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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-08-12 STUDY CITY OF LIVONIA – CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD AUGUST 12, 2019 Meeting was called to order at 8:01 p.m. by President Laura Toy. Present: Cathy White, Kathleen McIntyre, Brian Meakin, Jim Jolly, Brandon Kritzman, and Laura Toy. Absent: Scott Bahr. Elected and appointed officials present: Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development; Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Paul Bernier, City Attorney; Susan M. Nash, City Clerk; Lynda Scheel, City Treasurer; Linda McCann, Director of Community Resources; Dave Heavener, Fire Chief; Ted Davis, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation. Councilmember White led the meeting in the Pledge. President Toy stated there is New Data on Item #24. Councilmember Kritzman wished his daughter Jackie, his wife Rebecca, and daughter Anastasia happy birthdays. President Toy recognized the people involved in the Moving Vietnam Wall for doing an awesome job and cited some of the sponsors that were instrumental in making this event happen. Councilmember McIntyre spoke about the fire that occurred at Parkview Apartments and commended the Fire Department for rescuing two people from balconies. She stated there was extensive property damage but no loss of life or serious injuries occurred. President Toy commented on the Merriman Road paving. Vice President Jolly spoke about the death of Bob Hardies and his contributions to the City of Livonia and asked for a moment of silence. AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None NEW BUSINESS: 1. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE CITY’S NOISE ORDINANCE: Charles Rostamloo, re: for a wedding reception with a DJ on Saturday, September 7, 2019, from 5:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Sunday, September 8, 2019 at 19340 Merriman Court. 2 Charles Rostamloo, 19340 Merriman Court, presented this request to Council. He stated he and his fiance’ are getting married in the backyard and have requested a waiver of the noise ordinance for the DJ. Vice President Jolly congratulated the couple and offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 2. BLOCK PARTY: Karen Werden, re: to be held Saturday, September 7, 2019, from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., on Flamingo Boulevard, between St. Martins and Bretton, with a rain date of Sunday, September 8, 2019. Karen Warden, 19651 Flamingo Boulevard, presented this request to Council. th She stated the event has games, music and karaoke and it is their 15 Annual Block Party. Councilmember White offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 3. BLOCK PARTY: Krista Leavens, re: to be held Saturday, September 21, 2019, from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., on Grandon, between Harrison and Brentwood, with no rain date requested. Krista Leavens, 28615 Grandon, presented this request to Council. She stated rd this is their 33 Annual Block Party, where they are asking to shut down Grandon between Brentwood and Harrison. She said there will be a bounce house. Vice President Jolly offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 4. BLOCK PARTY: Katharine Faitel and Nancy Kostin, re: to be held Saturday, September 28, 2019, from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., on Edgewood, between Scone and Perth, with no rain date requested. Kathy Faitel, 14058 Edgewood, presented this request to Council. She said the th event will be held on September 28 from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m., where they will be blocking off Edgewood between Scone and Perth. She stated there have been a lot of new neighbors and they are hoping to meet them and have a nice get together. Vice President Jolly offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 3 5. REQUEST FOR DESIGNATION AS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION: Daniel R. Coon, President, Livonia Community Swim Club, re: as required by the State of Michigan to obtain a Charitable Gaming License to allow raffle fundraisers in the future. Daniel Coon, 9904 Loveland, presented this request to Council. He stated the Livonia Community Swim Club swims out of the Rec Center, it’s a year round club, they host two meets in December and February and they would like to add a 50/50 raffle as a way to raise additional funds to pay for coaching costs and lap time in the pool and exercise equipment and that sort of stuff. Councilmember White offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 6. REQUEST FOR DESIGNATION AS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION: Richard Rich, Treasurer, Livonia Youth Philharmonic of Michigan, re: as required by the State of Michigan to obtain a Charitable Gaming License to allow raffle fundraisers in the future. Kathy Bilger, 19170 Augusta Court, presented this request to Council. She stated she is the Treasurer of the organization and that they are looking for a charitable gaming license because they would like to do 50/50 raffles at their concerts which brings in additional money so that they can purchase music for their organization and other things to enhance the experience for all the students. She then commented that Bob Hardies was a major sponsor of their organization, he came to their concerts and help their group not just financially but also was developing a Master Plan. She said he was a wonderful man and they are going to miss him tremendously. Vice President Jolly offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda and he commented on the presence of the Livonia Youth Symphony appearing at the Moving Vietnam Wall event as well. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 7. REQUEST TO WAIVE SIDEWALK REQUIREMENT: Dean M. DeVonce, DeVonce Custom Construction, Inc. for the newly constructed single-family home at 16855 Mayfield Street. Devon DeVonce, DeVonce Custom Construction, presented this request to Council. He stated they are building a new residence at 16855 Mayfield Street and that none of the other properties, either adjoining or in the whole subdivision have sidewalks and there is also a drainage ditch on the uncurbed street, so a 4 sidewalk would be an engineering hinderance and that is the reason they are asking for a waiver. Councilmember Kritzman stated this is a situation where a sidewalk waiver makes sense and offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 8. TAX RATE REQUEST FOR THE PLYMOUTH ROAD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY FOR THE 2019 TAX YEAR: Office of the City Clerk, re: forwarding communication dated July 23, 2019, from Michael T. Slater, Treasurer, setting forth the rate of tax to be levied and requesting that it be collected as part of the summer tax collection. DIRECTION: RECEIVE & FILE 9. COLLECTION OF LIVONIA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT TAXES FOR THE YEAR 2019: Office of the City Clerk, re: forwarding a communication from Alison Smith, Director of Finance, requesting the City to continue to collect one-half of the district’s taxes with the summer tax collection and the remaining one-half with the winter tax collection, commencing July 1, 2019. DIRECTION: RECEIVE & FILE 10. TAX RATE REQUEST FOR THE CLARENCEVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR: Office of the City Clerk, re: forwarding a communication from Dave Bergeron, Assistant Superintendent, setting forth the rate of tax approved by the Board of Education on June 13, 2019. DIRECTION: RECEIVE & FILE 11. TAX RATE REQUEST FOR SCHOOLCRAFT COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT FOR THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR: Office of the City Clerk, re: forwarding a communication from Dr. Glenn Cerny, VP and CFO of Schoolcraft College, to set the rate of tax to be levied and requesting that it be collected as a summer tax. DIRECTION: RECEIVE & FILE 12. TAX RATE REQUEST FOR OAKLAND SCHOOLS ISD FOR THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR: Office of the City Clerk, re: forwarding a communication from Michelle Saunders, Executive Director of Financial Services, to set the rate of tax to be levied and requesting that it be collected as a summer tax. DIRECTION: RECEIVE & FILE 5 13. TAX RATE REQUEST FOR WAYNE COUNTY REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY (RESA) FOR THE 2019 SCHOOL YEAR: Office of the City Clerk, re: forwarding a communication from Tamara Dust, Finance Manager of the Wayne County Regional Education Service Agency, requesting to set the rate of tax to be levied and requesting that it be collected as a summer tax. DIRECTION: RECEIVE & FILE 14. TAX RATE REQUEST FOR THE COUNTY OF WAYNE FOR THE YEAR 2019: Office of the City Clerk, re: forwarding a communication from Scott T. Vandermergel, MMAO(4), Director of Assessment and Equalization, requesting that the City collect 5.6483 Charter authorized mills as part of the summer tax collection and the remainder as part of the winter tax collection. DIRECTION: RECEIVE & FILE 15. TAX RATE REQUEST FOR THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, STATE EDUCATION TAX FOR THE YEAR 2019: Office of the City Clerk, re: forwarding a communication from Rachael Eubanks, State Treasurer, requesting to set the rate of tax to be levied and requesting that it be collected as a summer tax. DIRECTION: RECEIVE & FILE 16. ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL: Community Resources, re: for replacement of the Hinbern House cedar shake roof at Greenmead Historical Park, from budgeted funds. Linda McCann, Director of Community Resources, presented this request to Council. She stated she is asking Council to accept the proposal for the cedar shingle roof at the Hinbern House at Greenmead. She stated it is a specialty job, and that most regular roofers don’t even want to look at it. She stated she would like the project to award it to Cedar Preservation Systems, for a total price of $19,800.00 and that there is money in the Greenmead Maintenance Account to cover this. Councilmember Meakin offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 17. ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL: Department of Management Information Systems and Parks and Recreation Department, re: from Cellco Partnership, d/b/a Verizon Wireless, to provide extended cell phone service coverage inside the Kirksey Recreation Center. Ted Davis, Superintendent of Parks & Recreation, presented this request to Council. He stated he is requesting that Council approve a Verizon proposal that 6 is going to improve cellphone services for Verizon Wireless customers at the Recreation Center. This has been approved by the Law Department, Information Systems, and Parks Recreation. All they are doing is providing electricity for the equipment on site. Councilmember White offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 18. REQUEST TO APPROVE EMERGENCY REPAIR: Department of Parks and Recreation, re: for Bicentennial Park walking path, which has been unusable for a significant portion of the year. Ted Davis, Superintendent of Parks & Recreation, presented this request to Council. He stated there is a portion of the walking path between Bicentennial Park and the dog park that is a low lying area of Bicentennial and the topography of the region has effectively made the path for a good portion of the year unusable. Anyone who goes to park run or simply walks in the park as he knows two of the Council members participate in park run, one very frequently and this has been a topic of discussion for quite some time. He went on to state we’re at the point in the year we simply can’t place this out to bid and expect to get contractors to bid on this, they did receive quotes, they worked with the Engineering Department, and they’re asking this be placed as an emergency repair so they can raze certain portions of the path, install culverts where necessary, and hopefully make this path usable year round. Vice President Jolly stated that this part of the path is not usable probably half of the year due to rain and snow and everything else, and some of the people who live around there and simply want to walk down the designated path to go to the dog park, cannot do so without getting ankle deep in water, not only on the path but on the grass as well. He then offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 19. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE FORMAL BIDDING PROCESS AND AUTHORIZE PURCHASE OF TWO (2) LUCAS CHEST COMPRESSION SYSTEMS FROM SOLE SOURCE PROVIDER: Livonia Fire & Rescue, re: to provide the community state-of-the-art, highly efficient CPR and improving patient care, from budgeted funds. Dave Heavener, Fire Chief, presented this request to Council. He stated he is requesting an approving resolution to purchase the final two Lucas devices which will go on their frontline ambulances so each one of the five stations throughout the City will have one of these devices on their responding units, one per station. 7 He stated some Council members got to use this device earlier in the spring, at the Fire Safety 101 Program, and were able to see or gain appreciation towards the purpose of the device itself and the time has come now where they would like to make a final purchase to get the last two that they need. Councilmember McIntyre offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Meakin asked if this item will be on the next year’s budget so as to have the reserve vehicles equipped with the same equipment and Chief Heavener responded in the affirmative. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 20. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE FORMAL BIDDING PROCESS AND AUTHORIZE PURCHASE OF ONE (1) POWER LOAD COT FASTENING SYSTEM FROM SOLE SOURCE PROVIDER: Livonia Fire & rescue, re: to add to the department’s existing fleet of compatible Stryker ambulance cots, from budgeted funds. Dave Heavener, Fire Chief, presented this request to Council. He stated this device is the device that slides in the floor of the ambulances, there is a new ambulance on order and they expect to take delivery in October, and this device would be added to the floor system. It essentially lifts and pulls the stretcher into the vehicle for them, making it safer for the patient transport and to our firefighters to prevent injuries. All of the other frontline apparatuses including their reserves have them currently installed in them and this will standardize their fleet throughout the Department. Councilmember White offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 21. REQUEST TO APPROVE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF IMPROVEMENT BONDS: Engineering Division, re: to assure the installation of public improvements at Dover Court Site Condominiums; located on the south side of Ann Arbor Trail between Norwich Avenue and Wayne Road in the Southwest ¼ of Section 33 (CR 123-19). Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented this request to Council. He stated there is a new development going in on Ann Arbor Trail, just east of Wayne Road, called Dover Court Site Condominiums, seventeen site development there, and they are asking for housekeeping regarding the bonds, obviously to protect the City in case something does happen. He is asking approval of the General Improvement Bonds, and they will be bringing forward in the near future the SAD for street lighting, they anticipate three streetlights that will be going in there in the near future, but now he is looking for approval to follow the ordinances and get the General Bonds taken in and then obviously when they’re completed they will be 8 refunded and come back to Council for approval for refunding back to the developer, Leo Soave. Councilmember McIntyre offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 22. AWARD OF CONTRACT: Engineering Division, re: for the Hubbard Road Shoulder Improvement Project, Contract 19-E, Buchanan Elementary to Six Mile Road, at the 2019 Asphalt Road Program pricing, from budgeted funds. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented this request to Council. He stated this is a plan that the Engineering Department did inhouse to look at widening the shoulder on Hubbard Road on both east and west side from the Buchanan entrance going north onto Rotary Park with the new playground that was constructed last year. Unfortunately on the first bid, there were no bidders, and then they bid out in February and it came back too expensive, so they decided to scale back the project and construct the east side from Buchanan going north, saw cutting a 1-foot existing shoulder off, adding 6-feet of asphalt pavement allowing for pedestrians to walk, people that want to bike, connectivity up to Rotary Park. The goal is to provide connectivity down to Five Mile to the Rec Center as it was intended back in the 2015 bike/walk study. Again, funding and other availabilities will come forth. He is looking for approval for Nagle Paving which actually bid the original project, but they had to scale it back to fit the budgeted funds to do this project this fall. They’ll be working on Phase III streets which are north of Five Mile, so it’s perfect timing to get this completed, obviously with school starting here shortly, and get the connectivity that we need and wanted back in the program. Vice President Jolly thanked Todd Zilincik and Ted Davis who got the ball rolling on the Livonia walk/bike plan and as more and more new residents and residents who have been here for a long time, things that we hear over and over again is connectivity. Almost with this project, since it doesn’t go all the way yet, you will be over to go on a path from Bicentennial, almost all the way to the Rec Center, and hopefully we can do the rest of the path there in the near future and then expand it out from there and ultimately make some kind of big loop through Livonia that can be a walking/biking path, and running as well. He then offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Meakin stated there have been a number of residents that he has been in touch with over the years that live off of Hubbard that have been looking forward to this expansion. There has been one individual who has contacted him on a yearly basis that says this is a developed area now, back in the old days there were horse farms on Hubbard, and other farms up and down the road. So, it’s a developed subdivision and usually we require sidewalks and there just isn’t room for sidewalks. Connectivity is extremely important; connectivity of Livonia is the key to our growth in the future. He then stated he is glad to see that we’re able to 9 get the first half of this done, and he looks forward to seeing the next half very soon. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 23. REQUEST FOR WAIVER USE EXTENSION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2018-05-02-11 submitted by CESO, Inc., on behalf of Speedway, which previously received approval by the City Council on July 9, 2018 per CR 254-18 and CR 255- 18, requesting approval to renovate the existing gas station, including demolition of the existing building, construction of a new gas station and the operation of a limited service restaurant (Speedy Café) on property located on the northwest corner of Seven Mile and Newburgh Roads (37416 Seven Mile Road), in the Southeast ¼ of Section 6. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economical Development, presented this request to Council. He stated this is a request by Speedway who was granted waiver use approval in July of 2018 to reconstruct the facility at Seven Mile and Bethany. Unfortunately, they did not commence construction within the one year deadline, so that is the reason why they’re here, requesting the extension, and I believe plans are to begin in sometime scheduled for next April. Mandy Gauss, CESO, 13060 Old U.S. 27, Dewitt, Michigan 48820, came to the podium to answer any questions of Council. Councilmember Kritzman stated from his perspective this is a project that they have already gone through and vetted, unfortunately they weren’t able to get it executed in this construction season, but recognizing the difficulty in trying to execute the construction during winter conditions and winter months, it would make sense for them to be granted the extension. He then offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 24. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2019-05-02-08 submitted by Livonia Healthcare Real Estate, LLC to demolish the existing nursing home (St. Jude) and construct a new building in its place for the purpose of operating a nursing and physical rehabilitation facility (Mission Point Livonia) on the north side of Ann Arbor Trail between Joy Road and Stark Road (34350 Ann Arbor Trail) in the Southeast ¼ of Section 33. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economical Development, presented this request to Council. He stated this is a petition involving the redevelopment of the St. Jude Nursing Home Property which is on Ann Arbor Trail. This is a facility that has been in existence since 1965 or there’s been a nursing home at this location since then. The new owners propose to completely demolish the existing facility and reconstruct, not increasing any beds. The current bed count, which is 64, 10 would remain and the facility would be a much larger facility. The main purpose is to offer additional private rooms and expand the services at this location. So the ordinance has several requirements that pertain to this particular use. The property is zoned OS (Office Services) and for this type of facility the minimum land area requirement is one acre plus an additional 500 square feet per bed. This is a 1.6 acre parcel that would limit the bed count to 51, but as I indicated they want to retain the 64 beds on site. That would require 1.73 acres, so that is something that Council does have the authority to waive that minimum land area requirement. I think most everyone is familiar with this property, it has residential to the west, to the east and to the south. The Middle Rouge Parkway is located directly to the north of this site. This is an aerial photograph that gives you an idea what the existing facility looks like, its footprint. You’ll notice that the main access to the site comes off Ann Arbor Trail and the parking is located on the east side of the property. There’s secondary access located on Stark Road. This is the site plan for the new facility. You can see it’s a much larger building. The building itself would have a gross floor area of 44,000 square feet. It is a two- story building. It was changed from a 27 unit facility, which includes a mix of two, three, and in some cases four bedrooms per unit, to 58 units, most of which would be one bed, one bath units, 52, and then there would be six two-bed and one bath units. Additional amenities would be included as part of the development. There is also a limitation on lot coverage, it’s 45%; in this case they’re showing 63.75%, which will require a variance. In terms of setbacks from the front yard, which is Ann Arbor Trail, the requirement is 40 feet and at minimum they’re showing 70 feet, so it complies with the front yard setback. However, along Stark Road the minimum requirement is 25 feet and the plans show a setback at the closest point of 16.5 feet from the right-of-way which again will require a variance. You’ll note that one of the reasons this variance is being requested is for the additional room on the east side of the property to obtain fire access and that would be in the form of a road that would provide the necessary emergency vehicle access really completely around the building and that is shown along the east property line. The required parking for this facility is 38 spaces, again, this changes the plan, you’ll have access coming in off of Stark Road as opposed to Ann Arbor Trail. This is primarily for safety purposes. As you’re aware this is a tight corner located at the start of this stretch of Ann Arbor Trail. Of the 38 parking spaces provided, 28 would be located on the front of the property, there’s an additional ten spaces located behind the building where most of the services would be located. They do meet the minimum parking requirements, which in this case the minimum would be 34 spaces. 11 Storm water detention is still being worked out, the details, but it would appear that that would be primarily underground and would be located along the west side of the property. The landscaping constitutes 28% of the property, so that exceeds the minimum 15% requirement. There is a fully detailed landscape plan that was submitted with the application. This plan did change based on recommendations of the Planning Commission. Sidewalk has been added along Ann Arbor Trail and as a result some of the existing mature trees in that area, because not only the sidewalk is going in but also the parking lot, those will have to be removed so new landscaping provides for frontage, trees as well as shrubs to help shield the parking lot from the residents on the opposite side of Ann Arbor Trail. Additionally, there were a row of arborvitaes added along the east side of the property where this property lays adjacent to existing single family homes. There’s an existing wall there currently but the arborvitaes were added as an additional method of screening. Site lighting would be limited to 15 feet in this case, and again, dumpster and other services are provided on the north side or the rear part of the building. The Planning Commission is recommending approval of this item as provided. President Toy opened the floor for questions from Council. Hearing none, she called the Petitioner to the podium. Roger Mali, 721 Elmwood, Troy, Michigan, came to the podium stating he is present on behalf of the Petitioner and the new development group. He stated that Mr. Taormina did a good job of recapping the project, but just at maybe a higher level from a development perspective as this Council knows, this project has been in several iterations in front of this group over the last year. And if you can recall we were looking to do this development at another site at Wayne Road and Ann Arbor Trail and for a variety of reasons, particularly with zoning, they weren’t able to do that. And they are now back in front of Council, they’ve done a 260 degree where they’re looking to do a development at this particular site. One of the key critical components to this development, this transaction, revolves around the Certificate of Need and the nursing home bed licenses. So this particular project is an acquisition of the real estate and the nursing home bed licenses. It will be a cease of operation of the current St. Jude Nursing Center business and a full demolition of the property. We have submitted information through the Treasurer, through the Planning, I know that the Council and the City have been very concerned with this development with respect to the delinquent property taxes. So just to address that on the front end, this property is being sold and all of its assets liquidated pursuant to a bankruptcy plan which has been approved by the Bankruptcy Court and as part of that plan it mandates that in order to consummate this transaction the purchasing group, of which I’m a part of, must pay all of the delinquent property taxes. 12 Also, as part of that, it was mandated that the development group had to pay a st deposit to Wayne County of $65,000 by July 1, which this group did do. Also, the Treasurer of the City of Livonia had requested that all Personal Property Taxes be brought current which this group did do. So where we are right now with this particular project is we have received our Certificate of Need so we do have after lengthy negotiations over years, multiple year basis with the State of Michigan, as we do finally have a Certificate of Need in hand to close this building permanently, do the demolition, preserve the bed licenses and then continue with this development and just as we would fully expect, and I know there’s a condition out of the Planning Commission that the payment of property taxes would be paid as a condition of the approval and just likewise, as a condition of the development, and of course securing lending and financing and the other things we need to do we’ll have to have clean title to the property. I think that was the largest business issue of concern and if you like I can address that or I can into more on the project or I can just answer questions. President Toy opened the floor for questions from Council. Vice President Jolly asked the timeline in which the back taxes would be paid and th Mali replied that the back taxes would be paid --- if this were approved August 26, we would anticipate closing on the acquisition of the property 45 days after the approval. And maybe to back up, we were sort of planning and we were in a position to close in fact this summer, but for a variety of reasons, one of them being the delay in obtaining the approvals for the site plan and the entitlements on the property, we’ve had to push the closing, but that would be our anticipated timeline. Vice President Jolly asked Attorney Bernier through the Chair if Council is legally able to put a condition that requires the taxes be paid before any work is done and Bernier replied, yes, Council can. Bernier then stated he talked to the attorney representing Wayne County and went through the deal with the Treasurer on this, and see this as the best opportunity to make sure the taxes are paid. He went on to indicate there is one concern the Treasurer had, is there are summer taxes that are coming due also that are not part of this amount, so the Treasurer has some concerns about that. Mali said to address that the way that the order is, because they did this before the summer taxes, but the order states it very clearly that all taxes must be paid and obviously they would expect as a condition of approval, that all delinquent or current property taxes be paid and that’s what they anticipated on doing. It wasn’t the intention of just paying the delinquent and allowing future to accrue. Vice President Jolly asked Attorney Bernier to make sure that condition is in the approving resolution and Bernier replied that he would make sure that is in the language of the resolution. 13 Councilmember Meakin stated that he is not sure if his question should be directed towards Taormina or the Law Department, but how can Council approve a site plan with significant variances that need to come from the Zoning Board of Appeals and what if they are denied those variances and there is a site plan that’s approved in excess of the City’s ordinances, how does Council go about doing it that way. Taormina replied that it’s really no different than many site plans in which we conditionally approve subject to variances being granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals. Effectively the site plan is null and void if those variances aren’t granted, they either have to amend the site plan to eliminate those variances which could possibly trigger a re-review on Council’s part, depending on the magnitude of the changes. But they would require the variances subsequent to the approval of the site plan. Councilmember Meakin then offered three resolutions: approving, denying and Committee of the Whole. Councilmember Kritzman said he has a couple of quick comments. Obviously, this project has gone through several iterations as we’ve worked to make our way through it. What’s striking about this one, is the amount of the variance that’s being asked for, what we heard in some of the other iterations of the site, is that you’ve got a two-story building right next up to existing one-story homes. There were concerns about privacy and things of that sort. It’s honestly shocking to me and probably I’m not the only one up here that there isn’t more audience here talking about the project at the moment. Architecturally, I don’t have any issues with the building, I think it looks nice, I think your last version looked nice as well. I think contextually it will work well on the site and on the property from an esthetic standpoint, but I just do have some bit of concern about the sheer volume and magnitude of the project. But I think it’s the footprint or the lot coverage, Mark, I believe it’s supposed to be at about 40 and we’re at 62 and Taormina replied 45%. Kritzman said 45 is not as bad as he initially thought but still that’s a pretty significant swing, so you can understand from our standpoint it just takes a little bit of study. Mali stated just to give more color to that, one of their competing challenges of course is that we need the number of beds to make the project feasible, otherwise we could cut it back. And also with the design standards which are good in the respect is that they force us to have private rooms with private bathrooms. So that is really one of the things that we’re also trying to accommodate is that in order to make the project work and to have the 65 beds. As far as with the comments about the variances, they did work extensively with the Engineering Department, the Planning Department, to really come up with this site plan and moved the building location really at their recommendation and also removing the curb cut off of Ann Arbor Trail. So we tried to really accommodate a lot of the City’s requests with the variances, particularly with the setback. The footprint is what it is and that’s really just a function of how the building needs to be to accommodate the number of 14 residents there. As far as the residents in the neighborhood, we have had conversations with the residents, this has been through Planning, the Planning Commission several times, so we have had individual conversations with them and our engineer has communicated with them and I believe, again, the residents can speak for themselves, but I think what we’re doing is we’re obviously tearing down what we believe is a functionally obsolete eyesore building and replacing it with what we think will be a first class building and very harmonious with the rest of the neighborhood there. From a timing perspective, and I know that the Council is going to do, what it is we’re kind of getting into the where we’re sort of running out of town here with what we’re going to do with this and so it’s just we have a lot of different approvals coming in of course with the City Council, with the State of Michigan, with the Certificate of Need, we’re also working with the State of Michigan, the licensing department, with respect to the actual closure of the building, so part of getting this development together is getting all of those pieces on track at the same time. DIRECTION: 1) APPROVING REGULAR 2) DENYING 3) COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE 25. SITE PLAN PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2019-06-08-10 submitted by CBL & Associates, on behalf of Dunham’s Sports, to renovate the exterior of one of the units of the Laurel Park Place Shopping Center, located on the northwest corner of Six Mile and Newburgh Roads (17625 Six Mile Road) in the Southeast ¼ of Section 7. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented this request to Council. He stated Laurel Park Place is located within one of the City’s seven special area development control districts and as a result any exterior alterations that take place to any of the buildings is subject to Planning Commission review and City Council approval. As everyone knows, Dunham’s Sporting Goods is locating or will be the new tenant of what was formerly the Carson’s space at the north end of the mall, they’ll be occupying a significant portion of the first floor of what was previously Carson’s. And as part of the improvements, the leasehold improvements to this space, they are proposing exterior alterations. The rendering you’re looking at on the screen is the East elevation of that space, so this is the side of the building that faces Newburgh Road. Most of the building will remain its current color, the beige color brick, although it appears as a lighter brown on this rendering, it’s actually a lighter beige color brick. What changes, however, is the front entryway. And with those changes would include painting the surrounds around the main entryway. Those would go from a light color to a much darker brown. Some of the framing around the windows would also be painted dark brown or actually would be wrapped as opposed to painted. And then looking at the upper part of the façade where the sign is located, you’ll see the changes 15 there that would include corrugated metal backing with the proposed Dunham’s Sports signs, or main identification sign. That’s pretty much the extent of the changes. The Planning Commission reviewed this at their meeting a couple weeks ago and is recommending approval of the plans as submitted. President Toy opened the floor for questions from the Council. Hearing none, he called the Petitioner to the podium. Michael Lee, CASCO + R5, 12 Sunnun Drive, St. Louis, MO, came to the podium and stated they are the architect for CBL and is in attendance at the meeting to answer any questions. He went on to say what they are trying to do is change the façade to make this look like a sporting good store as opposed to a department store. Councilmember Kritzman stated as he was going through the drawings earlier, he was looking, trying to understand what the configuration would be inside the space. Is it the intent for Dunham’s to take the entirety of what was formerly Parisian or only a fraction of it? Lee responded by saying that Dunham’s will occupy roughly a third of the existing space, so that being said they’re going to take one entry and the other two will remain until that area is leased out. President Toy asked if that is on the first floor and Lee responded yes, it’s first floor and it’s on the mall side of it, the first two column bays in from the north are going to remain unoccupied and leasable area for future tenant. Kritzman then asked the Petitioner if Dunham’s was taking over one of three entrances and Lee replied that’s correct. Kritzman then stated the other two, one being on the north side would be a separate tenant space and Lee replied yes and the west entry as well. Kritzman stated that the west entry, according to this floor plan, and he’s not sure if Lee did the floorplan or somebody else did, and Lee replied they did it and it’s going to remain a mall, a CBL controlled access point and it can be used for the upstairs if that were to develop. Lee continued there’s a freight elevator over there and there is room for a future passenger elevator. Kritzman said it looks to him like all of that is in some sort of back corridor like it won’t be accessible by the public and asked Lee if that was accurate. Lee replied no. If you look at the drawing the entry is to the left and then they would have a passenger elevator there. Kritzman then asked Lee to walk him through that door back there from the drawing on the screen. Lee pointed out the access point for the upper level and Kritzman stated then this doesn’t come into Dunham’s and Lee replied that is correct. Kritzman then said he doesn’t really even know how they’re meeting their exiting 16 requirements in this floorplan, there appears to be one on the top side there and that this is a strange configuration of what they’ve always seen as a single entity sort of space and that’s what they’re used to. When you look at from the outside, you indicated that the intent of the design was to make it look like a sporting goods store and I think it looks like you are repainting a department store and adding some corrugated siding to the top of it. Lee responded they’re changing the store front look to kind of conform with the rest of the tenant space out there at the mall, it’s all a dark bronze, dark brown. This is an older department store with white, so they’re trying to update it there without changing the exterior. Kritzman asked if you’re changing the store front why would they keep the same diamond configuration that’s out there now, you’re just painting it, and Lee replied they’re going to change the color of it. Kritzman then stated you’re not changing the store front and Lee replied right. Kritzman then stated on the surface he doesn’t mind there being Dunham’s in the mall, he thinks he’s seen larger tenant spaces carved up, we’ve seen that across the country. We see these anchor locations not being able to sustain themselves but he thinks what’s being presented is not enough. It’s not enough to really and truly make it look like an investment is being made in the space. It looks to him like their intent is to paint everything that’s there now and take down the Carson’s sign, put up some corrugated metal siding and change the sign and that is not indicative of a successful investment in this location and he’s struggling with the design of this. He then asked if there’s a Dunham’s standard or prototype. He then pointed out the picture on the bottom right, is that something that has been done in multiple locations? And by looking at it there, the only standard is the red lettering on a galvanized metal background. That archway with the three vertical elements on each side, you see that in the lower right picture, you see that in the middle one on the left side, it’s potentially in the middle one in the right side; is that a standard, a prototype, a branding element? Lee replied the metal Kritzman identified is one of their branding elements. The wood surround basically is done to fit whatever the store front or store of whatever strip center or mall tenant, whatever is available, they do different things. With the repurposing of this building, this is a two level building that we’re doing and what you’re looking at are single story spaces. But to answer your question, yes, they’re trying to brand this the same. Kritzman then asked if you can look out the second story right there in that location and Lee replied no, it’s all enclosed. The store front goes up but it’s an enclosed vestibule on the second level. Vice President Jolly stated he agreed with everything that Kritzman said and that oftentimes people on Council each have their own point of reminiscing about what something once was in Livonia. And the fact that number one, this space had such a struggle to get a tenant, he likes that Dunham’s is going in there, it’s a variety, 17 it’s a little bit of a different, but it just shows what the market for retail space that there no longer theses big box stores that can be really kept going. The last thing that he would ever want for Livonia or for Laurel Park is for the development of this site to look haphazard and it just doesn’t look right. He indicated that he lives somewhat close there where he passes it on a daily basis and that he feels that would kind of stick out and look haphazard. Councilmember Kritzman then offered three resolutions: approving, denying, and Committee of the Whole for the Regular Agenda. Kritzman then told Lee there is an unending amount of solutions here that he can come up with and that it would behoove him to take the comments of Council and Vice President Jolly and speak the people on his end, whether they be in the audience or elsewhere, to explore additionally what might be done to change their approach to this. Councilmember Meakin then asked Lee if there is a representative with him from CBL and Lee replied there is a gentleman from Dunham’s, Bob Scheering, who would like to speak about corporate image. Meakin asked if there was a representative from CBL and Lee replied yes. Meakin then stated he would like to ask the representative from CBL some questions. Jeff Allen, Director of Development, CBL & Associates, came to the podium. Councilmember Meakin asked what the overall objective of the rest of the square footage there and Allen replied to be determined. Meakin stated that is not the answer he is looking for and Allen replied he doesn’t have the answer. They’re exploring multiple uses in the leftover space. Meakin asked what has been explored so far. Allen stated as far as the leads that leasing has on it right now, he doesn’t think they have a lot of leads, but retail or office. Meakin then asked if they have other options for the other 2/3rds of the space and Allen replied that’s what he’s talking about. Meakin asked if there was anything in the works and Allen replied no, not at this time. Bob Scheering, Construction Manager for Dunham Sports, came to the podium. He indicated he wanted to clarify that the examples Council looked at as the store fronts, those are their corporate store fronts. They have two signature store fronts. One is the rectangular design and the other one is the arch design. What they’re trying to do is work into the existing building that we have here in order to still give us the look of the Dunham’s Sports. I think it was Mr. Kritzman that said he’s worried about what we might be doing inside that space. Corporate’s decision on this is that this is a very important space for Dunham’s. They’re using this as their number one showcase for our whole system. We have over 250 stores across the country, fourteen different states, and they want to use this as an example to our vendors and everything as to how we want to present our goods. So I know you’re focusing on that store front, but what we’re trying to do is focus on what we have to work with on that store front. We have a height and we have a distance off of 18 Newburgh Road with a berm protecting. So I think the best use of what we had there on the design was we bring our sign up to the Carson’s and the Parisian sign so that it can be seen over the berm as you’re driving by. If you’re standing on the sidewalk in front of our store on the east entrance, you can see only the tops of cars, the roofs. So that height that we have there is really very important. And I just want to express enough again that this is meant to be a showcase for us in Livonia. Vice President Jolly asked how long the lease is that Dunham’s is looking at to have for the site and Scheering replied it’s usually like five year leases and multiple leases. Jolly then stated from his perspective, and he’s not trying to be negative here, from his perspective this closely resembles a space that you’re taking momentarily. It doesn’t look like a long term investment; it doesn’t look like a showpiece. The height is fine, I don’t think any of us are complaining about the height, it’s the investment around the sign, the sign is fine, Dunham Sports, that’s fine, I have nothing to say about that. Everything else looks like there’s zero investment and that’s the problem, because again, this is Laurel Park Mall. It never was and it’s not intended to be a cheap looking place. And I think this presents it as a cheap momentary kind of transaction. We’ll take this space for now. That’s what it looks like. So if you’re going to be there for five years, you might want to spend some money or talk to them and if they’re not allowing you to do something, make it look like it’s an investment in the community and the mall, and you know what, I hope that your presence there helps the rest of the mall. I really truly do. But in order for that to happen, it can’t look like this. It can’t look like it’s a momentary transaction. Scheering responded first of all, it is not an investment initially by Dunham’s. First it’s a huge investment by CBL. So what they’re doing inside, if you haven’t been to the location or if you can’t remember what the Carson’s looked like, it is a major, major renovation on the interior. Jolly stated he appreciates that, but that he feels like he grew up at this mall. I could probably draw you the inside of the mall and I can tell you what was in every single store front inside the mall for the last twenty years probably. Right here and right now we’re concerned with the outside. So whatever you guys have to do to get the inside right and functioning, you’ve got to do that, you’ve got to make the outside look well as well. Scheering then indicated he had built that mall, he was with Schostak at the time. A gentlemen by the name of Mike Polsinelli and myself, we were vice-presidents of Schostak. So we know what investment Schostak made in this, we know what we intended to do on this and what the present owner is doing is he is fighting a dilemma on the fact that – and you mentioned it earlier – that those large anchor stores are gone. Dunham Sports at a 50,000 square foot store, is now a major player. And whereas 50,000 when we built it in 1988, 50,000 was a junior anchor. And those guys are gone, they’re just – and I think it’s a tribute to how Dunham’s 19 does their business that we’re growing like that. Whereas all these other ones are kind of fading off to the side. You have Gander Mountain, you have – Jolly said he is happy Dunham’s is coming, this is an opportunity to better the whole wall and to attract other businesses inside and that kind of goes hand in hand, right? So if you built it, thanks for coming back home, help us save it. Scheering replied this is home, yes, this is home. Councilmember Meakin stated that Dunham’s has been part of Livonia for many, many years. We’ve had stores here on both sides of Plymouth Road as long as I can remember. You mentioned that you wanted this to be a showplace for Dunham’s; what other activities are you going to be doing in there? Are you getting creative with how you’re selling sports paraphernalia or is it just a retail store? I mean is there something creative or an area of sporting goods that you’re expanding into? Scheering stated he can’t speak from the operational side of it, he can only speak from the construction side of it, but as far as their interiors, their fixtures, if anybody remembers the very first Dunham’s on Fourteen Mile and Northwestern, you went in there and picked out things out of a box. This place has been getting better and better all the time with their exterior design, with their interior design, with their management teams and stuff like that, it’s a constant evolving process. And I like to think that if we’re succeeding and growing, right now I’m building eight stores and I have another ten proposed next year. So it’s like, we’re doing something right here. Whereas there are a lot of people that are falling off to the side. I do want to express the fact that if you see some of our newer stores, and that’s what we’re following now, the interiors are perfect compared to fifteen years ago, ten years ago. But it is constantly evolving, you can’t stand still in this business. Councilmember McIntyre stated that first of all, she appreciates what Dunham’s is looking to do and appreciate what CBL is looking to do and your point is very well taken about the investment CBL has to make and that this isn’t just slapping up a sign. As we’ve talking around this issue tonight, we’re really the crossroads, right, with retail and large malls. And the issue we have and you know this very well because you’re part of the Schostak team that built this in 1988. This is kind of Somerset West. It was designed with very high end materials and layout. There’s no longer the desire for department stores, specialty stores, to be in that kind of environment. So it’s a question, and this is why I like the referral to the Committee of the Whole, it’s figuring out how we make Dunham’s, and I know I think your slogan, if I remember is, “great quality, low prices”, it’s a discounter, right? There’s nothing to be ashamed of . Somebody that talked about the Livonia roots, we’re glad to have you here, we’re glad you want to stay in Livonia, there’s nothing embarrassing about that. But again, going back to when this mall was designed, not one part of the vision, or one part of the vision was high quality, low prices. It was high quality, high end. So we’ve got to figure out how we make this work and 20 how we make it work esthetically. So I really like the idea of putting in Committee of the Whole, so we can mull this over, maybe talk to the CBL folks. But it’s certainly an exciting prospect to no longer have that empty, so I think it’s great and appreciate what you’re doing. But there’s just a conflict inherent, because the mall is very different in who it serves and what it is from when it was envisioned and built in 1980. President Toy asked if the Petitioner was on a timeline of any kind and Scheering replied yes, they’re under construction right now, CBL is under construction right now and we planned on – our schedule shows us starting fixturing at the end of th this month on the 26 of August. So by that time, and our opening is scheduled stst for the 1 of November 1 to the middle of November. And I’m sure the mall would like that, too, rather than have a vacancy in there. President Toy stated what she’s been hearing is that you’re outside, I don’t think there’s any questions and it’s been said about your inside as much as people aren’t happy with the outside. So we’re going to have to bring you back in and look at it, what it looks like and the vote takes place. Unless there’s some new information th between now and the 26, sir, most members have offered and agreed with Committee of the Whole. So if you have a different design in mind, perhaps, or want to talk to some of the members, that might be helpful. DIRECTION: 1) APPROVING REGULAR 2) DENYING 3) COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE 26. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ZONING ORDINANCE NO. 543 AS AMENDED: Department of Law, re: small cell wireless facility zoning regulations. Paul Bernier, City Attorney, presented this request to Council. He stated by and large, as Council is aware, the Feds and the State have pretty much taken away our authority to do anything. So this is an attempt to give the City Engineer the opportunity for the permitting of the small cells, which we’re not quite sure exactly in the long run what we’re going to be allowed to do and not to do. This is an attempt because Mr. Zilincik obviously had the expertise in this with the permitting on it. But the idea is to try and get some control over where the small cells can go in and if there’s any variance on them, so that’s the purpose of it. Councilmember Meakin offered an approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION None. 21 As there were no further questions or comments President Toy adjourned the Study Session at 9:30 p.m. on Monday, August 12, 2019. th For the 1,879 Regular Meeting of August 26, 2019 DATED: August 20, 2019 SUSAN M. NASH, CITY CLERK In accordance with Title II of the American with Disabilities Act as it pertains to access to Public Meetings, the City Clerk’s Office of the City of Livonia, upon adequate notice, will make reasonable accommodations for persons with special needs. Please call (734) 466-2236 or email clerk@ci.livonia.mi.us if you need assistance. Council agendas are available on the City’s website – www.ci.livonia.mi.us - under Government, City Council, Agendas.