HomeMy WebLinkAboutSTUDY - 2016-12-05
CITY OF LIVONIA – CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD DECEMBER 5, 2016
Meeting was called to order at 8:05 p.m. by President McIntyre. Present: Cathy
White, Scott Bahr, Brian Meakin, Brandon Kritzman, Maureen Miller Brosnan, Jim Jolly
and Kathleen McIntyre. Absent: None.
Elected and appointed officials present: Mark Taormina, Director or Economic
Development and Planning; Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Don Knapp, City Attorney;
Susan M. Nash, City Clerk; Judy Priebe, Director of Legislative Affairs; Curtis Caid,
Chief of Police; Ted Davis, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation; Lynda Scheel,
Treasurer; and Dave Varga, Director of Administrative Services.
President McIntyre announced the City’s Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held on
Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. She wished a Happy Birthday to
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Brian Meakin, his birthday is December 11 and also to Mayor Dennis Wright, his
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birthday is December 13.
President McIntyre announced there is new data on Item #3.
Police Chief Curtis Caid expressed his opposition to the current package of bills being
debated in Lansing that affect our school and local employee retirement benefits and
that are being presented during the Lame Duck session, thereby not allowing the proper
time to study these bills and the negative impact they would have on the Livonia
community.
AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None
NEW BUSINESS:
1. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE SIDEWALK REQUIREMENT: Terry Jefferson, re:
for the newly constructed home at 32570 Pembroke Avenue.
Terry Jefferson presented his request to Council.
Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
2. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE SIDEWALK REQUIREMENT: Danny Fitzgerald, re:
for the newly constructed home at 18041 Deering Street.
Danny Fitzgerald presented his request to Council.
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Vice-President Kritzman offered the approving resolution for the Consent
Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
3. REQUEST TO APPROVE AN ADVANCE OF VACATION TIME FOR BRIAN
KAHN, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS DIRECTOR: Office of the Mayor, re:
of 120 hours in order to provide him with the vacation level commensurate with
10 years of experience.
At the direction of the Chair, this Item is being removed from the Agenda.
4. AWARD OF BID: Department of Parks and Recreation, re: of various items of
clothing for the 2017 departmental needs.
Ted Davis, Superintendent, Parks & Recreation, presented the request to
Council. The Department of Parks and Recreation has taken bids for various
types of clothing. Specifications were prepared by the Department, and an
advertisement for bids was placed in the Thursday, October 20, 2016 issue of the
Livonia Observer and on the MITN website. Six (6) bids were received and
opened in the presence of the Bid Committee at 2:00 p.m. on November 1, 2016.
The Parks and Recreation Department is asking Council to award the bid items
to the low bidders for each item.
Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
5. AWARD OF BID: Division of Police, re: for the purchase of police uniforms for a
period of three (3) years, from budgeted funds.
Police Chief Curtis Caid presented the request to Council. The Livonia Division of
Police requested sealed bids for the purchase of uniforms. The bids were
advertised in the Livonia Observer newspaper and on the Michigan
InterGovernmental Trade Network (MITN). One bid was received. On November
1, 2016, the sole bid was publicly opened; the bidder is:
Allie Brothers, Inc.
20295 Middlebelt Road
Livonia, Ml 48152
(248) 4 77-4434
Allie Brothers, Inc. has been the police department's uniform vendor since
approximately 1974 and has provided excellent service to the police department.
Allie Brothers, Inc. is also the uniform vendor for the Livonia Fire Department.
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They request that the per-unit item bid from Allie Brothers, Inc. be accepted.
Funds are budgeted for this purpose.
White offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
6. REQUEST TO APPROVE THE SELECTION OF A CONSULTANT FOR THE
CITY’S DEFINED CONTRIBUTION (401) AND DEFERRED COMPENSATION
(457) RETIREMENT PLANS: Department of Finance, re: to perform ongoing
fiduciary consulting services for the City’s 401 and 457 retirement plans for an
annual amount not to exceed $45,000.00.
Mike Slater, Director of Finance, presented the request to Council. City Council
previously approved the selection of the Bogdahn Group (CR# 275-15) to
perform consulting services for a provider search for the City's Defined
Contribution (401) and Deferred Compensation (457) Plans. As part of the
provider search services, Bogdahn has been instrumental over the past year
assisting the City with fund selection, contract review and negotiation, plan
document review, transition process consulting and problem resolution. The
services provided by the Bogdahn Group for this project were exceptional. At the
City's request, the Bogdahn Group has provided a proposal to perform ongoing
fiduciary consulting services for the City's plans. These services include:
• Selection, monitoring and replacement of plan investments as needed.
• Monitoring of plan costs and fees.
• Advise on participant education strategy.
• Advise on industry best practices, legislative updates and IRS compliance.
• Conduct RFP process for replacement of plan provider, as needed.
• Other services as outlined in their proposal.
The cost for these services is $45,000 per year. The cost would be split between
Defined Contribution Plan (401) forfeiture funds (50%) and budgeted funds in
Contractual Services Account.
It is recommended that City Council authorize the negotiation and execution of a
contract with the Bogdahn Group, 4901 Vineland Road, Suite 600, Orlando, FL
32811, to perform ongoing fiduciary consulting services for the City's 401 and
457 retirement plans for an annual amount not to exceed $45,000.
Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
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Bahr asked for some clarification on the percentage of funds that are forfeiture
funds. He also asked if this was just for this year or would it be an annual
expense. Slater gave clarification and said it would be an annual expense.
7. REQUEST TO APPROVE PURCHASE OF REPLACEMENT COMPUTER
EQUIPMENT THROUGH THE MIDWEST HIGHER EDUCATION CONTRACT
(MHEC): Information Systems Division, re: to install and configure new
equipment, migrate existing virtual servers, migrate licensing and decommission
existing equipment and includes five years of hardware and software support,
from budgeted funds. (CR 22-12)
Dan Putman, Director of Information Systems, presented the request to Council.
In 2012 (CR# 22-12), the Information Systems Department acquired and
implemented a Storage Area Network (SAN) and a virtual server platform. This
platform has allowed them to eliminate many physical servers, increase their fault
tolerance, increase their flexibility, and lower their operating costs. It is made up
of 2 Dell EqualLogic SAN's, 3 Dell servers, and their VMware software platform.
They are currently running 18 virtual servers versus physical equipment.
Unfortunately, this equipment is now 5 years old and at end of expected life. Dell
has announced that it is now phasing out the Equallogic SAN's in favor of newer
technologies.
They now are recommending replacement of this equipment with an EMC Unity
All Flash SAN and 2 new Dell PowerEdge R730 servers. Some of the
advantages of this new equipment include:
The flash drives provide 5 to 10 times the speed of traditional disk storage,
uses less power and is a much more reliable solution.
The network connections between the storage and the servers is moving
from 1 GB Ethernet connections to 16 GB Fiber connections.
They are also increasing their disk capacity by 50% to allow for future
growth and to provide capacity to migrate two large and critical servers to
our virtual environment.
Five years of software and hardware support.
They are able to continue using their VMware software platform with this
new hardware.
This purchase is being done through the Midwest Higher Education Contract
(MHEC). The vendor that is authorized for this sale is Presidio Infrastructure
Solutions L.L.C.
Storage and Server Refresh
Presidio will install and configure the new equipment, migrate their existing virtual
servers, migrate their licensing and decommission the existing equipment. This
proposal includes five years of hardware and software support on this equipment.
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It is the recommendation of the Information Systems Department that Council
proceeds as follows: Approve purchasing this Storage and Server refresh in the
amount of $135,214.00 from Presidio Infrastructure Solutions L.L.C., 48325
Alpha Drive, Suite 150 Wixom, Ml 48393 from budgeted funds
Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
8. REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION AND
EXPENDITURE FOR THE RELOCATION OF THE HISTORICAL PERRINVILLE
SCHOOL: Community Resources, re: for the actual final cost for utility
relocation in the amount of $43,489.15. (CR 259-16, CR 258-16, and CR 07-15)
Linda McCann, Director of Community Resources, presented the request to
Council. Integrity Building Group (IBG) and Neumann Smith were retained as
contractor and architect for the relocation of the Historic Perrinville School. An
estimate of $60,000 was allocated for permits and work related to traffic signal
and utility relocation along the route. The Perrinville School was successfully
relocated to Greenmead on October 25, 2016. A list and charges from various
vendors for the actual service performed has been provided to Council. The
commonly known utility and cable companies were identified and provided a cost
proposal, there were a few unidentified utility providers such as Fiber Tech that
were not identified ahead of the revised route. However, the other providers on
site were able to work through the logistics to ensure the relocation occurred. In
addition, Wayne County required additional work involving traffic signals than
they anticipated. Additional crews were dispatched to assist in the relocation and
resulted in an additional bill. Council approved a budget of $60,000. The actual
final cost for utility relocation is $103,489.15. Therefore, they are asking Council
to approve the difference in the amount of $43,489.15 from the Historical Trust
Fund to Historical Commission Capital Outlay.
Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
9. REQUEST TO ESTABLISH A NEW JOB CLASSIFICATION: Civil Service
Division, re: to establish the Fire Command Executive Classification of Deputy
Fire Chief and proposed salary and fringe benefits.
Denise Maier, Director of Human Resources, presented the request to Council.
At its Regular Meeting of November 16, 2016, the Civil Service Commission
adopted a resolution requesting to establish the Fire Command Executive
Classification of Deputy Fire Chief and proposed salary and fringe benefits, as
extended to the Livonia Fire Fighters in their December 1, 2015 through
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November 30, 2018, which mirrors that of the Fire Chief, and submits same to
City Council for their review and consideration.
Deputy Fire Chief Salary Schedule
Effective December 1, 2016 Effective December 1, 2017
Step 4 $52.12 $108,405.44 $53.16 $110,572.80
Step 5 $54.20 $112,741.66 $55.29 $115,003.20
A copy of the memorandum of November 14, 2016, from Denise C. Maier,
SPHR, Human Resources Director and the salary schedule has been provided to
Council for its review.
Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
10. REQUEST TO APPROVE SALARY AND FRINGE BENEFIT ADJUSTMENTS
FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF FIRE CHIEF: Civil Service Division, re: for the
period of December 1, 2015 through November 30, 2018.
Denise Maier, Director of Human Resources, presented the request to Council.
At its Regular Meeting of November 16, 2016, the Civil Service Commission
adopted a resolution recommending salary and benefit adjustments for the
classification of Fire Chief, for the period December 1, 2015 through November
30, 2018, FURTHER, that all other benefits not elaborated in the summary
provided to Council, as extended to the Livonia Fire Fighters in their December 1,
2015 through November 30, 2018 Agreement be afforded to the classification of
Fire Chief; FURTHER, that this resolution is to be effective immediately. A copy
of the memorandum of November 16, 2016, from Denise C. Maier, SPHR,
Human Resources Director and the proposed wage/benefit modifications for Fire
Chief has been provided to Council for its review.
White offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
11. REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION AND
EXPENDITURE; AND AUTHORIZE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM LOCAL
ROADS TO MAJOR ROADS AND MAINTENANCE: Engineering Division, re: for
emergency repair work at Levan Road, north of Plymouth Road and Newburgh
Road, North of Plymouth Road & other miscellaneous items. (CR 261-16)
Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. Pursuant to
Council Resolution 261-16, adopted on July 11, 2016, the City Council approved
the award of the Joint and Crack Sealing Program, Contract 16-D. The awarded
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amounts were based on the budgeted amounts of $95,000 for Local Roads (203)
and $30,000 for Major Roads (202).
They respectfully request that the Council approve a budget transfer of funds in
the amount of $19,717.00 from (Local Roads Account) to (Major Roads Account)
in order to close out the Joint and Crack Sealing Project Contract 16-D.
This action will leave a surplus of budgeted funds for the Joint and Crack Sealing
Program, Contract 16-D in (Local Roads Account) in the amount of $22,599.00.
They would like to request that these funds be used to pay Nagle Paving
Company, for the emergency repairs that were made at Levan Road (North of
Plymouth Road) and Newburgh Road (North of Plymouth) and other
miscellaneous items.
In order to complete these projects, they respectfully request that the City
Council take the following actions:
Approve a transfer of budgeted funds in the amount of $19,717.00 from
(Local Roads Account) to (Major Roads Account).
Approve a transfer of budgeted funds in the amount of $22,599.00 from
(Local Roads Account) to (Maintenance Account) for emergency repairs at
Levan and Newburgh Road, north of Plymouth Road and other
miscellaneous items.
Authorize an appropriation and expenditure not-to exceed $22,599.00 to
Nagle Paving Company, 36780 Amrhein, Livonia, Michigan 48150 for the
emergency repairs at Levan and Newburgh Road, north of Plymouth Road
and other miscellaneous items from (Maintenance Account).
Authorize the City Engineer to approve minor adjustments in the work, as
required.
Vice-President Kritzman offered the approving resolution for the Consent
Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
12. REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION AND
EXPENDITURE: Engineering Division, re: for Newburgh Road water main break
repair, south of Schoolcraft Road. (CR 204-16)
Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. The Department
of Public Works has a program that was established to replace sidewalks and
pavements removed due to water main breaks. There is a two-year contract with
D'Angelo Brothers, Contract 16-F in the amount of $291,237.50 over this period
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($145,618.75 per year), CR #204-16. To date, they have spent $63,906.60 for
repairs. However, recent numerous water main breaks will need to be addressed
in the Spring / Summer 2017 when weather conditions allow for replacements.
Phase I locations are compiled from late October thru early April. The remaining
water main breaks from mid-April until late September are then completed in
Phase II by mid to late October.
Recently, Hard Rock Concrete reconstructed the pavement on Newburgh Road
south of Schoolcraft. The project started on September 6, 2016, and was
completed at the end of October. As part of Stage I, traffic was placed on the
southbound lanes of Newburgh Road as the northbound lanes were under
construction. Unfortunately, there was a water main break that occurred near the
address of 13235 Newburgh Road (west side of Newburgh Road, south of
Schoolcraft Road) by a 12-inch water main in early September. This was not
related to the road project, but unfortunately occurred shortly after the project
was under construction. The concrete drive approach and curb lane were
severely impacted at that time. The water main repair was completed by DPW
forces and area had aggregate base and cold patch for temporary pavement
repairs.
It was decided not to have D'Angelo Brothers perform this repair and that the
pavement repairs from the water main break would be completed by Hard Rock
Concrete based on their established unit prices from Contract 16-C, Concrete
Road Repair Program since they were already on site. In addition, Nagle Paving
was used to place the 2-inch wearing course over the poured concrete patches
to match the existing asphalt pavement on Newburgh Road. Please note the lane
adjacent to the center lane had dropped and also required removal and
replacement of the water main break.
The proposed road repairs would be completed near the end of the
reconstruction of Newburgh Road under the CSX Bridge of the southbound
lanes. Please note that the traffic during Stage II was placed on the newly
reconstructed northbound lanes for the reconstruction of the southbound lanes.
The water main break was north of the main work area for the reconstruction
under the CSX Bridge. DPW provided additional maintenance of traffic on
Newburgh Road for the water main break during the two (phases). Phase I
included the concrete drive approach and curbed lane. Phase II was the adjacent
lane (through lane) located to the west of the center turn lane for southbound
Newburgh Road. The Engineering Department coordinated with Hard Rock
Concrete to use the existing traffic control in place to complete the water main.
The final costs were provided to the City of Livonia by Hard Rock Concrete
(HRC) in the amount of $18,152.75 by Invoice #112216, dated November 23,
2016. We are asking City Council's approval to pay for the emergency road
repair as a result of the water main break, utilizing existing contract unit prices
from 16-C.
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In order to proceed, they respectfully request that that Council take the following
actions:
Authorize an appropriation and expenditure in the amount of $18,152.75
from the Water and Sewer Construction-In-Progress Account (592).
Authorize a payment not-to-exceed $18,152.75 to Hard Rock Concrete,
Inc., 38146 Abruzzi Dr., Westland, Ml 48185-3278.
Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
13. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2016-10-02-19
submitted by Animal Care Clinic of Livonia, in connection with a proposal to
operate a veterinary clinic located on the northwest corner of Joy Road and
Harrison Avenue (28450 Joy Road) in the Southwest ¼ of Section 36.
Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented the
request to Council. This is a request to operate a veterinary clinic that would be
at the corner of Joy and Harrison. This is an existing developed site that is about
a half-acre in size with 93 feet of frontage along Joy Road and 250 feet on
Harrison Street. The property is zoned C-2, General Business. The front part of
the site contains a 1,980 square foot building and some parking. The rear portion
of the site is undeveloped and currently maintained as an open field. Veterinary
clinics, animal clinics and animal hospitals are treated as a waiver pursuant to
Section 11.03(b) of the Zoning Ordinance. To the west and east of this property
are existing commercial businesses. To the north are single family homes under
the R-1 zoning classification, and to the south across Joy Road is the City of
Westland. The petitioner has submitted plans for the new animal veterinary clinic.
It would utilize all of the existing building and would involve extensive interior
remodeling. A floor plan has been submitted that indicates how the facility would
be configured. It would include a reception area, waiting room, two examination
rooms, doctor offices, wash area, break room, a restroom and storage. There are
a few special requirements that apply to veterinary clinics in the Zoning
Ordinance. Subsection B specifies that the building and ventilation systems must
be soundproofed. There is a note on the submitted documents indicating that the
building and the ventilation system will be soundproofed. The details of how and
where that soundproofing would occur is something that would be reviewed by
the Inspection Department at the time the plans are submitted for permits. In
terms of parking, based on the floor area of the building, this clinic would require
eight parking spaces. When you look at the net useable area of the building and
take the ratio of one parking space for each 200 square feet, that translates to a
total 8 required spaces. This plan is showing nine spaces with seven spaces
located behind the building and two additional spaces located along the east side
of the building closer to the entrance. That would include the barrier free space.
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This is something that they discussed at the study session to try to find a way to
avoid a situation where patrons or employees park along the east side of the
building and have to back up over the sidewalk and into Harrison Street. This
provides a much better arrangement by expanding the asphalt a little bit further
to the north and providing the parking in a 90-degree fashion along the north side
of the parking lot. This will avoid the problem of vehicles backing up into the road,
but we can also provide a couple parallel spaces adjacent to the building and,
most importantly, the barrier free space adjacent to the entrance to the building
which is in the southeast corner of the building. There is an enclosed trash
dumpster shown in the northwest edge of the parking lot behind the building.
Also, they have details on how that would be screened. This is another slight
modification to the plans that you looked at previously. You can see how that
enclosure has been rotated about 45 degrees from how it was previously
oriented and this will allow much easier access to service the trash. Currently
there are four driveways, two off of Joy, two off of Harrison. The southerly
driveway on Harrison would be removed and replaced with grass leaving only
three driveways, two along Joy Road and one along Harrison. However, the
westerly drive off of Harrison will essentially become unusable once the west
side of the property, which is currently maintained in gravel, is landscaped. This
is something that the Planning Commission asked the petitioner to take a look at
to reduce the number of curb cuts to this site. It’s a small site. There were
already four driveways. This is a signalized intersection at Joy and Harrison, so
moving those driveways as far away from the intersection as possible is
preferred. They’ve eliminated the southerly driveway on Harrison close to the
intersection. The one on the west, because it straddles the property line on Joy
Road, will not be used any longer once they landscape the area on the west side
of the building. Eliminating that driveway at this time would require additional
review by Wayne County. It’s hoped that eventually it can be replaced with
landscaping, but to not complicate the review at this point, the driveway would
remain, but again, it would basically become unusable. There is another special
requirement of the ordinance that specifies there not be any open or outdoor
runways, kennels or pens. The site plan does not show any of these items, and
the petitioner has indicated that they are not necessary. He is here this evening
and he can explain that further if necessary. In terms of landscaping, they
typically want to see over 15 percent of the site landscaped. In this case, about
60 percent of the total site area is in the form of landscaping or mostly grassy
areas. The entire rear half of the site is a grass area. The west side will become
the same once the site is redeveloped. To discourage vehicles from using that
westerly drive on Joy Road, the plan is showing a couple trees. They are just
generally shown and they asked the petitioner to provide this, but that is
something they can probably work with him a little bit better to add some
additional landscape items along the frontage on the west side of the building in
order to discourage cars from trying to use that approach and driving on the
grass. In terms of the exterior of the building, this too will see some changes. The
entire front, which is the south elevation facing Joy Road, as well as the east, the
side facing Harrison, will be remodeled. The lower part of the building is going to
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have cultured stone while the upper part be maintained in E.I.F.S. The original
plan they looked at it was going to be all E.I.F.S. but working with the applicant
and his architect, they’ve changed that to include the cultured stone on the lower
part of the building. These are conceptual elevation plans, but it would improve
the appearance of this building tremendously. Lastly, in terms of signage, they
are allowed one sign at 28 square feet that would be on the Joy Road side of the
building. They are not entitled to a monument sign by virtue of the setback of the
building. They are showing three wall signs, one on the front and one on each
side of the building. That aspect of the proposal will have to go to the Zoning
Board of Appeals for approval.
Vice-President Kritzman said this plan appears to represent the direction the City
would like to see the property move in. He said he would be curious to see a
materials board.
Dave Allen, Sketch Design Group, addressed Council. He displayed samples of
the materials to be used on the project.
Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda.
Vice-President Kritzman and Bahr expressed concerns with the proposed
signage. Taormina did point out that this particular building would not be allotted
a ground sign and there is limited exposure due to the zero setback.
Brosnan asked Taormina if the Council were to approve the site plan with just
one of the signs shown on the plan, if the petitioner would still be able to file an
Appeal with regard to the proposed signage. Taormina said, his understanding is
no but referred that question to the City Attorney.
Bahr inquired about what type of material was to be used for one of the proposed
on the side of the building. The petitioner indicated it would be a channel letter
sign. Bahr said the renderings of the proposed signage are not that attractive.
Vice-President Kritzman suggested to the petitioner if the proposed signage was
to be channel letter that should be indicated and easily identified on the plan. He
made some suggestions to the petitioner and said some revised plans
addressing the concerns raised by Council.
DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR
14. SITE PLAN: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2016-10-08-13 submitted by
Dave Phipps, in connection with a proposal to develop a senior apartment
complex (Aletha Apartments), located on the west side of Farmington Road
between Lyndon and Five Mile Roads (14851 and 14931 Farmington Road) in
the Northeast ¼ of Section 21.
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Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented the
request to Council. This is a request to develop a senior apartment complex on
the west side of Farmington Road. The site is generally located between the
Brighthouse Networks/Spectrum office building and Livonia Dermatology to the
south and then the Livonia Public Schools property and Livonia Cemetery to the
north. Portions of this property are currently in the process of being rezoned from
Office Services and One Family Residential to the R-9-1 Housing for the Elderly
zoning classification. The City Council gave First Reading on the rezoning on
September 7. The Second Reading and Roll Call vote, which are the final steps
in the rezoning process, are on hold pending a review of this site plan. The
review is based on the R-9-1 district regulations. The overall site consists of two
adjoining parcels that together total about 10.3 acres. It’s basically a U-shaped
configuration. The parcel to the north, which is identified as 14931 Farmington
Road, is about 3.4 acres with 207 feet of frontage on Farmington Road, while the
larger of the two properties, which is identified as 14851 Farmington Road, is
approximately 6.4 acres. The northerly site currently has a house and a detached
garage on it. Those structures will be removed as part of the development. Really
the only developed portion of that site is Luther Lane, which extends from
Farmington Road west providing access to the Livonia Woods Nursing Home,
which is located on an adjacent parcel. The property is mostly vacant. A
significant portion of the site does contain mature vegetation. Lying immediately
to the north of the subject site is Livonia Board of Education property. The bus
yard borders a significant portion of the site along with a cemetery. To the west is
the Livonia Woods Nursing Home. To the south is Silver Village Senior Housing
complex as well as the office buildings, and across Farmington is the Livonia
Civic Center site. Looking at the allowable density for the R-9-1 zoning
classification, it’s really a function of three items, building height, the number of
bedrooms per unit, as well as the land area. Under the R-9-1 subcategory (1)
classification, buildings can be a maximum of four stories in height. The site plan
shows seven mid-rise apartment buildings as well as a single story activity
building. Six of the apartment buildings, which are identified on the site plan as
Buildings 2 through 7, would be four stories in height. Each one would contain 32
one-bedroom units for a total of 192 dwelling units. Those four structures are
generally located on the west half of the site where the buildings are identified as
4, 5, 6 and 7. Buildings 2 and 3 are located on the north side of the property,
north of the Centennial Office Complex Then there is a single building identified
on the plans as Building 1 that would be three stories in height, contain 12 one-
bedroom units and that would be located on the front portion of the site closer to
Farmington Road. Each one-bedroom unit in the four-story buildings requires at
least 2,000 square feet of land area whereas each one-bedroom unit in the three-
story building requires 2,200 square feet of land area. When you add all this up,
what is required overall is 410,400 square feet or 9.42 acres of land in order to
support the density that is being shown on the plan, which is a total of 204
dwelling units. The site is 10.3 acres in overall size. The property is large enough
to support the 204 dwelling units as proposed on this plan. When we look at the
floor layout, this provides a general indication of how each floor would be
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subdivided into various units. There are several different unit types and sizes.
Those range from about 690 square feet to 845 square feet, not including the
area of the balconies. Most of these units, except for the ones on the lowest
level, the first floor, will have balconies. Those will more than likely have some
form of patio, but each unit contains a living area, a bathroom, kitchen, and
master bedroom, and then in the larger units, there is an additional room
provided which is identified as a study room. Central hallways would link all these
units. They would be six feet in width as you can see from the plan. Also, there
would be an elevator and a staircase provided at each end of the floors. The
community building is one story in height. It is subdivided into various
components including a recreation room, an exercise area, restrooms, kitchen
and pantry area, a small swimming pool as well as an office for the complex. The
leasing office will be provided in that front building. Again, this is the building that
is closest to Farmington Road. So if we go back to the plan and we look at the
two buildings closest to Farmington Road on the northerly portion of the site,
you’ll see the Community Building is the first building that you would enter off of
Farmington Road. Then the three story apartment building, identified as Building
1, would be the next building to the west, and then as you continue along that
driveway, that would provide access to the six other buildings as part of the
apartment complex, Buildings 2 through 7, all of which would be four stories in
height. Again, access to the apartments would be by way of this network of
private driveways. They would be 22 feet in width, and they would connect to and
form a loop with Luther Lane as well as a new northerly curb cut off Farmington
Road. Looking back at the overall circulation pattern, access will be provided on
the north side off Farmington Road that basically forms a large loop road system
connecting to the existing Luther Lane, which then comes back out to Farmington
Road. So there will be two major points of egress and ingress for the site. In
terms of parking, the Zoning Ordinance requires one space per dwelling unit, so
204 parking spaces would be required. This site plan provides for a total of 306
spaces; 204 of those 306 spaces would be covered under carports. There are 10
additional spaces that are shown in front of the Community Office building.
Altogether then, there is a combined total of 316 spaces available for the
residents and guests of this complex. Stormwater would be managed in a
network of detention basins that would be located along the north side of Luther
Lane. One of the three basins currently exists in the southwest corner of the site.
New stormwater detention basins would be added in order to handle the
additional runoff from the development. The site plan shows screened trash
enclosures, one per building, in general proximity to each of the buildings. Three
sides of those enclosures would consist of brick to match the building. There is a
detail provided in your packet showing what those would look like. A fully detailed
landscape plan was submitted as part of the application. One of the issues that
came up during the review of this item at the study session was that the
renderings depicted some trees along the front of the buildings that weren’t
identified on the landscape plan. He did have a conversation with the landscape
architect regarding this. He has not yet seen the revised plan but he understands
his chore of adding those trees to the plan in order to match the rendering
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because it was indicated by the Commission that they would like to see those
two co-relate better. Looking at the architecture of the buildings, these would be
primarily brick buildings on the lowest levels. The lower three floors on the four-
story buildings and the lower two floors of the three-story building would be
primarily brick. The exception to that would be those bay projections. The fronts
of those plus the upper floor would be a composite siding, what is referred to as
Hardy Plank materials. It’s kind of a cement material, wood trim or aluminum
sided trim. Maybe the petitioner can explain a little bit more about what the
balconies and trim would consist of us. They would all have asphalt shingled
roofs. The Community Building’s architecture pretty much matches that of the
apartment buildings, similar materials and style of construction. In terms of
height, the four-story buildings top out at about 53 feet; the three-story buildings
have 42 feet, and then the Community Office building at 28 feet. That would be to
the upper most peak of the roofline. Following the study session, there was a site
lighting plan that was submitted that shows a variety of light fixtures. Those
details are provided in your packet. The pole mounted fixtures are at 15 feet in
height, 5 feet below what we like to see at a maximum height of 20 feet. Those
would go along the exposed parking areas as well as along the driveways. They
also provide significant detail on the ceiling mounted fixtures that would go inside
the carports, and then there are bollards that would be provided along the
pedestrian pathways. Most of these fixtures are going to be outfitted with high
efficiency LED lighting. He was ready to answer any questions Council may
have.
James McCann, was present on behalf of the petitioner he said they will be
providing some updated plans prior to the voting meeting incorporating some
recommendations of the Planning Commission.
Vice-President Kritzman said overall it’s a sharp looking plan. It is a great
opportunity to get some higher density housing, particularly in that senior bracket
age group. He said he loves it and the designs are well balanced. He said he
would like to see some additional areas of benches for stopping and sitting along
the site.
Brosnan said when this site came before Council for the rezoning, she thought it
was going to be condominiums not rental units and asked what the rationale was
for one versus the other. McCann deferred that inquisition to the petitioner, Mr.
Phipps.
Dave Phipps, 3699 Vorheis, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48105, responded by stating
they had always planned for it the be rental units. He said generally
condominiums do not work in a 4-story building. Brosnan asked what the rental
agreements look like. Phipps said they are one year leases. Brosnan asked for a
comparison of their competition. Phipps named a couple of places in Livonia.
Brosnan asked about neighboring communities. Phipps said he wasn’t familiar
with any in the neighboring communities.
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Brosnan asked Taormina if he was familiar with any competition in neighboring
communities. Taormina said he was not aware of any.
McCann commented on how it is similar to Silver Village and Newburgh Village.
Brosnan asked about the amenities. Phipps said there will be a Jacuzzi pool, a
swimming pool, a weight room, a gathering area, a kitchen, bathrooms, and a
rental office. Brosnan said she noted there was some recreation space on the
site listed on the plan. She asked what that was. Phipps said just open space to
do whatever they may need to do. Brosnan said like a picnic area with picnic
tables. Phipps said sure it could be used for that purpose.
Vice-President Kritzman said with the neighboring senior housing and the
proposed senior housing this increases the density. He said it is a good way to
encourage seniors to walk more and socialize more with neighbors. He said he
would like to see some type of connection from this site to the adjacent senior
housing sites.
Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda.
DIRECTION: 1) APPROVING REGULAR
2) RECEIVE & FILE – NEW DATA
AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None.
As there were no further questions or comments, President McIntyre adjourned the
Study Session at 9:25 p.m. on Monday, December 5, 2016.
DATED: December 14, 2016 SUSAN M. NASH
CITY CLERK