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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1,157 - July 14, 2020MINUTES OF THE 1,157th PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA On Tuesday, July 14, 2020, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia held its 1,157th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting via Zoom Meeting Software. Mr. Ian Wilshaw, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members present: David Bongero Sam Caramagno Glen Long Betsy McCue Carol Smiley Peter Ventura Ian Wilshaw Members absent: None Mr. Mark Taormina, Planning Director, Scott Miller, Planner IV, and Stephanie Reece, Program Supervisor, and Debra Walter, Clerk -Typist 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 2020-006-02-05 Vision Quest Inc. Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2020- 06-02-05 submitted by Vision Quest Consulting, Inc. requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 16.11(f) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to operate a physical therapy facility at 11878 Hubbard Avenue, located on the east side of Hubbard Avenue between Plymouth Road and Capital Avenue in the Southeast'/4 of Section 27. July 15, 2020 29632 Mr, Taormina: This is a request to operate a physical therapy facility under Section 16.11(f) of the Zoning Ordinance. The subject site is on the east side of Hubbard and north of Plymouth Road. As you can see, the zoning is M-1 (Light Manufacturing) and all the surrounding properties are zoned similarly. The property is about 1.9 acres with 365 feet of frontage along Hubbard. The property contains a two-story building that measures approximately 32,500 square feet. This building was originally constructed for AM General, which is a military and commercial automotive manufacturer. It was used as offices and a research and design center in connection with their larger production facility which is located on the adjacent parcel to the east. You can see on this aerial photograph that those structures were connected. There was a walkway between this building and the larger manufacturing structure to the east. Phillips Services eventually acquired the building and occupied it as their corporate headquarters. The passage along that walkway was blocked for security purposes. Following the departure of Phillip Services, the property was acquired by the owners of the production facility, Allied Commerce Center, and the walkway was removed. The structure that is shown on the aerial photograph with the connection between the two buildings no longer exists. This is a floor plan of the first floor. It would include large physical therapy areas, training rooms, breakrooms, offices, restrooms, and other support services. The second floor would essentially be moth- balled, at least temporarily. There are no exterior building modifications proposed. What they are planning to do is expand the parking lot. If we go back to the aerial photograph, you will see how the parking is arranged currently on the site. It has been modified since this, but this is what it would look like upon completion of the improvements. The parking lot would be increased in size to accommodate roughly 106 vehicles. There would be a single drive that would provide access from Hubbard Avenue. You can see the large number of barrier -free spaces, reflecting the proposed physical therapy use. One of the issues we discussed at the study session was landscaping. The petitioner has submitted a new landscape plan and I apologize, I don't have it as part of this slide show. I am going bring up what that plan looks like. Hopefully, you can see this. This is the landscape plan. A fully detailed plan has been included in your packet. It shows a variety of landscape materials, including new trees, shrubs, ground cover, and perennial flowers. There is a second sheet to the plan that shows that several trees that are on the site currently, and would be impacted by the expanded parking lot, will be transplanted. There are 21 in total that would be removed and relocated on the site. I believe this addresses a July 15, 2020 29633 number of the questions that came up during the study session. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please. Mr. Taormina: The is item is from the Engineering Division, dated June 293 2020, which reads as follows: `in accordance with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced petition. We have no objections to the proposed waiver use at this time. The existing parcel is assigned the address of #11878 Hubbard Road. The existing parcel is currently serviced by public water main, sanitary sewer and storm sewer. The information submitted does not show proposed alterations for the utility services, so it does not appear that there will be any impacts to the existing systems. It should be noted that the submitted plans indicate that the existing parking lot is to be "reconfigured" to provide the required parking. Based on the comparison of existing and proposed site layouts, it appears that the parking lot will need to be removed and replaced which will require the owner to provide storm water detention per the Wayne County Storm Water Ordinance. Should the project move forward, the owner will need to submit Engineering drawings to this Department showing proposed storm water detention, "The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated June 26, 2020, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request to construct a commercial building 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 June 30, 2020, which reads as follows: I have reviewed the plans in connection with the petition. I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Scott Sczepanski, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the Inspection Department, dated July 6, 2020, which reads as follows: Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1. This petition is a change of use and would require that the building meet all current Michigan Building Codes including the Michigan Barrier Free Code. This will be addressed further at the time of our plan review if this project moves forward. 2. No signage has 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 July 7, 2020, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the addresses connected with the above noted petition. As there are no outstanding amounts receivable, general July 15, 2020 29634 or water and sewer, I 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 June 26, 2020, which reads as follows: `In accordance with your request, the Treasurer's Office has reviewed the address connected with the above noted petition. At this time, there are no outstanding amounts receivable for taxes. Therefore, I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Lynda Scheel, Treasurer. That is the extent of the correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Kaufman is here. I believe he is the petitioner. We ask that he unmute when he is ready. We will need your name and address for the record please. Brandon Kaufman, 4729 Wendrick, West Bloomfield, MI. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anybody else you have with you tonight that we need to also unmute? Mr. Kaufman: No. Mr. Wilshaw: I do see that the property owner, Mr. Abbey, is in the audience. We will give him an opportunity to speak during the audience participation if he wishes to. Welcome to our meeting. Tell us more about your petition. Mr. Kaufman: We are asking that we are given the zoning to operate a physical therapy facility. The facility is actually located in Livonia right now and they want to stay in Livonia and so we have been working diligently to find a building that would accommodate them. This one seemed to fit the bill. We are hoping we are able to use the facility for physical therapy. There is a building to the south that you guys issued a similar variance to or use waiver several years bac and we are excited to move forward with the project. Mr. Wilshaw: Great, thank you, Mr. Kaufman. Is there anyone on the commission with any questions for our petitioner? Or. Ventura: Mr. Kaufman, other than the addition of rather extensive landscaping on the outside of the building, are there any other changes that you intend to make to the exterior of the building? Or. Kaufman: No, not at this time. July 15, 2020 29635 Mr. Ventura: I note that I don't see anything in the packet about signage. Are you planning on reusing the monument sign in front of the building? Mr. Kaufman: Yeah, we would like to, obviously, rename it and use that. I believe it is under a different permit and probably try and get some signage that faces Hubbard Street as well. Mr. Ventura: Okay. Mr. Kaufman: There is a sign on the building already on the northwest corner of the building that faces Hubbard. There is a small sign there and there is a small monument sign. Mr. Ventura: Right. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Ventura. Any other questions for our petitioner? Mr. Caramagno: Mr. Kaufman, where again are you moving out of to move in here? How does the size of the building compare? Or. Kaufman: Right now it is between Six and Seven Mile and that facility is about 9,000 to 10,000 square feet. This first floor will be around 15,000 square feet plus the ability at some point to use the upstairs. It is about what ... 30% larger? Or. Caramagno: This building at this point, does it have an elevator inside if you were to use the upstairs for any type of physical therapy? Is there an elevator? Or. Kaufman: There is an elevator. Thyssen -Krupp was in there just this last week. They recertified it. The building is fully sprinkled as well with two means of egress at each end of the facility. Or. Caramagno: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Caramagno. Any other questions for our petitioner? I don't see anyone. Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this item? If so, please use the raise hand button. That way we can see that you are interested in speaking and we will give you a chance to speak. I see Mr. Abbey. We will recognize you and if you would unmute yourself. Mitchell Abbey, 1 Yorkdale Road, Ste 408, Toronto, ON, all I had to do was figure out where the mute button was. I am in support of the application. This building has been empty since the day that Mr. Ventura and July 15, 2020 29636 I closed on the transaction on this property some time ago. The use is a solid use. We are in support of the application. We have been working with Mr. Kaufman to bring this transaction about and we are looking forward to it. Full support. Mr. Wilshaw: Excellent. an you for attending. It is the first attending from this far away and actually attend our meeting. That is very exciting. Mr. Abbey: Glad I could bring that little bit of excitement to you. Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Taormina has a question. Mr. Taormina: Mr. Kaufman, as I inspected the property and building, I noted along the base of the EIFS there was some damage. Either from mowers or whatever, but just curious if it is your plan to repair the damaged EIFS and possibly repaint the building? I know you indicated that you didn't plan any exterior changes, but maybe some maintenance along the line of what I just mentioned. Mr. Kaufman: We did have the EIFS tested both for moisture by a third party engineer and it all came back very positive other than the damage from mowers at the base and we have budgeted some money to do the cosmetic repairs along the base. None of it is structural in nature. The intent would not be to repaint the entire building because that is not necessary. There is some maintenance around the windows in terms of caulking and then just repairing, like you indicated, around the base from mowers or whatnot. Mr. Taormina: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Taormina. Any other questions for our petitioner this evening? Mr. Ventura: Just one. Mr. Kaufman, you told us during the study session that you are purchasing this building and that remains to be true, right? Mr. Kaufman: Yes. Mr. Ventura: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions? I will ask again if there is anyone in the audience wishing to speak on this item? I don't see anyone else raising their hand and I don't see any other questions. I will close the public hearing at this time and a motion would be in order. July 15, 2020 29637 On a motion by McCue, seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it was #07-32-2020 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on July 14, 2020, on Petition 2020-06-02-05, submitted by Vision Quest Consulting, Inc. requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 16.11(f) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to operate a physical therapy facility at 11878 Hubbard Avenue, located on the east side of Hubbard Avenue between Plymouth Road and Capital Avenue in the Southeast '/4 of Section 2, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2020-06-02-05 be approved with the following conditions: 1. That the site plan marked Sheet 1 dated April 15, 2020, as revised, prepared by NF Engineers, is hereby approved, and shall be adhered to. 2. That this site shall meet either the City of Livonia or the Wayne County Storm Water Management Ordinance, whichever applies. 3. That the Tree Removal Plan (Sheet L1) and Landscape Plan (Sheet L2), dated July 9, 2020, prepared by NF Engineers, are hereby approved, and shall be adhered to. 4. That all disturbed lawn areas, including road rights -of -way, shall be sodded in lieu of hydroseeding. 5. That the three walls of the trash dumpster area shall be constructed out of bung materials that shall complement 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 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; and 7. 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. July 15, 2020 29638 FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was given in accordance with the provisions of Section 19.05 of Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion? Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. Mr. Kaufman: If you can maintain these types of meetings, I think it is a phenomenal thing for probably you all and residents and obviously developers and whatnot. Even if they life these stay orders and everything else, like you said you have someone calling in from Canada. It really helps facilitate communication and development. Mr. Wilshaw: I agree, Mr. Kaufman. It will be interesting what time tells for us we do have the Open Meetings Act that we have to comply with, and it has requirements in terms of in person meetings and so on. We will see what the governor does, and I do think that has been a great technology and improvement to give opportunities to residents to participate. Hopefully, we can keep doing it. Mr. Kaufman: Thank you for the approval and we look forward to a successful development in the city. ITEM #2 PETITION 2020-OMM4 Bad Brads BBQ Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2020- 06-08-04 submitted by Bad Brads BBQ requesting approval of all plans required by Sections 18.47 and 18.58 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with a proposal to expand the food service operation of the restaurant (formerly G. Subu's Leather Bottle) to include an outdoor dining patio and exterior fagade renovations at 20300 Farmington Road, located on the east side of Farmington Road between Pembroke Avenue and Eight Mile Road in the Northwest'/4 of Section 3, Mr, Taormina: This is a request to remodel and update the former G. Subu's Leather Bottle Restaurant under a new name and ownership. When it reopens it will be called Bad Brads BBQ. This will be the restaurants fifth location. The site, as was indicated, is on Farmington Road on the east side, about 600 feet south of Eight Mile Road. The property is 2.2 acres in area and has roughly 210 feet of frontage on Farmington Road and a depth of 452 feet. As you can see from the zoning map, a majority of the site is zoned July 15, 2020 29639 C-2 (General Business), which is where the restaurant and a majority of the parking lot is located. The "P" designation stands for parking district. The yellow portion of the site at the far east end is zoned R-3 (One -family residential). This aerial photograph shows the location of the building on property, as well as the parking. The majority of the parking is located at the rear or the east side of the building. The plans include extensive renovations, both inside and outside. The exterior changes include major improvements to the fagade, adding new outdoor dining space, and upgrading the landscaping. Adapting the interior of the building to the new floor layout also involves substantial work, much of which is currently underway. The floor pIan shows the layout of the dining and bar areas, the kitchen, the waitstaff workstations, the pizza/smoker area, coolers, as well as restrooms and dry storage rooms. This is the general floor layout for the restaurant, which we went over in pretty significant detail at our study meeting. Bad Brads will not be operating a separate banquet facility. This is something that G. Subu's had on the north side of the property. Instead, this banquet area is going to be converted to general dining. The floor plan shows a combination of tables and chairs and booths, having a total inside seating capacity of 131. This is a substantial reduction from when it was G. Subu's, which operated with a seating capacity of roughly 210. Looking at the exterior modifications...I will go right to the renderings because this really tells the story. The existing building contains mostly brick with an asphalt shingled mansard roof. Along the front of the building, facing Farmington Road, this is the image of that side of the building, and the existing mansard has been removed. It is going to be replaced with new reclaimed brick. I will show you a sample of that brick in just a second. Much of the material being used in the construction are reclaimed products. Mr. Pollard can explain that in greater detail. The design, as you can see here, includes a rectangular shape entrance and vestibule. The exterior finish of this area and the frames around the windows is a composite panel having the appearance of cedar wood. The entrance area will be covered by a timber framed canopy. This is also reclaimed wood being used in the construction. The roof of the canopy will be corrugated metal. The canopy extends roughly 22 feet 4 inches from the entrance and encroaches into the front yard setback which will require a variance. On the other sides of the building, the asphalt mansard gets removed and replaced with the same corrugated metal that is going to be used on the roof of the canopy. You can also see from this elevation plan that the east side of the building includes a painted mural on the brick which is located below the mansard. I know this is identified as the west elevation, but it is actually the east elevation. This is the back of July 15, 2020 29640 the building, opposite Farmington Road facing that main parking lot. This, as was indicated at the study meeting, is not the final design. I think the petitioner tonight can describe in greater detail what that design is going to look like. Going back to the renderings, another significant featureis the outdoor patio. It is located in the northwest corner of the building. The patio is roughly 1,600 square feet. It would be finished using uni-lock pavers. What is unique here, is the north side of the patio. The plans show a 40-foot-long metal shipping container that would either connect to or abut against the building. There would be a set of doors that would provide access between the restaurant into the shipping container. The south side of the container would be open to allow access between the container itself and the patio. The patio and the container include tables and chairs to accommodate the capacity of roughly 44 customers. The other sides of the patio would have fencing and brick piers that would demarcate the limits of the patio. You can see the brick piers and there is fencing between each of the piers. They are spaced out maybe five feet apart. This rendering shows the back side of the shipping container. This is the large opening. As the shipping container connects to the building here, you can see that the south side would be cut open allowing for access. A portion of the patio would be covered by means of the roof of the shipping container. I think there is another rendering. This shows it from the north side of what that would look like. There are openings with windows. This is the former banquet space that was part of the restaurant. There would be doors located right here providing access between this dining area and the shipping container. This rendering also illustrates the type of roofing that would be used in the construction. Parking is more than adequate for the restaurant. The requirement is one space for every 2 indoor seats plus one space for every three outdoor seats, as well as one space for each employee. When you add that up, assuming there are 15 employees during a normal shift, you are looking at just under 100 spaces. The parking provides 157 parking spaces. There is a surplus of roughly 60 spaces. Going back to the landscape plan, the landscaping improvements include areas around the building along portions of the north side as well as here where the dumpster would be located in the southeast portion of the site where there are seven spruce trees shown. It will supplement what is an existing treed area along the back of the property on that residential zoned portion. The dumpster would be enclosed by means of a masonry construction that would be six feet in height. The existing light poles in the parking lot would remain. We have not really reviewed signage, but they would be allowed one wall sign facing Farmington Road as well as a monument sign which we have not seen the plans for. With July 1532020 29641 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 June 19, 2020, 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 parcel is assigned the address of #20300 Farmington Road. The proposed development is currently serviced by public water main, sanitary and storm sewers. The submitted drawing does not indicate any utility connections, so we do not have any knowledge of impacts to the existing systems at this time. Should revisions to the utility service leads be required, plans should be submitted to this Department to determine if Engineering permits will be required. Also, should any work within the Farmington Road right-of-way be needed, permits may be needed from the Wayne County Department of Public Services required." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated June 26, 2020, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request to construct a commercial building 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 July 1, 2020, which reads as follows: '7 have reviewed the plans in connection with the petition. I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Scott Sczepanski, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the Inspection Department, dated July 2, 20203 which reads as follows: " Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1. Signage to be conforming ora variance from the Zoning Board ofAppeals would be required. 2. The proposed shipping container will require an engineer approval and calculations for the removal of the supporting side of the container. This will be addressed at the time of plan review if this project moves forward. 3. An exit will be required for the outdoor patio. This will be addressed at the time of plan review if this project moves forward. 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 July 7, 2020, which reads as follows: " 1 have reviewed the address connected with the above noted petition. The following amounts are due to the City of Livonia: Unpaid water and sewer charges (7/7/20): Total Due City of Livonia$ 678.41."The letter is signed by Connie Kumpula, Chief July 15, 2020 29642 Accountant. The next letter is from the Treasurer's Department, dated June 19, 2020, which reads as follows: `in accordance with your request, the Treasurer's Office has reviewed the address connected with the above noted petition. At this time, there are no outstanding amounts receivable for taxes. Therefore, I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Lynda Scheel, Treasurer. That is the extent of the correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the planning staff? Mr. Bongero: I have a question for Mark. In regards to the parking lot, I know Mr. Pollard is going to redo the parking lot and on that east property line there is going to need to be some clearing out because there is some growth that grew way out on to the parking lot. Do you see any potential for storm water retention? Mr. Taormina: I do not. I am not aware at this time the need for any engineering permits that have not already been issued. I know there was some sanitary lead work, but I think that was handled by our Inspection Department. I am not aware of any requirements for storm water detention. They are actually reducing the amount of impervious area on the site by a small degree. There is no substantive increase that would trigger the need for storm water detention that I can see. Mr. Bongero: Okay. I was concerned if they were redoing the whole parking lot. That is good news. All the natural growth in the back at the property line that is supposed to stay. Mr. Taormina: We will let the petitioner indicate what his intentions are for that area. You may have noted that there is some overhanging vegetation on that last row of parking that can easily be trimmed back. We wouldn't encourage any large-scale removal of vegetation as it serves a nice buffer between the commercial and residential properties. As far as the parking lot goes, it is going to need to be repaired, resealed, and restriped. I don't know if there is any intention to re -mill it or anything of that nature. We will let the petitioner describe what their intentions are for the parking lot. Or. Bongero: Thank you. Or. Wilshaw: Any other questions for Mr. Taormina? Ms, Smiley: Is their parking good with the new seating? What is the new seating capacity in there? July 15, 2020 29643 Mr. Taormina: It is a reduction. The former restaurant operated with over 200 seats and this is going to be closer to 130 for the interior seating. You do have some outdoor seats, but it is a net reduction in the amount of seating. There is a surplus of parking spaces available on the site. Ms. Smiley: Good. Then did we come up with something on the mural outside. Mr. Taormina: I am going to let the petitioner... he and I had a lengthy discussion and he was kind enough to give me a grand tour last week. We talked about a lot of items, including the mural. He has pinned down a concept and hopefully he can share that. Mr. Pollard, if you are listening now, if there is any means to do that or maybe send me an email, I can make sure that I show that as part of tonight's discussion if that is possible. I will let him describe that. Ms. Smiley: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Smiley. Any other questions for our planning staff? If not, we do have Mr. Pollard and Mr. Kritzman here this evening. They have been joined to our meeting. We will start with Mr. Pollard. Mike Pollard, 21903 Ulrich St., Clinton Township, MI, 48036, and we are here tonight to discuss Bad Brads new location in Livonia. The front fagade and the addition of the patio. We can talk about that mural. If I am able to share my screen, I can kind of walk you through what my thoughts were. If you have any questions, please let me know. Mr. Wilshaw: I don't think screen sharing is allowed for the audience members if I am no mistaken. Mr. Taormina can correct me if I am wrong. Mr. Taormina: Yeah, I am not able to do that. Mr. Pollard: Mark, I can send an email to someone right now if someone is able to share. Mr. Taormina: Why don't you do that. I will be the one to share so you can send it to my attention. Do you have my email? Mr. Pollard: One second. Brandon Kritzman, 1644 Ford Ave, Wyandotte, MII 48192, I just pulled up the email Mr. Pollard shared with me regarding the anticipated direction of the mural. I can forward that to Mark right now. July 15, 2020 29644 Mr. Taormina: Please do. Mr. Wllshaw: That would be great. That way Mark cans ow it for our viewing audience and for us. Mr. Kritzman: Last week I was on with video, but I wasn't able to do that this week. I hope you guys aren't looking at me. Mr. Wilshaw: No, we aren't looking at you. We hear you just fine. Mr. Kritzman: Betsy smiled a little bit when I said I hope I am not on video, so...l got a little concerned for a moment. Mr. Wilshaw: You never know what kind of surprises we will get on here. Mr. Kritzman: Exactly. Mr. Wilshaw: As Mr. Taormina is pulling up his emails, do we want to give any additional information about your business and what is being planned for this site? Mr. Pollard: So, we have four other locations. We have been around since 2009. We have our original location in New Baltimore. Our second location is in Shelby Township. We followed that up with a production facility and carry -out facility in Clinton Township. Everything at Bad Brads, we literally make from scratch at our production facility. Anything that travels well, we will make there and ship to the individual stores for quality and consistency purposes. That is working out really well. We opened up our fourth location in Orion Township a few years ago and we are excited to be on the west side finally. We are looking forward to it and if all things go well, hopefully a December opening. Or. Wilshaw: Sounds good. Thank you. Any questions for our petitioner from the commission? Mr. Taormina: Mr. Chairman, if you are ready, I can show that image? Jr, Wilshaw: Sure, if you have that up go ahead. Okay, there we go. Jr. Pollard: So, this is just an idea. It won't be exactly this. The idea was to have something that represents this idea. We kind of talked last week at the study meeting about the artist that is going to do the work. A world-renowned muralist out of Detroit, Michigan. Like I mentioned last week, he does all the stuff for the Detroit Tigers, the Lions... if you are looking for the right guy, this is your guy July 15, 2020 29645 here. He has done work for me in the past. He is just a good guy. He is just unbelievably talented. So, something like this would be nothing for him to pull off. This was kind of the motivation here, and what we were thinking is ... like we mentioned last week, probably 80% of the parking is in the back and with that shipping container being on the north side of the building, to get people to come up on the south side of the building the idea was instead of writing on the wall of walk this way, we would do something fun and creative. Something like this kind of caught my eye. What I am thinking is something similar to this with the guy holding the light. I like that idea. We would change up the guy a little bit so it isn't exactly this guy, but my idea was his right arm would just be pointing to the south. Maybe some minimal words on there to kind of head that way, but I think just the pointing alone should do it. This would probably take up ... this portion right here would probably take up 50% of that back wall. The rest of it would just flow together and it wouldn't be much except just fill in stuff. Mr. Wilshaw: So, what I am hearing is a combination of art and wayfinding for the patrons to be able to know which way to go? Mr. Pollard: Correct. It kind of starts off your experience ofwhat you are going to expect when you walk around this building and into this building. Ultimately it is an experience. It has always been that way. I don't know if anyone has been to any of our locations, but I have built and designed all of them. This will be, by far, my best work. I am very excited to be in Livonia. Mr. Wilshaw: Very good. Thank you for sharing that with us. Any questions from the commission for Mr. Pollard or Mr. Kritzman. Mr. Taormina: Mr. Chairman, I am going to quickly show you the brick samples. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, do you have your material samples? Mr. Taormina: I actually Or. have two bricks. Go ahead Mike. I will hold them up if you want to tell them your intentions. Pollard: We have always ... since day one, before anyone was using reclaimed stuff, we were using reclaimed brick and reclaimed wood back in 2008 when we were building this place. It has always kind of been part of our theme. These particular bricks here came straight from Chicago. These are Chicago Commons. You will see them... the decor is reclaimed product. Reclaimed wood. Reclaimed brick. Reclaimed metal. There is some new stuff, some modern stuff. So, the balance of modern and July 15, 2020 29646 rustic... this one is leaning ... I wouldn't say it is leaning more modern, but it is definitely more modern than probably our location in Shelby and New Baltimore. As you can see from the rendering here, it is a balance of modern and rustic. That brick is...the fagade itself is a mix of wood on the front and the overhang and has a little bit of a modern twist to it. The brick, obviously, is reclaimed product. The shipping container is something new we haven't done before but even with that we are going for a ... it is actually technically reclaimed... and we are going to put a little modern twist on that too. Mr. Kritzman: If I may offer some additional comments. Mr. Wilshaw: Certainly. Mr. Kritzman: I had a chance to go visit the site on Sunday and Mike was nice enough to let me throw some old funky plywood in his construction dumpster and get it out of my garage, but I had a chance to take my three oldest daughters over there and Mike gave us a tour of the building, inside and out. What is consistent throughout the project is the theme of reused materials. Reclaimed materials. When we talk big picture about Livonia and what we want to accomplish and destination sites and destination projects, and having things that are leaning into and grabbing on to great ideas, this is a situation that I honestly do believe is one of those truly unique scenarios where we have a chance to be the home of a project that is genuinely dedicated to something that is admirable and their reuse of existing materials. We don't often see this. I can offer it up and try to get clients to do it all the time and very rarely do we get someone committed to it like Mike Pollard and Bad Brads BBQ has been to utilizing those type of materials and supply chain on this project. They are utilizing brick that is reclaimed. All throughout the entire inside of the space, which I understand is not certainly the prevue of what the Planning Commission is looking at, but it is very consistent with how the inside of the building and the space is decorated, whether it be from the walls to the area over the bar to the booth areas, it is all small integrated reused wood products. It is very consistently applied over the course of the project. Inside and outside. I really appreciate their consistent commitment to that, and I think that the bricks that have been selected are going to be a nice touch. It is certainly a very consistent quality to them over the course of time and I don't think it is going to negatively impact anything. In fact, I think it is going to be quite the opposite. I think it is going to be a great attractive attribute to our community. July 15, 2020 29647 Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Kritzman. Do we have any comments or questions from the commission? Mr. Ventura: I would like to say to Mr. Kritzman and Mr. Pollard that I applaud the lengths to which they have gone to resuscitate this particular site and this building. I like everything about it. I like the concept of the restaurant and I wish them every success. However, I am not onboard with the mural as it stands at the moment. The picture that Mr. Taormina showed us is on a building that is much taller than this building is going to be. I don't see how he gets a picture of either the man or the woman or whatever that is on the back of this building with any faith to the fidelity of the rendering that was shown to us. I don't know how he works in the wayfinding. One of my concerns about the site plan is that there are only eight parking spaces that have any approximate location to the front door. Everything else is behind the building. There is going to be a tremendous amount of circulation on this site and in inclement weather people try to get to and from, in and out of the restaurant. I think wayfaring and maybe marking of drive paths is going to be a big advantage to him. I don't see how this drawing or this picture or painting or whatever you want to call it does anything to assist somebody on how to get themselves to the front door. I would like to suggest that we get a look at this thing or Mr. Taormina and the Inspection Department get a look at the final form of this rendering before permits are issued. I am just not at all onboard with the character and subject of this mural. I would invite Mr. Pollard or Mr. Kritzman or both to speak to that, but I am just telling you how I feel. Mr. Pollard: I agree that it is not in that...like I mentioned that image is being shown is not to scale. That was just an inspiration. We will have no problem scaling that down and accomplishing what we are trying to accomplish. One of the things that we added to the front of the building... that overhang gives you the ability to drive -up to the front of the building and drop people off and then drive around to the back. Once dropped off you are immediately under cover. Like we said, the building was designed with 80% of the parking in the back. Is this necessary? No, this is not necessary, but it just kind of reflects on what we are trying to do inside and outside of the building, and what we have always tried to create an experience for the people in the community. Is it necessary? No. We could just paint it and have nothing on the back, but I don't see how this doesn't add to the experience, and will everybody understand what he is trying to accomplish pointing to the right? Probably not, but ultimately you are going to get to the front door. I think most people will get it and appreciate it. Like Brandon had July 15, 2020 29648 mentioned earlier, it is a destination place and what creates destination places are little details like this. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Pollard. Mr. Ventura, any other questions? Mr. Ventura: No, an you. an you, Mr. Pollard. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Ventura. Any other questions for our petitioner from the commission? Ms. Smiley: There is absolutely no entrance or exit in the back of that building at all? Mr. Pollard: There is no entrance. There are three points of egress. You have the east side, the south side, and the west side. There is egress. You can exit from the back of the building, but you will not be able to enter. Ms. Smiley: Okay, I was just thinking for emergency or something like that. Mr. Kritzman: It does qualify as an emergency exit, but it is not intended to be open for entrance purposes. Ms. Smiley: Okay. If you ate and you wanted to go to the parking lot without going out back out the front and around, you could do that or no? Mr. Pollard: If you knew about it you could, yes. The answer is yes you could. Ms. Smiley: An alarm wouldn't go off, would it? Mr. Pollard: No. Ms. Smiley: Okay. I can see where you wouldn't want... if something happened or even if it was a not nice weather day in Livonia, which is very, very rare, but in the event that it was snowing or raining and I had eaten and I wanted to go out the back I could? Mr. Pollard Ms. Smiley: Mr. Wilshaw: Yesyou could. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Smiley, degrees and sunny in petitioner? Also, thank for saying that is always 78 Livonia. Any other questions for our Mr. Long: The location of the dumpster in the back with the screening and everything like that, you are adding shrubs to help cover that, is July 15, 2020 29649 that correct? Because I am worried about the odors and just the location of the dumpster compared to the residential area. Mr. Pollard: The dumpster gets dumped three times a week. We do power wash that dumpster once a month. We are very conscious of smell. Initially, when we got the property that dumpster was located on the southeast corner of the building. We decided to move it for those purposes in case of any smell. Like I said, those things get dumped three times a week and we keep them very clean. That is something I am conscious of every time I go to one of these locations. There is never... never have I ... maybe rarely have I ... nothing is coming to mind. It is a dumpster, obviously it has a potential to smell on a super -hot day. That is something we were thinking about. It will be a very clean area. Mr. Long: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Long. Any other questions for our petitioner? Mr. Bongero: Mr. Pollard, I am following up on a question that I asked earlier about the vegetation in the rear. You are planning on leaving that right? Mr. Pollard: On the east end of the property with the trees there, there is some overgrowth that is kind of coming into the parking lot. We are definitely going to clean that up a little bit. We will maintain that. Mr. Bongero: It is a nice screen because you can't see the houses back there. Mr. Pollard: I agree. There are no plans on getting rid of that. I think we had talked ear lier...that is one of the things that kind of liked about the property. It has these big trees all around it. It kind of has a BBQ feel to it already, as opposed to being in a strip mall next to a 7- 11 next to bank. That is something I like, and we will keep that, and we will maintain that north and south side of the property back there. Mr. Bongero: Just one other thing to add, I was there at the site today and met Mr. Pollard and had a chance to meet him when I was leaving. He invited me in and took me for the grand tour and it is extremely impressive. I left there with a feeling that this guy really knows his business and is really passionate about it. I think it is going to be a phenomenal addition to this end of the city. Or. Pollard: Thank you, very much. Or. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Bongero. Any other questions for our petitioner? July 15, 2020 29650 Mr. Caramagno: I think it is for Mr. Pollard, a couple of things. Back to the mural for a minute. Do you have a mural on any of your other buildings? Mr. Pollard: We do have one m Shelby Township from the same artist. It is actually on the side of a shipping container. I am trying to think if I have an image of that. I do not. I may have one on my phone somewhere. It is very tasteful. It is an image of night with some trees. Yes, we do. Yes, we have one in Shelby Township. The other locations really don't... the opportunity didn't really come up in Orion Township to work that in. It is just that back wall of that building needs something back there. It is just boring. There isn't much I can really do back there, and I thought this would add something to the back of the building. That was my thought there. Mr. Caramagno: I don't totally disagree. I think if something back there livens things up, although you are going to have parking against the back of that building, that is going to make it difficult for your hand pointing to the south, I think, but it sure would have been nice to see what you have on your building just as a real life example. Maybe you can send something to Mark that he can share with us. Not tonight, but in the next couple days. The other question I had for you was just a curious question. Who is Bad Brad? Mr. Pollard: The short version of that is back in 2008 when we were looking for properties, we originally were going to end up in Detroit actually in the Greektown District at the old Sweet Georgia Brown's if anyone remembers that place. We had a different name and a slightly different BBQ concept. We were going to be named City Smoke BBQ. That is the name of the company and DBA Bad Brads. That deal fell through and I found this building in New Baltimore, but City Smoke didn't feel like it worked there. It wasn't really a city, so we really didn't have a name and it was in the 11th hour and Brad is a partner. We grew up together and I have known him my whole life and his nickname was bad Brad. We were sitting with our graphic designer and we were just having a couple beers and talking, and I said we should call it Bad Brads BBQ. No one really liked it. The graphic designer goes onto Facebook and takes Brads face right off a picture and slaps it on and then puts flames behind it and puts Bad Brads BBQ and we just thought it was hilarious. I said we have to do it. No one liked the name. I said, does anyone go to a restaurant for the name? You say anything a million times and it sounds normal but back then it didn't sound so normal. We just stuck with it. He is kind of like the Colonel Sanders of BBQ. Or. Caramagno: I am sure Brad likes it, so that's good. July 15, 2020 29651 Mr. Wllshaw: Thank you, Mr. Caramagno. Any other questions or comments for our petitioner? I don't see anyone looking to ask any questions. There is no one else in the audience on our Zoom meeting tonight besides Mr. Kritzman and Mr. Pollard, so with that I will give you, Mr. Pollard, the last word. Is there anything you would like to say before we make our decision? Mr. Pollard: I would like to say that so far in Livonia it has been a pleasure. Everybody has been really good to work with. My experience has been positive. We have a great repour with all of our cities, but you guys have been exceptionally good to work with. Thank you for welcoming us into town. We are excited to be here. We are looking to bring a world class BBQ restaurant to Livonia, and I think we are going to accomplish that. I think Brandon hit it on the head earlier with the way he described that. It is a destination place that people are going to flock to and I think that Livonia will... especially that little strip that we are in will definitely be a better place with our restaurant in it. Thank you for taking the time and we are excited to be in Livonia. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Pollard. With that, if there are no other questions or comments, I will go to the commission for a motion. On a motion by Ventura, seconded by Smiley, and unanimously adopted, it was #07-33-2020 RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2020-06-08-043 submitted by Bad Brads BBQ requesting approval of all plans required by Sections 18.47 and 18.58 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with a proposal to expand the food service operation of the restaurant (formerly G. Subu's Leather Bottle) to include an outdoor dining patio and exterior fagade renovations at 20300 Farmington Road, located on the east side of Farmington Road between Pembroke Avenue and Eight Mile Road in the Northwest % of Section 3, be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. That the Site Plan marked C 1.0 dated June 6, 20171 prepared by J & R Engineering P.E., Inc., is hereby approved and shall be adhered to. 2. That the number of customer seats shall not exceed the parking capacity of the site. The current plans show a total of 175 seats, including 131 interior seats and 44 outdoor patio seats. July 15, 2020 29652 3. That the Landscape Plan marked L 1.0 dated June 6, 20171 prepared by J & R Engineering P.E., Inc., is hereby approved and shall be adhered to. 4. That all disturbed lawn areas, including road rights -of -way, shall be sodded in lieu of hydroseeding. 5. That any outdoor speakers and/or sound equipment, including televisions, shall not be heard beyond the property lines of the restaurant at any time the equipment is in use. 6. That any form of outdoor advertising or signage shall be prohibited on any of the patio structures, including the fencing, canopy/pergola, seating and tables, without the prior written approval by the City of Livonia Inspection Department, 7. That structural calculations for the metal shipping container bordering the north end of the patio shall be submitted to and approved by the City's Engineering Department and/or Inspection Department. 8. That the Elevation Plan marked A 2.1 dated June 6, 2017, prepared by J & R Engineering P.E., Inc., is hereby approved and shall be adhered to. 9. 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. 10. That the three walls of the trash dumpster area shall be constructed out of building materials that shall complement 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. 11. That all light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in height and shall be aimed and shielded so as to minimize stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring into adjacent roadways. 12. That only conforming signage is approved with this petition, and any additional signage shall be separately submitted for review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals. July 153 2020 29653 13. 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. 14. That the design and content of the mural on the back of the building, facing the main rear parking lot, shall be subject to the final approval by City Council. 15. That no LED light band or exposed neon shall be permitted on this site including, but not limited to, the building or around the windows; and 16. Pursuant to Section 19.10 of Ordinance #543, the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Livonia, this approval is valid for a period of ONE YEAR ONLY from the date of approval by City Council, and unless a building permit is obtained, this approval shall be null and void at the expiration of said period. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion? Mr. Taormina: Maybe a suggestion on that condition #14 dealing with the mural. I know this was discussed earlier and Commissioner Ventura suggesting that there be some review of the final design. The prepared resolution indicates a separate review and approval by City Council. I just want to make sure that this is agreed upon by everyone and maybe strike the word "separately". I don't know that a separate review by Council is necessary. If in fact what they review at their meeting in a few weeks if there is additional information that they are comfortable .... I just don't think there is a need for a separate submission. Maybe some discussion on that condition. Mr. Wilshaw: I understand what you are saying Mr. Taormina. If the petitioner is able to get a finalized design on the mural by the Council meeting, then it could be approved at the same time. Mr. Ventura, are you okay with this slight adjustment that Mr. Taormina has suggested? Or, Ventura: I am okay with it in so far as the final design that shall be adhered to is submitted to City Council and approved by them. I guess I would be okay with language that allowed them to submit in a couple weeks, if they have it ready to the Council for final approval or bring it back at some time in future for approval when they get the design done, but I feel strongly that the final design that shall be adhered to gets approved by City Council. July 15, 2020 29654 Mr. Taormina: So, what we can do is include language in terms of final design being what is reviewed and there is no need for the word separately in there. I think the concern is that something that is a concept is subject to substantial change between the time the Council reviews it and it is done, that is the concern. We will address that in the final wording of the condition. Mr. Ventura: I am good with that, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Wilshaw: You are good with that Mr. Ventura. Ms. Smiley, you are okay with that also? Ms. Smiley: I am fine with that. Mr. Wilshaw: Very good. I agree that it is important that we are not giving a blank canvas so to speak to that wall and whatever is going to be put there is going to be looked and approved by somebody in the city before it is put up. Are there any other questions or comments on our petition? Mr. Kritzman: If I could speak to that item for a moment on behalf of the petitioner, I would like to say that we would be more than happy to submit a intended direction of the mural as it relates to the proposed design. Recognizing that this is a custom piece of artwork and not something that is ordered off a website or something to that affect, we are not going to stray far from the intended direction. I am kind of picturing something at this point that replaces the gentleman in the sample with say the likeness of Pete Ventura holding the light in the back. It is a possible direction, but while the details... Mr. Ventura: I don't think you could afford the royalties. Mr. Kritzman: The details of the beard, the mustache, the eyebrows, may change from the intended design to the actual design. I think the petitioner is very comfortable with submitting something that captures not only the intended character of the image but also what happens with the balance of the fagade. There is certainly a lot of validity to the fact that the sample that was submitted is of a different size, shape, and proportion then the proposed wall the mural will be applied to. I certainly understand the concerns. We don't want to find ourselves, as a city, in a position where we are allowing the blank canvas opportunity to someone who isn't adhering to any sort of recourse or recall or review by a body such as yourself. I believe the owner and the artist will be able to submit something that gives a direction and that can be loosely July 15, 2020 29655 adhered to with the understanding that some of the smaller more definitive features of the actual artistic interpretation of the piece will be subject final approval by the administration and by extension, those allowing it to open from a final occupancy standpoint. Mr. Wllshaw: an you, Mr. Kritzman for your comments. I don't know if you need to butter up Mr. Ventura, he has already made an approving motion so... Mr. Kritzman: I learned long ago to try to be quiet when they have an approving, but I just wanted to touch on that. Mr. Wilshaw: Very good. Any other questions or comments on the motion that we have on the floor? It is an approving resolution. Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. [twill go onto City Council with an approving resolution. ITEM #6 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,156th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the Minutes of the 1,156th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on June 23, 2020. On a motion by Long, seconded by Smiley ,and unanimously adopted, it was #07-34-2020 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,156th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on June 23, 2020, are hereby approved. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Long, McCue, Smiley, Ventura, Bongero, Caramagno, Wilshaw NAYS: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Or, Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,157th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on July 14, 2020, was adjourned at 8:18 p.m. July 15, 2020 29656 CITY PLANNING COMMISSION Sam Caramagno, Secretdfy ATTEST: C47 I Ian Wilshaw, Chairman