisement around town for you and all the other banks that would want to do this. I still can't find a reason to do this. The numbers that you recite are easily done somewhere else and they are still business for you, they are your customer getting cash at Walgreens. They are still your customer making a deposit from their cell phone. Unless you can amplify your comments, I am not getting it. August 28, 2019 29336 Mr. Chretien: For years those. services have been available. Citizen customers can deposit checks via their cell phone. They can go get cash back at the store, but even with those services intact, they have been using these ATM's to the point where it doesn't seem logical to only have one within the 2 Y2 mile radius that we would have when we close the branch at Middlebelt. Mr. Ventura: But building a kiosk in the middle of a parking lot is not the only place you can put one. I see ATM's all over the place in other establishments that are owned by banks and other places, so building the kiosk in the parking lot isn't your only option, isn't that true? At least it isn't for other banks. I don't want to be argumentative with you, I am just simply looking for something that this satisfies that nothing else does. It justifies what I see as a 10 by 10 lighted billboard in a parking lot for a bank. That is my last comment. Mr. Chretien: There are two reasons behind this location. The first is that it is close proximity to the branch that is closing. The receiving branch is about two miles away and we don't want to alienate the people who don't live in the immediate vicinity of the east Livonia branch. We want them to be able to do their transactions in a similar area in which they are used to driving to and the second is they now don't have to get out of their car to access the ATM, whereas in the middle of winter if you need to go get cash you are going to get out of your car, walk into a Walgreens, whereas you could just go right up to the ATM and get your stuff done. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for our petitioner? Mr. Long: How many of these kiosks of your ATM's do you have nationwide or in the state of Michigan, how many of your ATM's are these kiosks? Mr. Chretien: We have roughly 300 remote ATM's. ATM's not located at a branch location. Mr. Long: Out of those 300, do you have any idea ... some of them are in the lobby of a supermarket and some of them are in these kiosks, or ... 50/50.. . Mr. Chretien: That doesn't include supermarkets or what we call branded ATM's, which would be any sort of free-standing ATM that we have in a lobby of a building. August 28, 2019 29337 Mr. Long: And of these kiosk ATM's that you have ... you said earlier year- to-date you have only had two security incidents all year long for Citizens bank at any ATM's, did I hear that correctly? Mr. Chretien: Correct. Mr. Long: Both of those were... Mr. Chretien: Failed skimming attempts. Mr. Long: Would you please explain what that is. Mr. Chretien: Skimming is a strategy taken by people who will either add a reading device on the outside of the card reader and remotely try to steal the debit card or bank account information of the people using it. Mr. Long: Were those at remote ATM's or ATM's at a bank? How were those captured? Do you have video surveillance, I am sure? Can you talk about how those were thwarted? Mr. Chretien: We have video surveillance. We have cameras and sensors all over the ATM's. We have round the clock monitoring at a command center in our corporate office in Johnston. Mr. Long: If this gets approved, this would have the same video and same technology watching over it? You said two security incidents year-to-date. Is that calendar year? From January to the end of August? Mr: Chretien: Yes. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Long. Ms. McCue and then Ms. Smiley. Ms. McCue: To piggyback on that as far as security. I think we had talked about this last week, but what is the layout around the ATM? Just go into a little more detail about the bushes you do not have, the thought process that has gone into security. Mr. Chretien: Bushes? You said bushes? Ms. McCue: Bushes. You know any place that people can hide. Landscaping. I know you have thought that through and I know that it is a clear thought process but I just want to talk a little bit more. August 28, 2019 29338 Mr. Tiseo: Historically what we have done with most of the branches . and drive -up ATM's it is all concrete. There is no place to hide. We made the mistake 30 years ago at one of the first ATM's in Michigan. We put in some landscaping, like I said before, couple weeks later somebody jumped out of the bushes and held up the customer, so that stopped. There is no landscape, only hard surface concrete. Thank you. Ms. Smiley: Did you say you are going to lease this property? Mr. Chretien: Yes, that is correct. Ms. Smiley: How long is the lease? Mr. Chretien: Seven years. Ms. Smiley: Can you think of anything else you can do with that kiosk when you are done? After seven years and you decide you don't want it. Mr. Chretien: If we were to vacate? Ms. Smiley: Yes, Mr. Chretien: The kiosk is branded Citizen so the whole thing would have to come down per the lease. The lane would stay intact. All the infrastructure would stay intact for another user for whatever type the landlord decides to get. Ms. Smiley: Or we go back to parking lot? Mr. Chretien: Sure. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for our petitioner? Just one from me. You said that the branch on Middlebelt near there is planning to close in October. Is that a predetermined decision by corporate or is that related to the installation of this ATM to replace it? Mr. Chretien: No. So, the decision to close the branch and consolidate with the east Livonia branch was made prior to deciding to operate the ATM. They then decided that the ATM should stay intact in order to service customers who still do teller transactions that live in the immediate area of the Middlebelt branch. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any reasoning given for why that branch is closing if you have such good business in that area? August 28, 2019 29339 Mr. Chretien: So, the high volume of transactions at the ATM doesn't make the branch profitable. In order to improve the experience of our customers and our employees, the strategy in certain areas where we have two branches in such close proximity would be to consolidate into one in order to lower our operating costs, but still be able to service our customers. Mr. VVilshaw: Thank you. Any other questions? Seeing one person coming forward, we will let them speak. Debbie Sotzen, 18672 Sunset, Livonia, MI, 1 wasn't planning on speaking about this but I had a comment to your question about getting cash. Kroger has announced that they will no longer give cash. You used to write a check and you could get cash over the purchase. They will no longer do that. I also had an experience in this particular shopping center. There is a Boston Chicken that is right in front. I went to pay my purchase with two twenty dollar bills and their system couldn't accept my two twenty dollar bills because they were old. They weren't that old, but they said their system does not accept bills that are wrinkled, so on and so forth. I would assume that this will be happening more and more often in the future with other places. It would have been great for me to know that the bank was near by and I could go to the ATM and get the cash. Also our Livonia Police have stated at neighborhood watches not to use your ATM cards at fast food restaurants. There are many fast food restaurants at that corner and it would be very convenient to have that bank right there to take your ATM card and get cash. That is all I have to say. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Sotzen. I appreciate your comments. Any one else wishing to speak on this item? I don't see anyone else coming forward. Mr. Tiseo, are there any last words that you would like to give? 1 always like to give the petitioner that last word. Mr. Tiseo: I appreciate the opportunity to present the project. Thank you Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir. With that, we will close the public hearing and we will remind the Commission that this is a rezoning request even though we are obviously talking about an ATM kiosk. There is a lot of discussion around that. With that, is there a motion? Denying motion made by Ventura. The motion failed due to lack of support. On a motion by McCue seconded by Bongero, and adopted, it was August 28, 2019 29340 #08-73-2019 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on August 23, 2019, on Petition 2019-07-01-06 submitted by Tiseo Architects, Inc. pursuant to Section 23.01 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, requesting to rezone a portion.of the shopping center property at 19043-19053 Middlebelt Road, located on the west side of Middlebelt Road between Clarita Avenue and Seven Mile Road in the Northeast % of Section 11, from P, Parking to C-1, Local Business, the Planning Commission does herby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2019-07-01-06 be approved for the following reasons: That a change of zoning to C-1, Local Business is compatible to and in harmony with the surrounding land uses and zoning districts in the area; 2. That the proposed change of zoning would allow for the construction of a free-standing drive -up ATM kiosk; 3. That P, Parking zoning restricts the development of the site to parking purposes only; and 4. That the proposed change of zoning is supported by the recently adopted Future Land Use Map for Livonia Vision 21 shows the subject area of the rezoning as Mixed Development Center. FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was given in accordance with the provisions of Section 23.05 of Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Long, McCue, Smiley, Bongero NAYS: Ventura, Wilshaw ABSENT: Caramagno ABSTAIN: None Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion? Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. August 28, 2019 29341 ITEM #2 PETITION 2019-07-03-03 CITY OF LIVONIA Ms. Smiley, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2019-07-03-03 submitted by the City Planning Commission, pursuant to Council Resolution #242-19 and Section 12.08 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances of the City of Livonia, as amended, to determine whether or not to vacate the south 33 feet of Surrey Avenue, located south of Graytona Avenue in the Northeast Y of Section 28, to facilitate the relocation of the entrance and exit gates to the City of Livonia Department of Public Works complex. Mr. Taormina: This is a request to vacate a small section of public road right-of- way. It would affect the south 33 feet of the Surrey Avenue located south of Schoolcraft Road just west of Farmington Road. This section of Surrey currently terminates at the City of Livonia Department of Public Works yard. The property at 13335 Farmington Road, which is located adjacent to this part of Surrey Ave. was recently acquired by the city and rezoned from M-1 (Light Manufacturing) to PL (Public Lands). This property will be the site of the DPW administrative offices, as well as the Water & Sewer operations. As part of the design and site planning for that facility, it was determined that this part of Surrey is no longer needed for public ingress and egress purposes and should be vacated. This will improve safety, as well as security for the new facility and will have no adverse effect on public utilities. DPW has agreed, as was suggested at the study meeting, to post a no outlet sign at Graytona to inform motorists this part of Surrey dead ends. With that, Mr. Chairman, I will read the one item of correspondence we have on this. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please. Mr. Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated August 4, 2019, which reads as follows: "The Engineering Division of the City of Livonia would like to request the vacation of the southernmost 33` of Surrey Avenue, south of Graytona Avenue. Due to the recent City purchase of the building located at #13335 Farmington Road, the portion of Surrey Avenue to be vacated is surrounded by the existing Department of Public Works complex, and does not serve as an access point to any other property. (See attached map) The proposed vacation will facilitate the relocation of the entrance and exit gates to the existing DPW complex as proposed with the construction of the new DPW Administration Building. The proposed property to be vacated does contain existing public utilities (sanitary sewer, storm sewer and watermain), but easements will not be required since the City is already responsible forthe maintenance of those portions of pipe, August 28, 2019 29342 whether in the right- of -way or on our own parcel" The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer, Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, Don Rohraff, Director of Public Works, and the Mayor, Dennis K. Wright. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? The city Is the petitioner so there is no one to come forward. Is there any discussion from the Commission? Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this item? Seeing no one coming forward, I will close the public hearing and ask for a motion. On a motion by Long, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was #08-74-2019 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on August 27, 2019, on Petition 2019-07-03-03 submitted by the City Planning Commission, pursuant to Council Resolution #242-19 and Section 12.08 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances of the City of Livonia, as amended, to determine whether or not to vacate the south 33 feet of Surrey Avenue, located south of Graytona Avenue in the Northeast'/4 of Section 28, to facilitate the relocation of the entrance and exit gates to the City of Livonia Department of Public Works complex, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2019-07-03-03 be approved for the following reasons: 1. The subject right-of-way is no longer needed for public access, 2. Vacating this portion of Surrey will improve security and safety for the new DPW complex; 3. Maintenance of existing utilities will not be adversely affected; and 4. No objections have been received in connection with this request. FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was given in accordance with the provisions of Section 12.08.030 of Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion? Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. August 28, 2019 29343 ITEM #3 PETITION 2019-06-06-01 CITY OF LIVONIA Ms. Smiley, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2019-06-06-01 submitted by the City Planning Commission, pursuant to Council Resolution #163-19, and Section 23.01(a) of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to determine whether or not to amend Subsection 2 of Section 2.10 (definition of "Bed and Breakfast Establishment") of Article II of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance No. 543, as amended, to include residences marketed and offered for rent online by platforms such as "Airbnb", "VRBO", "HomeAway" or other similar websites. Mr. Taormina: On May 8, 2019, City Council referred this proposed language amendment to the Planning Commission with direction to hold a public hearing and thereafter submit a report and. recommendation. The main purpose of this amendment, as drafted by the City Law Department, is to clarify the position that short-term rentals, such as Airbnb and VRBO, are a form of Bed and Breakfast Establishment and as such, should be treated the same. In residential districts, Bed and Breakfast Establishments are allowed subject to waiver -use approval. There are sixteen special requirements that apply to Bed and Breakfast Establishments. These include, and are not limited to: 1. The site must be a minimum of Y2 acre and the residential structure no less than 2,000 square feet in size; 2. Off street parking must be provided in the rear or side yard and in the amount equal to one parking space per bedroom; 3. Direct access must be available to a public street having an existing or planned right-of-way of 86 feet or more; 4. Such establishments shall be run by persons who own and occupy the premises for residential purposes; 5. Guest occupancy shall be no longer than 14 consecutive days; 6. There shall be no cooking facilities for use by the occupants of the Bed and Breakfast sleeping rooms; 7. All Bed and Breakfast Establishments shall be required to obtain a business license under Chapter 5.42 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances; and 8. Bed and Breakfast operations shall submit to annual inspections by the Building and Fire Departments. Any of these special land use requirements can be waived or modified by City Council. In commercial districts, Bed and Breakfast Establishments are permitted by right, but subject to the same regulations and limitations. With that, Mr. Chairman, I would be happy to answer any questions. There is no correspondence related to this item. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? August 28, 2019 29344 Mr. Long: Mark, so you said that any of these regulations, should this pass, could be waived by City Council. So would citizens wanting to do this ... they would just have to individually bring up permits or are we looking at a different set of rules for these type of things? Mr. Taormina: Those are the rules that would apply to any applicant who proposes to establish a Bed and Breakfast Establishment or short-term rental. It would require a public hearing before the Planning Commission, followed by review and final approval by City Council. As part of that process, any of these special requirements that cannot be met may be waived by City Council by separate vote, in which at least five members of Council concur. Mr. Long: So, if I owned one of these establishments and I wanted to market it for a month rather than the 14 consecutive days, I would approach City Council. I would have a public hearing here in front of the Planning Commission and then I would get a waiver that would allow me to market it for more than 14 days or... I am trying to make sure I understand the mechanics of it. Mr. Taormina: Yes, that is essentially correct. The Planning Commission would offer its recommendation relevant to those conditions and then it would be considered by City Council. City Council would then formally vote on whether or not to waive the requirement. Mr. Long: Okay, thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for our Planning staff? Ms. Smiley: This is on the same thing. We have never had anybody come up and ask to have a B & B, have we? Mr. Taormina: I have been here 20+ years and have not been involved in a project involving a Bed and Breakfast Establishment, that is correct. Ms. Smiley: I don't ever remember doing that. Thank you. They don't have to go to zoning for anything, right? Mr. Taormina: I can't say they would not have to go for anything else. In the case of a request for a Bed and Breakfast in a residential district, most of these items, as I indicated, can be waived by City Council so it would not require a variance. On the other hand, in a commercial district where the use is permitted and subject to the same restrictions and regulations, if an applicant cannot meet one or more of these requirements they would have to go before August 28, 2019 29345 the Zoning Board of Appeals. The ordinance views it differently between a waiver use and a permitted use. Where the council has the authority to waive these requirements as part of the waiver use process, but if it is treated as a use by right, failure to comply with those requirements would trigger the need for a variance. I know it is a little bit complex but that is the distinction. Ms. Smiley: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for our Planning staff? Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Taormina, in the packet I did have one letter that we did receive from Mr. Kleinknect. Mr. Taormina: I don't know if I have that letter to read out. Mr. Wilshaw: If you don't, I would be happy to. Mr. Taormina: Let me see if I have it. I think it was an email correspondence. Unfortunately, I do not have it. Mr. Wilshaw: It is in our packet. It was an email. It was an email from Mr. Kleinknecht saying he was on assignment in the UK for Ford Motor Company back in the 80's. His wife and he traveled in the UK for a few years later and most B & B's were outstanding. It was signed by Donald Kleinknecht, Livonia, MI. That is the email that is in our packet. I just wanted to make sure we have than on record. Is there any other comments for our Planning staff? Mr. Long: On that email I believe the resident actually listed out some concerns as well. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, your right. I missed that. I had to scroll down. Mr. Long: Perhaps, I will read them out. His concerns were of The use of private residential property for commercial use. Health regulations. How many rooms and number of individuals per room. Parking. Value of homes surrounding a B&B. Local zoning laws. Neighborhood consent. Proper insurance. tax and other legal issues. So, a lot of those things are covered by the existing ordinance and what we discussed earlier. The fourteen regulations. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Long, for catching that. If there are no other questions for the Planning staff, 1 will go to the audience and see if there is anyone in audience wishing to speak. We do have August 28, 2019 29346 some people. Feel free to come forward and we will hear what you would like to say, either for or against. John Dzwonkowski, 20025 Mayfield, Livonia, MI, I was an Airbnb host for about a year and a half before the session in May. I've got to tell you I am just very thankful that you are looking at the issue and considering attaching it to something that would be permissible in the city. I am retired and it has been the most wonderful experience for me. I have had people from six continents and probably over 200 guests in that year and a half that I was there. I had 24 doctors, 46 engineers. People come to this city and I say well you know would anybody come to Livonia, it's not like a resort town or tourist place, but they come here because they go to Detroit, they like to go to Ann Arbor. I've got mostly businesspeople, doctors, engineers from India. You know Showplace has a lot of things. They want a safe environment. What they use my place for is to sleep. I would only caution you if I can from my limited experience, you might be careful on linking it to Bed and Breakfast. I am delighted that you are willing to consider licensing it. I only know of five or six Airbnb hosts in this city. All of whom have abandoned the use of that now. There is a regulation there that says it is a Bed and Breakfast. I think the general definition of that, although it isn't stipulated in your ordinance, I was looking at that, it doesn't say you have to provide breakfast. I know, as a principal, I don't and none of us do. We are kind of concerned about the liability. Airbnb in Seatte, they have 600 employees, I didn't realize that. They offer a million dollar policy for liability and another million dollar policy for any damage that may be done to the home. I just checked a few days ago, they sent a notice, and I asked them for that stat. They said of the millions of visits that we have every day in every B & B across the world, and several thousand hosts in the United States, across the world we have had .003% of incidents of bad behavior. They offer a policy to correct that. It is a whole different atmosphere. A whole different culture of Airbnb. You get people that are respectful of people and that like people, otherwise they would use a hotel. It has been a wonderful experience. To call it a Bed and Breakfast, it might subject us, if we ever get resurrected, some type of liability. Well, you're a Bed and Breakfast and you don't serve breakfast. We don't. I actually keep a list of the local restaurants. People love it because we have so many ethnic restaurants, even outside Livonia on the Haggerty corridor there are so many varieties to eat. People come and eat breakfast at a restaurant. I refer them to the coney dog place on Eight Mlle. It is two blocks from my house. Then they come in the evening after work or show or whatever they do and they go to some restaurant in the evening. I make August 28, 2019 29347 recommendations for that. It has been fairly lucrative for Livonia. I am only one of like five or six. The second thing I would like to caution, if I can, is that there is a stipulation that says as a Bed and Breakfast you should live in and occupy the house. I could see that for a Bed and Breakfast, but I know that there are two other hosts that used to be ... one of them had a daughter. They had to use her bedroom, oh but we really enjoyed the experience. We met some really great people. They said what we did was... I think their mother passed or something and so they inherited her house which was right next door and they said great let's open it up for a Airbnb. I guess the mortgage wasn't paid yet so they were paying the mortgage with Airbnb. It was great. They met those people too. If they have to live there, then they would not be able to do that of course in the future. Another host, I don't remember their names right now, Pete and something, but they bought a house. As it turns out, many Airbnb hosts have done across the country I guess, I don't, but many did. They buy another place, or they will rent out an apartment but not live there and use that as an Airbnb. Some people make substantial income. It helps me with my mortgage, that is for sure. If the requirement is that you have to live there, that would be restrictive also. I would just suggest, I wonder if there is a way to... I think we need to be licensed for sure. I think that is a great requirement and I think we need to follow the fire regulations. A wonderful idea. I think all the regulations for Bed and Breakfast I saw listed on the ordinances, yeah, if we follow those and the rest of us do to except the living in and providing a breakfast, which is not a part of your ordinances. So that is all I would say. I would caution about that okay. Thank you for considering it. It would be so nice to be able to return to that. Thanks much. Mr. Wilshaw: Let me see if there are any questions for you. Sometimes we get an expert up there like yourself on this type of service and we may have some questions. Mr. Dzwonkowski: Expert? I think you just elevated me a little bit too high. Ms. Smiley: I was wondering if you get any feedback from your neighbors? Mr. Dzwonkowski: Yes. My neighbors are well aware. In fact, I was just talking to my neighbor yesterday, they said there is a City Council meeting tomorrow. He said I hope you resurrect that; you had some great people here. That is very much true. We are working on a fence line together and we were just talking about it. I haven't had any complaints at all. In fact, I had a number of people come over. I had a family once. He was a neurosurgeon from Saudi Arabia and his wife had the hijab and they had two August 28, 2019 29348 boys. They couldn't speak much English, but the adults could, and a couple neighbors wanted to come over. They asked if they could sit down and talk to them. So, we sat down on the porch and had a discussion. We served a glass of wine. It was really very enjoyable. 1 have been lucky that way. Mr. Taormina: I am curious what your opinion is relative to the procedure to gain approval knowing that it would require an application and there would be a fee of $600 to apply for a Bed and Breakfast or short- term rental. It could take up to about three months to complete that process with no guarantees. What are your general thoughts on the process for that? Mr. Dzwonkowski: Thank you for the question. I didn't realize the fee is $600. On my fixed income, that would be prohibitive, but I would do whatever I could to find that, because I could probably get that back after about six months' time. 1 am pretty close to becoming an empty nester now and it has just been delightful for me. l have a daughter in Arizona and a son in New York and I can't always afford to go see them so to have people come in is just wonderful. I have one son left and he is ready to move on, so .... it would be prohibitive, but I would subscribe to that. Just to be able to do that. I just enjoyed it so much okay. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for Mr. Dzwonkowski? Thank you for coming up. Anyone else in the audience wishing to speak on this item? Debbie Sotzen, I came a couple weeks ago about this. I had heard that there was an issue about this. I didn't know what the stated law was. As I read what was in the newspaper the people that were involved that were for and against this, and I am just speaking as a resident that has lived in that subdivision for 31 years. I raised four children and I was the fourth family in the home that I presently live in. The three other homeowners had five to six children. I am a baby boomer at the highest peak of the mount of people of the baby boomers, which are about 63 years of age. As baby boomers we have seen many many changes over the years. When I first got married, interest rates were 21 %. We couldn't afford a home. Everybody was renting and they were hard to find. Over time we have seen good times and bad times. We have seen in the subdivision where things were great. We saw our house valued at a great fast rate, but if anyone had any common sense knew that the balloon was going to pop. We saw a change of many renters coming in. Different changes. Some good. Some not so good. As a homeowner stating to see of neighbors and renters over 31 years, when you have a neighbor that moves in and owns a home, you have nothing to say. It can August 28, 2019 29349 be a great neighbor, or it could be a nightmare. I have seen both. have seen renters come in ... great and also a nightmare, but nothing to be said unless they were breaking laws or whatever. I also have seen changes over 31 years of seeing the whole society changing. We used to see our children go to school, move just a few miles away. Things have become very global. We see our families move across the world. We see friends move across the world. We see people from other parts of the world move here. We need to change along with that. Livonia needs to be positive. They have an opportunity to be very positive. To be a template of how we should be adapting in the future. As a baby boomer I am ... my husband and I are one of the few that have a pension. Many people our age do not. They are going to worry about how they are going to live in the near future. We will not be able to afford assisted living as many of our parents and grandparents have. I know that Livonia has built and invested in a lot of assisted living. I worry about what is going to happen in the future and to see all the assisted living, thinking that there is going to be filling of places by us baby boomers when they may not be able to afford it. I worry about it being projects because people can't afford to have it. Learning to adapt to different ways of dealing with the future. If you're an empty nester, you're a widow, you may have the opportunity to have a home that you can bring people in. As Mr. D said, he has met many people. They are company. They are income. They bring in many different cultures that expands our point of view. Also, as an example, 1 have a neighbor directly across the street. A widow. She was dying. She had no income to go to a nursing home. was the only one that could assist her. I had talked to the state and the county. They begged for me to help her and keep her in the home because they didn't have the facilities to house her. They said they could help her better if she could stay in the home. Also, if I could find someone to stay with her. Now, if I could find someone like a student or some companion. Another widow would have been great, but by your rules I wouldn't be able to do that. She had passed before I had a chance to investigate that further, but I wondered what would happen if all these rules were taking place that she wouldn't be taken care of the proper way. I worry about myself and other people of my age. What could happen if all my children are gone and I need someone to assist, 1 could easily have someone come in and stay with me for a short period of time or long period of time. Also, I want to make a point that when I was a nursing student, I also did an Airbnb or B & B when I went to different hospitals. I stayed with different families. I was a student at Madonna. When I nursed at Oakwood or Beaumont or Providence, I stayed with families so I could study, and I could go to the hospitals. With them I helped them out. August 28, 2019 29350 could easily afford it, but it helped them out as income, and it helped me out. I had a place to study, but a fast way to get to the hospital. When I moved in Livonia there were three residents that went to Botsford hospital. Some had families, some were single. They lived in these starter homes temporarily. If you look at Beaumont, Providence, Oakwood, and then you look at those subdivisions, small bungalows, they are highly wanted because residents and interns and nurses want to live there because they are going to be at hospitals for a short time. Also, for myself, I have had students stay at my home after my children were grown. I didn't charge them, but I had two students from Madonna and two students from Schoolcraft College. They used my home as an easier way to go to school, to afford school, and then also expose Livonia to them. One was from Howell, one was from Farmington, one was from Novi, and Waterford. So that gave an opportunity to expose Livonia in a very positive way. Same thing with hospitals. Also, I want you to, if you can, if you check two years ago 60 Minutes did a documentary on Airbnb and explained about certain people, widows, that were going to lose very expensive homes and they used the Airbnb as a way to bring in income. It was all very positive. People talked about different cultures coming in, having companionship, and also saving their homes, but also expose Livonia so that the people that came to stay with them, they continually came back to that area to visit, to bring their families in. This would be a great great way to expose Livonia. Also, when Detroit was having issues with bankruptcy, one of the best things we ever did or whatever happened to Detroit was the advertisement of actors when we had movie productions. There were people like Hugh Jackman, Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, and Ben Afleck that went on national TV when questioned about doing movies in Detroit and saying how terrible it was. They, with no qualms whatsoever, stated how wonderful the Detroit area was. They stayed in Franklin. They stayed in Bloomfield. They stayed Farmington. They touched all different suburbs. Livonia, everything. They talked about it in national TV and also magazines. We have an opportunity to be __open minded of this issue. I would ask you to look at it as a template for our city and for future cities of how to adjust for the future. I ask you for you to look forthright as we have done in the past of other issues, of seeing what the city will be like, what the people's needs are. When things change, how do we adjust? I ask for you to be open minded and to have Airbnb's and to adjust to what is needed. It can change easily on a dime when we see that life is different. This could be a very vey positive issue. The one last thing that I wanted to say was the issue of the negativity that was in the Observer. I disagree wholeheartedly. To worry about someone stating that people are going to look through the August 28, 2019 29351 windows. You can have them with the owners that own the home, or they rent, or some complete stranger. It is ludicrous to worry about such issues. I feel that nothing is positively gained when you look at the negative or hypothetical negative, violent ideas. There is no reason for that. Also, knowing how clicks get started and rumors get started and to state that in that subdivision that they were against this plan, is wrong. As I stated two weeks ago, I will personally go house to house in that subdivision and I will put a petition that you agree on and to get an idea of how they feel. Also, the issues of it being 1,200 square feet and I read the letter to Mr. Jim Kennedy stating that he was rejected because they could use the living room, they could use the kitchen. You didn't even entail into the basement. When you do square footage, you don't count the basement. All those homes have basements. When 1 had students living with me, they used the bedroom and sometimes they used the kitchen, but most of the time they stayed in the basement so that they could have more peace. You should entail that when you think about this document. So, I just wish you would be open minded and not be so restrictive. If you do make changes, and it has to go to City Council for any minor adjustments, it should be just like you do for the block party. Just do a simple waiver not to go through the whole rigamarole of Committee of the Whole and nothing against you but the Planning Commission and the City. l just want you to be creative and to be open minded and to understand that there are a lot of positive people that want to get along and to be open to the rest of the world. That is how our world is now. Thanks. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Sotzen. Anyone else in the audience? Jim Kennedy, 18938 Flamingo, Livonia, MI, 1 just had some questions about the ... for one I was kind of wondering why you wanted to include Airbnb short --term rentals with commercial Bed and Breakfast? Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Taormina, do you understand how the Law Department came up with that? Mr. Taormina: That was an analysis performed by the Law Department and so I would direct Mr. Kennedy to talk to them. Mr. Kennedy: I am just trying to rent out a spare room in our house and it's... the Bed and Breakfast is kind of like a commercial... sounds like a commercial enterprise. Like you're a business. It's just renting out a room in your house. That is what I was just wondering. Then I was wondering if someone wanted to set up an Airbnb, what would be the process they would need to follow with the city. August 28, 2019 29352 I know you kind of went over a little bit... who would they approach first? That kind of thing. Mr. Wilshaw: The would need to ... That would become a permitted use and they would start with, I guess it would be the Inspection Department or who would initially go to? Mr. Taormina: If it is located in a residential district, they would be required to file a waiver use application with the Planning Department. The process would start with Planning and the Clerks office and then find its way to the Planning Commission to hold a public hearing and then it advances to Council as long as the project is approved by Planning Commission. Otherwise, an appeal would have to be filed. Mr. Wilshaw: As a waiver use it would end up starting with us just like any other business that would request a waiver use for their property. Mr. Kennedy: They would have to get a business license as well? Mr. Taormina: Yes, that would be correct. Mr. Kennedy. Is that just going through a commission or committee or something? Mr. Taormina: That part is handled admisitratively through the Clerk's office and Inspection. Mr. Kennedy: Is the $600 part of the business license? Mr. Taormina: No. That is the waiver use application fee. I am not aware of what, if any, fees are required for the licensing part. Mr. Kennedy: Then there would be a fee for the inspection from the Building Department? Mr. Taormina: I am sure there would be, but I am not sure what the amounts are. Mr. Kennedy: If this wasn't included in Bed and Breakfast, do you have any idea of how it would be handled? Did you have any plans on how you would handle short-term rentals for residential? Mr. Wilshaw: What happened was, the request came from City Council to us to consider the use of these short-term rental type properties. We started the process as directed by City Council. The first step is to go to the Law Department and have them draft what they feel August 28, 2019 29353 is appropriate language. They came up with this expansion of the existing Bed and Breakfast ordinance to use as a starting point. If this is rejected, or if the city chooses to create a new ordinance they could also do that. It would have all new language specific to that process. This is the process or the steps that they came up with that have been presented to us tonight that we are considering. It is going to be for us and council to decide if that is how we want to proceed. Mr. Kennedy: Do you know the status of the bill that is pending in the State Legislature on short-term rentals? Mr. Wilshaw:: I do not know the status on that. Mr. Kennedy: Do you know what the status is on short-term rentals in the city currently? Mr. Wilshaw: Currently, I believe, they are not.permitted. Mr. Taormina, is that correct? Mr. Taormina: It is the position of the Law Department that these forms of short- term rentals already constitute Bed and Breakfast, so they would have to go through this process. If any are currently operating, I would suspect those would be in violation of the ordinance, to the extent that they are located in a residential district. Once this ordinance is adopted, clearly that is something that would have to be followed. I am not aware of how many are currently active in the City of Livonia. Mr. Kennedy: In terms of the 14 days, because with Airbnb you can have someone stay for two nights and another person stay for a night and two nights and three nights, that kind of thing. The thing about the 14 days, is that considered one person staying consecutively for 14 days or is it like different people staying for different... like I said, two days here, one person, three days, one person, up to 14 days. I was just curious if that was the case. Mr. Wilshaw: The ordinance states that guest occupancy shall be no longer than 14 consecutive days. Mr. Kennedy: So, it's one person. Mr. Wilshaw: That would be my interpretation of it. I am not a lawyer though. Mr. Kennedy: So, if you have one person staying a week or even up to 14 days and then you could have someone come and stay for the balance of the month type thing. Okay, I just wanted to make sure. In August 28, 2019 29354 regard to the Bed and Breakfast, 1 mean it said that if you serve food ... like I ran an Airbnb, I didn't serve food but the city threw me in and said that you are a Bed and Breakfast anyways, even though the state law says that by a number of points that define Bed and Breakfast including serving food. I didn't serve food but they said it didn't matter, you are still a Bed and Breakfast. if someone, in the case of serving food, the report that the city did was ... they were wondering if I served food or not and if I did that would entail inspections by the food department, you know what mean as far as serving food. I am just curious if it's a part of Bed and Breakfast if then you were going to like search someone's property for their kitchen or whatever. if your expecting them to serve food. Mr. Wilshaw: The Bed and Breakfast ordinance has provisions that talk about kitchen facilities and so on, but there is nowhere in the ordinance does it state that, to be a Bed and Breakfast, food must be served. Mr. Kennedy: I was just curious. I didn't want someone to get hung up that they didn't serve anything. I just wanted to note that Airbnb made an agreement with the State of Michigan for state income tax. I'm sorry. State Tax. So, when a guest books a room, they would pay a fee that would go to the State of Michigan. As far as the ... some of the ... the $600 fee, I guess ... the thing about it is all we are trying to do is just rent a room in our house. The income is obviously helpful. There is a bit of work involved. Cleaning the house and so on. It is just nice to have ... and as far as the people that I had...I only did it for three months and they are all pretty good people. I didn't have any problems. There is a procedure for... um, initially like when a complaint was lodged against me by my neighbor was you don't know who is coming and going. That's not true at all. I definitely know who is coming. I don't know if any of you have ever used the short-term rental or Airbnb or anything, but basically you find a place you are going to... personal or business reasons. You find the property. You communicate with the host. You go to book and there is communication back and forth as far as messaging through the service. Maybe why you are coming, that type of thing. Then ... you can kind of vet them a little bit through that way, but because of Airbnb and that case, they have a page on their website as far as the kind of background checking that they do. Granted, we aren't talking about running down to the police department and fingerprinting them here, but we are doing some type of checking. It is better than getting someone off of some classified ads website and getting someone in your home that has never been checked by anybody. You just don't know who you are getting. It is a nice system. When you get them in, Airbnb August 28, 2019 29355 does allow hosts to kick someone out if it doesn't feel right and vice versa. The guest could leave too. It does have controls. They have the insurance that we have talked about. It is a nice setup. As I told the Committee of the Whole, we don't want to see it banned because it is a nice set up as opposed to getting someone off some other way. I guess that is probably all I have at this point. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Kennedy. Does anyone have any questions for him? I don't see anything. Thank you for coming. Is there anyone else wishing to speak on this item? Feel free. Mr. Dzwonkowski: I will try to be concise, but 1 think this might be relevant to our discussion. I would like to sort of offer what I found to be a very clear distinction between long-term rentals and short-term rentals. I rented my room out of my house for three years. Two long-term rentals. I had five different people and I had to evict three of them. The other two were okay. I didn't know anything about Airbnb until my sons and my daughter suggested why don't you try Airbnb Dad in order to make my mortgage. So I did with some trepidation. I was amazed at the difference. It struck me that the City Council perhaps they probably have the same misunderstanding or lack of understanding that I had about what Airbnb was. 1 think it is quite a distinct entity from say Bed and Breakfast or long-term rentals. The distinction comes from the culture of the Airbnb. I think is somebody rents a room in a house and you can afford a house, great. Most of us can. Wonderful. have had mine for 30 years, built it in fact. If you can't you maybe rent... maybe you can't own a house, so you rent a house. That works pretty well. Maybe you get a rent to own or whatever. If you can't then maybe you would rent an apartment. If that is too high for you then you might rent a room in somebody's house. Those are the kind of clients I had. Those five that I had at my house. They just didn't... a lot of them were out of work repeatedly, were not very responsible, and I needed the money, so I rented it and they were friends of my ex-wife, so I said fine come on in. It just didn't work out that well. I was blown away when I had the short-term guests come in. I said...like 1 mentioned to you, I have had more than 200. My gosh, I have had people from six different continents. I have had them from 27 different countries. I have had a lot of engineers. I have never had anybody who wasn't a career... owned a business...I know I have had three millionaires there. One of them was an angel investor. Fabulous people. They come in to use anything but my bed and they might make some food for themselves in my kitchen. That is all they do. Or they come in for their funerals or for their weddings. They are not there to do anything but eat in August 28, 2019 29356 Livonia in our restaurants and that type of stuff, so it is a whole different clientele. I have a nephew who is in mergers and acquisitions in Ann Arbor. He was in Wall Street for five years. He makes $300,000 per year. He said Uncle John, our company, we've got about 100 people that travel. We encourage them if you can to use an Airbnb. We can't force you to do that, but if you can get along with people, use an Airbnb. If you've have 100 people out there and your paying $50 a night rather than $150, great savings for our company. I have had at least a dozen of my engineers or doctors tell me the same thing. They were told by their companies. I think that is the kind of clientele you get. So, I think there is a critical distinction between... if we are going to outlaw something in the city, my experience says outlaw the long- term guests and keep the short-term. But that is just my opinion. Okay. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. I think that is why we are looking at this as a different part of the ordinance than the long-term rentals. That is a whole different animal when you are dealing with long-term rentals vs. short-term. Is there anyone else wishing to speak on this item. think everyone has had their chance. 1 will then close the public hearing and look for a motion. Mr. Long: Mr. Chairman, I have a clarification question. Mr. Wilshaw: Certainly. Mr. Long: Mr. Taormina, are we ... is this an all or nothing resolution? In other words, we are adding this, we are changing ... we are adding these establishments to the city ordinance that covers Bed and Breakfast. Can we ... personally, I find some of these restrictions to be counterproductive against the Airbnb, such as the size of the road and the 14-day limitation. Would I be able to offer an approving resolution exempting these establishments from certain... Mr. Taormina: Absolutely. So, the Planning Commission is doing just that, making a recommendation to City Council. The same language amendment that was presented to you will be presented to City Council at a public hearing, but with any additional recommendation from Planning Commission. For example, maybe Bed and Breakfast is a form of short-term rental and we should creating a definition of short-term rental and include Bed and Breakfast as one form of short-term rental. Additionally, your suggestions that some of these special requirements may be onerous, like the half acre requirement, the size of the road, and maybe even the parking, the Planning Commission can August 28, 2019 29357 recommend that they not apply to Airbnb's. All of these are conditions that you can make recommendations on that would be forwarded to City Council. Mr. Long: If there is no further discussion, I would be willing to offer an approving resolution with some amendments. On a motion by Long, seconded by Smiley, and adopted, it was #08-75-2019 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on August 27, 2019, on Petition 2019-06-06-01 submitted by the City Planning Commission pursuant to Council Resolution #163-19 and Section 23.01(a) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance No. 543, as amended, to determine whether or not to amend Subsection 2 of Section 2.10 (definition of `Bed and Breakfast Establishment") of Article II of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance No. 543, as amended, to include residences marketed and offered for rent online by platforms such as "Airbnb", WRBO", "HomeAway" or other similar websites, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2019-06-06-01 be approved for the following reasons and conditions: 1. The proposed language amendment expands the definition of "Bed and Breakfast Establishment' to include other forms of short-term rentals in which residences are marketed and offered for rent via web -based platforms such as "Airbnb", WBRO", and "HomeAway"; 2. This amendment will clarify the position that —for purposes of zoning —short term rentals, like Airbnb, are no different than Bed and Breakfast Establishments, and as such, should be treated the same; 3. The Planning Commission recommends that the following special requirements that apply to traditional Bed and Breakfast Establishments NOT apply to internet-based forms of short-term rentals like Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway: 1. Such use shall be located on a lot or parcel of no less than one-half (Y2) acre in area or in a residential structure containing no less than two thousand (2,000) square feet of living space. 2. Off-street parking shall be provided in the rear or side yard, behind the front building setback line, in an August 28, 2019 29358 amount equal to one (1) parking space per bedroom. For parcels abutting an exterior side street, parking shall not be closer to the street than the principal structure. Such parking lot shall be improved with a minimum of four (4) inches of concrete or plant mixed asphalt. Natural screening by use of plant material or other screening by use of fencing shall be utilized to screen parking areas from adjoining residential properties. 3. Such use shall have direct access to a public street having an existing or planned width of at least eighty-six (86) feet or more as designated on the Master Thoroughfare Plan. 4. Such establishments shall be run by persons who own and occupy the premises for residential purposes. 5. Guest occupancy shall be no longer than fourteen (14) consecutive days. 4. That the proposed language amendment will provide reasonable regulations in connection with the operation of short-term rentals and is therefore in the best interests of the City and its residents. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Long, McCue, NAYS: Ventura ABSENT: Caramagno ABSTAIN: None Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion? Smiley, Bongero, Wilshaw Mr. Ventura: if Mr. Long's motion is accepted by the Planning Commission, it is forwarded to Council in this form, if the Council were to accept this recommendation and enact the ordinance in allowing with Mr. Long's amended resolution, then the folks that are renting out rooms in their homes would not have to comply with the excluded items that Mr. Long enumerated. Is that correct? Mr. Taormina: That is correct. Mr. Ventura: If Mr. Long's motion were to fail and all of the requirements that are enumerated in the Law Departments draft of this proposed ordinance were enacted by the City Council, City Council would August 28, 2019 29359 then have the opportunity to waive any or all of these requirements. Is that correct? Mr. Taormina: On a case by case basis. Mr. Ventura: Right. Every applicant would have to conform and enter their application and make their case. Mr. Taormina: That is correct. Mr. Ventura: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: And to that extent I would say that even with the amendments offered by Mr. Long to the existing Bed and Breakfast ordinance, the Council would still have the opportunity to waive any of the other conditions if they needed to. Any other discussion? Ms. Smiley: Only that they could probably put them back in if they didn't like them. Our exclusions. If they didn't care for our exclusions, they are certainly free to put them back in. Mr. Wilshaw: That is very true. This is just a recommendation to Council. They can choose to add or delete as much as they wish. Any other discussion on this? Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. ITEM #4 PETITION 2019-07-08-11 ARBID DESIGN & CONST. Ms. Smiley, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2019-07-08-11 submitted by Arbid Design & Construction, L.L.C. requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.58 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with a proposal to renovate the existing gas station, including demolition of the existing building and construction of a new gas station, at 39350 Six Mile Road, located on the northeast corner of Six Mile and Haggerty Roads in the Southwest '/4 of Section 7. Mr. Taormina: This is a request to redevelop the existing gas station at the northeast corner of Six Mile and Haggerty Roads. The project involves replacing the existing building as well as the gas pumps and overhead canopy. This site is 0.6 acres in size. It has 141 feet of frontage on Six Mile and 186 on Haggerty Road. The exiting one-story building on this site measures roughly 1,000 August 28, 2019 29360 square feet. The facility has four fuel pump islands with the capacity to accommodate eight vehicles. The fuel pumps are covered by an existing single overhead canopy that is about 100 feet in length. That canopy runs parallel to Haggerty Road. The vehicles can enter and exit the site using two existing driveways. One off of Six Mile and one from Haggerty. The site is zoned C- 2 (General Business). The proposed new building is one story in height and would measure 2,576 square feet in area. It more than doubles the size of the existing building. The location of the building would be along the east property line with the main entrance facing west toward Haggerty Road. Vehicles would continue to enter and exit the site using the existing driveways. The floor plan shows the new station consisting mostly of retail display area for food items, dry goods, and a walk-in cooler. Other rooms include a cashier station, office, restroom, stockroom, as well as a future food service area The pumps and canopy would also be replaced under a slightly different configuration. The new pumps are arranged in a single row parallel to the building. The new canopy measures 28 feet in width by 96 feet in length. So, roughly the same size as the existing canopy. The requirement is that it cannot exceed a height of 18 feet. The plan shows that it complies with that requirement. In addition, it has to beat least 10 feet from a public right-of-way. It also complies with that standard. The building at its closest point is more than 60 feet from the public right-of-way, so it conforms to those requirements. Looking at the building itself, the exterior finish includes burnished stone along the base of the building with glazing and brick mostly in the middle part. As you can see, there is an E. I. F. S. band along the top, which includes a raised parapet above the entrance that has a continuous crown molding. This structure would have an overall height of about 16 feet 7 inches. The Zoning Ordinance allows the height not to exceed 35 feet, so it is well within the height limitation. As I indicated, the setbacks of the building conform with the C-2 district regulations. As far as parking, the ordinance requires one space for each 100 square feet of usable retail space within the facility. In this case, it translates to a total of 14 parking spaces. At the study session we looked at a .plan that was deficient in parking. The plan has been revised and now shows a total of 14 striped parking spaces. Parking was added along the west side of the curb, just west of the island canopy, as well as on the north side of the site. Also, there was concern about the placement of the dumpster. That too has been moved. It is closer to the building with the access gates facing west. It should not present a problem in terms of access as the previous plan illustrated. The enclosure walls for the dumpster would be six feet 4 inches in height and would be constructed of concrete August 28, 2019 29361 blocks. Swing gates would be constructed out metal as required by code. Landscaping overall meets the minimum requirement. In this case it is 18% of the site. However, inspection of the site reveals that the landscaping is in dire need of improvement and we request that either they work with staff to replace the landscaping in accordance with the original approved landscape plan or treat this as a call-back item. Whichever the commission prefers. Lastly, we do not have any information on signage. It is our understanding that the existing monument sign would remain in its current location and configuration. They are limited to a total of 100 square feet of wall signage. That includes both the building as well as the fagade of the canopy. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please. Mr. Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated August 2, 2019, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced petition. We have no objections to the proposed project at this time. The existing parcel is assigned the address of #39300 Six Mile Road. The legal description provided appears to be correct and should be used in conjunction with this petition. The existing parcels are currently serviced by public water and sanitary sewer under the jurisdiction of the City of Livonia, and storm sewer which is under the jurisdiction of Wayne County. The information submitted does not show proposed alterations or calculations for the utility services, so we cannot determine impacts to the existing systems at this time. Depending on the amount of removal and replacement of structures and pavement that occurs, the owner may be required to provide storm sewer detention per the Wayne County Stormwater Ordinance. It should be noted that the developer will need to obtain permits from Wayne County for any work within the Haggerty Road or Six Mile Road right-of-ways. We will provide a detailed review once full Engineering site plans have been submitted for approval." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated August 13, 2019, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request to renovate the existing gas station, including the demolition of the existing building and construction of a new gas station on property located at the above referenced address. We have no objections to this proposal." The letter is signed by Greg Thomas, Fire Marshal. The next letter is from the Division of Police, dated August 14, 2019, which reads as follows: "1 have reviewed the plans in connection with the petition. I have no August 28, 2019 29362 objections to the proposal." The letter is signed. by Brian Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the Inspection Department, dated August 20, 2019, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1. A variance from then Zoning Board of Appeals would be required to maintain the deficient number of parking spaces proposed. 2. Free air shall be provided at all times this station is open for business. The free air shall be dispensed at the point of service without having to enter the station or the performance of any extra action in order to obtain the air without charge. 3. Signage has not been reviewed at this time. This Department has no further objections to this Petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of Inspection. The next letter is from the Finance Department, dated August 15, 2019, which reads as follows: `7 have reviewed the address connected with the above noted petition. The following amounts are due to the City of Livonia. Annual/Biennial building inspection (2/5/19). $30.00 and Unpaid water and sewer changes (311118) - $1,362.72, Total Due City of Livonia - $1,392.72." The letter is signed by Connie Kumpula, Chief Accountant. The next letter is from the Treasurer's Department, dated August 9, 2019, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the Treasurer's Office has reviewed the name and addresses connected with the above noted petition. At this time there are taxes due on the Real Property only, but they are not delinquent, therefore 1 have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Lynda Scheel, Treasurer. That is the extent of the correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Taormina, are the amounts that you reference before, were those past due amounts, not the tax amounts but the other fees? Mr. Taormina: They have dates of February 5, 2019 as it applies to the Inspection. Department and a date of March 1, 2018 as it applies to the unpaid water and sewer charges. I would say that they are delinquent. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions? Mr. Long: Mr. Taormina, we seem to have two different addresses working here. The letter from the Treasurer, there are two addresses noted. The letter from the City Engineer, it references 39300 Six Mile Road. Everything else references 39350 Six Mile Road. Is there a...are these just typos or do we need these to be redone? Are there two parcels here? August 28, 2019 29363 Mr. Taormina: The Treasurer references one address connected to the Personal Property and the other is to the Real Property. Why that is I really don't know. Usually they are separate tax ID numbers connected to Personal Property vs. Real Property. Why there are two separate parcel addresses I don't know. Mr. Long: Clearly, they are both referring to the same gas station at Six Mile and Haggerty. I think we are okay. Just caught my eye. Mr. Taormina: Yes. Mr. Wilshaw: Good observation. Any other questions for our Planning staff? I don't see anything else. Mr. Wilshaw: The petitioner is here, I believe. We will need your name and address for the record please. Ali Saad, 39350 Six Mile Road, Livonia, MI, Mr. Taormina did a great job. I am just looking for your all's blessings to enhance and modify this corner. I know kiddy corner adjacent to this specific gas station is a Northville property Mobil that, in discussions with the ownerloperator of the station, he is a gas distributor and he owns probably about 55 stations. He noted that this is his top three station at that corner. He said if he were ever to sell anything this is probably one of three that he would retain. He would never sell it. I look at his volume and I look at the volume we have. He is probably about 3 Y/2 times more gallons and retail sales than our facility it. I honestly feel that is because of the nature of the corner that we are on. It is a little bit old. It is a little tired. No matter how much lipstick I put on this pig it's not going to be as pretty as they do it, as they have their store. Our store is only about 1,000 square feet in which maybe 600 or 700 of it is used to sell merchandise. We have one aisle. It is a very small store. There is a small office. There is a restroom and then there is a cashier area that take up a lot of that 1,000 square feet, so by enhancing this corner, not only the appearance but by increasing the overall ... to go to 2,500 square feet is what we are looking to do. We will be able to add a lot more product, not only the...we get a lot on walk-in traffic from the Comerica Bank. People walk over there on their lunch time. They look to get things to 'eat and whatnot. We are losing a lot of that business because they are walking across the street to Northville corner. That Mobil there. There is only so much you can do with that corner with what we have there now. Like Mr. Taormina said, it is ugly. The landscape is ugly. I will be the first one to testify to that. It is just that no matter how much money you are throwing into this thing, the August 28, 2019 29364 landscaping or whatever I am doing, the painting... I am trying to maintain the upkeep to make it look good, but it is just like you are throwing money into the wind. It's just like money being thrown out the window. l don't' feel that I am able to enhance that corner or beautify it without doing what we are proposing to you guys. Like I said, I am just looking for the blessings of you guys and hopefully move forward with this. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Saad. Are there any questions for our petitioner? Mr. Bongero: At our study meeting you said...I asked you about storm water detention. At that point you didn't really know. Have you made any headway on that? Mr. Saad: No, I did not. We came up with a budget for this project and the .budget entailed everything that you see in the proposal, in the rendering you see there, except the detention system. I was very scared of that detention system. I had a couple other projects that I got into and by the time they uncovered some of those costs, they were astronomical. I couldn't maintain it. It didn't fit in the budget and it didn't make sense. I am scared that this is going to be one of those same projects, so I don't want to... if it did come to that ... it is not in budget. We do have —we are keeping the two approaches. We aren't trying to avoid ... I don't know at what level ... who makes that decision whether we have to do that or not. I didn't know if it was Wayne County or not or something internal in Livonia, but I am hoping that, you know, we're not changing much. If anything, I am adding a little... the canopy is going to be the same. We are decreasing the lot because the building is going to be bigger, so there is less exposure to the water that is going to be flowing on the property. I am just hoping we don't have to do that. Mr. Bongero: Do you have any issues now with storm water? Flooding out or anything? Mr. Saad. Not at all. Mr. Bongero: You have no room for a pond so...I can't imagine an underwater system would work with the tanks, but let's just say they enforce it. I know it is kind of a deal breaker, but can you fix up what you have or is that not feasible. Do you know what I am saying? If you can't do this, can you do something on a lot smaller scale and leave what you have. Mr. Saad: Plant some more seeds and get some grass. If you guys had a recommendation, I would be more than willing to... August 28, 2019 29365 Mr. Bongero: It is a great corner. I hope it works out. Mr. Saad: I love that corner. I really do, not because I own it. I think it is one of the most admirable corners in Wayne County. Presently, I work in Troy. My office is in Troy right on Big Beaver Road. Everything that they are doing on that... right on Haggerty mirrors what they are doing on Big Beaver Road, which is a much higher rent district: The restaurants and stores... it is nice to be a part of it and I just want to make it look grand just to match the nice restaurants we have in the area. We do attract a lot of people to those restaurants from out of the city. Mr. Bongero: Good luck. Mr. Saad: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for our petitioner? I don't see any other questions. Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this item? You're with the petitioner and there is no one else in the audience. Is there any final comments Mr. Saad before we make our motion? If there are no other questions or comments, a motion would be in order. On a motion by McCue seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it was #08-76-2019 RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby recommend to City Council that Petition 2019-07-08-11 submitted by Arbid Design & Construction, L.L.C. requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.58 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with a proposal to renovate the existing gas station, including demolition of the existing building and construction of a new gas station, at 39350 Six Mile Road, located on the northeast corner of Six Mile and Haggerty Roads in the Southwest �Y4 of Section 7, be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. That the Site Plan identified as Sheet Number SP-1, dated August 23, 2019, as revised, prepared by Arbid Design & Construction is hereby approved and shall be adhered to; 2. Parking spaces shall be doubled striped at ten feet (10') wide by twenty feet (20) in length, 3. That all existing landscaped areas shall be cleaned up, re - managed and permanently maintained in a healthy condition; August 28, 2019 29366 4. That the Elevation Plan identified as Sheet Number A-2, dated August 23, 2019, as revised, prepared by Arbid Design & Construction is hereby approved and shall be adhered to; 5. That the three walls of the trash dumpster area shall be constructed out of the same brick used in the construction of the building or in the event a poured wall is substituted, the wall's design, texture and color shall match that of the building. The enclosure gates shall be of solid panel steel construction or durable, long-lasting solid panel fiberglass. The trash dumpster area shall always be maintained and when not in use closed ; 6. That all rooftop mechanical equipment shall be concealed from public view on all sides by screening that shall be of a compatible character, material and color to other exterior materials on the building; 7. That any illumination of the pump island canopy shall be restricted to the undercarriage, and all light fixtures shall be recessed and made flush with the established ceiling; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to those specified signs which are expressly allowed by the district regulations of the Zoning Ordinance; 8. That all light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20) in height and shall be aimed and shielded to minimize stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring into adjacent roadway; 9. No outside storage, placement or display of merchandise shall be permitted at any time on this site; however, the foregoing prohibition shall not apply to the display, on the pump islands only, of oil based products as permitted in Section 11.03(a)(12) of the Zoning Ordinance; 10. Pursuant to Section 11.03(a)(13), free air shall be provided at all times this station is open for business. The free air shall be dispensed at the point of service without having to enter the station or perform any extra action to obtain the air without charge; 11. That there shall be no vehicle vacuum equipment or outdoor placement/storage of propane cylinder storage units on the site; August 28, 2019 29367 12. That the sale of ice shall be restricted to the inside of the building; 13. That only conforming signage is approved with this petition, and any additional signage shall be separately submitted for review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals; 14. That no part of the pump island canopy fascia, except for signage, shall be illuminated; 15. That no LED lightband or exposed neon shall be permitted on this site including, but not limited to, the pump island canopy, building or around the windows; 16. That unless approved by the proper local authority, any type of exterior advertising, such as promotional flags, streamers or sponsor vehicles designed to attract the attention of passing motorists, shall be prohibited; 17. That the specific plans referenced in this approving resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department at the time the building permits are applied for; and, 18. Pursuant to Section 19.10 of Ordinance #543, the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Livonia, this approval is valid for a period of ONE YEAR ONLY from the date of approval by City Council, and unless a building permit is obtained, this approval shall be null and void at the expiration of said period. ITEM #5 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,1471" Public Hearings and Regular Meeting Ms. Smiley, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the Minutes of the 1,147t" Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on August 13, 2019. On a motion by Long, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was #08-77-2019 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,147th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on August 13, 2019, are hereby approved. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: August 28, 2019 29368 AYES: Long, McCue, Smiley, Ventura, Wilshaw NAYS: None ABSENT: Caramagno ABSTAIN-. Bongero Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,148th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on August 27, 2019, was adjourned at 8:48 p.m. .... ...... . ATTEST. Ian WIshaw, Chairman agno, Secretary