Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1,224 - January 14, 2025MINUTES OF THE 1,224th PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA On Tuesday, January 14, 2025, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia held its 1,224th 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: Wafa Dinaro Patrick Droze David Bongero Sam Caramagno Glen Long Ian Wilshaw Members absent: Peter Ventura Mr. Jacob Uhazie, 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 2024-12-02-20 Nene's Little Angel Daycare Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2024- 12-02-20 submitted by Nene's Little Angels Daycare requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 6.13 of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, to operate a day care nursery at 28275 Five Mile Road, located on the southwest corner of Five Mile Road and Lyons Street in the Northeast'/4 of Section 24. January 14, 2025 31720 Mr. Uhazie: Good evening. This is a petition that involves operating a daycare, childcare, nursery on the corner of Five Mile and Lyons Street. We did receive some updated site plans this afternoon that have been provided to you, and I will discuss those through this presentation. The site is zoned C-1 (local business) in the front 180 feet and the remaining 30 feet of the property is zoned P (Parking). Regulations pertaining to childcare, nurseries, require a waiver use approval under Section 6.13 of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance. The petition building shares an interior wall with the adjacent parcel to the west, which is also split zoned between C-1 and P. To the north across Five Mile Road all the properties are zoned C-1. To the east, across Lyons Street are two vacant parcels split zoned between C-1 and RUF. To the south and southeast are single family homes of the Dutch Mills Garden subdivision, which are all zoned RUF. The property measures 21,131 square feet in area with approximately 93 feet along Five Mile Road and 210 feet along Lyons Street. The site contains an existing one-story building, measuring 15 feet in height and measuring 3,606 square feet in size. The building was previously occupied by Livonia Urgent Care and Medical Center, but it currently sits vacant. The petitioner would occupy the entire building, which consists of a ground level floor and basement level. The ordinance requires childcare centers to have at least 5,000 square feet of outdoor play space. The site plan shows 2,900 square feet of fenced outdoor play area located directly south of the building. The Planning Commission and City Council can waive the 5,000 square foot requirement with approval from the state regulatory body. The outdoor play area would be surrounded by a five-foot white vinyl fencing. Access to the play area is provided by two gates to the north. The site plan identifies an emergency only exit gate in the southeast corner of the play area. Daycare nurseries require one parking space per 250 square feet. These regulations would require 12 parking spaces for this petition. The site plan shows 24 parking spaces for the daycare and another six unspecified parking spaces located in the dog leg that extends to the west. Two access drives serve the site on Lyons Street and cross access to the western neighbor the property appears to be maintained. The dumpster has been moved to the southeast corner of the play area. The site plan now shows a six-inch CMU dumpster enclosure as well. No further details on the dumpster are provided. The site plan shows no changes to the existing landscaping. The location expects to be licensed for about 90 children and have staff of about 15 members. Ages would range from six weeks to five years old. The plan includes a vestibule, lobby, reception area, four classrooms, a kitchenette and restrooms. One of the classrooms would be located in the basement level. The elevation plans that were Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Uhazie: January 14, 2025 31721 submitted show that the previously covered windows on the north and east side of the building would be daylighted. To the north, elevation plans show they would add two new doors and one new window. On the east, there would be one new door and two new windows. The plans also show a proposed wall sign on the east elevation above the main entryway, but no sizes are listed. The existing monument sign on the northeast corner would also remain in place. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence. Yes, please. Mr. Uhazie: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated December 30, 2024, 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 but would like to note the following items: 1. The subject parcel is assigned the address of #28275 Five Mile Road. Should additional addresses be needed, the Owner will need to contact this Department once approvals have been obtained. 2. The existing parcel is currently serviced by public sanitary sewer and water main, and private storm sewer. The submitted drawings do not include any proposed utility information or calculations, so we cannot comment on any proposed impacts to the existing systems at this time. 3. Although the drawings do not indicate any future utility information, it should be noted the any proposed re -development other than building renovations will be required to provide storm water improvements and detention per the Wayne County Stormwater Ordinance. 4. Any disturbances with the Five Mile Road right-of-way will require permits through the Wayne County Department of Public Service, including drive approach and sidewalk removals and placements." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated January 6, 2025, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request to renovate a commercial building on the property located at the above referenced address. We have no objections to this proposal with the following stipulations: Smoke detectors is every room, plan review on amount and location of Carbon Monoxide detectors. Due to building not being suppressed with sprinklers with a below grade level, curious as to ratio of child to staff and a written plan for evacuation procedures. A further detailed plan review will take place when this division receives an official plan set." The letter is signed by Brian Kukla, Fire Marshal. The next letter is from the Division of Police, dated January 6, 2025, which reads as follows: "1 have January 14, 2025 31722 reviewed the plans in connection with the petition. I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Paul Walters, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the Inspection Department, dated January 13, 2025, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above -referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1. This petition is a change of use and requires the building to meet all current Michigan Building Codes, including the Michigan Barrier Free Code. This will be addressed further at the time of our plan review if this project moves forward. 2. The parking lot shall be repaired and restriped as necessary. Parking spaces shall be double -striped and 10' wide by 20' deep. 3. Signage has not been reviewed. 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 December 30, 2024, which reads as follows: "1 have reviewed the addresses 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 December 27, 2024, which reads as follows: "As of today the summer 2024 taxes of $8,006.02 have not been paid on this property and the winter taxes of $6,847.98 are due February 14, 2025. I have attached copies of the tax bills" The letter is signed by Susie Nash, Treasurer. Nex is a letter on behalf of the petitioner from the real estate partner, AT Realestate, LLC, dated January 12, 2025, that reads: "We shall pay any outstanding property taxes on the property commonly known as 28275 Five Mile Road, Livonia, Michigan at closing. The title company has already collected all of the property tax information required and will be sending out the payments on our behalf, from the sale proceeds provided by the purchaser Nene's Little angels Holding, LLC. ", signed Ibrahim Abubars. Lastly is a letter, dated January 14, 2- 25, reads: "I'd like to first and foremost apologize not being able to physically attend tonight's meeting. Based upon members of the board's recommendation, I have attempted to meet with the new potential owners of 28275 Five Mile Rd but haven't been able to physically meet with the new owners do to scheduling conflicts on both parties. My name is Gina Mckague-Myers. 1 own the attached/adjoining properties 28289 Five Mile Rd & 28291 Five Mile Rd where 1 run a retirement planning business. I purchased these properties in 2013. My building is attached to 28275 Five Mile Rd. We share a roof, a brick wall and a parking lot that are all directly attached. Mckague Financial has been helping the citizens of Livonia and the surrounding area plan and secure a successful retirement for over 11 years at this location. I have invested well over $100,000 in these properties, constantly January 14, 2025 31723 upgrading both the outside fagade and the interior within. I believe these improvements have increased not only my property values but the surrounding values as well. I've grown to adore Livonia and would love nothing more than to have my business there for years to come. Over the last decade I have witnessed the citizens, officers and board members help transform and improve the city. I encourage people to bring their businesses to Livonia and I'm delighted to welcome a Day Care facility to the area. I do unfortunately have a large number of concerns in connection with my office/medical building. Although I love more than anything the sounds of children playing, it's been my experience over the last 26 years that a quiet, calm and dependable environment is 100% necessary for a financial services business. This environment has proven to be necessary when discussing a recent loss in the family, deciding on major financial decisions, planning for retirement and discussing someone's estate plan. I even make it a point to not have my cell phone in the meeting. Naturally, I'm concerned of the noise levels that will penetrate the adjoining walls and even more so, the playscape noise level right outside my office doors. The potential new owner has assured me (over the phone) that a high -quality sound barrier is being installed on the 28275 Interior walls to help prevent the inside noise level issues. I'm very appreciative of that accommodation, but I am much more concerned about the outside playscape noise level. I suggested the playscape potentially be moved to the back of the parking lot against the parking lot wall but even the prospective owner expressed noise level concerns for the residents living nearby even though they would have 6-foot-tall thick brick wall and a backyard separating them. My other major concern is the traffic/parking situation. I have been assured that a privacy fence would be installed prior to the opening of the business to help prevent cars parking in my lot during pick up/drop off of the children. With an estimated 70-80 children per day, that's a lot of traffic to endure off 5 mile which is my private drive/parking lot and is the ONLY entrance off the main road. I believe a privacy fence is the only way to assure both safety for children from the vehicles that continuously drive through the lot but also to keep my lot clear for my own clients, especially during the heavy pick-up/drop-off times. I have requested clear signage to be installed showing the entrance and exit of the Day Care, so I don't have to be concerned for the safety of my senior clients, walking from the handicap spot to my front door on the other side of my private drive. The survey of 28275 appears to zig zag a little behind my property but the plans show a straight privacy fence through my lot, this is confusing to me. Unless that property line needs to be addressed? At first, I didn't believe there was a solution for the outdoor noise but recently a friend told me about January 14, 2025 31724 high quality sound barrier panels that can be customized to entirely enclose the outdoor play structure. 1 have not looked into the cost factor but this seems like a possible solution for the outdoor noise concern. Ultimately, my property and 28275 was zoned as a medical/business office. I want to maintain the quality and value of my properties and not have anything that could take away from their values. In my brief phone conversation, the prospective property owners of 28275 seemed to be accommodating, understanding and successful business owners. Being a female minority business owner myself, I'm excited to see more business owners entering Livonia and I look forward to working with them with the hopes we can come to a solution.", signed Gina McKague-Myers. That is the extent of the correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Uhazie, is there any questions for our planning staff? Ms. Dinaro: Jacob, has the tax bill been paid? I know we got correspondence on it, but has there been any movement since? Mr. Uhazie: No, it's my understanding that, it's in some sort of escrow until the property closes, and at that time, those funds will be transferred. Ms. Dinaro: Do we know when that'll happen? When the property closes? Is it going to be after this process? Mr. Uhazie: Probably conditional on this item Ms. Dinaro: Got it. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Bongero. Mr. Bongero: Do we know of any other daycares in the city that are adjoined to another business? Mr. Uhazie: I've discussed with the Director, Mark, and I've looked at it. We're not aware of any. That's not to say there is not any, but we are not aware of any. Mr. Bongero: Okay, the reason I'm asking is because I know I spoke to the owners next door at length last week, and the noise is the biggest concern, and so...and then I'm looking at, like, the aerial view of the lot configuration, and on ours right here, we've got the view shows a bright red outline of the lot configuration for each building. So, what happens to the daunt leg here. So, where the dog leg is that goes to the west the fence line that they're showing Mr. Uhazie: Mr. Bongero: Mr. Uhazie: January 14, 2025 31725 putting up comes square off the building, so are they giving away that? I mean, what happens to that extra piece of property there? Per their site plan, it appears that it would still be their property but would remain striped as if it was for the other. The petitioner may be able to say more about why that is, but that's the way it is. But I think...I'm hoping that these owners understand that that's the property configuration, because she mentions that the property outline is concerning to her. The other thing is the dumpster. Where we talked about it doesn't seem to be placed in the area like we talked at the study meeting. At the study meeting, yes, it was discussed being placed further south, replacing some of the parking, as mentioned the site does have adequate parking, so losing some of those parking in the southwest corner would not be an issue. Mr. Bongero: Seems awkward right there, right next to the playground. And we can take that up with the petitioner too. I think that's it for right now, until the petitioner comes up. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Bongero, any other questions for planning staff? Okay, if the petitioners here, you are free to come forward to our podium. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for being here. Good evening. Can you start with your name and address for our record? Chenita Farmer, 17150 Inkster Road, Redford, Michigan, 48240. Mr. Wilshaw: Very good. Thank you, Ms. Farmer, for being here. And what would you like to tell us about your business? Ms. Farmer: We have been in the Redford area since 2017. We have three locations there. We currently have serviced over hundreds of children. We are professional daycare center. Our teachers are qualified with teaching certificates and or bachelor's degrees and above. We offer a variety of different services to children, where working families can go to work every day and know that their children are being cared for and educated. I am passionate about this. We went to school, so it wasn't like, hey, I want to open a daycare. I went to school; I got degrees so that I can teach children. I am a mother of three, a single mother of three. I have a son who has autism, which prompted me to get further into the educational realm, because I know how difficult it is to take care Mr. Wilshaw: January 14, 2025 31726 of children, and I also know how it is being a parent and having to work to provide for your children. We call our centers a home away from home. We are family oriented. We love what we do. We love what we provide. We would say that we are upstanding citizens of Redford. Again, we have three locations there. The city, township, county knows us. We are respectable. All of our current centers are either one that is on Grand River and it is attached to other locations, and the current one on Six Mile and Inkster is next to a home, and we share a retaining wall, and the respect is there. To speak on that. I did address the outside noise. Unfortunately, you know, kids will be kids. We don't allow children to, you know, when they're outside, they're just playing. We want to work with the community to see what works best for them. We propose, right now, they go outside for like 30-minute increments between 10 and 11 they're in by 11:30, 10 to 11:30 something like that, and then the next set goes out around three to maybe four or 5:30 so they will be, you know, they're being dismissed at 5:30 when pretty much everybody would get home. I also am interested in maybe having...we do indoor play for inclement weather. I did speak with MS Gina in great length and thank you, and we made the adjustments to make sure that her building and her business is respected as ours. And we're just hoping to come into the community to add more value to Livonia and work with the residents. Okay, well, thank you for that presentation. Let me see if there's some questions for you. I think there's probably a few from some of the commissioners. Questions for our petitioner? Mr. Bongero., Mr. Bongero: Hello. Couple questions. One, when the kids come out to the play area, where do they come out of, the basement? Ms. Farmer: Well, there would come from different sections. So, as you can see, we have eight different age groups. Certain age groups are not allowed to be mixed on the playground at one time. So, the four -year -olds or the three -year -olds that are in the basement, they will come out of the basement, or, because it'll be easier, out the basement and onto the playground. Mr. Bongero: Okay, it looks like it's completely fenced in. There are a couple gates to get in. Ms. Farmer: Yes. Mr. Bongero: There's a...it looks like electrical transformer out there. It's a cabinet. I didn't open it up, but I'm just wondering if you guys should try to block that off so the kids can't mess around with that. Ms. Farmer: January 14, 2025 31727 It didn't look like it was locked. If you look on the back side, on the back of the building, there's a transformer on the ground. Then there's a gas meter too. It'd be a good idea to try to block that off with some type of a gate, though, because they're gonna probably have to access that utility company in the future. You know what I mean, but I would like you to consider that. The big thing is the sound. So, I don't know how we ensure that that's going to be taken care of, because they, they made it very clear to me that they can hear literally everything on the other side of the wall when the other business was there. And so their concern was with kids inside, it's going to be a lot louder, and she needs quiet, and that's how she runs her business. So, I don't know how we...it would have been nice to have you guys get together and come to an agreement or have a blueprint with the architect stating what type of sound barriers are going to be put up so it's agreeable to everybody. You know what I'm saying. I don't know how to address that, but I think that should be, that should be that needs to be addressed. I mean, it's very important, because they wanted to be here, but they somebody's sick in the family. I spoke with her, yeah, I spoke with her. And I actually in our car ride when we got on the phone, I had just left the building, and when she told me of her concerns, I immediately turned back around and I said, hey, I'm about to walk through the building. Would you like to be on FaceTime? And I improv walked through the entire building, every classroom. She didn't hear peep, and it was peak hours. Mr. Bongero: Was it, okay? Ms. Farmer: It was peak hours. Mr. Bongero: She said, You guys are very workable, yeah. But it was still conveyed, very concerned about it. Ms. Farmer: All, kids aren't the same, right? All centers aren't the same kids. When you have structure with children, you don't get all of that. We have structure. We have a daily...our routine is we follow the routine to the T every minute of the day. Do kids get antsy? Do we have some children falling out and everything? Yes, but it's not all of them. You maybe get one or two. They don't scream and yell for hours. There's a calming corner. We know how to calm them. We are trained. We know how to talk to them. They know how to talk to us. We teach them that. Our kids know how to speak hand sign language, because I can't understand you when you're crying, so they know how to tell us a more happy things like that. So we equip them with the tools. Because, of January 14, 2025 31728 course, in our industry, we don't want to hear the hollering children and babies all day. That's not what we're here to do. We're here to teach them. Mr. Bongero: And you can see their concern? Ms. Farmer: Absolutely. Mr. Bongero: 90 kids, you know? You know, the first thing you go is oh my gosh it is going to be loud, you know what I mean. Ms. Farmer: Mr. Bongero: The limit is 90, but we won't have 90. I have buildings that are licensed for 97 kids and I have a number of, like, 50 or 60, so it won't be, I wouldn't, won't say that it won't be 90, but that won't be the norm all the time. Okay, I just think it's a concern that really needs to address the sound in and out. I think just of all this, it's a great petition. I I like it. I just think for them, because they couldn't be here and they couldn't talk to you. If they could have been at the study meeting would have been good. We could have hash this out, but I think at a minimum, we put some language in here that the sound will be addressed in and out. You know what I mean? Mr. Farmer: My architect is here, Mr. Cooke, is here too. Brian Cooke, Develop Architecture. I'm the architect for the project. And when Ms. Farmer spoke about the concern about the noise on the interior, my current understanding, because I haven't been in, the inside the roof or nothing, but it's two CMU walls right that are shared so and per the plans right now, only about half of her building would have a classroom up against it. So, our anticipation, as you see, yeah at the top, yeah that classroom there on the left-hand side. So, anticipation would be to add sound attenuation to that shared wall for most for the space itself, right? Because, and now it's a long, you know, long, narrow space, so we want to add stuff like that. There'll be stuff on the wall anyway, but making sure we're doing that, and on top of that, depending on how the if they are connected, I don't think their two roofs are connected, but if they are, figure out adding some insulation above the ceiling, yeah, to make sure we're stopping that sound from traveling. The outside. I think there's a lot of different, you know, strategies to attack that, but we're open to having that conversation. Mr. Bongero: And it might be something you get set up, you start opening up, and then you guys, if she's complaining, you guys work it out. Ms. Farmer: January 14, 2025 31729 I actually reached out to her yesterday, I'm sorry yesterday to you know, like, hey, are we still meeting for tomorrow? And I didn't get a response. And then I called her as well to follow up, and I didn't get a response. She did text me back this morning and told me of the emergencies. And I asked, can we meet tomorrow? I am leaving to go out of town, but I told her, I can meet with her about 15-20 minutes tomorrow, in the morning. So I am definitely open for it. Mr. Bongero: I just want to make sure it's addressed. Ms. Farmer: Yes, definitely, yeah. Thank you for asking. Mr. Bongero: I think that that's most of my questions, the dumpster and that. And that was it. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Bongero, any other questions for the petitioner? Mr. Droze. Mr. Droze: Mr. Cooke: Mr. Chair, good evening. Thanks for coming. I agree. I think it's a good, good project. It seems like it's a good location for it, off a main road, you know, certainly for pickups and drop offs. So, there was a couple things we talked about at our study session, and maybe I'll go through them and you could speak to them. I did see that looks like you are proposing some improvements to the ADA accessible route, which is one of the things we talked about. So, we're happy to see that. The one item that I don't think was necessarily indicated on the plans, other than staying that the plan is to maintain existing is the lighting we talked about. So currently out there, right now, it seems like there are kind of flood lights that shine off the building. And just kind of reviewing our city's policy, I think the goal is to try to not have that so it's casting glare onto adjacent properties. Maybe speak to that, is there any opportunity that you see as part of the project to correct that? I think it might just be for the lights that are currently on the building, picking the correct fixtures and making sure that they're shining in a way that when you looking at the building, you're not staring at it, right? That it's angled downward, so that the light is there on the surface, but not shooting out, you know, horizontally, and I think that might be some of the issues, because it's some of the old styles...the bug eyes that are out there right now that I think might be causing some of the problem. Mr. Droze: I think it's actually...there's LEDs that are on top. There are the ones that you're talking about, but then there's a second set that Mr. Cooke: Mr. Droze: Mr. Cooke: Ms. Farmer; Mr. Droze: January 14, 2025 31730 are on top that maybe those were added recently, but they're, well, very much against what our policy states. Well, then we'll make sure that we, like I said, it's a fixture issue. Then it will make sure that that is in accordance with providing the correct light levels, but then also making sure that it's not shining in that in that manner. Okay, I think that that would be relative to the neighbors and the and Lion Street. And then the other one was the play area within the parking lot. We talked last time about potentially providing a buffer. I do see that there's wheel stops on the adjacent property, and I think there are bollards added around the corners, which I think helps with some of the cornering vehicles. But I guess the question remains in my mind, we talked about snow plows. We also talked that, you know, that there's vehicles traveling right there, right next to where kids are playing. I guess maybe speak to the decision to not include curbing around the play area. For the most part, it deals with expense, right? Because we're actually trying to dig out the driveway as it is. So I've done, quite a few where, you know, in this situation, and then additional buffering and grass is additional maintenance, right? Whereas that could be used for the kids themselves, rather than additional, you know, shrubs or trees out there. But you know, curbing if, if that, you know, apeezes, and that's something that's opening to that, but in terms of just trying to be efficient as possible with the layout, and thinking about the initial cost. I have a question. So the ballers are? They call it ballers, the big bollard things, where we have them on Six Mile, where we put them every like one, every so many feet, so it will go around the entire perimeter, or the front perimeter, or of the playground, would that be sufficient? I guess I'm going to speak on the basis of esthetics. I just, I don't think that would...to me, I think there's a part of this project where, you know, you're bringing in a new use and I do think there's...beyond the facade, I feel like there's some site improvements and Mr. Bongero talked a little bit about the location of the dumpster. To me, it feels like...I feel like a little more effort on that side of it, because the site has way more parking than you need. I think the recommendation was, I don't know if it was 12 spaces, and by my count, if you include those ones on the adjacent dog leg, which technically are on your property, you have 31 spaces. Okay, so to me, my preference is, if you're interested, is that, you know, to try to provide that buffer. January 14, 2025 31731 I think there's opportunity for landscaping. I know that was noted that there wasn't any real landscaping as part of the project. It just feels to me that, you know, that's that is where the kids are going to be playing. And I think some buffering that could even help with some of the sound issue, too, some vegetation. So those are some, some of my thoughts, and I appreciate your feedback on that. Ms. Farmer: I appreciate your suggestion. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Droze. Are you all set with it? Mr. Droze: Yes, I am. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Any other questions for our petitioner? Mr. Caramagno. Mr. Caramagno: Just, so I'm clear, when you talked about the bollards all the way around the play area, or just on the corners Mr. Cooke: Right now they're just on the corners. But again, if the concern is safety, and you know, then we could add them, but then at that point, then curbing makes more sense, right? As in what I'm showing now, having the bollards on the corners, making sure that, you know, the major corners are not being hit. But if, you know, we were to do a bollard every few feet, then, yeah, add a six-inch curb at that point would make sense. Mr. Caramagno: I think the concern that I've got is if you've got children playing in a fenced in area, the vinyl fenced in area, what prevents a car from going in there and hitting them and hurting somebody? I understand a six-inch curb, but even the even the smallest of cars can jump a six-inch curb and get in the in the play area. If someone puts their car in reverse and hits the...means to hit the brake pedal, hits the gas pedal, they back right through that wall and can hurt someone. So, I'm into something that would secure that area from children being hurt. And we just did a job at Seven Mile and Newburgh. I think we had them put big rocks there to protect kids, just in the event. But I'd like to see something that protects them. And you know, as Patrick said, Mr. Droze said about some landscape, and I don't think that's necessarily bad thing either, to add to this plan, but I like to see some protection for the kids. And I gotta say, I'm not crazy about the dumpster being right there on the edge of that fence, either. I think that needs to be somewhere else. Mr. Cooke: January 14, 2025 31732 Yeah, the difficulty with the dumpster. So the current version of the site plan, I was trying to maintain the aisle on that back end to continue that so that cars could still get back and forth, because my understanding was that it was a shared parking in that back area, right? Just how it's laid out right now, obviously, now getting the actual property layout, I'm seeing a very different vision, but trying to be neighborly and making sure that we can kind of maintain on what the perception of everybody's lot was. So in doing so, putting the trash on that corner, allowing the dump truck to come in and out without much fanfare, going too deep in, and then adding some extra production at the corner for the play area. Mr. Caramagno: I understand what you're saying. I'm just not crazy about it right next to the play area. A dumpster, you never know what might happen with that truck coming in. The kids are out there, I just...it's an uneasy feeling with kids anywhere near that garbage truck. Mr. Wilshaw: Alright, any other questions or comments for our petitioner? I don't see any others at this moment. Let's see if there's someone else in the audience wishing to speak on this item, and then we'll give you a chance to come back up afterward. Thank you. Thank you. Ms farm, anyone else in our audience wishing to speak for against, feel free to come forward, sir. Good evening. Good evening, Dennis Kewin, 15093, Lyon Street, Livonia, MI. I'm the property directly behind this business, behind the concrete wall that is crumbling apart as we speak. Over the years, I've put mulch down and just had nothing but stone crumbling off this wall. So, waste of my money. Another thing that I'm getting is...I'm very supportive of small business. I'm really supportive of the small business. I think they're, they're detrimental to our societies. They're kind of the heartbeat of them. And then you get the bigger ones, which are your corporations. What I am having a hard time with here is the staple of the community that hasn't been discussed here, and that's the residents. The residents of this community are your staple, not your businesses, because without your residents, your businesses won't have business. The other thing is, is that they were reaching out to contact each other as businesses, but nobody came to myself or my family, other than in the means of a letter by the city, which I find to be kind of shallow. My home, my pursuit of happiness starts there. I have been a volunteer in this city for over 15 years with children. I have coached baseball, from T ball, currently working with some high school kids. Love it. Can't get enough of it, so much so that I had to go to Southfield January 14, 2025 31733 and start with some organizations over there. Not only that, I also went to Redford and helped out over in Redford, I love it. I love kids. I like to come home to peace and quiet. As I see right now, that's going to be disrupted. It's going to be disrupted on any given time. I know that they have a schedule, but my schedule is 24/7 at that house. That's our family that lives there. That's our peace time right there. It's concrete there. You guys know how echo...just it just echoes off the concrete. There's nothing to slow it down like you say, we need some kind of sound barriers. Upon saying that, I'm an independent contractor for operators engineer, I have built sound barrier walls alongside the expressways. By all means, I'm not asking for a sound barrier wall of that size or that caliber, but there's going to be needing something done to block out that noise and to retain our privacy as being sovereign citizens and seeking our pursuit of happiness in our own homes. And I hope that we can come to resolve. I have some ideas of myself, like I said, maybe we could discuss raising that wall, getting that wall repaired, getting it raised up maybe a few more feet. We talk about the adjacent properties across the street there. Now, although that's an adjacent property that's vacant, that vacant lot is owned by the liquor store there, is it not? So, my concern now is, okay, we have the liquor store here down the way. We have an assisted living home. I've been living at this house. My wife and I have been here for 30 years, and we've seen so many transformations going on, on this corner, from doctors' offices originally, to a COVID testing site back to whatever it is now. The COVID testing site was probably the biggest test of my nerves, because every day I'd be in my kitchen window and I would see somebody relieving themselves in the parking lot. And it didn't matter whether it was a number one or number two, I've called the police several times. I would like the sergeant's name that you spoke with to get any of the reports of the incidents that had taken place over there. We talk about dumpsters. I don't know. I know that you guys are aware that City of Livonia has had a rat problem. T hat all started back when 96 was ripped up. When that was ripped up we had fought them with you guys telling you, and now you're talking about setting a dumpster next to a playground. That sounds kind of disgusting to me, because I can just see them rats having a good old time in that playground too, after rummaging through that dumpster with all their feces and urine. Concerns, yes, total objections, no. Like I said, there's compromise to be made. Door is open. I'm willing to hear suggestions, and I've even offered the property up for sale, if you guys would consider rezoning it for her. So, thanks for hearing me out, except some of my concerns. I'm sure I could come up with a lot more, but I'm just going to touch on that for now. January 14, 2025 31734 Mr. Wilshaw: We appreciate your comments. Thank you for coming forward. Thank you anyone else wishing to speak on this item? Mr. Wilshaw: Hello, good evening. ma'am. Maggie Hineman, 28342 Five Mile Road, Livonia, MI. I have lived in Livonia for 44 years, plus 10 years before then, and I've owned a business here for 44 years. I think that we desperately need a childcare center here. I'm 75-years-old, and I watch the parents in my neighborhood drag their kids back and forth from their homes because they've worked out a system where, right now, they can take care of one another's children, but they certainly would like to have something like a daycare center there. Now I'm not sure. Will your daycare center also handle the challenged ma'am, okay, please talk to them. I'm sorry, but that was important to me also, because I have...I happen to be an Arc advocate Association of Retired citizens, and I think it's important that we have one care for those children in this community. Also, my only concern that I have here is that the gentleman mentioned about the liquor store on the corner and the Health Care Center, Majestic. Unfortunately, the one concern I have is for the security, for access to those backyard locations of the children. Yes, you could not restrict the daycare center from being near a liquor store, not at that distance, but unfortunately, a lot of the gentlemen from Majestic use that liquor store as a bar. They pick up a couple of handfuls of their small bottles and they drink them as they wheel themselves down Five Mile. Not judging them. They've probably been a lot of pain and a lot of sorrow, but I just want to make sure that the children are protected. Perhaps you could have just key access or access card to the back and just have only open access to one entrance in the front. That would be my only concern. But I truly believe that we do need a care facility, particularly if we're going to take care of our challenged children. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for your comments. Anyone else wishing to speak on this item? Ms. Hineman: One more thing. Mr. Wilshaw: We give you one more shot there at the bite of the apple. Ms. Hineman: The young lady that was complaining next door. I got to believe that when they had the urgent care centers there that they had in and out traffic continually, and here you're going to have in traffic around nine o'clock and out traffic at five. It seems like she would Mr. Wilshaw: Ms. Farmer: January 14, 2025 31735 have less, less transactions there. Sounds like a Karen to me. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. If there's no one else wishing to speak on this item, I'm going to give Ms. Farmer a chance to come back up. If there's anything that you would like to address. We don't want to create, obviously, back and forth debates, but you did hear some concerns expressed and some ideas of improvements that could be made. Is there any thoughts that you have as to anything that you heard, or any other comments that you would like to make? The first one that I would like to address, because it's just been brought to my attention by the residents about the liquor store and the flow of the traffic. My architect and I...I just asked him if we could look into the code to maybe fence in the entire property and have a rolling gate for the entrances and, you know, for them to go in and go out, so that maybe we can keep our children safe, which is my first priority, keeping my staff and my children safe. Had I known that we would have discussed that in our plans, but I did not know that. The noise, we will go back and figure out something to see what we can do to work with the residents to keep the noise level down again. Our children really aren't that riled up and screaming, but of course, when they are on the playground, you know, you do get a couple of screams here and there again. I am in a quiet subdivision, and I love my quiet and quaintness, and when I want to, you know, hear all of that, I go to my family's house in the city, but I come home and I relax and rest that I know that I am safe, and I definitely, if you guys can remember, that was the first thing I said, was about the noise and about the residents taking them into consideration. I'm thankful that they came to the meeting, and they are open to discuss this and work together. And I would like to do that. I do feel that there is a need for childcare in the City of Livonia. I'm literally around...all of my other centers are literally around the corner. So, we float. I flow through here, and I don't see it. And we have people that live in the apartments, right? I don't know what they're called, I'm sorry, but right across the street from this location that bring their kids all the way over here, not even bring them. We actually drive to get pick the kids up from that location, when now they can walk across the street. So, we are open to negotiation, suggestions, anything will help. We want to be at value and bring value to the city of Livonia. That is our goal. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you very good. Thank you, Ms. Farmer. I appreciate your comments, and I will now go back to the commission. Is there anybody on the commission wishing to ask any additional Ms. Dinaro: January 14, 2025 31736 questions? No additional questions from anyone. If not, I'm going to close the public hearing and a motion will be in order. I would like to offer an approving resolution. I do want to say I appreciate how amenable you are to talking to the neighbors and making sure that everyone is really happy and everyone is that you're being a good neighbor to all of your near new neighbors. On a motion by Dinaro, seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it was #01-01-2025 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on January 14, 2025, on Petition 2024-12-02-20 submitted by Nene's Little Angels Daycare requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 6.13 of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, to operate a day care nursery at 28275 Five Mile Road, located on the southwest corner of Five Mile Road and Lyons Street in the Northeast'/4 of Section 24, be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. That the Site Plan, labeled G001 on plans received January 14, 2025, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to, with the exception of the dumpster, which shall be moved to a location in the southeast corner of the property to the satisfactory to the Planning Department. 2. That only conforming signage is approved with this petition, and any additional signage shall be separately submitted for review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals. 3. All light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in height and shall be shielded to minimize glare trespassing on adjacent properties and roadways. 4. The overall average illumination level for the parking lots shall be 1.0- foot candle as provided under Section 7.22 of the Zoning Ordinance. 5. That sound mitigation protocols be put in place on the interior adjoining wall, as well as, the southern concrete wall subject to the review and approval of the Inspection Department. 6. That repairs to the protective wall along the south property line, shall be resolved to the satisfaction of the Inspection Department. 7. That the entire outdoor play area shall be surrounded by five-foot (5') high vinyl privacy fencing. January 14, 2025 31737 8. That the parking lot shall be repaired, resealed and restriped to the satisfaction of the Inspection Department. 9. All parking spaces, except the required handicapped spaces, shall be doubled striped at ten feet (10') wide by twenty feet (20') in length as required. 10.That the hours of operation for this childcare facility shall be limited to 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. 11.The outdoor play area shall be surrounded by landscaping or curb buffer to the satisfaction of the Planning Department. 12.That all disturbed lawn areas, including road rights -of -way, shall be sodded in lieu of hydroseeding. 13. That the three walls of the trash dumpster area shall be constructed out of building materials that shall complement that of the building. The enclosure gates shall be of solid panel steel construction or durable, long-lasting solid panel fiberglass. The trash dumpster area shall be maintained and, when not in use, closed at all times. 14. 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 15. Pursuant to Section 13.13 of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended, this approval is valid for a period of one year only from the date of approval by the 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 13.13 of Livonia Zoning Ordinance, 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 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,223rd Public Hearings and Regular Meeting January 14, 2025 31738 Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the Minutes of the 1,223rd Public Hearing and Regular Meeting held on December3, 2024. On a motion by Dinaro, seconded by Long , and unanimously adopted, it was #01-02-2025 RESOLVED, That the Minutes of 1,223rd Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on December 3, 2024, are hereby approved. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Dinaro, Droze, Bongero, Long, Wilshaw NAYS: None ABSENT: Ventura ABSTAIN: Caramagno Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,224th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on January 14, 2025, was adjourned at 7:58 p.m. ATTEST: Ian Wilshaw, Chairman CITY PLANNING COMMISSION Sam Caramagno, Secretary