HomeMy WebLinkAbout1,221 - October 22, 2024 signedMINUTES OF THE 1,221st PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
On Tuesday, October 22, 2024, the City Planning Commission of the City of
Livonia held its 1,221st Public Hearing and Regular Meetings in the Livonia City
Hall, 33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan.
Mr. Ian Wilshaw, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.
Members present:
Members absent:
Patrick Droze
Glen Long
Wafa Dinaro
lan Wilshaw
Peter Ventura David Bongero
Sam Caramagno
Mr. Jacob Uhazie, Assistant Planning Director, and Stephanie Reece, Program
Supervisor, were also present.
Chairman Wilshaw informed the audience that if a petition on tonight's agenda
involves a rezoning request, this Commission makes a recommendation to the City
Council who, in turn, will hold its own public hearing and make the final
determination as to whether a petition is approved or denied. The Planning
Commission holds the only public hearing on a request for preliminary plat and/or
vacating petition. The Commission's recommendation is forwarded to the City
Council for the final determination as to whether a plat is accepted or rejected. If a
petition requesting a waiver of use or site plan approval is denied tonight, the
petitioner has ten days in which to appeal the decision, in writing, to the City
Council. Resolutions adopted by the City Planning Commission become effective
seven (7) days after the date of adoption. The Planning Commission and the
professional staff have reviewed each of these petitions upon their filing. The staff
has furnished the Commission with both approving and denying resolutions, which
the Commission may, or may not, use depending on the outcome of the
proceedings tonight.
ITEM #1 PETITION 2024-08-01-04 Sheetz
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2024-
08-01-04 submitted by Skilken Gold under Section 13.15 of the
Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended, requesting to rezone the
property at 37355 Eight Mile Road, located on the southeast
corner of Eight Mile Road and Newburgh Road in the Northwest
% of Section 5, from C-1 (Local Business District) to C-2 (General
Business District).
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31630
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir and Mr. Uhazie, would you like to tell us any new
information that's come in on this item?
Mr. Uhazie:
We just have a few things. I just want to reiterate that the zoning
change would facilitate the development of a Sheetz gas station,
convenience store and restaurant on the location at the southeast
corner of Eight Mile and Newburgh Road. The area to be rezoned
is about 79,880 square feet, or 1.83 acres, with 269 feet along Eight
Mile Road, and 285 feet along Newburgh. The surrounding
neighborhoods, as we saw before, to the north is the City of
Farmington Hills and Child Time of Northville. To the west across
Newburgh is Greenmead Historical Park, which is zoned PL, and
to the south and east is Whispering Willows golf course also zoned
PL. The only major update to the plan that we have since the last
public hearing would be that the petitioner has re examined the
drive through layout that they presented. At the original meeting
they took some of the considerations that the Planning Commission
mentioned and are reexamining the layout of the drive-thru to move
it to the western side of the building to reduce traffic conflicts. And
they also explained that they are open to adding a merge lane
across Eight Mile Road into Farmington Hills, understanding that it
would take a lot more study and work with surrounding
communities, but those are the updates that I have since the last
public hearing, and then we've also received many residents'
responses that you have received in your E packet.
On a motion by Caramagno, seconded by Long, and adopted, it was
#10-54-2024
RESOLVED, that the City Planning commission on October 22,
2024, on Petition 2024-08-01-04 submitted by Skilken Gold
under Section 13.15 of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as
amended, requesting to rezone the property at 37355 Eight Mile
Road, located on the southeast corner of Eight Mile Road and
Newburgh Road in the Northwest'/ of Section 5, from C-1
(Local Business District) to C-2 (General Business District), the
Planning Commission does hereby remove the item from the
table.
Mr. Wilshaw: Alright, thank you. Mr. Uhazie. This item was tabled at a prior
meeting. Is Is there a commissioner willing to remove this item from
the table so we can discuss it?
Mr. Wilshaw: All right, this item has been removed from the table. Is there any
questions for the planning staff from any other commissioners
based on the presentation? There's no questions. Our petitioner is
in the audience tonight. They are free to come forward and speak
October 22, 2024
31631
to this item and let us know if there's anything new that they would
like to tell us about this petition before we get too deep into this.
Though, again, I want to remind folks in our audience, some of
whom may have not been at our prior meeting, that we have met
on this item before we did conduct a public hearing where public
comments were taken. We are not going to do that again tonight,
because this is a pending item. This item has been discussed at
length, and we are prepared to vote on this item tonight. That being
said, I do at least want to explain the process that, because there
may be people who have questions, who weren't here at the last
meeting, and what we're considering tonight is a rezoning petition
for this property. It's a rezoning from a C-1 to C-2 zoning and our
focus tonight is going to be on that rezoning of this property.
There's going to be limited discussion about the actual use of the
property in terms of what Sheetz is going to put on the property and
how it's going to look, the site plan, those types of things. That
comes at a later process after the zoning is is dealt with. Again, as
I mentioned at the beginning of the meeting, we are going to make
a recommendation, either approving or denying recommendation
for that zoning, which will then go on to City Council. City Council
will then conduct their own public hearing, and they'll make a
decision as to what they want to do with the zoning Once that
occurs, if they want to move forward with the zoning, if it goes that
direction, then a site plan would be brought back to us at a later
time, and that would be discussed. If not, it would stop at that part
of the process. So with that, I just wanted to give a little background
information. And I'II start with the petitioner. Good evening, sir.
Drew Miller, Skilken Gold, 4270 Morse Road, Columbus, Ohio. So we appreciate
coming back, and like I mentioned earlier, you know, there's a few
items...concerns that we heard last time, that we felt were
appropriate to address tonight. And I just wanted to take a step
back too and explain a little bit more about how we got here, you
know, for this new location, Mr. Uhazie„ if you could go to the next
slide please. So yes, everybody's familiar with this location. There's
some things I would like to point out, and sure, it's going to be a
little bit too small for you to see on this screen here. But I want to
talk a little bit more about this location specifically. So this is at 1.83
commercially developed acreage at this location. It's currently
occupied by 17,000 square feet of commercial space. Previous
tenants in this location have been most recently the Rite Aid
pharmacy. Historically, it's been used as Realty Services,
insurance providers and a golf shop, and I think an arcade is what
somebody had told me. I really want to talk about this intersection,
the topic of the traffic and the traffic study came up a couple times
in the last meeting and in the study sessions. So we did do a traffic
impact study that's been provided to the city engineer's office, and
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31632
they have reviewed that traffic study. Their recommendation was
that no improvements should be made. We had originally talked
about some ideas of involving a de -acceleration lane at both
access points that we had proposed. After discussing that with the
city engineer's office, they didn't think that that would be
appropriate. I'd also like to talk about the current existing traffic
that's located on these thoroughfares here. So Eight Mile Road,
according to MDOS SEMCOG website, you can see there, east of
Newburgh, there's 19,900 and that is average daily traffic.
Newburgh is a little bit more, there's 24,000 cars. If you look at the
other intersections around the city, specifically where the type of
use C-2 zoning is located at, these numbers are very consistent
with what you would see at those C-2 locations. So that's one
reason we feel this location is appropriate. Now there was also a
lot of discussion about why this location...l'm going to try and
answer that a little bit as we continue through these slides here.
The other thing I'd like to point out is the traffic signal at this location
is managed and operated by Wayne County, so we are submitting
the traffic study to them for their comments and feedback. Based
on the city engineers response, we don't feel there's going to be
any issues. We did propose some signal timing adjustments to just
make traffic flow here a little bit better. So we're looking forward to
seeing those comments from Wayne County, but we're not
anticipating any major mitigation measures that they would require.
Mr. Chair, you did recognize that we had discussed potentially
extending the merge lane that would be north of Eight Mile Road.
There's access to a daycare there, off of Halstead. And anybody
familiar with the intersection knows that there's a merge lane there.
We had talked about maybe extending that merge lane, because
historically, there has been accidents there, to my knowledge, and
from the city engineer's office, they had told us that the right turn
lane going north on Newburgh, or, I'm sorry, the right turn lane on
Newburgh, if you're heading northbound, used to be a through lane
as well. So there was two through lanes. And I don't know exactly
when they changed it, but they changed it to a right turn only with
one single through lane. City engineer's office had communicated
to us that that caused a lot of accidents because there were
backups then on Halsted. So that was, I think, part of the reason
why, you know, they didn't recommend any other mitigation
measures there. So, yeah, so, Mr. Uhazie, if you could go the next
slide, please. So, and just to step back here briefly, I did want to
just cover some of the where we've been and what we've done so
far in the City of Livonia. So we were here, as I'm sure a lot of you
recall, in January, with a different location. This was at Newburgh
and Five Mile Road, just a few miles south on Newburgh. Some of
the reasons stated for that denial involved contradictory land use
and inconsistent land use with the master plan, as well as concerns
October 22, 2024
31633
over floodway that existed to the east of that property, as well as a
comment that, you know, that intersection was already well served
with gas stations. So again, this, just this helps me explain why we
settled on this new location at Eight Mile. Obviously, things like
traffic count and safety, you know, crime reports, we take all that
into consideration when Sheetz is looking at a location, but the best
thing we can do is hear from folks like you. So we heard you. We
came with this location that we thought was great, and, you know,
we heard you, and that really helped guide us and dictate where
we would look for a new opportunity to come into Livonia. So I just
want to make sure I covered that, because that had a big factor in
the new location that we're proposing. So, you know, keeping with
this future or the City of Livonia, future land use map here, I did
want to touch on some of the the items that were addressed last
month in regard to the denial. So we did hear, you know,
contradicting, inconsistent land use. That was another item similar
to what we heard in January. So, what we're trying to understand
here, is that the contradictory land use we don't really feel is is
appropriate. Along Eight Mile you'll see plenty of commercial uses.
There's residential too, but there's also commercial, especially if
you factor in how major this thoroughfare is. We feel that this
rezone to C-2 is very appropriate. As far as inconsistent land use,
I'm not really sure I understand that either. The golf course that's
located directly to our south is a commercial use. I know ifs zoned
parks and recreation, and everybody thinks, you know, I'm a golfer.
Golf is a recreational sport, but it's also the high traffic commercial
use. Pretty sure they have over 6,000 gallons of underground
storage fuel tanks as well on that site. So it's very much a
commercial use, even though it's zoned as parks and recreation,
and that's the master plan as well. As far as, you know, rezoning to
C-2 adversely altering the character of the area, we don't feel that's
appropriate either. As mentioned, the site used to be a Rite Aid with
a pharmacy. A pharmacy is the type of use that customers will
come and make a special trip just to go to that pharmacy. A
convenience store and fuel station is not that. We're capturing pass
by traffic. The drivers on the road are already there, and they're
stopping at a Sheetz store because it's convenient, and again,
that's another reason why we've chosen this location. Finally, the
last one I wanted to address here was the proposed change is not
needed to develop property. We've done a lot of investigation on
this property, and there are certainly some engineering challenges,
but we feel it is appropriate for Sheetz to come in here at this
location, and the change is needed for Sheetz. We know from our
studies that the building has some engineering issues, and we do
not expect another commercial user to be able to come in here and
at this location and put up the capital that's needed to remediate
the soils where where most of the engineering issues lie. So, just
October 22, 2024
31634
to kind of recap here, this is the location. This is actually the new
site plan. I wasn't going to get too much into the detail, but you can
see there we have adjusted the drive through. I think what's really
notable about what we're proposing in our commercial use is yes,
the C-2 is more intense, but it's already a commercial use, and
we're reducing the amount of access curb cuts that are along
Newburgh, so this is going to help in the traffic situation. As I
mentioned before, the traffic counts are very consistent with what
you would see at C-2 locations. This is a main thoroughfare, and
the traffic is there, and there is no other gas stations within close
proximity. So as as I mentioned before...
Mr. Wilshaw: Everyone please, be quiet. Let the petitioner speak.
Mr. Miller: As I mentioned before, part of the denial for our previous location
was that the area was already well served. This intersection is not
well served, and that's what kind of led us here. Finally, as I
mentioned, you know, as far as inconsistent land use, we're
abutting a commercial use. It's a golf course, even though it's, you
know, considered Parks and Rec. Finally, you know what we're
proposing here, we do feel is in harmony and is incompatible with
the current use. Like I mentioned, it's a Rite Aid. The final thing I'd
like to mention here, and you can see it pretty clearly, is the tree
buffering that exists around this site. There is no residential
immediately adjacent to our site. We've found this location because
it was appropriate. It has the traffic volume, it's already commercial,
and it's very low impact, and that's why we feel this is appropriate.
The topic of the creek came up last time as well, and I do want to
just reinforce the fact that we did a wetland delineation. We walked
the site with an EGLE representative, and we have made
adjustments to our site plan to stay as far away from the wetlands
as possible. And we don't anticipate having any major permits with
EGLE. We do anticipate having a minor impact permit just for the
construction of the store. So, we've really done our homework on
this site. We feel it's very appropriate to rezone this to C-2 based
on everything I've said here. And you know, we're looking forward
to moving on to the next step. So thank you. We're here for
questions.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir. Do we have any questions from the Commission for
Mr. Miller or any of his representatives?
Mr. Long: You touched on something that I'd like you to speak a little further
to. Your interactions with EGLE and the ramifications of the
development on the creek that runs in front of the seventh green
there, storm water runoff, safety on the fuel tanks. Please expound
a little more.
Mr. Miller:
October 22, 2024
31635
Sure. EGLE has very stringent standards. A lot of the development
work we do is in Ohio, and I would applaud EGLE for what they do.
I would also applaud Sheetz for what they do. Before we started
looking at any locations, we got together with the entire EGLE team
in Lansing, Michigan, and talked about what Sheetz plans were for
the future, and we made sure that they were going to meet every
standard. In fact, they exceed a lot of those standards. And we
have Sheetz representatives here that can get into more detail
about, you know, how they how they do that, and how they manage
that, but they have state of the art fuel system, everything's
monitored with those USTS modern construction practices and
take extreme caution when you're next to a creek here and so
stormwater runoff and capture is very critical, especially on a fuel
site. We acknowledge that. There is potential for an accident here
or there, there is a way to mitigate that. We capture that. There are
oil / water separators and they monitor it and maintain it throughout
the year. Last month Mr. Sawicki mentioned that all of their stores
are non -franchised. They are all independently owned and
operated by the Sheetz family. They have complete control over
maintaining those systems. I am not aware of any issues they have
experienced here in Michigan, and like I said, we work very closely
with EGLE in every jurisdiction we are in to make sure we are doing
it right.
Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for the petitioner?
Mr. Droze:
Picking up on Mr. Long's questions about stormwater, The current
site today, built in 1996, what measure for stormwater...does it
have any type detention on site?
Mr. Miller: I do know they have a septic tank underneath part of that parking
lot.
Mr. Droze:
So, then assuming this is going to be a full reconstruction you would
follow the Wayne County ordinance that would include peak flow,
stormwater detention, water quality, like you mentioned?
Mr. Miller: Certainly, Mr. Uhazie, I am not sure if any of those plans made it
over to you in that capacity yet?
Mr. Uhazie: I don't think so.
Mr. Miller:
Yes, that is something that we get in front of early. It is something
that we need to make sure we can do before we start spending
money and getting too far down the road. That is a very important
part of our due diligence process to make sure that we are going to
October 22, 2024
31636
be able to have the utilities here at this location. Stormwater is such
an important one, especially here in Michigan.
Mr. Wilshaw: Anything else, Mr. Droze? Any other questions for our petitioner?
Mr. Caramagno: Sir, you started talking about capital improvements for this
property for this building. What kind of money are we talking about?
Mr. Miller: Excuse me?
Mr. Caramagno: What kind of money are you talking about putting into this
property to bring it up to standards?
Mr. Miller:
I don't know if I can answer specifically. We do have Sheetz
representatives, but if you are just looking for a construction
estimate, I would say maybe in the $8 — 10 million range.
Mr. Caramagno: $10 million to demolish what is there, refurb it, and build
something new?
Mr. Miller:
That is correct. This is a bit of more expensive site for us because
the soils are very poor. Historically, there used to be a house here,
a really long time ago, early 1900's. There was a pool in the
backyard at one point. It almost feels like what exists there was
built on topsoil. We will be removing that topsoil and putting in some
engineered fill to make sure everything is going to be up to
standards and last a long time.
Mr. Caramagno: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Caramagno. Any other questions for the petitioner?
If there are no other questions, then we are ready for a motion.
Folks, like I stated at the beginning of the meeting, we are not going
to have any discussion because this item has been discussed at
length at the prior meetings.
(Someone from the audience yelled out)
Mr. Wilshaw: Questions are the same thing as discussion. If I get into a question
and answer we will be here for another half hour answering
questions, but...
(Someone else yelling from the audience)
Mr. Wilshaw: If you have information you would like to submit, you can hand it to
Ms. Reece and she will pass it on to us. We also make sure that all
information that is given to us is part of the record for this meeting,
October 22, 2024
31637
which will go on to City Council. We did receive a number of emails.
We did receive petitions. We did receive other information from a
number of residents, which we appreciate. Those are all in our
packet. We have had a chance to read all of those and they will be
tied to this petition and continue on as it goes to City Council with
either an approving or denying recommendation.
(Someone from audience yelling out)
Mr. Wilshaw: I can't answer that question for you. I can't answer that question for
you. I'm not the person who gives the records. What is your
question, sir? Please come forward, because we can't hear
anybody else. What's your question?
Audience member: As a commission, do you have the right to allow people to
make presentations, if you choose, as a group,
Mr. Wilshaw: On pending items, there is an opportunity, if the commission wishes
to open the meeting to public comments. They can do that. It
requires a unanimous vote by the Commission.
Same audience member: It seems to me that if you allow the petitioner to give
additional information, you should also allow citizens to do the
same.
Mr. Wilshaw: Sir, again, as I'm as I mentioned we had a public hearing on this
item. We gave an opportunity for anyone who wishes to come to
that meeting to come and speak on this item. There's been a sign
at that location for a number of weeks announcing the dates of
these meetings, and we did hear from a number of residents at our
previous meeting. We also always accept communication by email
or in writing at any time prior to this meeting. We've accepted it at
this meeting and will continue to accept it after this meeting, as it
moves on to City Council. Remember that we are making a
recommendation to the City Council. This is not the final decision
on this item. This is a recommendation. City Council will be making
the final decision. So that's where you're...regardless of what
happens, whether you're for or against it, or whether this gets
approved or denied. That's where you want to follow this item onto.
And you will have an opportunity at that meeting, at City Council,
there will be a public hearing. You'll have an opportunity to speak.
You'll have an opportunity to present additional information. So
there'll be many, many opportunities. I'm not going to take any more
questions, because...
(Audience member yelling)
October 22, 2024
31638
Mr. Wilshaw: Ma'am, please, ma'am, please, have a seat. I'm not taking any
more questions. I told you that if I, if I take one question, we're going
to end up here for a half an hour taking questions. Ma'am, please
stop talking. Ma'am, this is not an opportunity for you to speak right
now.
(Audience member yelling still)
Mr. Wilshaw: This is not a public hearing. This is not a public hearing.
(Audience member yelling) I spoke to the officer out there, and before I left, you
said that October 22 would be a public hearing. This paper says
that.
Mr. Wilshaw: You can look at the minutes and see what I said. They're word for
word.
(Audience member yelling out) Let me submit what this says. This is what you guys
sent to my home. It says, if I want to speak, anybody that wants to
speak to the Planning Commission...
Mr. Wilshaw: Feel free to hand it to our clerk.
(Many audience members yelling out ) You know, out of courtesy give us 10
minutes. Half these people didn't even know about the meeting the
last time.
Mr. Wilshaw: I understand that, I understand that.
Audience member: And for us not to be able to say anything is not right when you
send this to my home.
Mr. Wilshaw: We don't need a group coming down to the podium, because,
again, I'm not going to be allowing speaking unless there's a
majority or majority of people on the commission wishing to have
public comments at this meeting. Is there anyone wishing to make
that motion?
(Audience member once again yelling questions)
Mr. Wilshaw: So, what was presented to us was a letter that was sent to one of
the residents stating that a public hearing will take place on October
22 by the Planning Commission. That is incorrect, but that's what
was...please don't speak over me.
Mr. Long: Hang on a minute.
October 22, 2024
31639
Mr. Wilshaw: The agenda says pending item but because they sent out a letter
stating that this is a public hearing, if the commission is willing to
accept that, this is our mistake, and people came here with the
intention or the thought that they would be able to speak, we could
open up the floor to allowing public comment, but it will be limited
to two minutes per person.
Mr. Long: Mr. Chairman, because we have heard these, I would be in favor
of opening it up for one minute comments.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, is that acceptable to the rest of the commission?
Mr. Caramagno: That's due to the error in this, in this memo that was sent out
to the residents, right?
Mr. Wilshaw: Correct, or perceived error, correct.
Mr. Caramagno: I'll support that.
Mr. Wilshaw: I think that'd be the correct thing to do. All right. Everyone okay with
that? Alright, if you'd like to speak, please come forward to the
podium. We need your name and address so we know who we're
speaking to, and please restrict your comments to one minute.
Willard Lindley, Livonia resident. Professionally, I'm an attorney, and when
Michigan required it, I was also a professional community planner.
It was at that time when Michigan required a licensing exam, and
they're pretty much similar. You open your comments this evening
regarding zoning, and that was all you are going to be addressing.
This is a zoning application from local, community, local retail to C-
2 then with a variance for C-3. That's basically highway commercial
in a C-2 zone, and that's authorized under the zoning ordinance.
My concern here is that this is going directly from a very low -density
development, recreation on the south side of Eight Mile and
residential on the north side of Eight Mile. And I know you don't like
to talk about what's on Eight Mile on the other side, you can't ignore
it. It is residential. Livonia has adopted a land use plan and a zoning
ordinance, and it's why our property values are where they are.
They're very good, the zoning ordinance.
Ms. Dinaro: That's time, sir.
Mr. Wilshaw: You had a minute.
Mr. Lindley: Are outstanding...,
Mr. Wilshaw: Your time is done.
October 22, 2024
31640
Mr. Lindley: You said I had two minutes.
Mr. Wilshaw: I said one minute.
Mr. Lindley: My introduction is a minute.
Mr. Wilshaw: I know it was
Mr. Lindley:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Lindley:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Lindley:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Lindley:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Greg Ralko,
Okay. May I submit something in writing?
Yes, you may.
From this point definitely, because this was at a public hearing.
How do I do that? Please provide specific instructions, because I
don't want that to get lost.
You can send it to City Hall. You can send it to the Planning
Department.
Planning department, the Director of the Planning Department. Do
I reference this as an item?
Yes, you can. You just reference to the Eight Mile and Newburgh
rezoning of this property.
They'll know? Use the rezoning number in the application.
You can, yes.. Thank you, sir.
Good evening. Mr. Ralko.
36116 Fairway Drive, Livonia, MI. I took the time since this last
meeting; I took the time to go to every resident in Golf Ridge Villa.
There are 118, I talked to 110. 95% of them said, no. Okay, if you're
going to put something in an area, what's the first thing you do. You
talk to the people that are going to be most affected. We're going
to be most affected. Okay? You talk about, you downplay runoff. It
could be run off. That's where we get our water from to water our
lawns, from those ponds. Let's not forget that. Okay? And the
biggest thing here is that this is a quality of life for us. A quality of
life issue. The people around our subdivision, and I might add
Willow Woods, which is on the south side of Whispering Willows.
They too, did a petition as well in their subdivision, and the same
percentages came. 95% said no. So, if you ignore the people most
affected, you're not doing your job.
October 22, 2024
31641
Mr. Wilshaw: We are all set. Thank you. Good evening, sir.
Dave Hall, 37300 West Eight Mile. I live directly across this monstrosity that's going
to propose to be built. Here. You can say what you want. This is a
truck stop. They are all truck stops. I...my bedroom...I have a big,
beautiful window in my bedroom. It's at the front of my house. 24/7,
365, I'm going to have light shining in my room. I will not be able to
sleep. And this gentleman, as much as I respect him, he calls
Whispering Willows a commercial property. No, it's not. It's
recreational. This is not commercial. If it was, I'd love to have my
property zoned commercial. It's just not going...this cannot
happen. I brought reports from Farmington Hills. I went to the
Freedom of Information Act. There's over 13 accidents on this
corner just in Farmington Hills, at Farmington Hills, probably twice
as many with Livonia. And I'm going to have Livonia's records.
Ms. Dinaro: Sir, that's time.
Mr. Hall: All right.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Hall: No thank you guys.
Michael Kenny, 35223 Pembroke, Livonia, MI. We live about a half mile from this
site. It's very important that we take into account that Livonia is one
of only two communities in the nation that has three golf courses
owned by the city, and then we have Greenmead across the street
from that. So that's a valuable property. That ought to be thought
through by the planning committee in a way that improves that
area, you know, as opposed to, as I understand, a 24-hour truck
stop being located there. So, I urge the committee not to change
the zoning. The zoning is there for very wise reasons, and we have
valuable property related to that. If you know this is the kind of
property where people would want to build condominiums to
overlook the golf course, as opposed to a 24 hour truck stop. So
please take all that into account, and it impacts us dramatically.
Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for your comments.
David Sharp, (no address given). I've distributed to you a statement that I prepared.
I understand a new subdivision is going to be built at the end of
Lujan in Livonia, where a church exists. Now this is going to be
another community that will be negatively affected by this possible
decision, although Mr. Wilshaw made the assumption that it was
going to pass, I hope he is wrong. But let me say, I thank you for
Mr. Wilshaw:
Linda Allen,
October 22, 2024
31642
allowing us to speak tonight. And I think in my statement, if you
read it carefully, you will see how much I care about Livonia and
how much I love the area where I live. And I hope you'll consider
that I'm a 78 year old former teacher and master gardener who
developed the gardens at the Finish Center, where many Livonia
people/members also use our gardens. Thank you very much.
Thank you, sir. Good evening. Ma'am.
37203 Whitetail Court, Farmington Hills, MI. It's a brand-new
subdivision of 17 home sites just north of Eight Mile and Halstead.
Key two questions. First of all, I guess this really put some thought
with the Sheetz individuals. What's the marketing concept on
volume of this place? What marketing studies were done was that
presented to any of you on this Planning Commission, that's really
food for thought, and we've been around all the communities,
talking to people, going to doors, writing emails. I'm on the HOA of
my subdivision, and in all honesty, no one's going to be going to
Sheetz after 8pm or 9pm. This is a very low key community with a
lot of upcoming families and retirees, and so I...that's why it's very
important to think about really, what are those projections and who
did marketing studies.
Mr. Wilshaw: All right, you're out of time. Ma'am, thank you for coming. Hello.
Good evening. Ma'am,
Faye Numer, I'm here representing business members part of the MENA
American Chamber of Commerce. Not only does this affect
residents in your area, it also affects the businesses in the area.
The entire supply chain is affected. This is cannibalizing revenue
as well as misallocating the resources away from existing gas
station owners who have lived in the area and contributed
significantly to the region for many years. We're not opposed to
competition. What we're opposed to is unfair competition. The
Sheetz business model, they enter an area, and they are able to
sell 88 octane with their underground tanks. And that puts existing
business owners at an automatic disadvantage, because they don't
have the same capabilities. That is 0.50 to 0.60 cents less per
gallon on average, compared to other business owners that are in
the area. So automatically, they're put at a disadvantage. The
gentleman that mentioned the underground tank leakage. That is
an EPA concern. Not only is the EPA scrutinizing Sheetz, there's
also scrutiny from the Equal Employment Commission with respect
to their unethical hiring practices where...
Mr. Wilshaw: You're running out of time. Thank you for your comments, though I
appreciate it.
October 22, 2024
31643
Ms. Numer: But just take into consideration the impact of the local community
as well as the residents.
Mr. Wilshaw: Got it. Thank you for your time. Thank you, ma'am.
Julianne Michaels Levine. I'm a resident in Halstead Hollow in Farmington Hills,
just north east of the Eight Mile and Newburgh intersection, I would
just like to offer...just driving through the area, and clearly I haven't
studied it and but there is other properties out there. There's at Six
Mile and 275, which is all commercial, open land space. There's
property for sale at the Seven Mile and 275 interchange property
for sale that are clearly in more commercial areas than the
intersection. So, for Sheetz to consider this particular property
versus some of the other areas that are in the commercial areas of
those exits off the highway. That's only something that I would at
least put forth, that maybe as a Planning Commission should be
considered.
Mr. Wilshaw: We appreciate your comments. Thank you
Thomas Perno, 21154, Prestwick, Farmington Hills, MI. An eighth of a mile, just
north of this location. I can sit on my deck, and I can hear the traffic
on Eight Mile right now. I can hear when they stop, when they take
off. I can hear the loud cars. You're going to put this business there
that's going to bring transient, people coming off of the expressway
with their trucks at night. When those air air brakes go on and off,
I'm going to hear those. I won't be able to sleep. I have a beautiful
home in Farmington Hills that I worked hard to get and you guys
are going to put this kind of business next to my house? I don't think
so.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for your comments. Good evening, sir.
Ron Sumner, 20008 Parker, Livonia, MI. Yeah, a couple of things. I can't believe
that they don't...they're not going to give them a D cell lane. If you
drive down Eight Mile, should be called Eight Mile highway. People
drive so fast through there, especially that intersection. So that's,
that's one reason why I don't think you should go in there. Another
one is that property, I believe is, isn't the...like the north half, like
12 to 15 feet higher than the south half. So, you try to get tanker
trucks in there with a lot of traffic, especially in the wintertime. I think
there could be some some accidents going on in there. And is the
Meijer at Seven Mile and Farmington still going in?
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes.
October 22, 2024
31644
Mr. Sumner: Are they going to build a gas station there?
Mr. Wilshaw: No.
Mr. Sumner: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir, sure. Yeah, certainly. That's perfectly okay. I
Johnny, I own the property, and I'm not selling the property to Sheetz, I am leasing
it to them. They have confidence in what they're going to do, but I
hear the word truck stop come up. They're not building a truck stop.
They have a truck stop at Metro airport. Trucks will not fuel here,
cannot fuel here, and cannot pull up and there's no room for them.
And the same thing I hear from all the people, I took notes at last
meeting. They all complain about traffic on Halsted northbound
because it goes to two lanes. How is that a problem of Livonia. I
drive down the road every single day on Newburgh Road,
sometimes twice a day on Newburgh Road. I never get backed up.
I never have a problem driving through. I drive on Eight Mile. Eight
Mile is busy. Eight Mile got paved 100 years ago. Eight Mile was
put there before it was a City of Livonia and it was a Township, and
the people that bought homes there knew there was traffic when
they bought those homes on Eight Mile Road. We're not putting in
a superhighway. We're putting a gas station in a place where you
can get a cup of coffee or a sandwich. Okay? We're not putting a
Cedar Point there, bringing bus Toads of kids from Indiana.
Mr. Wilshaw: Understood. Thank you, sir. Please have respect for other views.
Obviously, the majority of people here, we know, are against it, but
other people are welcome to their opinions as well. Good evening.
Karen Sutherland, 37300 West Eight Mile, right across from the old Rite Aid. I lived
there when that house was... it was a house when the doctor owned
it with the pool behind it, when it was a two lane road that its always
been a traffic problem. I went out and I videoed a horrible traffic
accident last week on the rainy day, at nine o'clock at night, the car
was totaled. There's traffic there all the time, when it's not going
this way it's coming into my driveway because it's all backed up.
So, I constantly have cars in and out of my driveway, because I
have a circle driveway. There is no room for more cars there and
for them to come in and out of that what would be Sheetz. It would
be horrible for my house and anybody else that's going on to Eight
Mile and Halstead. He has a million dollar reason to sell that place
or to lease that place, and if I wanted to, I would go commercial
with mine, but it's not appropriate in the area, so I just want you to
take that in consideration with traffic.
October 22, 2024
31645
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for your comments. Okay, hi, good evening. Ma'am.
Patty, Riggio, 37204 Bretton Drive, Livonia, MI. President of the Willow Woods
HOA. We submitted our all of our information of the 51 homes that
I pounded the pavement to go talk to. Forty-five are adamantly
against this. Also, you tabled this at the last meeting. My
understanding was you had six people in in attendance, three were
in favor, three were against. So, you had six, but now you only have
five. How can you make a vote with less people?
Mr. Wilshaw:
Jim Coterba,
Mr. Wilshaw:
Orin. Mazoni,
We have a quorum. We do have enough to make a vote. Thank
you. Good evening, sir.
resident of Livonia, MI. The only thing I have to say is, as I watch
these things happen, normally, by the time the proposal gets to this
point, it just seems like the decision has been made, and we've
personally, I feel like I'm wasting your time and mine at this point.
It just when it gets to this point and people come before you, I don't
get a sense that you listen. That's the first thing. My second point
is the fact that where in Livonia City Charter does it state that we
have to supply goods and services to Farmington or Farmington
Hills? We have strip malls, we have gas stations, we have liquor
stores. Farmington, Farmington Hills, next to their residential
suburbs, you don't find gas stations. You don't find liquor stores,
but they run down Newburgh at 50 and 55 miles an hour. They
gather their goods, and then they go to where they live, which they
voted against this. I'd like you to think about it. Thank you
Thank you. Appreciate your comments. I think there's one more
person. Good evening, sir.
37531, Dungarran Court, Northville, MI, which is actually Farmington
Hills. We are kitty corner, Meadowbrook Hills from the
development, other than the fact of all the things that have been
brought up so far, the noise, the traffic and so on. This is a very
unique corner for Livonia. Okay? If you drive down going east on
Eight Mile, you're coming down that hill, you have Greenmead on
the right, okay? It gives you a certain feeling, okay, about the area
and about the city. You come back, turn right on there you're going
back to Greenmead. You've got the golf course on the left. I mean,
it's just the whole area is just a very, very nice, comfortable place,
and I think it sets the mood for the whole city and why people live
there. I've been at my address for 45 years, so we've seen a lot of
changes there. I'm also a property owner in Livonia. Its a great city,
and I hope you would just take a look at the esthetics that's going
to happen if you put a gas station there.
October 22, 2024
31646
Mr. Wilshaw: We understand. Thank you,
Mr. Long: Mr. Chairman, let's cut off public comment after this last person in
line behind this gentleman,
Mr. Wilshaw: Definitely. Okay. Thank you. Good evening, sir.
Kenneth Moore, 20185 Ellen Drive, Livonia, MI. I'm just looking at the zoning
change, not the particular person who's asking for it. If you were to
change from C-1 to C-2 just going through the the Livonia PDF on
this, I could see that if this business failed, you could put in pawn
shops, payday lenders, auto paint shops, massage
establishments, hotels, radio, TV antennas. I don't think we really
want to change the zoning. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for your comments.
Colleen Powers. 20938, Deerfield, Farmington Hills, MI. I'd like to echo a lot of
what Mr. Mazoni just spoke about. The character of that corner and
what is there, and having the green space, if you will, of the golf
course, and of the homes and the residential area around there, as
well as all the beautiful property and historic nature of Greenmead,
to put a gas station on that corner completely changes the
character of that area, and we have two gas stations a mile down
the road at Eight and Haggerty, one at Seven and Farmington, and
three in the other direction, down Eight Mile. Two at Eight and
Farmington and one less than a mile away at Kroger at Gill. We are
not lacking for gas stations in our area, and I would hate to see the
city destroy the look of that area. I have two daughters in their 20s,
married, looking to move in to homes around there. That's where
they've been looking, but not if something like this is going to be in
their backyard.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, ma'am.
Mr. Wilshaw: We'll let you be the last person, and then we're done.
Claudia Lindley, 20218 Edgewood Avenue, Livonia, MI. We've been there for
about 20 years, and I agree with everybody about changing from
low density to high density is a really bad decision. We used to live
in Dearborn Heights. We moved about 20 years ago, right off of
Ford Road. Talk about high density. It's was so nice to move to
Livonia to drive down Haggerty. I mean, Newburgh drive up around
Eight Mile in front of the golf course, even the cemetery. I mean,
it's beautiful, and Sheetz gas station with a big red sign on 275 I
think it's really bad choice.
October 22, 2024
31647
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for your comments. Appreciate that. All right, at this
point, we close the comments. We do apologize to the residents
who misunderstood that this was a pending item, hopefully at least
giving another opportunity for some folks to speak on this item
helps with that. We did hear all your comments from our previous
meeting. We have heard your comments from tonight's meeting.
We have numerous emails and petitions. So, we do have a lot of
input from the residents, which we appreciate.
Mr. Long:
Chair, if I may, the one gentleman spoke that by the time it gets to
this point that it's a done deal, and nothing could be further from
the truth. This is the first bite at the apple for this. This comes before
us for a zoning issue. We're going to make a recommendation to
City Council. There will be another public hearing at City Council
where you will have the opportunity to speak, if you want. You will
be able to speak with the City Council members about it, if you'd
like to. From there it goes, if it gets approved, then it goes into a
site plan process. It will come back to the Planning Commission for
a site plan again. There will be a public hearing, and there will be
another opportunity to speak on it. And then from here, it will go
back to City Council again, so there are plenty of chances for you
to discuss this with your appointed commissions and your elected
officials, all right. So, nothing could be further from the truth than
that this is a done deal. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Long. Is there any other questions or comments
from any of the commissioners? If not a motion would be in order.
On a motion by Droze, seconded by Dinaro, and adopted, it was
#10-55-2024
RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on October 22, 2024, Petition
2024-08-01-04 submitted by Skilken Gold under Section 13.15 of
the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended, requesting to rezone
the property at 37355 Eight Mile Road, located on the southeast
corner of Eight Mile Road and Newburgh Road in the Northwest
/4 of Section 5, from C-1 (Local Business District) to C-2 (General
Business District), the Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2024-08-01-04 be
approved subject to the following conditions:
1. A zoning change to C-2 would be compatible and in
harmony with the area's surrounding land uses and zoning.
2. The proposed C-2 zoning is consistent with the longstanding
commercial use of the property.
October 22, 2024
31648
3. The proposed C-2 zoning will allow the development of the
subject property in a manner that is consistent with its size
and location and will bring additional commercial services
and retail to this part of the city.
4. The proposed zoning change represents a reasonable and
logical plan for the subject property that adheres to sound
land use planning principles.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 13.15 of
Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Droze, Dinaro, Caramagno
NAYS: Long, Wilshaw
ABSENT: Bongero, Ventura
ABSTAIN: None
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion on the motion? There's no discussion. I'm
going to pass the gavel. Mr. Chair?
Mr. Long: Yes.
Mr. Wilshaw: I'd like to speak on this item. This is something I don't do very often
in chairing meetings, but as a chairman, I'm not allowed to speak
prior to votes, because I don't want to influence any of my fellow
commissioners and making their decisions. So, I have passed the
gavel, so I'm no longer responsible for this item, but a lot of
comments have been made that residents have made, and I want
to address a few of them, and also just give my personal view on
to why I'm voting the way I am. It's no secret that I voted against
this item at our prior meeting, and I intend to vote against it at this
meeting. The reason for that is this is a rezoning of property from
C-1 to C-2 as many folks in the audience stated, We are raising the
intensity use of this property by doing that rezoning. At C-1 it's a
local, what's called local zoning. It allows for light commercial uses.
I would say it's probably the best way to describe it, similar to the
ones that we've seen there previously. There is a light commercial
use north of this property, which is the daycare center in
Farmington Hills. The remainder of this intersection, when you look
at it, is residential and public land. It's parks, it's a golf course and
Mr. Long:
October 22, 2024
31649
residential properties, including right at the corner, which is highly
unusual at most corners throughout our city to have residential right
at the corner. When I look at this area, it's a very unique area in the
sense of having so much open space. There's hundreds of acres
of open land in the vicinity. And I'm also old enough to remember
when many areas of the city were like this. But this really exists
nowhere else in Livonia at this point, and if I stand at this
intersection, I can go one mile in almost any direction to get access
to a gas station. I get access to a convenience store. I can get
access to fast food restaurants, and many of those operate with
extended hours, not necessarily 24 hours, but extended hours. I
drive through the intersection of Eight Mile and Newburgh daily. I
live right near there, and when I stop at that intersection, I say to
myself, do I need gas at this corner? Do I need a convenience store
at this corner. Do I need fast food dining at this corner, 24 hours a
day? And the answer to that for me is no. So, rezoning the property
to C-2 for those intended uses is increasing the intensity use, and
I don't think it's it's appropriate at this location. I know Sheetz is
very eager to find a location in our city that works for the
community, for everyone involved and for themselves, and I think
there are some good locations around the area that could support
this type of business that are either currently zoned to the
appropriate zoning or are also available on the market at this time.
Some maybe not available on the market at this time, but will be in
the future. But whatever happens with this vote, I just want to
remind the audience that we are making a recommendation to City
Council. This is not the final step. As Mr. Long said, there's many
more steps for this to go. So, for any residents interested in this, I
do suggest that you continue to follow the process as it moves
forward. City Council will hold their own public hearing. You'll be
able to speak at that and they're ultimately going to make the
decision on this. I do want to thank the petitioner for coming and
giving his presentation tonight. I also want to thank the audience
for being respectful through this meeting. And that's the end of my
comment. Thank you. Mr. Chair.
We have a motion on the table that has been supported. We have
passed three to two, so this will go on to City Council with the
recommending approval. And we wish you luck with your project.
Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for coming.
Mr. Long: I am going to pass the gavel back to Mr. Wilshaw to come to attend
to the next. Thank you.
October 22, 2024
31650
ITEM #2 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,219th Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of
the Minutes of the 1,219th Public Hearing and Regular Meeting
held on September 10, 2024.
On a motion by Caramagno, seconded by Dinaro, and unanimously adopted, it
was
#10-56-2024 RESOLVED, That the Minutes of 1,220th Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on October 8,
2024, are hereby approved.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Long, Caramagno, Wilshaw
NAYS: None
ABSENT: Ventura, Bongero
ABSTAIN: Dinaro, Droze
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,221st Public
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on October 22, 2024, was adjourned at 8:03
p.m.
ATTEST:
Ian Wilshaw, hairman
CITY PLA ING COMMISSION
am Car! agno, Secretary