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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1,179 - November 30, 2021 signedMINUTES OF THE 1,179th PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA On Tuesday, November 30, 2021, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia held its 1,179th Public Hearing and Regular Meeting in the Livonia City Hall, 33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan, Mr. Ian Wilshaw, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Members present: David Bongero Sam Caramagno Betsy McCue Carol Smiley Peter Ventura Ian Wilshaw Members absent: Glen Long Mr. Mark Taormina, Planning Director, and Stephanie Reece, Program Supervisor, were also present. Chairman Wilshaw informed the audience that if a petition on tonight's agenda involves a rezoning request, this Commission makes a recommendation to the City Council who, in turn, will hold its own public hearing and make the final determination as to whether a petition is approved or denied. The Planning Commission holds the only public hearing on a request for preliminary plat and/or vacating petition. The Commission's recommendation is forwarded to the City Council for the final determination as to whether a plat is accepted or rejected. If a petition requesting a waiver of use or site plan approval is denied tonight, the petitioner has ten days in which to appeal the decision, in writing, to the City Council. Resolutions adopted by the City Planning Commission become effective seven (7) days after the date of adoption. The Planning Commission and the professional staff have reviewed each of these petitions upon their filing. The staff has furnished the Commission with both approving and denying resolutions, which the Commission may, or may not, use depending on the outcome of the proceedings tonight. ITEM #1 PETITION 2021-10-01-07 Kaseem Bazzi Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2021- 10-01-07 submitted by Kassem Bazzi, pursuant to Sections 13.13 and 13.15 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, requesting to rezone the property at 27480 Five Mile Road, located on the north side of Five Mile Road between Inkster Road and Foch Avenue in the Southeast '/4 of Section 13, from NMI, Neighborhood Multifamily to NM2, Neighborhood Multifamily. November 30, 2021 30287 Mr, Wilshaw: We did receive a letter from the petitioner asking that this item be tabled to our January 11, 2021, meeting to give them some additional time to prepare. Mr. Taormina, is there any other information you wanted to provide? Mr. Taormina: I just want to point out that the main reason for the tabling is to submit a corrected notice for this item. They are requesting January 11, 2021. We will send out a new notice and the item will be heard on that date. Mr. Wilshaw: That is because they were looking for different zoning classification? Mr. Taormina: Slightly. That is correct. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, great. The petitioner is here; I believe, in the audience. Thank you for being here this evening. Is there anyone on the Commission that has any questions for the petitioner before we move on with this item? I don't see anyone on the Commission requesting to ask you any questions at this point. With that, given that we have receive a request for this item to be tabled, I think that it would be appropriate for a motion at this time. On a motion by Caramagno, seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it was #11-66-2021 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on November 30, 2021, on Petition 2021-10-01-07 submitted by Kassem Bazzi, pursuant to Sections 13.13 and 13.15 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, requesting to rezone the property at 27480 Five Mile Road, located on the north side of Five Mile Road between Inkster Road and Foch Avenue in the Southeast'/4 of Section 13, from NM1, Neighborhood Multifamily to NM2, Neighborhood Multifamily, the Planning Commission does hereby table the item to the Planning Commission meeting of January 11, 2022 FURTHER RESOLVED, That notice of the above hearing was given in accordance with the provisions of Section 13.13 and 13.15 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Wilshaw: There is no discussion on tabling motions. Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. November 30, 2021 30288 ITEM #2 PETITION 2021-10-02-22 Century 21 ROW Mr, Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2021- 10-02-22 submitted by Century 21 ROW requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 6.58 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance to construct and operate a vehicle tow yard (Excellerated Towing & Recovery) at 34437 Rosati Avenue, located on the west side of Stark Road just south of the CSX Railroad in the Southwest'/4 of Section 28. Mr. Taormina: This is a request to construct and operate a vehicle tow yard at the west end of Rosati Avenue, which is on the west side of Stark Road, just south of the CSX railroad. Rosati Industrial Park sub- division was officially created in 2006. This industrial park consists of 15 lots. As you can see, the zoning is M-1 (Light Manufacturing). The subject property is described as Lot 8 of Rosati Industrial Park. This lot contains a land area of approximately 31,000 square feet, or roughly .7 acre. Lot 8 is at the west end of a cul-de-sac. The front lot line along the street measures roughly 136.6 feet. The average width of the lot at the building line is approximately 165 feet. Lot 8 is surrounded by other industrial zoned parcels. The closest residential district is located roughly 155 feet to the south. Vehicle tow yards are restricted to M-1 and M-2 districts, where they are treated as a waiver -use. Except for the front yard setback, the ordinance requires that the entire lot area be enclosed with a fence. The site plan for Excellerated Towing shows a 5,800 square foot building that would be located near the front of the lot. The fenced -in parking lot would at the rear and along the north side of the property. The parking lot shows 31 parking spaces, including one barrier -free space. The minimum required building setback is 50 feet. The plan shows the building with a 35-foot setback, which previous to the adoption of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance last summer, would have been conforming. Unfortunately, a special setback provision that applied only to industrial parks did not carry over from Ordinance 543 to the new zoning ordinance. Section 16.10(a) of Ordinance 543 provided that when an industrial building fronted on an internal road within a park, the front yard shall be at least 60 feet as measured from the centerline of the street. As applied in this case, the building would be conforming under Ordinance 543. The Planning Department does intend to amend the current zoning ordinance to include this language, however, because this will take several months to complete, the only options available at this time would be either to seek a variance or move the building back 15 feet. Required parking is based on a ratio of one space for every 500 square feet of building floor area. The proposed facility requires November 30, 2021 30289 12 parking spaces for employees and customers. The facility, as we understand would have five employees. The site plan shows 31 spaces that would be available to employees, customers, the tow trucks, as well as the recovered vehicles. As specified in the requirements for waiver -use approval, the entire parking lot would be completely enclosed with a six -foot -high chain -link fence. The yard's access gate, which is located in the northeast corner, would be constructed out of six -foot -high black wrought iron type fencing. The building would be constructed out of a combination of both brick and split -face block. As you can see from the elevation plans, there are windows shown along the front and portions of the side elevations of the building. The rear and north side would contain overhead doors. The height of the building is shown as roughly 22 feet. We believe it is a single -story building, but unsure whether it would contain a mezzanine. The floor plan that was submitted with the application shows that the space would include a large shop area, an office, a vehicle prep room, and a restroom. A dumpster is shown along the west side of the property. This would be fully enclosed. The details show that it would be enclosed by walls that would be six -feet in height and constructed out of 8-inch split face block. Swing gates would be constructed out of solid corrugated aluminum. For lighting, LED wall packs are shown along the top of the building. These would be the only type of security lights for the site. No light poles are shown. A landscaping plan was provided showing four white dogwood trees that would be planted along the front in the right- of-way, as well as arborvitae and grass. This site would be allowed one wall sign not to exceed 100 square feet in total area. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please. Mr. Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated November 12, 2021, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced petition. We have no objections to the proposed waiver use at this time. The subject parcel is assigned the address of #34437 Rosati Avenue. The existing parcel currently has access to public water main, sanitary sewer and storm sewer within the Rosati Avenue right-of-way. The developer will need to meet current Engineering requirements for the proposed project, including storm water detention per the latest version of the Wayne County Storm Water Ordinance. It should be noted that the parcel is within an area being investigated for soil and groundwater contamination. As a result, the developer may be required to provide special provisions under the slab of the new November 30, 2021 30290 structure to protect against vapor intrusion or groundwater interface. Final requirements will not be known until the investigation has been completed, but until that time the developer may want to contact the Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) for more details." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated November 11, 2021, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request to construct a commercial building on property located at the above referenced address. We have no objections to this proposal." The letter is signed by Greg Thomas, Fire Marshal. The next letter is from the Division of Police, dated November 18, 2021, which reads as follows: `9 have reviewed the plans in connection with the petition. I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Scott Sczepanski, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the Inspection Department, dated November 22, 2021, which reads as follows: Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1. A variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals would be required to maintain the deficient front yard setback. The required minimum front yard setback is 50 feet. This Department has no further objections to this Petition. " The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of Inspection. The next letter is from the Finance Department, dated November 16, 2021, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the addresses connected with the above noted petition. As there are no outstanding amounts receivable, general or water and sewer, I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Connie Kumpula, Chief Accountant. The next letter is from the Treasurer's Department, dated November 15, 2021, which reads as follows: `In accordance with your request, the Treasurer's Office has reviewed the address connected with the above noted petition. At this time, there are no outstanding amounts receivable for taxes. Therefore, I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Lynda Scheel, Treasurer. That is the extent of the correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Or. Caramagno: Mark, what other junk yards, towing yards have we got in the city right now? Or. Taormina: I can only think of two. Livonia Towing is the main tow yard, and then Ross Towing located on Inkster Road. I am not sure of the status of that particular tow yard which was approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals some number of years ago. November 30, 2021 30291 Mr, Caramagno: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Caramagno. Mr. Taormina, maybe this is a question for the petitioner, but how is the public supposed to access the parking spaces if the gate is in front of the parking spaces? Mr. Taormina: I think we are going to defer that question to the petitioner. This question came up at the study meeting and it was passed on to the owners. I believe they are prepared to respond to that question. Mr. Wilshaw: Great. We will make sure to ask them. Thank you. If there are no other questions for our planning staff, I will go to our petitioner who can come forward to our podium and we will ask that you start with your name and address for our record. Terry Sever, Century 21 ROW, 1883 Teakwood, White Lake, MI, 48383, 1 am actually the petitioner and an agent with Century 21 ROW. I have been working on this industrial subdivision for the last year and a half. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir. Mr. Sever: I think the record has me, my business, Century 21 here in Livonia at Six Mile and Middlebelt. We are locally run. First of all, the question regarding the access. At the time I was at the study session, I wasn't completely sure of how that... how to answer that. The owner of the towing company would be happy to address it. The simple answer is that their operation is going to run from 8:00 a.m. in the morning to 4:00 p.m, in the afternoon. When they are open the fence will be open. When they close up and leave then the fence will be closed. So, there was some discussion about doing a design with the parking spots outside, but there really isn't a need to do that. I don't think they want to encourage people come in there and parking. The other thing is because it is such a secluded end of the road, it would probably be a half -mile road. At the end of it, it has become a fairly popular lovers lane type setup. They don't want to encourage that. With regard to the DEQ issue, Eagle, we have already communicated with them. The Engineering Department has talked to them. Ron Emling, who is back here, he is the owner of the property, and he has already built the house, or I mean a building almost the exact same design, except his is turned completely different than the one you see we did. From left to right so that we could screen the back as much as possible. He has one on Lot 12 and he met the requirements that Eagle was looking for. There hasn't been NovemberW, 2021 30292 any issue because the footings are above the ground water and all that kind of stuff. We believe that this is a very good site. From a service standpoint and a planning standpoint, there is probably not enough towing businesses in a community with all of the expressways and service. I know that I had a personal experience in trying to get my vehicle and it was not easy because the towing company had a second yard that was on Telegraph in Redford, and it was very difficult. In the end they said well you can come pick it up and we will push it outside the fence. I think it will be helpful for residents that do get a tow and do have an accident. He will address this, but his business is primarily call insurance work, and things like that. He doesn't do abandoned vehicles. Occasionally, maybe once a year or something, he may get that call from a private owner, but he is not in the business of creating a junk yard and bringing vehicles in and have them sit there for a length of time or sell spare parts and all that kind of stuff. He is really more into towing. When we had the floods along the expressway, he did have to pick up some vehicles with some residents that lived in Livonia. The insurance settlement and all of that took maybe 90 days, so he has areas where he has somebody come in and look at the vehicle. They end up totaling it because of the contaminated water in the flooded areas on the expressway. Other than that, I think this is a good fit for the city. We have taken care and tried to address the screening part of it. With that, I will let you...I will introduce Mike. Mike is the towing operator, and he will be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Sever. Good evening, sir. Michael Fields, 14310 21 1/2 Mile Road, Marshall, MI. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for coming tonight. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your business? Mr. Fields: I think Mr. Sever pretty much covered everything that we do. I guess we need to reiterate that we are not a salvage yard. We are not a scrap yard. We don't do any of those things. That is not our business. The majority of our business is road service. So, changing flat tires, jump starts, fuel delivery, and any vehicles that are going to be on the property are basically designed to be there for short amounts of time. It is not profitable for our business to store inoperable vehicles. The owners, when they have accidents or what have you, and the vehicle needs to go through a claim, the goal is to get it to a dealership or repair shop as soon as possible so they can move forward with their life and be back in their vehicle. November 30, 2021 30293 Mr. Wilshaw: Great. Thank you. Let's see if we have any questions from any of our commissioners for you. S. Smiley: Good evening. So, like AAA would call you or now would I know how to call you? Mr. Fields: Exactly. We have contractor rates with AAA, Agero, Nationsafe Drivers, and probably over 50 motor clubs that we work for. GM Roadside Assistance and things of that nature. So, a lot of our calls come in through Vehicle Tow Books. It is an app that all of the towing companies use. Also, we do Google advertising as well. So, for example, if you were in a situation and you needed a tow and you didn't know how to get a tow, a lot of people would do what is really common and Google tow truck near me and a lot of times we will come up and it is another way to service the citizens. Ms. Smiley: Okay, and then there was a...when we were talking about this plan, they said you could move the building back 15 feet or get a variance. Which way are you going to go with that? Mr. Fields: To be honest you... Mr. Sever: Let me respond to that. Let's come back. Ms. Smiley: Okay. You said you are only open from 8 to 4? Mr. Fields: 8 to 4 Monday through Friday. Ms. Smiley: Monday through Friday, so if (...what happens if I have an accident on Saturday? Mr. Fields: Well, that is our office hours. 8 to 4. If you have an accident, we area 24-hour service. That doesn't mean that our trucks stop running after that. That just means at four o'clock there is no need to tow a vehicle out because a lot of the facilities that would accept vehicles they close. Their primary hours basically 8 to 5. Generally, it takes us 45 minutes to get a car loaded and delivered in a reasonable area. That is why our hours are 8 to 4 and many dealerships are not open on Saturday and definitely not on Sunday. That is why. Ms. Smiley: So, if I was in an accident, I would call you. You wouldn't fix it but on Monday through Friday I could come and get my car, or my car insurance adjustor could come and look at it? November 30, 2021 30294 Mr. Fields: Exactly. That is now, Ms. Smiley: You would take it somewhere to be fixed, but not you. Mr. Fields: We would take it somewhere. To a shop of your choice or your insurance company... wherever they would like it to go. Sometimes vehicles are unable to be repaired. They will settle with a salvage yard like Co -Part or IAA and they will come and pick the vehicle up so the claim will be settled before the vehicle even leaves our facility. Ms. Smiley: Thank you, sir. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Smiley. Any other questions for our petitioner? Mr. Caramagno: Do you own the property now or is this pending an approval to open up a tow yard there? Mr. Fields: It is pending approval. Mr. Caramagno: I missed the study session and looked at some of the notes here and you have got a couple yards. You have a yard out in Redford? Mr. Fields: Correct. Mr. Caramagno: What do you plan to do with that yard? Mr. Fields: We will consolidate everything to Livonia. We want all of our business to be in one central location where our trucks are stored, and a majority of our work is actually in Livonia, Farmington, and Bloomfield. So, it is right in that western cul-de-sac and that is better for our business. Mr. Caramagno: Now, the work you have, you said the majority of the work you have got, is that based upon where your calls come from or do have contracts with Livonia? Or Farmington Hills? Mr. Fields: Correct. We do not have any police contracts or anything like that. The area that we service is noted via satellite with Google. That is how all of our roadside assistance companies know our area and we have a range in which we work. We have a 20-mile range. Mr. Caramagno: Okay. Wrecked cars, abandoned cars... how do you track them in your yard so that they don't stay there for four, five, or six years? How do you know that? November 30, 2021 30295 Mr. Fields: With wrecked cars there is usually no need to track it because if it comes through on an insurance type claim, the adjustors will notify usually within 24-hours of the accident. It is tracked automatically by the owner and the insurance company. Mr. Caramagno: Okay, so say someone doesn't have insurance and we know there are many that don't. They wreck their car on Five Mile Road. You get the call to come get it. Mr. Fields: Correct. Mr. Caramagno: How do you purge that car? How do you get rid of that car when it is in limbo and no insurance? Mr. Fields: It is one of three ways that that happens. First, the owner wants to redeem their vehicle so that they can seek repairs. Two, they will forward the title to us, and we will take it over to GLR which is literally across the street from this location. Then it would be dismantled by them. We don't do any dismantling. That is two ways. The third way is the longest way. That is where you file for title. Once it goes into a system, a database... the State of Michigan database, usually within 30 to 45 days you obtain a TR52. That is application for title. At that point in time, you either sell the car through auction or you dispose of it at GLR. Once again, our option will be to dispose of it at GLR. Mr. Caramagno: Okay. How do you treat fluids that leak out of these cars? Oil. Antifreeze. How do you handle that? Mr. Fields: Fortunately, and unfortunately, by the time the car gets to our yard at this site, it has leaked all of its fluids right then and there. So, at that point in time we do clean up the site because all of our trucks are equipped with Floor Dry, foam and mats to recover and secure all fluids. Once again, once the vehicle gets to our yard it is empty. Mr. Caramagno: Okay. How long have you been in business? Mr. Fields: I have been towing now for close to 30 years. Mr. Caramagno: Thank you. Or. Fields: Your welcome. Or. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Caramagno. Mr. Ventura? November 30, 2021 30296 Or. Ventura: I noticed on the floor plan that you provided to us that there is a vehicle prep area in the building. What happens there? Mr. Fields: A lot of stuff. In that area trucks will be washed or serviced. Our own personal trucks. We are not open to the public. We are not looking to do any repairs or anything like that to public vehicles. Mr. Ventura: So, that is strictly for your own? Mr. Fields: Yes. That is strictly for us. Mr. Ventura: You are not doing any repairs? Mr. Fields: Absolutely not. Mr. Ventura: Okay. How many vehicles do you pick up on a weekly basis? Mr. Fields: Pick up and house, I would say on an average week probably 2 to 5 at the most. Normally, anything that comes in, it pretty much goes out the next day. For example, if there was an accident and it happened after hours, and we picked it up, by the next day the insured or the insurance company either wants one or two things to happen. They want the claims adjuster to come by and evaluate the damages to see if it is repairable or totaled and then two, the owner wants the vehicle to be repaired as soon as possible because many of these cars' people are still paying a car payment and insurance. Everyone is wanting to get their vehicle moved expeditiously. Mr. Ventura: Are there instances where you pick up a car and it doesn't come to your facility? It goes directly to... Mr. Fields: A lot of times that is exactly what happens. Let's say for example, an accident occurs 12:30pm or 1:00 pm in the afternoon, there is ample amount of time for that vehicle to go to a dealership or repair facility and a lot of times that is exactly what will happen. Mr. Ventura: Great. Thank you. I guess I have a question for Mr. Sever. I don't understand your role here, sir. Are you the developer of the property? Are you going to own the building? How do you fit in? Or, Sever: I am the agent that was involved in putting together the offer to purchase and I represent the fellow selling the property and is going to build it. So, I just represented... Mr. Ventura: So, when you say you have been working on this for a while as an agent to put the deal together, not in terms of.... November 30, 2021 30297 Mr. Sever: I am sorry. What I was referring to was the industrial subdivision that totals 15 or 16 lots. Selling them one at a time. Mr. Ventura: Okay. Mr. Sever: There is other bungs that are in the process and have been submitted to Engineering for building. This one, because it is a towing, there was a waiver required. The other ones are not required. They meet the ordinance so there is no reason to be here for those, but I have background local government process and stuff so, as an agent I get involved and help the owners move through the process. Mr. Ventura: I understand. Thank you. I got it. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Ventura. Mr. Sever, was there another question that you were going to answer? Mr. Sever: I want to address the setback. I kind of surprised Mark threw it at him tonight, but from my experience and what knowledge I have, this site plan was approved with full engineering and building envelopes and everything back in like he said, 2006. At that point in time site plan was approved for specific setbacks, which I think called for a 60 foot from the center of the road. My question will be to the City Attorney is that that should have been grandfathered in, particularly since the owner of that site plan and the property built the road, put the utilities in, and built a couple buildings. It would probably be unreasonable to ... like any subdivision to move the setbacks once a development has started. So, if I am wrong on that and it is not agreed upon from a grandfathered end standpoint, then we will most like go and take that information and go for a variance. We would prefer to keep the building where it is at, because it allows the additional 10 feet to the back of the lot. It doesn't affect any aesthetics or any type of site distance and eyesore and stuff like that. We have a great deal of jobs there. There was at one time a proposed site plan, conceptual, where the building went long ways, so the frontage was only 58 feet. We redesigned it so that we would actually have about 100 feet of frontage. We will pursue it with whichever makes... whichever we have to do in terms of it, but... Mr. Wilshaw: Sure. That makes sense. I think we understand kind of how things came about to where we are right now, given our ordinance change that happened recently and we will do what we need to do to rectify that. November 30, 2021 30298 Mr. Sever: Typically, ordinances, when they are amended, they don't go retroactive back 10 or 15 years so, that would be rather unusual, but whatever we need to do to get through it is what we will do. Mr. Wilshaw: Sounds great. Thank you. Is there any other questions for our petitioner or their representatives? Mr. Taormina? Mr. Taormina: If I may ask a question of Mr. Fields. Mr. Fields, do you have or intend to have a vehicle dealer license in connection with your business? Mr. Fields: Absolutely not. It is not necessary for my business. I do not plan to apply for ... I think it is an A, B, and C salvage license to dismantle and all that stuff. I am not interested in that. Mr. Taormina: So, when a vehicle goes to auction, if you obtain title to the vehicle, then how is it that you sell that vehicle? I understand if you bring it over to GLR and go that route. Mr. Fields: That is what we do every time. We do not have the desire or capability to rebuild or repair or part out vehicles. It takes away from our business. We have a limited amount of time to serve our customers and we do what we got into business to do, and that is towing and roadside. I can answer that question firmly and assure you we are not looking for a salvage license or anything. I don't even like the look of salvage cars on our property. The quicker they go, the better. Mr. Taormina: I appreciate that. So, no Class A, no Class B, no Wholesale and no salvage license? Mr. Fields: No. None of that. Mr. Taormina: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Taormina. Any other questions? Mr. Caramagno: You might have said this in the study session or ever earlier today and I might not have heard you, but is the plan for this whole yard to be paved or concrete? Mr. Wilshaw: Asphalt, right? Mr. Taormina: So, the main lot here would be asphalt. Everything... it really speaks for itself. The turf areas are shown in green. Building in this brown color, and then balance would be asphalt, I believe, with concrete curbing completely around the parking lot. November 30, 2021 30299 Mr. Caramagno: Thank you. Ms. Smiley: One more thing. We talked about that fence. That red line is not the fence. You know the red line? What is the story with that? Mr. Wilshaw: Setbacks? Mr. Taormina: The red line show two different things. One shows the property boundaries along the perimeter and then the inside line shows the setback requirements under the old ordinance. The fence line actually... there is a six-foot high masonry wall for these 20 feet approximately from this point forward or to the property line extending west to the northwest corner of the parking lot and the fence then carries down to the southwest corner of the parking lot and then ties into the southwest corner of the building here. That is the fence location. Ms. Smiley: Okay. I just wanted to clarify that from the study session. Mr. Taormina: I will point out that, while this short section of wall is a nice feature to consider, it might present a vision problem. So, a vehicle parked here, backing up, would not be able to see any incoming vehicle. In these cases, we usually step that wall down to a maximum height of 3 feet. That is something you should consider. Mr. Wilshaw: Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Smiley. Any other questions? That was a good question about the red line. A little questionable there. Mr. Ventura? Mr. Ventura: Are you going to own the building? Jr. Fields: Yes, sir. Mr. Ventura: Great, thank you. Or. Wilshaw: Good question. Any other questions? If not, I have just a couple brief questions since I wasn't at the study meeting. Just to understand, you were talking about different scenarios in which you have ... that you keep vehicles for different lengths of time and you said that the longest process was if you needed to obtain a title for a vehicle. November 30, 2021 30300 Mr. Fields: Correct. Mr. Wilshaw: So, a situation where someone has a vehicle that is not insured and it really isn't worth much of anything and for some reason you need to impound it or tow it, and that person probably isn't going to come back for it because it would cost more to get it out of tow than it would be to even justify the cost of the vehicle. Does that happen very often? Mr. Fields: It happens, but to alleviate that issue, we deal with a lot of other tow yards. We offer them basically return of the title, so we don't pursue any legal actions. Then in many cases people come and give you the title, which allows you to take it to GLR and then they scarp it at that point in time. That saves a lot of time. I don't have to apply for a TR52 and put it into lien. I can tell you that happens more times than not, because when someone feels that it can be eliminated of a potential debt, they usually take advantage of the opportunity. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, so you have worked with that situation. Okay, great. That is interesting. The other question is, do you do any repossessions? Mr. Fields: Absolutely not. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Mr. Fields: It is not worth putting my guys or my trucks into jeopardy. It is not a good thing. The amount of insurance you have carry to do that type of work is ungodly. Mr. Wilshaw: Sure. It is a very risky business, and it is also potentially risky for your property as well. People will try and get Or, their vehicles back. Okay, any other questions from anybody? If not, I think we have exhausted our questions. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to speak for or against this item? I don't' think there is anyone else here, so with that, Mr. Fields, is there anything else you would like to tell us before we make our decision? Fields: I think we pretty much covered everything. If you have any other questions you may think of I am more than willing to answer. Mr. Wilshaw: Sounds good. Let's see what happens here with a motion. Is there anyone wishing to make a motion? On a motion by Smiley, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was November 30, 2021 30301 #11-67-2021 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on November 9, 2021, on Petition 2021-10-02-22 submitted by Century 21 ROW requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 6.58 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance to construct and operate a vehicle tow yard (Excellerated Towing & Recovery) at 34437 Rosati Avenue, located on the west side of Stark Road just south of the CSX Railroad in the Southwest /4 of Section 28, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2021-10-02-22 be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. That the Architectural Site Plan identified as Sheet # DA-2.0 dated October 28, 2021, prepared by Arista Design, Inc., is hereby approved and shall be adhered to. 2. Subject to a determination by the Inspection Department, the petitioner may be required to obtain a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for deficient building front yard setback and any conditions related thereto. 3. All parking spaces, except the required handicapped spaces, shall be doubled striped at ten feet (10') wide by twenty feet (20') in length as required. 4. That the maximum number of vehicles parked on the site at any given time, including employees, customers, tow trucks and recovered vehicles, shall not exceed thirty-one (31) vehicles. 5. That the Landscape Plan identified as Sheet # DA-3.0 dated October28I 2021, prepared by Arista Design, Inc., is hereby approved and shall be adhered to, 6. That all disturbed lawn areas shall be sodded in lieu of hydro seeding, 7. That underground sprinklers are to be provided for all landscaped and sodded areas and all planted materials shall be installed to the satisfaction of the Inspection Department and thereafter permanently maintained in a healthy condition. 8. That the Exterior Elevations Plan identified as Sheet # DA- 4.0 dated October 28, 2021, prepared by Arista Design, Inc., is hereby approved and shall be adhered to. November 30, 2021 30302 9. That all rooftop mechanical equipment shall be concealed from public view on all sides by screening that shall be of a compatible character, material and color to other exterior materials on the building. 10. That any pole -mounted light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in height and shall be aimed and shielded to minimize stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring into adjacent roadways. 11. That the trash dumpster area and encloser gates shall be constructed in accordance with the Dumpster Enclosure Details, as shown on the approved site plan. 12. That only conforming signage is approved with this petition, and any additional signage shall be separately submitted for review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals. 13. That the specific plans referenced in this approving resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department at the time the building permits are applied for; and, 14. Pursuant to Section 13.13 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, this approval is valid for a period of one year only from the date of approval by City Council, and unless a building permit is obtained, this approval shall be null and void at the expiration of said period. FURTHER RESOLVED, That notice of the above hearing was given in accordance with the provisions of Section 13.13 of Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion? Or, Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. ITEM #3 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,178th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting Or, Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the Minutes of the 1,178th Public Hearing and Regular Meeting held on November 9, 2021. On a motion by Ventura , seconded by Bongero , and unanimously adopted, it was November 30, 2021 30303 #11-68=2021 RESOLVED, That the Minutes of 1,178Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on November 91 2021, are hereby approved. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Smiley, Ventura, Bongero, Caramagno, Wilshaw NAYS: None ABSENT: Long ABSTAIN: McCue Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,179th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on November 30, 2021, was adjourned at 8:49 p.m. CITY PLANAl1NG COMMISSION am Ca magno, ATTEST: Ian � ils aw, Chairman