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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL STUDY - 2012-10-29 CITY OF LIVONIA— CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD OCTOBER 29, 2012 Meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. Present: Maureen Miller Brosnan, Brandon Kritzman, James McCann, Joe Laura, and John Pastor. Absent. Thomas Robinson and Laura Toy. Elected and appointed officials present: Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development; Don Knapp, City Attorney; Terry Marecki, City Clerk; and Jack E. Kirksey, Mayor. Kritzman recognized the professionalism of the staff of the Livonia Fire Department who responded to the call for his neighbor who recently passed away. He said it is comforting to know that high level of care and professionalism of the Public Safety personnel is available in Livonia 24/7. Vice President Pastor wished Patty Coglin a Happy Birthday. Vice President Pastor announced there are three (3) X-items that will be discussed following tonight's Agenda. Mayor Kirksey announced the Community Recreation Center will be open if there is a power outage resulting from the high winds that are predicted, for residents who may have a need to seek emergency shelter. Those seeking emergency shelter need to arrive prior to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. He wished the people along the east coast well who will be riding out the storm. Vice President Pastor said thoughts and prayers go out to those people affected by the storm on the east coast. AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None. NEW BUSINESS 1. REQUEST TO CONSIDER A SPECIAL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT TO INSTALL A 10 INCH PUBLIC SANITARY SEWER MAIN: Nawaf Masri, DDS, MSD and Vince Masell, DVM, re: to service properties located at 15230, 15200 and 15167 Levan Road. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, said this location is off Levan Road and involves three (3) businesses; the first one being the doctor's office which is under development now, the Levan Veterinary Hospital and the Livonia Dermatology 2 Building which is currently vacant. He said of the business owners have signed a petition requesting a Public Hearing for Necessity. They are seeking City Council approval to move forward with this request to consider a Special Assessment District to install a 10 inch public sanitary sewer main. Vince Masell, owner of Levan Veterinary Hospital, 15200 Levan Road, said he and Dr. Masri have signed the petition. He noted that they are not the original property owners when the private sewer line was put in back in 1976. He said there is no agreement in place amongst the property owners. He said they request Council consider holding a Public Hearing for Necessity of a Special Assessment District. McCann said he doesn't recall ever seeing a request quite like this to come before the Council. Zilincik said this is a unique situation. He said the petitioners did go to the water and sewer board to describe their concerns. They have a special circumstance with a private sewer and two of three property owners have signed the petition requesting a Public Hearing for Necessity for a Special Assessment District to install a 10 inch public sanitary sewer main to meet City standards which will benefit the entire community. They are also trying to get the third property owner to sign the petition. McCann asked Zilincik if the City would be responsible for the maintenance of the new sanitary sewer main; he replied yes. McCann asked what the estimate is that this would cost the City. Zilincik said he estimates the cost to be approximately $80,000; however, it would require them to bore underneath Five Mile Road which would require a Wayne County permit. McCann asked Zilincik if this were a new development would the developer pay for everything and then dedicate the sewer to the City after construction. Zilincik said that is correct. Brosnan offered the approving resolution to hold a Public Hearing for Necessity of a Special Assessment District for the Consent Agenda. McCann asked that this item be placed on the Regular Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING TO SET DATE REGULAR FOR PUBLIC HEARING FOR SAD NECESSITY 2. APPLICATION FOR MASSAGE THERAPIST PERMIT: Office of the City Clerk, re: submitted by Zhihong Liu in accordance with Chapter 5.49 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended. Zhihong Liu, 3846 Shannon Dr., Warren, was present with Rick Wong, his interpreter, to answer any questions Council may have. 3 Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 3. APPLICATION FOR MASSAGE APPRENTICE PERMIT: Office of the City Clerk, re: submitted by Jie Wu in accordance with Chapter 5.49 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended. Jie Wu, 45169 Horseshoe Drive, Canton, was present with Rick Wong, her interpreter, to answer any questions Council may have. Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 4. APPLICATION FOR MASSAGE THERAPIST PERMIT: Office of the City Clerk, re: submitted by Luxia Yang in accordance with Chapter 5.49 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended. Luxia Yang, also from Canton, was present with Rick Wong, her interpreter, to answer any questions Council may have. McCann offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 5. REQUEST FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL ON A PROPOSED LOT SPLIT: Department of Assessment, re: the property located on the West side of Gill Road, just South of Eight Mile Road (20557 & 20551 Gill Road) and to waive the property depth-to-width ratio for these properties. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, said this is a request for lot split on the west side of Gill Road, just south of Eight Mile Road. The two (2) properties involved in this request abut each other and are under common ownership. The subject properties are located on the west side of Gill Road, between Norfolk Avenue and Eight Mile Road, in the Northwest '/4 of Section 4. Both properties are zoned R-U-F, Rural Urban Farm, which requires a minimum lot size of one-half acre (21,780 square feet) and a lot width of at least 1/4 of the lot depth, provided that a lot shall not be required to have a width greater than 1 00 feet Parent parcel 20551 Gill Road measures 150.00 feet in frontage along Gill Road by an average depth of 154.24 feet, for a total lot area of 23,136 square feet or 0.53 acre. This site is vacant. Parent parcel 20557 Gill Road is located adjacent to and west of 20551 Gill Road and does not have street frontage. This property measures 150.00 feet along the west property line of 20551 Gill Road by a depth of 155.30 feet, for a total lot area of 23,295 square 4 feet or 0.53 acre. This site is also vacant. As proposed, 20551 Gill Road and 20557 Gill Road would be combined, resulting in a parcel that would measure 150.00 feet in frontage along Gill Road by an average depth of 309.54 feet, for a total lot area of 46,431 square feet or 1.07 acres. This combined parcel would then be split into two (2) parcels identified on the survey as Parcel "A" and Parcel "8". Parcel "A" would consist of the northern half of the site and would measure 75.00 feet in frontage along Gill Road by a depth of 309.95 feet along its northern property line, for a total lot area of 23,231 square feet or 0.53 acre. Parcel "B" would consist of the southern half of the site and would measure 75.00 feet in frontage along Gill Road by a depth of 309.13 feet along its southern property line, for a total lot area of 23,200 square feet or 0.53 acre. The lot width to depth ratio of the two proposed lots (Parcels "A" & "B") are slightly more than the 1:4 restriction permitted in an R-U-F district, and therefore this combination and land division would require City Council approval. Enrico Soave, 37777 Seven Mile Road, representative for the petitioner, was present to answer any questions Council may have regarding this request. McCann asked Soave if their parcels were vacant or if they had any buildings or structures on them. Soave replied they were both vacant. McCann offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 6. AWARD OF BID: Public Service Division, re: to purchase one (1) Four Ton, Propane Fired Asphalt Hauling Trailer (Hot Patcher) to replace the current twelve (12) year old Hot Patcher, from budgeted funds. Donald Rohraff, Superintendent, Public Service, presented the request to Council. He said The Public Service Division has taken bids for one (1) Four Ton, Propane Fired Asphalt Hauling Trailer (Hot Patcher) in accordance with the requirements of the Finance Ordinance. Bid invitations were placed on the Michigan Inter-governmental Trade Network (MITN). The following three (3) bids were received and opened in the presence of the Bid Committee at 2:00 p.m. on August 14, 2012: Bidder Total Amount Bid Falcon Road Maintenance Equipment $14,839.00 KM International $16,300.00 Bell Equipment Company $21,300.00 In addition, a Bid Evaluation was done by the Fleet Manager, regarding specific information about each bid submitted, and his recommendation to award same to Bell Equipment Company. Even though there was one additional bid meeting specifications, it is has been the Department's experience with both pieces of equipment that the equipment from Bell Equipment is far superior and longer 5 lasting. The Hot Patcher will be replacing a year 2000 Hot Patcher. The life expectancy of this equipment is eight to ten years. The Hot Patcher is used every day and buying a less than desirable piece of equipment would not only slow daily operations but in addition, it would add an unnecessary amount of repair costs. It is the recommendation of the Public Service Division that the bid meeting specifications, submitted by Bell Equipment Company, 78 Northpointe Drive, Lake Orion, MI 48359, be accepted to supply the Public Service Division with one (1 ) Four Ton, Propane Fired Asphalt Hauling Trailer (Hot Patcher) for the price of$21,300.00. Laura said it's a 50 percent uplift. He asked Rohraff if there was no way they could put penalties in the contract, or no way to encourage better cooperation. He said it's a dramatic lift, even though they're not talking about big dollars, it is still a dramatic lift. Rohraff said there have been costly repair bills, he recalled one incident where the cost to repair the equipment was over $4,000. Laura asked if there were any warranties on any of this equipment. Rohraff said had a one year warranty but it wasn't covered; it was a service issue. Brosnan asked Rohraff to expand on his conversations with other customers who also indicated that they had experienced problems. Rohraff deferred that question to Gary Garrison, Fleet Manager, who was more hands on in those conversations. Garrison said calls were made by Jim Kirby, Garage Foreman, made the phone calls; Garrison said he was right there while the calls were made. He said they experienced the exact same kind of problem and it cost them about $4,500 in repairs; that cost does not include any down time or the transport time to pick it up. Brosnan asked Garrison how the equipment from the vendor they are recommending stands up and do they stand behind their equipment. Garrison said the one they are recommending is same as the one they are replacing, they have had it for 12 years. He said the problem that they are having with it now is the sheet metal on the outside is getting eaten up from the salt; they have patched to the point that they can no longer do so. Brosnan asked about the warranty. Garrison replied that they are all one year warranties. She asked Garrison if they would run into the same problem with the recommended vendor that Rohraff described earlier with the problem not being covered by the warranty and determined to be a service problem. Garrison said he didn't think that would be the case at all with the recommended vendor, he said they have never had any problem with them in the past. Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 7. REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS AND EXPENDITURES: Engineering Division, re: for the 2012 Asphalt Road Program (Contract 12-A) to be used for the paving of a new parallel parking area and additional miscellaneous work at Kleinert Park. (CR 152-12) 6 Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. The Engineering Division approached the Nagle Paving Company about adding a parallel parking area on the south side of Orangelawn, east of Fairfield; removing and replacing deteriorated sections of concrete sidewalk, construction new ADA ramps on the south side of Orangelawn, provide concrete pads at the benches, place and compact additional stone on the south side of Orangelawn (south of Hubbard Road) and any necessary restoration at Kleinert Park. The funding for this project was budgeted in the Capital Outlay Account for this purpose. Nagle Paving Company has agreed and will honor the unit prices bid in the 12-A contract, along with some additional items added for this project, for this work. The Engineering Division had designed the project and inspection for the work. Nagle Paving Company will invoice the City of Livonia for the work performed based on the quantities completed and accepted. In order to proceed with this additional work, they respectfully recommend that the City Council approve a change order to Contract 12-A with Nagle Paving Company, 36780 Amrhein, Livonia, Michigan 48150 in the amount of $30,220.10, authorize the expenditure of $30,220.10 and authorize the City Engineer to approve minor adjustments in the work as needed. Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 8. REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS AND EXPENDITURES: Engineering Division, re: for the 2012 Asphalt Road Program (Contract 12-A) for the paving of a new walking path and additional miscellaneous work at Dooley Park. (CR 152-12 and CR 262-12) Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. He said this request is similar to the previous request; this involves a walking path at Dooley Park. The Engineering Division approached the Nagle Paving Company about paving an 8 foot wide bituminous walking path approximately 1,700 lineal feet in length, along with earthwork for the winter ice rink, storm sewer work and any necessary restoration at Dooley Park. The funding for this project was approved pursuant to Council Resolution No. 262-12 through a reimbursement grant for Wayne County District 10, Nagle Paving Company has agreed and will honor the unit prices bid in the 12-A contract, along with some additional items added for this project for this work, The Engineering Division had designed the project and provided inspection for the work, Nagle Paving Company will invoice the City of Livonia for the work performed based on the quantities completed and accepted, In order to proceed with this additional work, they respectfully recommend that the City Council approve a change order to Contract 12-A with Nagle Paving Company, 36780 Amrhein, Livonia, Michigan 48150 in the amount of$52,518.00; authorize the expenditure of $52,518.00 from the Unexpended Fund Account, funds to be reimbursed from the Wayne County District 10 Grant; and authorize the City Engineer to approve minor adjustments in the work as needed. 7 Kritzman offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 9. REQUEST TO EXTEND AND AMEND CONTRACTS WITH ORCHARD, HILTZ AND MCCLIMENT, INC. AND ANDERSON, ECKSTEIN AND WESTRICK, INC. FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE 2013 ASPHALT AND CONCRETE PAVING PROGRAMS, RESPECTIVELY: Engineering Division, re: same. (CR 260-10, CR 379-10 and CR 336-11) Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. The City Council approved Qualification Based-Selection (QBS) firms pursuant to Council Resolution No. 260-10, adopted July 19, 2010 to perform all professional engineering services on various federal, state and locally funded projects through fiscal year 2013. Under this procedure, they are recommending that Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc. (OHM) continue as our consultant for the 2013 Asphalt Road Program and that Anderson, Eckstien and Westrick, Inc. (AEW) continue as our consultant for the 2013 Concrete Road Program. The estimated construction costs for the two (2) programs, which form the basis for the Engineering contracts, are shown on the attached sheet. In order to proceed with these projects, it is respectfully recommended that the Council authorize the Mayor and the City Clerk to execute an amendment to the Engineering contract with Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc. in the amount of $437,500.00 ($137,500.00 for Design Engineering and $300,000.00 for Construction Engineering) for the Asphalt Program. These amounts are based on the preliminary construction cost estimates and may be adjusted based on the actual bids. They also recommend that the City Council authorize the Mayor and the City Clerk to execute an amendment to the Engineering contract with Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick, Inc. in the amount of $101,750.00 ($33,000.00 for Design Services and $68,750.00 for Construction Engineering Services) for the Concrete Program. These amounts are based on the preliminary construction cost estimates and may be adjusted based on the actual bids. It is also recommended that City Council authorize an expenditure in the amount of $539,250.00 from budgeted funds from the Road, Sidewalk and Tree Fund, Account and authorize the City Engineer to approve minor adjustments in the work as required. Laura asked Zilincik if he knew the percentage of roads that had not been touched by the last millage money. Zilincik said he would have to look at the report and get that information; Laura asked Zilincik to get that information to Council. Zilincik asked Laura if that would be for the last 10 years; Laura said for the period that the last millage covered. He said he is looking for the percentage of streets that haven't been repaired, reconstructed or rehabilitated. Zilincik said there is 373 miles of local roads; he said they improved about 70% which is about 260 miles. Laura asked Zilincik when would all of the orange barrels be removed off of Newburgh Road, Zilincik said most of them have been removed 8 but they did get an 8 day extension, all of the barrels should be removed by November 10th. Zilincik noted that representatives from OHM & AEW are present tonight to answer any questions that Council may have. Laura offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Brosnan asked Zilincik if there are a set number of provisions in their agreement to extend the contract. Zilincik said the QBS expires in June 2013, with regard to the 2014 road program it could be new consultants or it could be the same consultants. He said the 2014 road improvement project; he believes it will include more concrete roads. Brosnan noted that in the information provided to Council it had a copy of the minutes from the Citizens Advisory Committee on Roads with their recommendations for the 2013 Road Repair Program. She asked Zilincik if this was being included in this request; he replied yes. She asked him to give some details with regard to the 2013 Road Repair Program. Zilincik said as Council is aware, the concrete reconstruction portion does take a lot of the budget up, so they are looking to take advantage of doing asphalt streets to help keep those pace ratings up. The majority of the project will be asphalt streets that encompass Old Rosedale Gardens with most of those streets being off of 5 Mile Road, such as Auburndale and Doris. He said they will have approximately $500,000 of concrete reconstruction work at various locations; mostly off of 5 Mile and Lancaster, Glen Eagles, Washington over to the state streets, a portion of Iowa, and a portion of Pollyana off Farmington Road. Brosnan asked Zilincik if the Pace Ratings were listed somewhere; Zilincik said they are posted on the City website. Brosnan asked Zilincik what are overall rating is expected to be following the completion of the 2013 Road Repair Program. He said it will probably increase just slightly. Brosnan said she recalled the goal was to have our roads at 80% good and she asked if there was any place where they constantly measure that. Zilincik said they rate the roads every other year. He said they are constantly looking for grant funding and they do the best they can with the budgeted funds available. Brosnan said she thinks they should have a number that they are seeking to attain as a goal, such as 83% or a specific number or percentage, upon completion of the annual program and it should be measured to see if they are meeting or exceeding the goal or if there is a shortfall. She said she appreciates having the ratings on the website with the ratings but as a Councilmember, she said it would be preferable to have that information more readily available, looking it all up on the website is a little time consuming. She asked Zilincik to provide that information to Council before the next meeting. Brosnan asked for this item to be placed on the Regular Agenda. Kritzman did concur with Brosnan that the quality of the map provided to Council in the background information could have been better quality and would also appreciate an upgraded map. He asked Zilincik to with regard to the ratings mentioned previously, what the rating numbers of the roads on the proposed 9 program; whether they were 3, 4, and 5 or 6 and 7. Zilincik said they don't always necessarily do the all the roads in the poorest condition first. There are other factors that are considered and they have to do a mix of fixes which include rehabilitation, maintenance and reconstructs. This year the reconstructs are down to 15% as opposed to the usual 25%, based upon cost and funds available. They try to do mix of concrete and asphalt roads that need to be reconstructed. Rehabilitation is approximately 79% of the proposed program. Kritzman said he understands there is a balance, but wondered how they select the specific streets and areas to be worked on. Zilincik said there were many things to be considered, such as utilities, regional paving in the section they are working in, whether there are any sewer or water main repairs and sidewalk repairs, coordination with consumers who might be working on their infrastructure, these are all factored in to maximize the dollars available. McCann said most of the Council has had the experience of doing this for the past 10 years. It is understandable that a resident might think their road is in worse shape than one that is being worked on; in most of those instances, the roads that are in worse shape are too far gone for reconditioning and most likely need to be reconstructed. At the same time, there are probably 5 other streets that are in even worse shape than the one that needs to be reconstructed, and they need to be done before that one. He said funding is also something that must be considered, they are working with less than they have in the past due to lost revenues. Considering all of that, Livonia roads are much better than most of the surrounding communities. Laura said as one resident he thinks they do an excellent job with the money they have and he is very grateful. He said seldom does vote for any kind of tax increase or tax continuation but this is really necessary. DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR 10. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2012-09-02-18 submitted by Target Corporation requesting to amend Council Resolution #557- 05 adopted on November 30, 2005, in order to extend the Target store operating hours at Wonderland Village (Store #2230) located on the south side of Plymouth Road between Middlebelt Road and Milburn Avenue (29451 Plymouth Road) in the Northeast '/4 of Section 35, from 12:00 a.m. midnight through 6:00 a.m. on Friday, November 23, 2012 (the day after Thanksgiving), and for each subsequent year beginning at midnight of Thanksgiving Day. Petitioner was not present to address Council. Laura said to be consistent and fair he would not be supporting this request. Laura offered the denying resolution for the Consent Agenda. 10 Claudia Stanton, 19658 Melvin, expressed her opposition to the store opening at midnight. She said she did some researching and the earliest any other stores in the area are opening is 4:00 a.m. and the latest is 7:30 a.m., she does not see any reason they should allow any of these stores to open at midnight. DIRECTION: DENYING CONSENT 11. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2012-09-02-19 submitted by Landplan Engineering, P.A., on behalf of The Kroger Company, to construct a gas station on a portion of the Northridge Commons shopping center located on the south side of Eight Mile Road between Farmington Road and Gill Road (33523 Eight Mile Road) in the Northeast '/4 of Section 4. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, described the request to Council. This petition requests waiver use approval to construct a gas station in the parking of the Northridge Commons shopping center, located on the south side of Eight Mile Road between Farmington and Gill Roads. Northridge Commons contains approximately 122,525 square feet of gross retail floor area, and is classified as a community shopping center. The shopping center contains open storefronts, and is divided into roughly 38 units, with Kroger being the largest tenant occupying approximately 47,708 square feet. The entire site of the shopping center, which totals approximately 14.4 acres and includes two (2) outlets including an Arby's Restaurant and PNC Bank, is zoned C-2, General Business. Under Section 11.03(a) of the Zoning Ordinance, gas stations require waiver use approval. The proposed gas station would conform to all of the special requirements and regulations specified under this section. The submitted plans shows the proposed retail fuel center occupying an area measuring 156 feet along Eight Mile Road by a depth of 180 feet, for a total land area of approximately 28,080 square feet or 0.64 acre. To accommodate the new development, an estimated 55 shopping center parking spaces would be eliminated. Access to the fuel pumps would be available via connections with the shopping center's existing aisle ways. Parking for the overall shopping center is based on one (1) parking space for each 150 square feet of floor area where less than 15% of the gross floor area of the center is devoted to places of assembly. Using this formula, Northridge Commons is required to have a total of 653 parking spaces. The submitted site plan indicates that the entire development presently has 771 parking spaces. Deleting the 55 spaces for the gas station would leave the shopping center with 716 parking spaces, resulting in a surplus of 63 spaces. This new Kroger fueling center would have five (5) gas pumps with the ability to accommodate a total of ten (10) vehicles (one on each side). The facility would be open to the general public; however, regular Kroger customers that earn points have the ability to purchase gas at any of Kroger's fueling centers at a discounted price. Next to the pumps would be a small "transaction kiosk" enclosure. This 198 square foot building is typically occupied by one or two employees. Customers are not allowed in the building, but can buy a limited 11 selection of merchandise through the teller window. The kiosk would be constructed out of brick to match the Kroger store. Covering the new fuel dispensers would be an overhead canopy. The proposed canopy would measure 43'-0" in width by 92'-0" in length and have an overall height of nineteen feet (19'). In a C-2 zoning district, pump island canopies cannot exceed a height of eighteen feet (18') in height. If the height of the canopy is not reduced by one (1) foot, approval of this petition would require a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. In C-2 zoning, structural canopies, for the purpose of providing overhead coverage for gasoline pump islands are required to be at least ten feet (10') from any property line. At its closest point, the proposed canopy would be approximately 73 feet from the right-of-way of Eight Mile Road. Elevations for the canopy show that brick based metal piers would support the structure. According to the provisions set forth in Section 18.50H of the City's sign regulations, gas stations are allowed one (1) ground sign not to exceed forty (40) square feet in area, twelve feet (12') in height, and a minimum setback of five feet (5) from any right-of-way line. In addition, gas stations are entitled to a certain area of wall signs either in the form of building-mounted signs and/or signs on the canopy fascia, the total combined area of which is limited to 100 square feet. According to notes on the cover sheet and the signage plans (Sheets AG-201 & AG-501), all four (4) sides of the canopy would contain signage. The proposed sign package includes 6.70 square foot Kroger logos on all four (4) sides, plus two (2) 10.32 square foot "Kroger" signs on the east and west elevations, plus one (1) 30.33 square foot price sign on the west side of the canopy, in a direction that faces the store. Altogether, the area of all of the fascia canopy signs equals 77.77 square feet. The only identification sign shown on the kiosk would be a 5.25 square foot logo sign. Combined, the area of all of the wall signs, both on the canopy and the kiosk, totals 83.03 square feet, which is less than the 100 square foot maximum allowed. In addition, the plans show a proposed monument price sign located adjacent to the right-of-way of Eight Mile Road, just west of the fueling center. The sign measures forty (40) square feet in area and eight feet (8') in height. It would have base and side columns constructed out of masonry to match the building. The required minimum setback from the road right-of-way is five (5) feet. It is uncertain, but would appear from the submitted plans that the existing nonconforming pylon sign located in the parking lot of the shopping center would be removed in order to make room for the new fueling center. He said the Planning Commission is recommending approval as submitted. Matthew Pisko, 37740 Hills Tech Drive, Farmington Hills, Engineer and Architect for the project, was present on behalf of Kroger to answer any questions Council may have. Laura said it was a good use of the property and appreciated Kroger's investment in the City of Livonia. Laura offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. 12 McCann asked the petitioner if the gas was just a secondary convenience to the customers and its primary business is still a grocery store; Pisko replied that was correct. Pisko said their competitors Costco, Meijer, and VG's have been doing this for far longer. Kroger is kind of retrofitting these for the convenience of the customers; moving forward as they develop new sites, stores would be twice the size as the one here and without a fuel station they wouldn't consider the parcel. Nationally, they have about 100 of these, so it is really a strong push. He said it really strengthens the companionship with the customers and their store. McCann asked Pisko if Kroger would close the grocery store at this location if the gas station were not approved. Pisko said he couldn't answer that question for Kroger; he added that the intent is to stay at the location. Kritzman asked for this item to be placed on the Regular Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR 12. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2012-09-02-21 submitted by Kohl's Department Stores, Inc. requesting to amend Council Resolution #429-08 adopted on September 24, 2008, in order to extend the Kohl's store operating hours at Livonia Marketplace located on the north side of Seven Mile Road between Middlebelt Road and Purlingbrook Avenue (29578 Seven Mile Road) in the Southwest '/4 of Section 2, from 12:00 a.m. midnight through 6:00 a.m. on Friday, November 23, 2012 (the day after Thanksgiving), and for each subsequent year beginning at midnight of Thanksgiving Day. Tyler Tennent, Attorney/Counsel for Kohl's Department Stores, was present to answer any questions Council may have. Tennent said considering the way that the Council has not been supportive of these types of requests, he wished to propose an alternative request to also be considered by Council. He said when Kohl's was developed it was approved to be open 18 hours a day, the hours of operation were not specifically spelled out and it was left up to Kohl's to determine the hours of operation. He said they are open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. which equals 14 hours; he proposes on the day after thanksgiving their hours of operation would be 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. which is 18 hours and they would request a waiver from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. for the remaining four hours. Laura offered the denying resolution for the Consent Agenda. Laura said to Tennent, if Kohl's chooses to play games with their hours, with Tennent knowing the intent of the Council, you will lose them on the other side. He is going to be very unhappy with Kohl's. So, if there is something else, not a threat, he would be willing to listen. He said he thinks was disingenuous and the wrong way to approach an elected government body. Tennent said he apologized and if there is any perceived disrespect, he said they only mean to follow the approvals which they were given when Kohl's opened. He said their intent is not to be open every day at 12:00 a.m. from here on forward, just the 13 one day after thanksgiving. He said this was sincerely meant as an effort to simply accommodate a problematic situation the City Council has perceived about retailers in this mall and the other mall in Livonia that have limited hours. He said this particular store is different because there are no specific hours, just 18 hours a day. Laura said he appreciates Tennent coming forth, Laura said he and Tennent had a discussion out in the hallway and he said he told Tennent specifically how to proceed and who to contact to overthrow that. Laura said in his mind, it is either all three stores or none. He said it would be terribly unfair to Walmart and Target for them to approve Kohl's request and it would be going against their promise to the residents. Laura apologized if he came across a little harsh and thanked Tennent for appearing tonight before Council. Kritzman said he would be supporting Councilman Laura's denying resolution in this case. Brosnan asked through the Chair to the Law Department, what the authority is that comes with a Planned Development Agreement and how does it factor into the City's approving resolution. Don Knapp, City Attorney, said he is not sure that he would look solely to the Planned Development Agreement, he said he has been looking through the approving resolution when it was approved back in 2008. He said doesn't look as though it limits specific hours but it does indicate that they cannot be open any longer than 18 hours. There would obviously be a question about what that was intended to mean, given the context of its approval and the approvals given by previous tenants to that development. He said he doesn't believe the intention was to set up any different rules for Kohl's than any other store, he thinks it was meant to be consistent but somehow the language was worded differently than when Walmart was put in there, when Kohl's was put in there; the intention being limited and everyone would be closed by midnight and opening up at 6:00 a.m. but for some reason the language appears to be different. Mark Taormina added some information for a point of clarification, he said that language applies to all of the big box stores that over 30,000 square feet at Livonia Marketplace. So the same language applies to the Walmart as does the Kohl's at Livonia Marketplace; what is different is the Walmart and the Target at Wonderland Village. Brosnan asked if the language in the Planned Development Agreement supersedes what they approved. Taormina said, no, it mirrors it. Brosnan asked through the Chair to the Law Department for their opinion. Knapp said he hasn't seen the resolutions that would apply to Walmart and the other big box stores at Livonia Mall and would have to go back and review them. He said he don't know why they would be any different and believes it was the intent of the Council from the beginning to limit the hours from midnight to 6:00 a.m., that has certainly been the reason why they have had these prior requests to extend the hours. 14 However, they would have to follow the language in the resolutions that were adopted and the language that is in the Planned Development Agreement. Brosnan asked for a report and recommendation from the Law Department regarding the legal implications of prohibiting all of the big box stores over 30,000 square feet at Livonia Marketplace to be open between midnight to 6:00 a.m. Claudia Stanton, 19658 Melvin, said did speak to the Law Department about this matter and was told it was just 18 hours, if they wanted they could open at midnight but would then have to close at 6:00 p.m., she added that all of her neighbors are in accord with her on the matter and that if necessary she will bring them all to the next Council meeting. DIRECTION: 1) DENYING REGULAR 13. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY OF LIVONIA ZONING ORDINANCE: Department of Law, re: to Section 18.42A (Wireless Communications Facilities) to eliminate a conflict with recently passed State of Michigan Law. Don Knapp, City Attorney, said earlier this year the State of Michigan Legislature enacted a law that relates to the local government's ability to regulate wireless communication towers. Act No. 143 of the Public Acts of 2012, effective May 24, 2012, amended the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act by adding a new section 3514 thereto. This new section, except as noted below with regard to time periods for approval, does not substantially change the manner in which wireless communication towers are regulated by local units of government. It does, however, make significant changes to how antennas, transmitters, receivers, base stations, equipment shelters and the like are treated in the context of colocations. Currently, Section 18.42A of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance requires approval by the Planning Official and Building Official of any request for colocation of antennas and, in many cases, waiver use or special waiver use approval by the Planning Commission and City Council is required. Under the new state law, such equipment is considered a permitted use of property and is not subject to special land use approval or any other approval if it will be collocated on an existing tower or other support structure and if (1) the tower is in compliance with the Zoning Ordinance or was approved by the Planning Commission and City Council and (2) the proposed collocation will not increase the height of the tower by more than 20 feet or 10% of its original height (whichever is greater), increase the width by more than the minimum necessary to permit collocation, or increase the area of the existing equipment compound to greater than 2,500 square feet. If these conditions are not met, special land use approval can still be required. The time periods for approval of wireless communication towers and equipment are also specified in the new state law. For those situations in which waiver use or special waiver use would still be required for wireless communications equipment that will be collocated on an 15 existing tower, the Planning Commission and City Council must approve or deny the application not more than sixty (60) days after the application is considered to be administratively complete. For wireless communications towers and other support structures, the period for approval or denial is 90 days. Due to these changes, the Law Department has prepared proposed amendments to Section 18.42A of the Zoning Ordinance to ensure consistency with the state law. The definitions of applicable terms are also set forth in the state law so changes to the definitions in Section 18.42A(b) are necessary as well. The proposed amendments will allow for antennas and the like to be collocated on existing towers as a matter of right unless the tower or support structure will be significantly altered in terms of height or width or unless the existing equipment compound area will be increased to more than 2,500 square feet. The proposed amendments to Section 18.42A of the Zoning Ordinance are submitted for the Council's consideration. It is respectfully requested that this matter be referred to the Planning Commission to conduct a public hearing on the question of whether such amendments should be made and thereafter submit a report and recommendation to Council. McCann offered the resolution referring the matter to the Planning Commission for its reports and recommendation for the Consent Agenda. Brosnan asked through the Chair to the Law Department, when we talk about a 10% increase on the tallest tower, what is the impact, she asked what the City's tallest tower was; Knapp said he did not know. The Mayor said the Police Tower is 300 feet. She asked if the City lost any type of revenue on Collocations, even if they weren't on City towers. Knapp said that was a good question and that he didn't know the answer to that but he could find out the answer. Taormina said he knew the answer; he said fees are charged for the review of Collocations and said this would not affect the City's ability to continue to collect those fees. He said they just need to do it on a timelier basis. She asked how the City would know if somebody was Collocating. Taormina said he reviews every plan for Collocation and he requires maps with the request along with the fee. They send a letter to the carrier and they use the letter to secure a Building Permit. DIRECTION: REFERRING MATTER TO THE CONSENT PLANNING COMMISSION TO CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING AND ITS REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION X1. APPLICATION FOR MASSAGE THERAPIST PERMIT: Office of the City Clerk, re: submitted by Janet Larson in accordance with Chapter 5.49 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended. Janet Larson, 44777 North Hills Drive, Northville, was present to answer any questions from the Council. 16 Kritzman offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT X2. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2012-09-02-24 submitted by Agustin Ochoa, to expand the existing full service restaurant (Las Palapas) and add seating, located on the north side of Plymouth Road between Farmington Road and Mayfield Avenue within the Fountain Park shopping center (33308 Plymouth Road), in the Southwest '/4 of Section 27. Mark Taormina, presented the request to Council. He said the petitioner wishes to expand the existing full service restaurant (Las Palapas) and add seating, located on the north side of Plymouth Road between Farmington Road and Mayfield Avenue within the Fountain Park shopping center at 33308 Plymouth Road. He said the business wishes to expand and occupy the entire Retail "A' space; the tobacco shop adjacent to the restaurant is now vacant and they wish to expand into that space; this will allow them to increase their seating. Currently they have 94 interior seats and 20 outdoor seats; they would add 44 seats with the expanded area bringing the total up to 158. In order to do this, they are looking to increase the parking on the site. They have made arrangements with the bank next door to add 17 parking spaces along the east side of the driveway. There is another request for modification to the exterior to the building. He said there is a companion petition for Council's review next for a Class C liquor license to expand into the new area. Brosnan through the Chair to Taormina, said when that site plan was approved there was an agreement put into place; that was an agreement as to what the aesthetics of the buildings. She asked if this met those architectural guidelines. Taormina said this is a departure from those guidelines but it is the decision of the Council whether or not to approve the proposed exterior modifications. Brosnan noted that it was an important of the discussion when the site plan was approved. Agustin Ochoa, 14172 Arline Lane, Belleville, said he understands Brosnan's concern about the aesthetics of the building. He said it is doesn't take away from the overall look of the building. He said it is important feature of the expansion and hopes that it will help distinguish that his business is a Mexican restaurant. Laura said this business is an example of a successful business on Plymouth Road where other business before have failed. Laura said he wishes them well and continued success. Brosnan said she was concerned about the material and how it will hold up in the Michigan weather. Ochoa said if he had to replace it every spring he was willing to do so. Brosnan just wanted to be sure everyone is on the same page with that issue. 17 David Lord, A.F. Jonna Companies, 4036 Telegraph, Bloomfield Hills, landlord of the property, was present to answer any questions from the Council. He said they are particularly sensitive to the architectural integrity of the building. He said typically they do not allow any tenants to make any modifications to their buildings. This is the first time in seven years that they actually approved a tenant's request to modify the building exterior. In this case, the tenant is a single tenant in the building and it will offer the tenant some prominence. Lord said they have control in the lease to dictate and require upkeep of the exterior modification and if the tenant fails to keep it up then they will and they will bill the tenant. He said it didn't expect that to be the case, they have an excellent relationship. Laura offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT X3. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2012-09-02-25 submitted by Agustin Ochoa, to expand the Class C liquor license (sale of beer, wine and spirits for consumption on the premises) of the existing full service restaurant (Las Palapas), located on the north side of Plymouth Road between Farmington Road and Mayfield Avenue within the Fountain Park shopping center (33308 Plymouth Road), in the Southwest '/4 of Section 27. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development said he would like to point out to Council that a waiver is required for the separation requirement of 1,000 feet from another Class C licensed establishment; there are two other establishments, Slingers and Red Olive. Laura offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None. Vice President Pastor wished everyone a Happy Halloween. Terry Marecki, City Clerk, reminded everyone that next Tuesday, November 7, 2012, is the Presidential Election. She said they sent out their 177000th Absentee Ballot today and expects the total to reach about 20,000 to 22,000 Absentee Ballots. There are 74,000 registered voters in the City of Livonia. The total voters in Livonia for the last Presidential Election was around 56,000 and Marecki said she expects around the same for this Presidential Election. She encouraged voters to go to the polls or request their absentee ballot. She said the City Clerk's office will be open this Saturday, November 3, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for election purposes. 18 As there were no further questions or comments, Vice President Pastor adjourned the Study Session at 9:48 p.m. on Monday, October 29, 2012. DATED: November 6, 2012 TERRY A. MARECKI CITY CLERK