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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2009-03-24MINUTES OF THE 979TH PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA On Tuesday, March 24, 2009, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia held its 979x" Public Hearings and Regular Meeting in the Livonia City Hall, 33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan. Mr. Lee Morrow, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members present: Deborah McDermott R. Lee Morrow Lynda Scheel Ashley Vartoogian Gerald Taylor Ian Wilshaw Members absent: Carol Smiley Messrs. Mark Taormina, Planning Director; At Nowak, Planner IV; and Ms. Marge Watson, Program Supervisor; were also present. Chairman Morrow 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 tum, 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 fling. The staff has furnished the Commission with both approving and denying resolutions, which the Commission may, or may not, use depending on the outcome oflhe proceedings tonight. Mr. Morrow: I'm just going to lake an additional minute to welcome Joe Taylor, who is now official to the Planning Commission. He has taken his oath of office. We're very fortunate to have Hm join the Commission because he brings a wealth of knowledge based on his years with the Zoning Board of Appeals, the City Council plus being an effective leader throughout the community. So, Joe we look forward to working with you in the future. Mr. Taylor: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that March 24, 2009 25182 ITEM #1 PETITION 2009-02-02-04 ALADDIN'S EATERY Ms. McDermott, Acting Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2009-02-02-04 submitted by JML3, L.L.C. requesting waiver use approval for outdoor seating for an existing full service restaurant (Aladdin's Eatery) at 37104 Six Mile Road within the Key Bank Commons Shopping Center, located on the north side of Six Mile Road between Newburgh Road and Fitzgerald Avenue in the Southwest 1/4 of Section 8. Mr. Taormina presented a map showing the property under petition plus the existing zoning of the surrounding area. Mr. Morrow: Is there any correspondence? Mr. Nowak: There are three items of correspondence. The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated March 10, 2009, which reads as follows: 'The Engineering Division has reviewed the plan sheet provided for the above referenced project. The legal description contains an error. The description of the property itself appears correct, but the bearings and distances from the section comer are incorrect. There are multiple addresses assigned to the buildings on this property. The address for Aladdin's Eatery is 37104 Six Mile Road." The letter is signed by Kevin G. Roney, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated February 26, 2009, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request for waiver use approval for outdoor seating for existing full service restaurant (seasonal seating) on property located at the above -referenced address. We have no objections to this proposal." The letter was signed by Donald F. Donnelley, Fire Marshal. The third letter is from the Inspection Department, dated March 11, 2009, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request of February 20, 2009, the above -referenced petition has been reviewed. The following is noted. (1) The petitioner proposes only a 45 inch area on the south side of the gate for the fenced in area. An area 60 inches in the direction of travel is required. The petitioner will need to make the needed corrections to provide barrier free maneuvering clearances at the gate. (2) The existing large planter that is located on the southwest side of the proposed area may need to be relocated or removed to provide sufficient clearance between the curb and the proposed fence. This Department has no further objections to this petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Senior Bulding Inspector. That is the extent of the correspondence. March 24, 2009 25183 Mr. Nowak: With respect to the issues that were listed in the letter from the Inspection Department, the petitioner has submitted a revised plan which addresses and rectifies all those issues. Mr. Morrow: Thank you. Does the Commission have any questions for the staff? Seeing none, we will go the petitioner. We will need your name and address for the record. Mac BouMaroun, 37104 Six Mile Road, Livonia, Michigan 48152. Mr. Morrow: Is there anything you would like to add to the presentation of the staff or any comments you would like to make? Mr. BouMaroun: No. I'm just here to answer any questions you may have. Mr. Morrow: Okay. Thank you. Is there any Commissioner that would like to question the gentleman? Mr. Wilshaw: Sir, we talked about the gale at our study meeting that goes into that fenced -in area. The reason that we brought that subject up was because you have about a dozen parking spaces that are along Six Mile Road on the south side of your restaurant that are directly adjacent to what's going to be the fenced -in area for outdoor dining. By gating that area so that you cannot go into the restaurant from that location, it sort of makes those spaces less accessible to your restaurant. I wonder if that's something you've considered that maybe by removing the gate and the fence, you could allow those patrons to walk through that area into your restaurant. Mr. BouMaroun: The reason we have the gate there is for exit only. We dont want people walking in from there because it would be hard for us to seat them. Right now we do have customers that do park on the side there, so I don't see that would be a problem. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. You think they'll walk around the fence to gel to your side entrance? Mr. BouMaroun: Yes. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. That's it for now. Thank you. Mr. Taylor: Through the Chair to the petitioner, you have interior music now? Mr. BouMaroun: Yes, we do. March 24, 2009 25184 Mr. Taylor: I notice that we haven't really restricted you to outside music. Are you planning on putting it out there? Mr. BouMaroun: That's something we haven't decided yet. Mr. Taylor: I think it's going to be important to the City Council and to this Board because music, if played loo loudly, the neighbors do not appreciate. It probably would be a good idea for you to either have an approval of the music or a disapproval of the music by the time you gel to the Council to lel them know what you're going to do. Mr. BouMaroun: Okay. Mr. Taylor: We have to control that the best we can. If it's very low, it's not all bad. You only have a few seats out there. Are you planning on putting healing out there also in the weather where you might be able to use it a little longer in the fall season? Mr. BouMaroun: No, basically for now, we're just going to be for summer, and as far as the music goes, if we do end up having music out there, it will be at a low level so it wouldn't be a distraction to the neighborhood. Mr. Taylor: And what about the lighting? Would you have lights out there? Mr. BouMaroun: Yes. Mr. Taylor: Some type of a hooded light? Mr. BouMaroun: Right. We're in the process right now talking with a few different companies regarding lights. Obviously, the lights will be bright but not too bright that it will be a distraction to the driving traffic. Mr. Taylor: Well, I guess according to the resolution here, we're going to kind of leave it up to the Inspection Department and the Planning Department to regulate those types of things, but you may want to decide what you're going to do and how you're going to handle it before getting to the Livonia City Council if you have an approval through this Board. Mr. BouMaroun: Okay. Mr. Taylor: Thank you. Mr. BouMaroun: Thank you. March 24, 2009 25185 Mr. Morrow: Commissioners, any other questions? Going along with Mr. Wilshaw's comments, you might be served to put a sign on that gate to let them know that this is exit only or something like that so they won't be sitting there trying to gel in and maybe try to scale the gate. Mr. BouMaroun: Right. We were planning to do that. We plan on having a sign that says, "Exit only - please use the front door for service." Mr. Morrow: Okay. Very good. If that's all the questions for the petitioner right now, I'm going to go to the audience and request that anyone that is interested in this petition, either for or against it, please come forward at this time. On that note, I will close the public hearing. If there are no other comments from the petitioner, I'll askfora motion. On a motion by Scheel, seconded by Varloogian, and unanimously adopted, it was #03-25-2009 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on March 24, 2009, on Petition 2009-02-02-04 submitted by JML3, L.L.C. requesting waiver use approval for outdoor sealing for an existing full service restaurant (Aladdin's Eatery) at 37104 Six Mile Road within the Key Bank Commons Shopping Center, located on the north side of Six Mile Road between Newburgh Road and Fitzgerald Avenue in the Southwest 1/4 of Section 8, which property is zoned G2, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2009-02-02-04 be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. That the Proposed Outdoor Seating Plan marked Sheet C- 1 prepared by Technical Group Inc., received by the Planning Commission on March 13, 2009, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to, with the outdoor sealing being confined to portions of the sidewalk directly south of the subject restaurant unit as shown on said plan; 2. That the gate in the fence enclosing the outdoor seating area shall be positioned to swing open to allow passage in the direction of the handicapped ramp and at least 60 inches of clear space shall be maintained between the fence and the south edge of the sidewalk and also between the fence and the existing planter on the westerly portion of the sidewalk; March 24, 2009 25186 3. That the maximum number of customer seats shall not exceed 84 seats, including 60 seats inside the building and 24 outdoor seats; 4. That trash receptacles shall be provided for the outdoor seating area and shall be emptied regularly as needed; 5. That all lighting equipment installed for the outdoor seating area shall be hooded or shielded to minimize stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring into adjacent roadway, 6. That sound levels of any outdoor speakers shall be kept to a reasonable minimum so as to not become objectionable; 7. That only conforming signage is approved with this petition, and any additional signage shall be submitted for review and approval by the Planning Commission and City Council; 8. That no LED lighlband or exposed neon shall be permitted on the site including, but not limited to, the building or around the windows; 9. That all conditions imposed by Council Resolution #514- 08, which granted waiver use approval to operate a Class C license in connection with the subject restaurant, shall remain in effect to the extent that they are not in conflict with this approval; and 10. That the specific plans referenced in this approving resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department at the time of application for a Zoning Compliance Permit for the outdoor dining. FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above h=aring was given in accordance with the provisions of Section 19.05 of Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended. Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carded and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. March 24, 2009 25187 ITEM #2 PETITION 2008-05-06-01 LANGUAGE AMENDMENT Ms. McDermott, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Pefition 2008-05-06-01 submitted by the City Planning Commission, pursuant to Council Resolution #402-08 and Council Resolution #78-09, and Section 23.01(a) of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended, proposing to add a new Section 17.09 to Article XVII of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance in order to create a licensing procedure in connection with the outdoor storage of rewand recyclable paving materials. Mr. Morrow: Because this is a petition that the Planning Commission brought forward, I'm going to ask Mr. Taormina to give us a brief overview on the reason for this petifion. Mr. Taormina: Thank you. Council Resolufion #78-09 requests that the Planning Commission conduct a public hearing regarding a proposed language amendment to add a new Section 17.09 to the Zoning Ordinance. These are the 92 District regulations. The new section would be entified "Annual Licensure of Concrete and Asphalt Recycling Plants" This new section to Article XVII would make concrete and asphalt recycling facilifies subject to an annual City license, rather than and instead of a valid nonconforming use as had been previously proposed. The new Section 17.09 of Article XVII of the Zoning Ordinance creates a licensing procedure by which concrete and asphalt recycling plants, and yards related thereto, existing in the City on January 1, 2008, in M-2 zoning districts, and again, this is primarily intended for Nagle Paving Company, may be annually licensed and continue their operations, notwithstanding the fact that they would be still a nonconforming use as part of the Zoning Ordinance, but they would be subject to a list of specific regulations and requirements that would pertain to such items as dust control, monitoring safeguards, limits on pile heights and on-site drainage protection that must be complied with. These are the same regulations that had been outlined in the Planning Commission's recommendation in connection with the previously proposed language amendment pertaining to the subject use. The proposed amendment to Section 17.09 is a companion to Ordinance No. 2810, adopted by the City Council on November 19, 2008, which amended Section 170 of Title 5, Chapter 03 (General Licensing Procedure) of the Code of Ordinances establishing a new $900.00 Concrete and Asphalt Recycling Plant annual license fee. The fee required to be paid is based upon various factors, including "inspection and regulation required." So basically, this is the same restrictions and provisions that were provided in the ordinance that was March 24, 2009 25188 reviewed by this body last year in June but as part of a separate ordinance, part of the M-2 District regulations instead of a valid nonconforming use, but it still contains all those same restrictions and conditions that we had reviewed very carefully last year. Thank you. Mr. Morrow: Yes. I think the Council had some concerns about having some sort of a sunset regulation in there, did it not, Mr. Taormina? Mr. Taormina: That was one of the items that was brought up at their public hearing and the reason why the Law Department redrafted the ordinance in its current forth. Mr. Morrow: Okay. Thank you. Mr. Nowak, is there any correspondence on this petition? Mr. Nowak: No, there is no correspondence in connection with this petition. Mr. Morrow: And because we're the petitioner, I'm going to go right to the audience and ask if there's anyone in the audience wishing to speak for or against the granting of this petition? Seeing no one coming forward, I am going to close the public hearing. A motion would be in order please. On a motion by Wilshaw, seconded by Scheel, and unanimously adopted, 0 was #03-26-2009 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on March 24, 2009, on Petition 2008-05-06-01 submitted by the City Planning Commission, pursuant to Council Resolutions #402-08 and #78- 09, and Section 23.01(a) of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended, proposing to add a new Section 17.09 to Article XVII of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance in order to create a licensing procedure in connection with the outdoor storage of raw and recyclable paving materials, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2008- 05-06-01 be approved for the following reasons: 1. That the proposed language amendment will create a licensing procedure by which concrete and asphalt plants, and yards related thereto, existing in the City on January 1, 2008, in 92 zoning districts may be annually licensed to continue said use, notwithstanding nonconformity to the Zoning Ordinance; March 24, 2009 25189 2. That the proposed language amendment stipulates specific regulations, such as dust control, monitoring safeguards, limits on pile heights and onsite drainage protection that must be complied with; and 3. That the proposed language amendment is consistent with the intent and purpose of the Zoning Ordinance which, among other things, is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community and its citizens. FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was given in accordance with the provisions of Section 23.05 of Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended. Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. ITEM#3 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 978TM Regular Meeting Ms. McDermott, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the Minutes of the 978"' Regular Meeting held on March 10, 2009. On a motion by Wilshaw, seconded by McDermott, and adopted, it was #03-27-2009 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 978" Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on March 10, 2009, are hereby approved. A roll call vole on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Wilshaw, McDermott, Scheel, Varloogian, Morrow NAYS: None ABSENT: Smiley ABSTAIN: Taylor Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. March 24, 2009 25190 On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 979" Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on March 24, 2009, was adjourned at 7:29 p.m. CIN PLANNING COMMISSION Deborah McDermott Acting Secretary ATTEST: R. Lee Morrow, Chairman