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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1,162 -Novemer 10, 2020MINUTES OF THE 1,162nd PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA On Tuesday, November 10, 2020, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia held its 1,162"d 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 (late) Ian Wilshaw Members absent: None Mr. Mark Taormina, Planning Director, Scott Miller, Planner IV, 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 2020-08-01-06 Middlebelt Plymouth Venture Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2020- 08-01-06 submitted by Middlebelt Plymouth Venture L.L.C. pursuant to Section 23.01 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, requesting to rezone parts of the properties at 29707 & 30273 Plymouth Road, located on the south side of Plymouth Road between Middlebelt Road and Milburn Avenue in the Northeast '% of Section 35, from C-2 (General Business) to R- November 13, 2020 29781 8 (High Rise Multiple Family Residential District — Maximum 4 Stories). Mr. Wilshaw: This item is one that I do have some updates on. We have received a lot of communication about this petition from residents within the community, emails and letters. We have received all of those, along with a petition on this item. Those are in our packet and because there are so many, it is going to be difficult to read all of those. We won't be able to read all of those, but needless to say, know that they were received, and we also received communication late today from the Petitioner who is asking to have this item tabled. This is a public hearing. It has been posted and published with a date for the public hearing. I know there are people here in the audience tonight that wish to speak on this item. We are going to give you an opportunity to speak because that is why this is a public hearing. Just realize that the Petitioner has asked that this item be tabled. We do honor Petitioners request to do that. This item will be moved to a future meeting date, but we will still hold an opportunity for the audience to speak on this item. Just so that everyone knows, in the audience, that when this item comes back before us, we will also again have an opportunity for people to speak. We are not going to deny anyone the ability to speak on any of these petitions. That is very important for us to have that transparency. Mr. Taormina, we will start with you for background information because this is going to be tabled. If you can give an abbreviated description of this petition for us. Mr. Taormina: Sure, Mr. Chairman. Hopefully, everyone can see the screen. This is a request to rezone a large portion of the remaining vacant land at the Wonderland Village. The change would be from C-2 (General Business) to R-8 (High Rise Multiple Family Residential District — Maximum 4 Stories). The land area involved measures 10.86 acres. It is located between the Wal-Mart Supercenter and LA Fitness. Bordering the property to the south are single-family homes that are part of the Bel -Air Garden Subdivision. Separating the homes from the subject site is a masonry wall, as well as an eight to ten -foot -high landscape berm. The distance between the wall and the proposed R-8 zoning line is approximately 70 feet. This 70-foot strip of land includes the berm which runs parallel with the wall and the south property line. This area would remain C-2. The purpose of the rezoning is to facilitate the future development of an apartment complex. R-8 zoning allows multiple dwellings over two -stories in height, but not exceeding four -stories in height. Article XXVII of the zoning ordinance establishes the setback, lot coverage, density, and other minimum standards for R-8 zoning, including a requirement November 13, 2020 29782 that the site of a multiple family development not be located with 1,000 feet of any other residentially zoned property. The subject location fails to comply with this 1,000-foot separation requirement. Livonia Vision 21 Future Land Use map designates the entire Wonderland development, including the subject land area, as Mixed Development Center. Attached dwellings and apartments are identified as an appropriate land use within a Mixed Development Center, subject to a maximum density of 20 units per acre. Residential options include attached and upper - story units, such as townhomes, lofts, and apartments. Mixed Development Centers are intended to have higher densities and massing, be walkable, pedestrian friendly, and interconnected with surrounding areas and neighborhoods. The concept plan for the apartment complex reflects an overall density of 17.6 dwelling units per acre. With that, Mr. Chairman, I will note that the Planning Department did receive a substantial amount of correspondence on this item. We received emails from residents of at least 37 properties in the vicinity of the rezoning. We also received three letters of support and a petition was presented today that is signed by 129 persons. I will note that we have provided all of the correspondence that we have received to the Commissioners. The protest petition, as I have indicated, was received today. You may not have that available. This is something that we will provide to the Commission as soon as possible. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: We appreciate it, Mr. Taormina. Is there any questions to start Off with from the Commissioners for Mr. Taormina? If not, our Petitioner is in the audience. Mr. Duczynski, I believe, is representing the Petitioner. We are going to give him an opportunity to speak first to explain this recent communication we received in regard to wanting to table this item. Mr. Duczynski, are you available? Can you unmute your line and introduce yourself? There is a mute button somewhere that you need to click. Steve Duczynski, Schostak, I am the authorized representative for Middlebelt Plymouth Venture LLC. As you had addressed, we would ask that this petition that was submitted by Middlebelt Plymouth Venture be tabled to a future date. We would like some additional time to further evaluate our preliminary plans, as well as continuing discussion with the City. However, we do agree that we would be happy to listen to any public comments and concerns that we could apply to these additional preliminary designs that we are continuing to work through. November 13, 2020 29783 Mr. Wilshaw: Alright, Mr. Duczynski, can I get your business address for our records. Mr. Duczynski: 17800 N. Laurel Park Drive, Ste. 200C, Livonia, MI 48154. Mr. Wilshaw: Alright, thank you. Is there any questions from any of the Commissioners in regard to our Petitioner and his request? No questions at this point. Okay. Very good. Mr. Duczynski, please just stay on the line there. We have received your request to table this item and we will give the Commission an opportunity to make that motion. If they do, it is a motion that ends any discussion when that motion is made. Therefore, we do not want to prematurely cut off any opportunity for residents who are here to speak because this is a public hearing and any information that you hear from residents may also be beneficial to you as you continue your work. I also see that Mr. Ventura has joined us. Good evening, Peter. Mr. Ventura: Good evening, Chairman Wilshaw. We will have the record reflect that you joined the meeting. Mr. Ventura: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: So, with that, I am going to go to the audience. Is there anyone wishing to speak for or against this item? Realize that we do not have a lot of information that we can ... or questions that we can give you at this point, but if you would at least like to let us know your thoughts on this request, we certainly would welcome hearing from you. Please click raise hand in the Zoom application, and that will let us know that you want to speak and then we will give you an opportunity to speak. The first person we have is Mr. Bell, Andrew Bell. You can unmute yourself and please start with your name and address for our records. Crystal Iverson, 29880 Oran gelawn, Livonia, MI. I am actually Andrew Bell's girlfriend. It is right about where the proposed site is beginning if you were looking at the far -right corner. I want to say that I am opposed to this matter. I am very concerned about the ... just about having the number of people coming up on the berm and having a higher possibility of crime. If you look at the berm, there is already quite a few people that walk by regularly and they can see directly into our backyards and into our homes. I am really quite .... I don't know how to fully express my concern, but I just appreciate you guys listening and I would ask that you reconsider and move that elsewhere. November 13, 2020 29784 Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Iverson. We appreciate your comments and for coming tonight. Just for yourself and anyone else in the audience, know that because this is likely to be tabled, there is going to be a process of republishing the next date when this is going to be heard so that you can attend that meeting and listen to what the Petitioner has to offer in terms of this rezoning. You will then also be able to probably give more detailed comments in terms of your feelings on this once you hear the whole petition. In any case, thank you, Ms. Iverson, for attending. Is there anyone else in the audience wishing to speak on this item? We have some other folks. Great, thank you for clicking raise hand. I am going to go in order. Jeanne is the next person I have wishing to speak, so I am going to let her speak. You just need to unmute yourself. Good evening. Jeanne Sullivan, 29944 Orangelawn, Livonia, MI 48150. This is directly in the middle of where this proposed building would go. I just want to say that everyone in this area has already lived through the mall being demolished, the mall being rebuilt, the debris, the mess, the rodents, and all of that. Then we went through the rebuilding, and now we have Target, and we have Wal-Mart. We have LA Fitness. Now, we have the new plasma center, and it is like everything back there is business. So, all of the sudden now they want to put in a multi -family high-rise there, which these people would be able to look out there window and see exactly what all of us are doing in our backyards. Also, it seems like they never addressed our retention pond back there. Is that going to be impacted by this building being there? Also, I know they are required to have a green space for however many units they have and their parking. None of that seems to have been addressed. All we got was the petition, but we got nothing about what their plan was for the building. I am wondering, if they table it now, the next time it comes up will they be showing us more of what their intention is? As of right now, we have polled most of the neighborhood and I would have to say 99% of the neighborhood is totally against this building. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Sullivan. We appreciate your comments. To answer your question, this process that we go through is kind of a two-step process. First is rezoning to see if the zoning change that they are requesting is appropriate for that area and then we go through a site plan approval process. If that moves along, the second step is a site plan. That is where we get into the nitty gritty details of the site. I do believe the petitioner's intent is to have a more detailed plan that they can provide to us the next time we talk about this, so we can answer some of your questions. That is certainly our hope. Thank you. November 13, 2020 29785 Ms. Sullivan: I am just curious... is it just because there is this large vacant property there that they have decided to rezone? They could always build something back there... hardware, or whatever, keeping it a business district, which the entire area was supposed to be. I am just wondering; did they just pick this because it is a very nice piece of property and now, they want to put multi -family there? Mr. Wilshaw: That is a great question. That is a question that we are going to ask them when we have the next meeting, because we do want to know the purpose as to why we are switching from commercial to residential zoning in that area. What is their business case for doing that? We will find that out. Stay tuned and keep along with these meetings as you get the notice of future dates and we encourage you to participate. Ms. Sullivan: For sure. Thank you for letting me speak. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Sullivan. Next, we have Mr. Lupu. Let me click here and let you speak. Cheryl Lupu, 29864 Orangelawn, Livonia, MI. I live right next -door to Crystal. I am totally in agreement with everything she said. It is pretty invasive when we already had issues back here, but you are just creating more for us. We are already at the stress level that you guys can't fix right now and no one has fixed it in years. There has been problems since the Wal-Mart has gone in here anyhow. It just keeps on continuing. You are just going to keep on continuing to add on a major process on all of us that we don't need. Livonia's model is families first and I don't see any point in ...you're not helping any of our families over here. Thank you for listening. Susan McCullough, and I am Cheryl's neighbor. I have been dealt with Wal-Mart since 2005 and I am still dealing with the truck issue. I have talked to the ... whoever does the commission by checking on the... the problems that we have over here. We are still dealing with Wal-Mart and the trucks, okay? I cannot deal with what you think you are going to put up there and having to deal with more... it is just more stress. This is a beautiful subdivision. Has been for the 40 years that I have been living here. I just cannot agree with this at all. I would like to know why this can't be maybe moved to the Seven Mile and Farmington area. That place with that extra... that K-Mart up there has been vacant for years. That might be a place to maybe move it to. I don't know, but I don't think it belongs here, I just don't. Thank you. November 13, 2020 29786 Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for your comments. We appreciate you attending this evening. Is there anyone else there that wishes to speak? As. Lupu: Thanks, no we are all set. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for attending and stay tuned. We are not going to go to Ms. Smith. Let me give you the opportunity to speak. Merlyn Smith, 30039 Richland, Livonia, MI. We are about nine to ten houses over. We are on the next block over from Orangelawn. The way that my street turns, I will be able to see this two or four-story high- rise right out my front window. I just don't believe that it belongs in a residential area. Sure, it would be nice for, ya know, be nice to have families there, but it just don't belong there. So, I am opposed to it. Thank you for listening. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Smith. We appreciate your comments. Is there anyone else in our audience wishing to speak on this item? I don't see anyone else raising their hand. Oh, we have a few more. Great. Appreciate you clicking the raise hand button. Next we have Lisa Mobus. Lisa Mobus, 29912 Orangelawn, Livonia, MI. This is my family home. We are definitely opposed to this. We don't want it delayed and tabled and then come back again. We want this put to rest now and have it go away. We are very concerned that this is ... this is directly behind our home. Four stories, two or four would definitely be looking directly behind us into our yards. As Jeanne mentioned we have people walking back there throwing things in the yard, snooping in the yards already. Very concerned overtax value being extremely lowered as a result of this ... the crime ... the trucks... the parking. Where will parking be, where will dumpsters be located? What type of division... if there is, there has to be some type of division that is put through that we don't see or hear any of the noise. The car alarms. Very concerned over the sewer systems and will it be able to handle it and what will that do to our homes, To back up to all of those people putting who know what into the sewer systems. Again, property value... my brother is here also and he would like to speak and have some additional information to say for additional details and he heard what I said so he may have some additional... they don't see you. Mr. Wilshaw: Sure, Ms. Mobus. You can have your brother speak as well. Stephen Weldon, (inaudible) ... all those things. One of those things that they did is they brought in movie center for a while. We had a lot of car November 13, 2020 29787 alarms and they said it would close after 10:00 p.m. and it would be 2:00 a.m. and the kids would come out throwing beer bottles and everything around. We have had a lot of changes here that have not been good for the residents. One of the things the Schostaks did when they put this whole new mall in back here and everything, the berm was supposed to be 12 feet tall with trees staggered all along the entire length. Schostak's never followed through on their agreement. I don't know if that is your department or someone else's, but they should have made sure because in our section right where this apartment is supposed to go all the way over to the far... looking from our direction would be like looking toward Plymouth Road. There is only one tree alternating across. It doesn't alternate between to block the whole view. So, we only have trees... only one tree per whatever, and in fact, by our house one of the trees is on a 45-degree angle. Not a very pleasant site if we wanted to sell our house. Property values are of concern. I have a brother that had three apartment complexes in different locations. He has a big problem with people who don't know what to put in their toilets or down their garbage disposals. The blockages would always pop up and mess up the whole sewer system there. So, imagine with four stories, I don't know how many apartment complexes were proposed there ... you get that many people, we are going to have some sewer problems here. They have already tried to clean out the sewer system before. So, with that many people there, not a good situation. You really need to look at that. Another aspect is if you have ever noticed on the news, at least in the past couple years, especially this past summer, there has been a lot of various location where they are having apartment fires. I have lived through a couple of them myself. When an apartment fire goes up, and these were like two-story complexes, but if you get a four-story, imagine this close to this residential area ... we get a lot of wind coming up over that berm. That fire can just devastate a lot of homes in this area. So, you need to look at that as well. So, you have the sewer backup problem, you have the fire potential, and homes in this area ... that isn't just one or two that is going to go up, it is going to spread like wildfire especially with the wind. The other issue is for the parking for that apartment complex. You are going to have, ..this is not a high rent district, okay? So, you are not going to get high paying people in there. It is going to attract a lot of Section 8. It is also going to attract a lot of kids that are just getting started, trying to get a job, and when they move in to a place... and I have been in these places before, where you sublet your apartment or you get more kids moving into the same apartment complex with you so the rent is cheaper for them that way. They are going to have more cars in that facility. You are going to have more car alarms and people November 13, 2020 29788 working on cars in that area. There is also no egress that we can noticeably see planned for this so-called development. It is not a real good straight access to get in and out of that apartment complex without maybe transitioning through Wal-Mart parking lot. I don't think they will be thrilled with it either. They might like the people coming into their store, but they are also going to be dealing with all the other issues. Egress out of the parking lot. Are they going to open up the berms to have access to the Orangelawn Street, that runs parallel to that section. We do not want that. We have had at least decent flow of traffic where it is not too bad. They took away the stop light at the end of Orangelawn here at Middlebelt Road. If we get a lot of traffic coming through here, that is going to really mess people up trying to commute back and forth to work and home. Things like that. Quality of life for Livonia families first is not being addressed properly I believe. Another issue is location. This location in a business environment... if they looked over here right on the corner of Plymouth and Middlebelt there is only one store there right. Walgreens closed down. You have the Office Depot basically. That whole section could be an easy access for them to go in and out of an apartment complex if they did that there. I don't think there is any residential area within 1, 000 feet as you mentioned earlier. That would be a great location for them, good for the ... the Fire Department is even closer if they do have a fire. The only thing you have over there is already... the hotel. You have those kinds of issues. Another issue... sorry, I am talking out of the top of my head and am trying to remember. Ms. Mobus: The other thing that I wanted to mention I believe that this was ... there was the one that I believe was at Seven Mile and Haggerty area. That was shot down very quickly by you guys due to not appropriate for the area. So I hope this is given that same consideration, because it is definitely not appropriate for this area. Again, with the traffic... if the people speed up and down this street with all of the stop signs being removed, and if you add that with more traffic if you are...I heard you mention earlier that opening up those berm areas, the wall area for more traffic to come through this area it is going to be a nightmare. You can't get out on the Middlebelt street from our... if it very hard to get out there depending on the time of day. That is going to be a nightmare with that more additional traffic trying to exit from Orangelawn onto Middlebelt. It is going to be very ... just car accidents as well as not going to make it impossible to get there. Mr. Weldon: Again, what kind of tenancy are you going to have? Those are not necessarily going to be family oriented as much. Again, a lot of this ... this is not a high rent area. You are going to get people November 13, 2020 29789 that can't afford too much so the prices are going to be low to give them full capacity. You are going to have the Section 8, nothing wrong with Section 8, per se, but they are not exactly family driven. Again, my brother has three different complexes, and he has a lot of these issues. You have the sewer back up issues. You are going to have a lot more water being used over there going down and plugging things up. You are going to have also the young kids, the teens that go in there and look for an opportunity to bring in and make their rent cheaper. I am sorry I am going over other areas that we already covered. At the next meeting, is it going to be where things that might not have been discussed at this point will come up? Mr. Wilshaw: Yes. There is definitely very little...you are hearing very little discussion from us because the petitioner has asked to table this item, so they haven't really given us a full presentation at this point. Because this is a public hearing, we do need to and want to give anyone that is attending an opportunity to speak. That is why we are doing this at this point. You will have another opportunity to speak at the next meeting. Mr. Eldon: Okay, I would like to impress on all of you to put yourself in this position. Yes, maybe this is a small section compared to Livonia as a whole but again we have been here since 1957. We have lived through a lot of the changes here and most of them have not been for the families. They have been for the developer and while business is good... Livonia, if you look at it, businesses can always make money and do things to change if they need to. Residences here are here committed for the good of the community. You guys need to put yourself in our shoes and say look, is this good or is there better opportunity for them somewhere else and is a four-story apartment complex in the best interest, when that out towers all the Wal-Mart and Target that are in this area as well. So, I thank you for listening. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir. We appreciate both you and your sister's comments. Again, continue to follow this item and attend the future meetings that are held on this so you can be aware of what is going on. Next on our list of people that have their hand raised is Nancy. We are going to give you an opportunity to speak. You will just need to unmute yourself. Nancy Haverland, 29928 Orangelawn, Livonia, MI. Basically, I am going to kind of repeat some of the things everybody is saying. For me, one thing is, yes, definitely something looking into our backyard. We use our deck and have family and friends in the summer. I can't imagine having something like that behind us. We would lose so November 13, 2020 29790 much privacy. I am concerned about all the parking lot lighting that would be back there. Twenty-four traffic coming and going. I also still have concerns about a retention pond. I don't know about safety. I am not real sure about that with families and children being there. Garbage trucks... everybody kind of went over everything I wanted to say. I am concerned about more crime and not saying any certain kind of person, just more crime. It was terrible with the shows back there with people coming into our yard. Drug paraphernalia, bottles ... I can't even explain it. It was the late -night things. I hope you really listen, and I am just concerned. I am opposed to this and I hope they don't decide to do this to our neighborhood. Thank you for listening. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for attending. We appreciate your comments. We are keeping notes on everything that we are being told an asked so that these will go into our record and also will be used for our questions as we talk to the petitioner. Thank you for attending. Is there anyone else wishing to speak for or against this item? I don't see anyone else clicking the raise hand button. I do want to go back to Ms. Mobus. If you don't mind, I wanted to ask what your brothers name was so we can attribute his comments appropriately in our minutes. Mr. Weldon: It is Stephen with a ph and Weldon. Or. Wilshaw: Okay, good. Thank you. Or. Weldon: One more thing if you don't mind. Or. Wilshaw: Sure, go ahead. Mr. Weldon: As far as where 1 mentioned the other area that might be a good development for an apartment complex of this nature with the Walgreens and the Office Depot. If Office Depot were to offer them to relocate here in our business area where that apartment complex is or somewhere in this area there would be a nice tradeoff for them because they don't get a lot of traffic over and they probably get a lot more from the complex here. Then you would have a more wide-open area for, again, development for this apartment complex. They might want to look at that aspect. Mr. Wilshaw: Very good. Thank you for that additional comment. We will make note of that. Anyone else wishing to speak on this item? If so, please click raise hand. I don't see anyone else wishing to speak to this item. Is there any questions or comments from anyone on the Commission with regard to this petition for either our petitioner or anyone we have heard from? I don't see any questions. November 13, 2020 29791 Mr. Long: Question for Mr. Taormina. One of the residents made a comment about the berm that was supposed to be, I think, 12- feet with trees. Do we have a record of that and is there... if that is true, do we know where it went off or was that only necessary if certain things were done? Do we have any knowledge on that? Mr. Taormina: No. At this time, we would have to investigate the plans from 2005 from when that was approved and then compare that to what is present today and whether it is conforming. In terms of the trees that ... yes, there are some additional trees required along the top of the berm on this portion of the property. That is something that will be addressed most certainly with a further review of this property. Mr. Long: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions or comments from any Commissioners? We do have Ms. Sullivan. It looks like she wants to make one more comment. I am going to let her do that. If she can unmute herself. Ms. Sullivan? Ms. Sullivan: I am really sorry, but I just want to address Mr. Long with his question about the berm and about the wall. They have raised our wall twice and originally it was supposed to be the trees on the berm. There is a sidewalk that runs along that wall that was supposed to be maintained. All of the wall was supposed to be maintained. It now has graffiti all over it. It has shopping carts thrown back there and quite a bit of garbage along with some groundhogs and some other creatures that are living back there. They have cut the grass but certainly has not been maintained at all. Just wanted to throw that out there for you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Sullivan. We will be looking into that. That is certainly an issue for our Inspection Department to enforce as well if it is not being maintained to the standards that it was supposed to be. We will look deeper into that as we move forward with this petition. Any other questions or comments from the petitioner or any of the Commissioners? Mr. Duczynski, anything else you would like to say before we have a motion? Or. Duczynski: No. We appreciate all of the comments and concerns. They will greatly help us when we come back in front of the committee to share our thoughts and hopefully alleviate a lot of the issues that have been brought up this evening. November 13, 2020 29792 Mr. Wilshaw: Good. Thank you, Mr. Duczynski. Ifthere are no othercomments or questions to be made, I will close the public hearing and ask for a motion. On a motion by Ventura, seconded by Smiley, and unanimously adopted, it was #11-55-2020 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on November 10, 2020, on Petition 2020-08-01-06 submitted by Middlebelt Plymouth Venture L.L.C. pursuant to Section 23.01 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, requesting to rezone parts of the properties at 29707 & 30273 Plymouth Road, located on the south side of Plymouth Road between Middlebelt Road and Milburn Avenue in the Northeast % of Section 35, from C-2 (General Business) to R-8 (High Rise Multiple Family Residential District — Maximum 4 Stories), the Planning Commission does hereby table the item at the Petitioners request until a future meeting, date undetermined. 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. 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. ITEM #2 PETITION 2020-10-02-09 Little Caesar's Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2020- 10-02 09 submitted by Little Caesars/Bent On L.L.C., seeking waiver use approval pursuant to Section 10.03(I) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to add drive -up window facilities to an existing carry -out restaurant (Little Caesars) at 38141 Ann Arbor Road, located on the east side of Ann Arbor Road between West Chicago Boulevard and Ann Arbor Trail in the Northeast %4 of Section 31. Mr. Taormina: This is a request by Little Caesar's, a tenant at the Sunny Village Retail Center on Ann Arbor Road just south of Ann Arbor Trail. They desire to add a drive -up window facility. As you can see from the zoning map, the site in question is zoned C-1 (Local Business). Drive -up window facilities are allowed, but only with waiver -use approval. Sunny Village contains three multi -tenant November 13, 2020 29793 retail buildings. Little Caesar's occupies an end unit in the building that is furthest south on the property. The front of the unit faces north toward the shopping center main parking lot. The traffic lane that would serve the drive -up window would commence in the service alley, which is located at the rear of the building and then it would turn north along the east side of the unit where the window would be located. No new curb cuts are proposed. In addition, there would not be a menu board or an ordering station. A small awning would be installed above the new pick-up window. There would also be a ground -mounted directional sign that would be located adjacent to the entrance drive on Ann Arbor Road. The drive -up traffic lane would have adequate space for stacking vehicles. You can see how the vehicles would maneuver on the site, to the point where the pick- up window is located. This lane would also be at least 10-feet wide with enough adjacent lane space to allow vehicles to either At the lane or by-pass it altogether. Providing the space for this drive -up will require the removal of five parking spaces that are along the east side of the building. Five new spaces would be added along the south property line. Thus, would be no net loss in parking. Also, it may a bit difficult to see, but bollards and curbing will now be added to help guide the vehicles and protect the corner of the building and the sidewalk that extends one or two feet in front of the traffic lane If you recall the discussion we had at the study meeting, this sidewalk in front of the building protrudes about one or two feet beyond the corner of the building next to where this pick-up window would be located. For this reason, a curb will be added to direct traffic away from the sidewalk and support column for the canopy that is located here. Additionally, bollards would be strategically placed to help protect the corners of the building, the awning and drive -up facility. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please. I take it that this plan that you are showing is the one that we were emailed today as the updated plans? Mr. Taormina: Yes. It is the most current plan. That is correct. Mr. Wilshaw: Great. Thank you. Go ahead with the correspondence. Or. Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated October 8, 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 range of #38047 to #38151 Ann Arbor Road for individual businesses located on November 13, 2020 29794 the parcel, while the overall parcel is assigned the address of #38133 Ann Arbor 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 if any work is to be completed in the Ann Arbor Road right-of-way, the owner will need to obtain permits from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). " The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated October 27, 2020, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request to add drive -up window facilities to the existing carry -out restaurant 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 October 27, 2020, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the plans in connection with the petitions. I have the following objections to the proposal. I am concerned with the narrow width of the alleyway behind the building, specifically on the northwest corner of the property, that vehicles are supposed to utilize for the proposed drive thru window. There are large trees that are overgrown into the alley which also pose as a hazard for any vehicular traffic trying to enter through there." The letter is signed by Scott Sczepanski, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the Inspection Department, dated November 4, 2020, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1. The measurements that are provided on the ground mounted sign appear to be incorrect. All signage must conform to the ordinance or a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals would be required for excess size and/or number of signs. 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 October 7, 2020, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the address connected with the above noted petition. As there are no outstanding amounts receivable (general 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 October 8, 2020, 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 no taxes due, therefore 1 have no objections to the proposal."The letter is signed by Lynda Scheel, Treasurer. That is the extent of the correspondence. November 13, 2020 29795 Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Mr. Wilshaw: The Petitioner or their representative, I believe are in the audience. If you could please click raise hand, we will recognize you. Good evening, Mr. Wanshon and we also have Kris Guccione. We will need your name and address for the record please. Kris Guccione, Architect for Little Caesar's. I do want to double check. The signage as revised meets your ordinance. I am wondering if your Director of Inspection had the old sign, 50' x 363, or does he have the revised drawings? Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Taormina, I am guessing he was working off the prior drawings, correct? Or. Taormina: His letter is dated November 4, and Kris, I am not sure when we received these drawings. I believe he was looking at the previous plans. Ms. Guccione: I am fairly certain...I don't have all my notes with me right now, but I am fairly confident that those meet your criteria. Or. Taormina: They would appear to. Yes, that is correct. Ms. Guccione: I would like to address the other objection from the Traffic Bureau. We did discuss the trees that are existing. There is no reason that they have to stay there. I will note that regular... 1 0-foot parking ... a 10-foot drive is legal in a parking lot and this far exceeds a 10-foot drive. I don't think it would be an issue if we removed the tree and it is one-way, so it isn't an issue of pedestrian traffic or opposing traffic being an issue. I would like to just point that out. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, great. Thank you. Mr. Wanshon, good evening to you as wellI Anything you would like to add on this petition? Daniel Wanshon, owner and operator of property. It all looks good and pretty straightforward. I would like to point out that this will be a huge help for our customer base. With everything going on in this world with COVID and trying to minimize contact, it just seems very fitting for us to continue our carry -out business with something like this to help out our customers and help out our staff as well. Everyplace in the city's have "Now Hiring" signs and we would like to minimize our risk, and this will substantially help that. Appreciate you guys looking into this and sharing all of the information. Everything looks good on my end. November 13, 2020 29796 Mr. Wilshaw: Great. Thank you. If there are no other questions for our Petitioners, I will go to the Commission and ask if there are any questions? Or, Taormina: Quick question. Kris, you indicated that the traffic would be one- way. I am assuming you are referring to the service alley behind the building, the drive-thru traffic lane? Is that correct? As. Guccione: Yes, it would be one-way. Mr. Taormina: Is it currently identified as one-way or is that a change you would have to make? Ms. Guccione: It is currently unidentified. Or. Taormina: Unidentified. Okay. Would there be any plans to add signage, maybe on the corner of the building to identify that as one-way? As. Guccione: it certainly could be done. I have no issue with that if that would make it palatable. Sure. Or. Taormina: Well, if the intent is to have that one-way, then it needs to be identified as such. That's all. Thank you. Or. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Taormina. Any other questions for our Petitioners? Or. Caramagno: When I was out, and it has been a couple weeks now, but when I was out there, above the place where the window is, the parking spot there was marked as a handicap parking spot. Where does that get moved to during when this window is built? As. Guccione: Handicap parking spots are further down on the, if you are looking at this drawing, on the left. Right now, that is not a handicap ramp on this drawing. Those lines do not indicate handicap. Right now, it isn't actually an accessible handicap spot. Or. Caramagno: Is the ground still painted...I think the parking spot was painted with the blue handicap... As. Guccione: It is, but it doesn't qualify as a legal spot the way it is now. Or, Caramagno: Okay, so that will be covered up and the line will be removed? Ms. Guccione: Yes. All the lines will be removed. November 13, 2020 29797 Mr, Caramagno: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Good question, Mr. Caramagno. Any other questions for our Petitioner? I don't see any other questions from the Commission. Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this item? If so, please click raise hand. I don't see anyone raising their hand through Zoom, so if there are no other questions. Ms. Smiley: The question that the police officer has about the back of the building, it appears that they have a lot of room back there to get by. Did you find that or no? Mr. Wilshaw: Go ahead, Kris. Ms. Guccione: I wasn't sure who she was addressing the question to. I think she was asking Mark. Mr. Wilshaw: I believe so. Ms. Smiley: Whoever can answer. The question that the police office had about the back of the building not being enough room, because he thought it was tight back there. Mr. Taormina: if you would like me to answer that, that was really a basis for my question regarding the one-way traffic now. At 18 feet, a little over 18 feet, that is more than sufficient space for vehicles to maneuver back there, and that is probably not information that Sergeant Sczpanski had available at the time he prepared his report. Ms. Smiley: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Smiley. Any other comments? Again, if there are no other questions or comments, I always give the Petitioner a chance to make any last comments if they would like to. Anything else you would like to tell us before we make our decision. Mr. Wanshon: I think we have covered everything that needs to be covered. While, I would like to say that our traffic will be backed up to that thin spot behind the building with the Hot and Ready model I would like to think it won't be that backed up. If we are, then we aren't doing our jobs properly. I appreciate you guys taking the time to look this over and taking the time to ask the questions and hopefully we answered enough. We are willing to work with you November 13, 2020 29798 guys and do anything we can. We just want our business to flourish through these hard times. That is just where we are at so if we need to get a sign up there for one-way traffic, we are willing to do that. Anything else you just kind of suggest, we are open ears. Appreciate you guys taking the time tonight. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, and we appreciate all of the cooperation you have provided as well through this process. If there is no other questions or comments, I will close the public hearing and ask for a motion. On a motion by McCue, seconded by Long, and unanimously adopted, it was #11-56-2020 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having .been held by the City Planning Commission on November 10, 2020, on Petition 2020-10-02-09 submitted by Little Caesars/Bent On L.L.C., seeking waiver use approval pursuant to Section 10.03(I) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to add drive -up window facilities to an existing carry -out restaurant (Little Caesars) at 38141 Ann Arbor Road, located on the east side of Ann Arbor Road between West Chicago Boulevard and Ann Arbor Trail in the Northeast '/4 of Section 31, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2020-09-01-07 be approved subject to the following conditions: That the plan showing the site improvements and building elevation modifications, identified as Sheet #A1.0, dated November 5, 2020 as revised, prepared by KMG Design, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to. 2. That the awning signage, as shown on the approved plan, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to, subject to the review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals. 3. That the drive aisle behind the building will be noted as a one-way ,and the tree branches shall be cleared so they do not interfere with the cars of the customers approaching the drive thru. 4. That only conforming directional signage is approved with this petition, and any additional signage shall be separately submitted for review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals. November 13, 2020 29799 5. That no LED lightband or exposed neon shall be permitted on this site including, but not limited to, the building or around the windows. 6. That the specific plan referenced in this approving resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department at the time the building permits are applied for; 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. 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. ITEM #3 PETITION 2020-09-03-04 Holiday Inn Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2020- 09-03-04 submitted by Group 10 Management, on behalf of Laurel Investment L.L.C., pursuant to Section 12.08 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances of the City of Livonia, as amended, to determine whether or not to vacate the existing public utility easement at 17117 and 17123 North Laurel Park Drive (Holiday Inn), located on the west side of North Laurel Park Drive, between Six Mile Road and University Park Drive in the Southeast'/4 of Section 7. Mr. Taormina: This is more or less a housekeeping matter. It is a petition involving the vacating of an existing public utility easement that is located at the Holiday Inn at Six Mile Road and North Laurel Park Drive. It was in 2015 when the city approved the construction of the new six -story hotel that replaced the old Holidome. When the Holidome was built about 40 years ago, twenty -foot wide public utility easements were created to service the hotel with sanitary and water service. With the demolition of the old hotel and the redevelopment of the property, the utilities were relocated to the new easements, hence eliminating the need for these original November 13, 2020 29800 easements. You can see the plan in the areas highlighted in red. They represent the easements that would be vacated as part of this petition. We have two items of correspondence. The first item is from the Finance Department, dated September 24, 20203 which reads as follows: I have reviewed the address connected with the above noted petition. There are no past due amounts receivable, however, their water bill of $3, 328.40 is currently due on October 9, 2020. I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Connie Kumpula, Chief Accountant. Presumably, that bill has been paid. We have Kenny Koza on the call, and he can verify that. The next letter is from the Treasurer's Department, dated September 28, 2020, 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 no taxes due, 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? If not, we have Mr. Koza in the audience. I will give him an opportunity to speak if he would like to address anything on this petition. Good evening, Mr. Koza. We see that you have unmuted yourself, but we don't hear you. Is there anyone else in the audience here for this petition? If so, if you could click raise hand. I don't see anybody else here for this petition. Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this item? I am not seeing anyone there Mr. Koza, you are unmuted, but we are not hearing your audio. If you are speaking, we do not hear you. This is a fairly non -controversial housekeeping item as you mentioned, Mr. Taormina. I don't think it is going to be too controversial when we get to a motion. Is there any additional questions or comments from any of the Commissioners? If not, I will close the public hearing and ask for a motion. On a motion by Smiley, seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it was #11-57-2020 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on November 9, 2020, on Petition 2020-09-03-04 submitted by Group 10 Management, on behalf of Laurel Investment L.L.C., pursuant to Section 12.08 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances of the City of Livonia, as amended, to determine whether or not to vacate the existing public utility easement at 17117 and 17123 North Laurel Park Drive (Holiday Inn), located on the west side of North Laurel Park Drive, between Six Mile Road and University Park Drive in the Southeast'/4 of Section 7.the Planning Commission does hereby November 13, 2020 29801 recommend to the City Council that Petition 2020-09-01-07 be approved for the following reasons: That with the demolition of the old hotel and redevelopment of the property as a new six -story hotel, this part of the easement is no longer needed for public utility purposes. That the work has been completed, and upon vacation of the old easement, a new easement will be recorded that encompasses the relocated section(s) of utilities, and 3. No reporting City department or public utility has objected to the proposed vacating. 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. ITEM #4 PETITION 2020-09-06-02 Nature Preserve Ord. Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2020- 09-06-02 submitted by the City Planning Commission on its own motion, pursuant to Section 23.01(b) of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to determine whether or not to amend Article XXXI — NP District Regulations, of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance No. 543, as amended, to expand the list of permitted uses under Section 31.03 to include beneficial forest management practices, such as the removal of invasive species, and selective trail construction in accordance with the City's Master Parks and Recreation Plan and nonmotorized transportation plan, Livonia Bike Walk. Mr. Taormina: The purpose of this language amendment is to address some issues in the current ordinance. The suggested changes are at the request of the Parks and Recreation Commission. For obvious reasons, the NP District Regulations are very protective of the environment. However, as they are currently written, they could be interpreted in a way that would prohibit certain beneficial improvements, such as the removal of invasive species or constructing fully accessible barrier -free pedestrian trails and paths. For this reason, it is recommended that the permitted use section of Article XXXI be expanded to include these items. Any work would be under the direction of the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Parks and Recreation Department. It would also have to be consistent with the Master Parks and Recreation November 13, 2020 29802 Plan and Livonia Bike Walk. We do have Mr. Ted Davis, Director of Parks and Recreation, on the call. With that, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Again, this was brought to us at the request of the Parks and Recreation Commission. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? If not, Mr. Davis in our audience. I am going to give him the opportunity to introduce himself. Good evening. Mr. Davis. Ted Davis, Director of Parks and Recreation. Thank you for placing this on the agenda this evening. As Mr. Taormina said very eloquently, this is a matter of housekeeping for us. The way the current NP District information is written, it is extremely limiting. So much so to the detriment of Nature Preserves, where we do not have the ability to remove invasive species, construct any trails, especially barrier -free trails, or do any Forest Management practices. The way the current NP designation is written, those are all in violation of that designation. So, this gives us some flexibility and allows us to take care of our Nature Preserves and ensure that they are going to be pristine for generations to come. I would be happy to answer any questions that the Planning Commission may have. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Davis. Do we have any questions from any of the Commissioners on this item? I don't see any questions for you. Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this item? If so, please click raise hand. I don't see anyone in the audience wishing to speak to this either. With that, I think I can safely close the public hearing and ask for a motion. On a motion by Long, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was #11-58-2020 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on November 10, 2020, on Petition 2020-09-06-02 submitted by the City Planning Commission on its own motion, pursuant to Section 23.01(b) of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to determine whether or not to amend Article XXXI — NP District Regulations, of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance No. 543, as amended, to expand the list of permitted uses under Section 31.03 to include beneficial forest management practices, such as the removal of invasive species, and selective trail construction in accordance with the City's Master Parks and Recreation Plan and nonmotorized transportation plan, Livonia Bike Walk, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2020-09-06-02 be approved for the following reasons: November 13, 2020 29803 1. The proposed language amendment will allow certain beneficial improvements and activities to the City's Nature Preserves under the guidance of the Parks and Recreation Commission and consistent with the Master Parks and Recreation Plan and Livonia Bike -Walk, and 2. The proposed amendment is in the best interests of the safety and welfare of the community. ITEM #5 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,1615tPublic Hearings and Regular Meeting Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the Minutes of the 1,161st Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on October 6, 2020. On a motion by Ventura, seconded by Caramagno, and unanimously adopted, it was #11-59-2020 RESOLVED, That the Minutes of 1,161St Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on October 6, 2020, are hereby approved. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Long, McCue, Bongero NAYS: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: Wilshaw Smiley, Ventura, Caramagno, Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,162"d Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on November 10, 2020, was adjourned at 8:17 p. M. CITY PLANNING COMMISSION Sam Caramagno, Secretary November 13, 2020 29804 ATTEST: Ian Wilshaw, Chairman