HomeMy WebLinkAbout1,187 - May 17, 2022 signedMINUTES OF THE 1,187t" PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
On Tuesday, May 17, 2022, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia
held its 1,187t" Public Hearing and Regular Meetings 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 Glen Long
Betsy McCue Carol Smiley Peter Ventura
Ian Wilshaw
Members absent: None
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 2021-12-02-27 Maple Real Estate Group
Or.
Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2021-
12-02-27 submitted by Maple Real Estate Group, L.L.C.
requesting special waiver use approval to develop a Planned
Residential Development pursuant to Section 5.02 of the Livonia
Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, consisting of an apartment complex
made up of three (3) buildings and twenty-four (24) dwelling units,
on the properties at 9106 and 9120 Middlebelt Road, located on
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the east
side of
Middlebelt Road
between Joy
Road and West
Chicago
Avenue
in the
Southwest'/4
of Section
36.
Mr, Ventura: I would like to recuse myself from the proceedings.
Mr. Wllshaw: Yes. We will give Mr. Ventura an opportunity to step down due to
a possible conflict of interest. So with that, we'll go to Mr.
Taormina for background information on this. Thank you, Mr.
Taormina.
Mr. Taormina: This is a request to develop a Planned Residential Development
that would consist of an apartment complex made up of three
buildings and 24 dwelling units. This property is on the east side
of Middle Belt Road just south of Grandon Avenue. The property
is 1.45 acres in size, including 100 feet of frontage on Middle Belt
Road. The property, as you can see from this zoning map, is
divided into two zoning classifications. The RUF portion, which is
located at the rear of the property, is in the process of being
changed to C-1, Local Business. The balance of the property is
already zoned C-1, so the proposed change would bring the
entire property under one zoning classification. Council gave first
reading to the rezoning on April 4, 2022. The submitted site plan
shows three apartment buildings, each containing eight units for
a total of 24 units. Building #1 is located towards the front part of
the site. Building #2 would occupy the rear part of the site and
includes the small RUF district that is proposed to be rezoned.
Building #3 is located between Buildings #1 and #2 along the
south side of the property. The plans show a two-way private
street from Middle Belt that would provide access to all three
buildings. Parking, as you can see, is distributed throughout the
site, available in the front and sides of all three buildings. The plan
shows a total of 42 parking spaces, which represents a ratio of
1.75 spaces per unit. All three apartment buildings would be
identical in size, shape, and design. The buildings would be two
stories in height and contain four apartments on each floor. Each
unit would have two bedrooms, a living and dining area, kitchen,
one and a half baths, and a walk -in -closet. The gross floor area
per building, including both levels, totals 7,130 square feet. Each
building would have a ground floor area or footprint area of
approximately 3,700 feet. The combined total floor area of all
three buildings equals 21,390 square feet. This translates to a
34% usable floor area as a percentage of lot area. Building height
would be 29' 1" from grade to the roof peak. There would be a
network of sidewalks around the buildings and parking areas. The
exterior finish of the buildings would include a combination of
brick and stone. The roofs would be asphalt shingled. Fiber
cement siding would be used on the gable ends. Here are some
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additional renderings that give you an idea of what the buildings
would look like. To the north, east and south of the site are single
family homes. The lots along Grandon backing up to the site all
measure approximately 62 feet in width by 113 feet in depth and
consist of ranch style homes with detached garages. Buildings #1
at the closest point from the rear lot lines of the homes along
Grandon would be setback approximately 20 feet. The plan
proposes to separate the multi -family from the single family with
a six -foot -high vinyl fence, as well as a row of evergreen
plantings. To the east and to the south are homes that are on
acreage parcels fronting along the west side of Oxbow Avenue.
Generally, these homes are approximately 140 to 145 feet from
the west boundary of the subject parcel. In this location, the plan
also proposes a six -foot -high vinyl fence and evergreen trees.
Also to the south, immediately adjacent to this site, are the
Newport Park condominiums. A fully detailed landscape plan has
been provided with the documents. This is the plan showing the
plantings along the north and east sides of the property, as well
as throughout the site, including the frontage on Middle Belt
Road. The species and sizes of the trees have been detailed. The
proposed apartment development would have an overall density
of about 16 '/2 dwelling units per acre, which is slightly more than
the five (5) to 14 dwelling units per acre that is recommended in
the Livonia Vision Master Plan. With that, Mr. Chairman, I'd like
to read out the correspondence on this item.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please.
Mr. Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated May 5, 2022,
which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the
Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced petition.
We have no issues with the proposed waiver use at this time. The
subject parcels are assigned the addresses of #9106 & 9120
Middlebelt Road. The legal descriptions contained within the
submittal for the parcels appears to be correct, but the owner will
need to combine the properties and create one inclusive legal
description for the overall parcel. The existing parcel currently has
access to public water main, storm sewer and sanitary sewer,
although the sanitary sewer is located on the west side of
Middlebelt Road. At this time, there is nothing that would indicate
negative impacts to any of the existing utilities since the petition
is for waiver use purposes and shows no utility service details.
Should the project move forward, the owner would need to submit
drawings to this Department (as well as Wayne County) for a
proper plan review and permitting. " The letter is signed by David
W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is from the
Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated May 9, 2022, which reads
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30492
as follows: This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in
connection with a request to construct a residential building on
property located at the above referenced address. We have no
objections to this proposal with the following stipulations: 1. A fire
access road (the roadway within the complex as shown on
drawings) shall be provided with not less than 20 feet of
unobstructed width and have a minimum of 13 feet 6 inches of
vertical clearance in accordance to 18.2.3.4.1.1 and 18.2.3.4.1.2
of NFPA 1, 2015. 2 Fire Hydrants and Water Supply shall be
required according to 18.3 NFPA 1, 2015. A further detailed plan
review will take place when this division receives an official plan
set. "The letter is signed by Brian Kukla, Fire Marshal. The next
letter is from the Division of Police, dated May 4, 2022, which
reads as follows: "I have reviewed the plans in connection with
the petition. The amount of parking spaces at this location seems
to be limited for the amount of units and has the potential for
causing traffic problems." The letter is signed by Scott
Sczepanski, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the
Inspection Department, dated May 9, 2022, which reads as
follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition
has been reviewed. This Department has no objections to this
Petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of
Inspection. The next letter is from the Finance Department, dated
May 3, 2022, which reads as follows: " I have reviewed the
address 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 May 3, 2022, which reads as
follows: "in accordance with your request, the Treasurer's Office
has reviewed the name and addresses connected with the above
noted petition. At this time there are no taxes due, therefore I
have no objections to the proposal. " The letter is signed by Lynda
Scheel, Treasurer. The next letter is from the Assessor's office,
dated April 28, 2022, that reads: "Plans have been submitted by
Maple Real Estate Group, LLC requesting waiver use approval to
develop an apartment complex on properties at 9106 & 9120
Middlebelt Road, owned by Ventura Real Estate, LLC. These are
separate parcels, 9106 Middlebelt parcel 143-01-0106-000 and
9120 Middlebelt parcel 143-01-0068-005 and therefore should be
combined. Please direct them to the Assessor's Office or
Livonia.gov for the lot combination process." The letter is signed
by Kathy Siterlet, Residential Appraiser. And then lastly, we have
a letter from a resident, Rita Osada, who gives her address as
29150 Westfield Street, and it reads: "I have been here since
1961. An apartment would be awful there. A business there with
low level would be better. Not an apartment. Westland is loaded
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30493
with them, but not where you might want one. Also, the condos
are nice. It continues. I live on Westfield, and we all in the short
block 12 house maintain our homes. This would be a distraction.
I am not for it. To me, this would be an eyesore. Sure you have
nice neighborhood, then this idea, no. Thanks. Could not make it
to the meeting. Thank you." That is the extent of the
correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: All right. Thank you, Mr. Taormina. Any questions for our planning
staff? I don't see any questions for our planning staff. Our
petitioner or their representative, I believe is here this evening.
You can come forward to our podium, which is over on this side
today, and introduce yourself with your name and address,
please.
Michael Longo, standing in for Sam Fakih on short notice due to personal issues
and on behalf of Maple Real Estate Group. To my right is Mr. Ron
Edwards, who probably has more ideas to this process that's
going on right now.
Ron Edwards, EGI Architects, 440 Burroughs Street, Detroit, Michigan 48202. We
are the architects and planners for this project.
Or. Wilshaw: Okay, very good. Thank you for coming this evening, gentlemen.
Is there anything that you'd like to present to us about this project
that hasn't already been covered?
Mr. Longo: I think everything was covered thoroughly with the introduction.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay.
Mr. Longo: I was attempting to keep track. I've been given specific notes from
Sam, and I'll do my best to keep up to speed on this. I believe the
tree screen with regards to the boundary was noted, as well as
the six-foot vinyl fencing at the same boundary. With regards to
the entire boundary, it's going to be surrounded. Also, my
understanding that the dumpsters that will be on the property are
going to be housed and moved further away from the residential
property. I believe that there was a letter that was sent this
afternoon via email to some members of the commission to let
them know as to these points. In addition to those matters and
based on the representations that have been made during the
study process last week, there will be a stringent application
process. People that are going to apply to become residents they
will have to have a 675-credit score, no history of nonpayment or
rents, proof income, credit references. I believe that those issues
were parsed well in the letter that I was CC'd on so I'm not sure I
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have much to add, other than I believe that it resolves the issues
that were brought to our attention at the last meeting.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, thank you Mr. Longo. We did receive a detailed letter from
the petitioner. So, we appreciate that. Is there any questions for
our petitioners representative from any of the commissioners?
Mr. Long: I can't tell on the map can somebody let me know where the
dumpster is now or going to be located?
Mr. Taormina: I can help you with that. Referring to the site plan, one of the
dumpster enclosures is adjacent to Building #1, located here. We
asked the petitioner to identify more precisely where the location
of this dumpster relates to the land uses to the north. As you can
see, the commercial building to the north is now shown on the
plan and the trash dumpster would be directly across from this
building. The first residential lot on Grandon is located here. A
second dumpster is located here on the property and would serve
Building #3, primarily. The third dumpster shown on the plan is
situated here and would serve Building #2. This one probably,
while it is away from the residential, may not be the best
placement given its direct proximity to the front of that apartment
building.
Mr. Long: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Long. Any other questions for our petitioner?
Mr. Caramagno: One of the questions I've got, and it's not actually related to the
buildings, but now that we see there's going to be a six-foot vinyl
fence going up around the property, how are you going to address
existing fences that neighbors have currently with your six foot
vinyl fence?
Mr. Longo: Doing the best that I can with the limited information that I have,
and I apologize. I'm unaware of any actual neighborhood fencing
that would need to be removed or replaced with regards to our
vinyl fence. It's just my indication from Sam that we'd be putting
the vinyl fence up and then be surrounding that with spruce trees
on the neighboring boundaries for the residential areas up there.
I'm not aware of any fencing that needs to be replaced or anything
that would be...
Mr. Caramagno: If there is any existing fence, Mark, what do they do with that?
Or,
Taormina: That
could
become an issue since
the
City does
not like to
see
two
fences
only inches apart. In
the
past, we
ask that
the
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30495
developer work with the homeowner(s) to hopefully have the
chain link fence removed and replaced with the six -foot -high vinyl
fence. If they're not willing to do that, we can work out an
arrangement to have both the fences, as long as there's a plan
for maintaining the area between the two fences. That's really the
main concern. The maintenance between the two fences.
Mr. Caramagno: Yeah, I think s an item that certainly is not worth hanging this
deal up over, but it's something that you need to be aware of
when you're working with the neighbors to get this as good as
possible. So, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. All right. Thank you, Mr. Caramagno. Any other
questions for petitioner? I don't see any other questions from the
Commission. Let's see if there's someone in our audience who
wishes to speak on this item, then we'll give you a chance to come
back up and make any last comments. All right, Mr. Longo?
Mr. Longo: Absolutely. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to speak for
or against this petition? If so, I suppose there's a few folks, please
come forward. We'll ask that you start with your name and
address and please limit your comments to two to three minutes
and if you can be succinct so everybody can be heard. Good
evening, ma'am.
Sarah Matusz, 29197 Grandon, Livonia, MI. That kind of puts me right by that
dumpster, and I'm really not happy with R. I feel these apartments
are going to take the value of our homes down. And I'm not for it
at all. I would rather see one story. Maybe a condo like there is
just next door, but you can tell I'm not for it. So, I don't know what
else to say about it. It's terrible. I've been there over 40 some
years. I had no problem. Now all of a sudden, you're going to put
this right in my backyard, and I'm going to be right next to a
dumpster.
Mr. Wilshaw: Alright, well, we appreciate your comments. Mrs. Matusz. Thank
you. Good evening.
Jeff Wilshaw, 29137 Westfield Street, Livonia, MI. Grandon is the next street over
from mine. As I mentioned at the zoning meeting we had, I've felt
the density of this property was way too much. I understand a
owner of property needs to be able to utilize his property, but if
this was something that was a little bit more size wise from a
viewpoint of what the condominiums to the south are, I would be
totally in favor of that, I understand that. And the new information
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I saw today with regard to the chain link fence, all the fences in
the neighborhood are three foot high. A lot of them are in poor
shape because the frost and the heave and whatnot. So, a double
fence would be pretty poor. The other thing is too is with doing a
lot of trees, along the fence line, behind the trees ends up
becoming a trash collection agency. All you got to do is look at
any of the Edward Rose properties around the area, and every
single time you see all these beautiful trees, right up against the
fence, and it's nothing but a trash dumpster, and they just don't
police it. I'm sure these people, they might police it, they might
not, but I'm just telling you from my viewpoint, and I've seen it
thousands of times, it's just the trash collection part. So, you
know, I don't know what to do different, but that's where I'm at.
And if we could reduce the density a little bit, I would be all in
favor of it. If we're continuing at the same real heavy density, I'm
sorry, you know, this is not a big track a land that is meant to have
an apartments and credit scores and all that stuff and monthly
rent doesn't matter. I've got friends that live in brand new, Live or
Live or whatever they're calling it by the Costco off of Haggerty
and it's a trash pit. It's a horrific place to live, and I wouldn't
recommend it for anybody, and that's a couple thousand bucks a
month rent. And so that's where I'm at. Thank you very much for
your time. Have a blessed day.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Good evening, sir.
Bill Schmidt, 29688 McIntyre, Livonia, MI. In the general neighborhood of where
this development is proposed. At the planning meeting last week,
I mentioned that there is not a single multifamily rental unit within
the entire square mile of Section 36. Nor is there a one in the
square mile of Section 35 or 34 or 33. There's nothing in 29, 28,
27. According to the Livonia 21 plan, the idea is to have like
establishments in proximity to one another. There's nothing like
this around, not for miles. You have to go up to Five Mile Road to
get to a multi -family rental unit. This is in violation of the Livonia
21 plan. It is not in keeping with a single-family neighborhood. Not
in five years, and certainly not in 50 years, when the extended
lifespan of this apartment would come to its end. This is not in
benefit to the single-family homes, to the folks that have lived
there for 40 years, 50 years. This is a violation of their trust in you
to do the right thing and protect their property. You wouldn't want
one in your neighborhood. So, I thank you for your time, and I
implore you to vote no, on this proposal. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you Mr. Schmidt. Good evening, sir.
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30497
Sean Murphy, 29481 Westfield Street, Livonia, MI. In fact, on that map, that plot
map, my house is right on it, and I'm here to express my
objections. This is going to change the entire nature of this
neighborhood. In fact, just recently, Emerson split in half and sold
half of that parcel just in the same neighborhood, and they didn't
erect a giant apartment complex. They're building single family
houses because that's what is in this area, single family houses.
If you've been to that lot, that lot is tiny. You can blink and you
can drive right past. It took me twice to go by it and I see it. This
is a tiny lot and you're going to put three apartment buildings on
it. IT give it five (5) years, 10 max. This place is going to be trash
and it's going to negatively impact this entire neighborhood and
this whole area. You know, I was born and raised in Livonia, I
moved into Livonia, I bought my own house in Livonia in a single-
family neighborhood. This is earshot of ... hit a golf club at this
thing. And, you know, if you guys put me on notice that...)
wouldn't have bought this house, frankly, you know, it's just not
for it. I think somebody on this board actually announced that it
exceeds the master plan in terms of in terms of density. So, how
is this even here? You know, we have a Livonia, we have a nice
neighborhood in there, and this is just, this is just not something
that fits into the equation of the neighborhood that is Livonia. So,
you know, I just like to express my complete disgust with the plan.
And, you know, I hope everybody here votes this down.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Murphy. Good evening, sir.
My name is Don Shekell, 29161 Crandon, Livonia, MI. I've been a resident there
on that street since they first built those homes in 1955. So, I
know the history back there and everything. A couple of issues
with this one is and it's been mentioned several times. It's the
density of the housing units. And it's not just the fact that it is on
1.7 acres, or whatever, and there's so many units allowed. So,
the units have to be pushed back, because the front side of that
property is very narrow, so you can't build anything up there. So,
it has to be all pushed back. So, you got the three units pushed
back right behind our houses. One of the things I thought we'd
find out in this meeting is what are the waivers that this developer
is asking for? Because normally what would be the amount of
distance from our lot lines, where they'd be able to build a
structure if it was zoned housing instead of our commercial?
Or.
Wilshaw: We will try to get that question answered for you after everyone's
done.
Mr. Shekell: Then the
other
thing
is to
Mr. Taormina
brought up the third
dumpster.
Didn't
think
it was
good
because
it is right outside
the
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one building. So where is he planning on putting the dumpster,
right behind my house? Okay, then you talk about the fencing.
The fence line along there ... we all have the cyclone fences. Been
there for years and years and years. Okay, and you want to put
trees right along the fencing. So, how am I going to clear the
growth on the other side of my fencing? Secondly, you have the
electrical lines. So, what did we do? Plant a bunch of trees
underneath the electrical lines and then in a couple years, they
got to come and cut them all down because they're interfering
with electrical lines. That's one thing that needs to ... that was a
simple thing to look at. Totally against the entire project. It's too
dense for the area. The buildings are too close to the property
Tines. You just got like I said, what a lot of people mentioned
already a lot of issues with this. It's a bad idea. Very bad idea.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Shekell. Appreciate you coming. And we have
one more lady to speak. Good evening, ma'am.
My name is Karen Shekell, 29161 Crandon, Livonia, MI. I grew up in that house.
Moved in in 1962 with my mom and dad and brother and we knew
the Ventura's. Nice people, wonderful people. I understand why
Pete wants to sell the property, no big deal., and I understand too
that the property needs to be developed for some reason.
Somebody thinks that's a good idea. The apartments are a
horrible idea, horrible. My biggest concern is the proximity to our
yard. And where our property line... and where this building is
going to be. My second concern are those dumpsters, I don't care
where you put them. We already have rats in our neighborhood
as most people that I know in Livonia neighborhoods, there is a
rat issue, and the more dumpsters you put up, the more food is
going to end up on the ground. You're gonna get a bunch of
animals going over for it, and we're going to have more rats. I
don't want more rats. I don't want the smell. I don't want an
apartment complex. I'd be fine if you wanted to okay, a condo unit
even if it's two stories, I'd prefer one. I'd prefer just green space.
But I think that when we come into the City of Livonia and any
main street you come in it says families first. And I'm not seeing
that because everything so far has been going through with no
problems. So, are you looking at the families you want to bring
into the city? Are you looking at the families that are already here
or everyone as a whole? Because to me it looks like you're only
interested in the people that are coming in. Right now you're not
looking at the people who are already living here. We've been
here for a long time, a lot of us. Sara, my husband and I, a long
time and we don't want this complex. So, I really implore you to
vote no on it. Thank you for your time.
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30499
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mrs. Shekell, Is there anyone else wishing to speak
for or against this item? believe everyone else has had a chance
to speak. So, I'm gonna give the petitioner a chance to come
up ... their representatives and say anything if they wish, based on
the comments that they've heard. Make any closing comments.
Mr. Longo: I think it's only fair to respond to a few of these, even though we
may never see eye to eye. First, I want to thank everybody for
your comments. I'm filling in. So...
Mr. Wilshaw: Please address your comments to us.
Mr. Longo: My apologies, I have a couple of comments with regards to
property values going down. I'm not sure where that would come
from, or if that's even the case. With regards to condos rather
than apartments, I think that's something that they explored, and
the cost of materials, the cost of labor shortages out there, it just
is not feasible. Whether or not condos would be a different density
from apartments, I'm not sure if that's actually a thing. With
regards to dumpster issues, we've already gone over the fact that
the whole property is going to be lined by the fencing. So, it's not
going to be visible. The dumpsters themselves are going to be
encased in their own little compartments, so the smells aren't
going to escape. I'm assuming that there's gonna be a latch on
front of those, so animals aren't going to get in, and like any sort
of dumpster compartment would have on the lots. Let's see... the
density issue I hear coming up an awful lot. It's my understanding
that the housing alone is going to be 11,000 square feet total.
However, the total land that's gonna be left over that which will be
used as landscaping and greenery will be around 51,000 square
feet, you know, for landscaping, and parking lots and everything
like that. So, there's a really a five to one as to what's going to be
housing and what's going to be everything else. Let me see,
we've already touched on the double fencing issue. That's not
going to be a thing. We're going to have single fencing, if the use
is permitted. I'm trying to address the trash collection idea in my
mind, and again, it's my understanding that the fencing will be on
the outside of the trees. The trees will be on the inside of the lot.
So, any kind of trash, that's a collection at the base of the tree, I
presume would be, you know, that's created from the apartment
complex I would assume it to be on the inside of that fencing not
visible with regards to any of the adjacent residents. Lt's see what
else...I think that's pretty much all I have to say about that. I did
know that a lot of the individuals were making note how this has
been this way since you know, the 60s or the 50s, and it sounds
like the preferred No. No development and just have remain as is
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and I'm not sure if that's an option or not. So, I have nothing
further to add. Alright,
Mr. Wllshaw: Alright, Mr. Longo, do you want to stay up there for one second.
We'll see if there's any additional questions from any of our
commissioners before we close things out. Is there any questions
for petitioner? If no ... Mr. Longo, I do have one question for you.
In regard to property management, how is this property going to
be managed? Is there going to be a designated manager? Is
there going to be a person on site? How's that going to be?
Mr. Longo: It's my understanding is there's gonna be a property management
on site to take care of the property itself. Sam's office deals with
a couple of different property managers that manage properties
in Warren, East Pointe, Livonia, and I think there's a couple other
areas. Lincoln Park, I think is another one. Mostly these
management companies, they manage apartment complexes,
they manage regular housing. So, they're used to the issues that
arise. They're used to getting rid of people that are trashing
places. So, I think they're really on top of their game, from
everything that I've seen at his office for the last nine years. So,
a property management company for sure on site.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, so will there be an office for them to be in? Or is it going to
be a person who's a resident full time?
Mr. Longo: I don't have that information on hand. But I know that there's
going to be property management, and if it's the recommendation
of the Commission to have an office on site, I don't see why they
wouldn't be opposed to that.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. All right. Thank you. Is there any other questions from any
of our commissioners? One more shot? If there is nothing... Ms.
McCue?
Ms. McCue: I think the one thing that I need clarification on is the fencing. I've
heard that there isn't any fences on the adjoining adjacent
properties, but yet people are telling us that there is and forgive
me, I guess I did not explore that close enough to really know. I'm
a little concerned. at this point about approving it, and then ending
up with double fencing, because that is a huge problem.
Or.
Longo: Right. And I don't have any information as to whether or not there
is fencing that's on that property that would be in the way of any
fencing that we would put up with regards to this development. I
don't have information with regards to that, and I'm not sure if
anybody actually brought proof that they are on that line.
May 17, 2022
30501
Mr, Wllshaw: All right., Mr. Bongero.
Mr. Bongero: To Betsy's point, there is fencing on that northside. Pretty much
every yard had fencing on there. So, it's going to be an issue
coming up.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yeah, Cyclone fences.
Ms. McCue: So, I guess my question is, how do we address that? And I don't
know if that goes back to Mr. Taormina, or goes back to the
petitioner? I'm not sure. But that's a problem.
Mr. Wilshaw: It's a fair question. Yes. Mr. Taormina? Is there any thoughts?
Mr. Taormina: I think I responded to that question previously, is that we try to
have just a single fence, but if a homeowner is insistent on
maintaining their chain link fence, then the result would probably
be double fence line. So, it may be a combination of one or two
fences along the north side of the property. If the site plan shows
that there must be either a wall or a six-foot vinyl fence, then that
has to be installed. Again, we try to have the petitioner work with
the adjoining property owners to see if the fence can be removed.
But it's not always...
Ms. McCue: It's just not always going to happen. Right. I guess that's my
point. Okay, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: And that's also when you run into a situation that some of the
residents describe where it's difficult to trim grass or weeds that
are growing up between double fences. There's no way to get in
between those. So, it becomes a real tidiness issue. So okay,
then you're all set Ms. McCue? Great, thank you. And there was
one other question, Mr. Taormina, that was asked by a resident,
and I wanted to make sure we answer in terms of any waivers or
anything in terms of side yard setbacks, a lot line or anything for
this property, or is this a conforming development that's before
us?
Mr. Taormina: Per the ordinance, as a Planned Residential Development, the
plan is afforded a great degree of flexibility and discretion. It's
really something that the Planning Commission and City Council
determines through the review process. What the
appropriateness is in terms of the height, area, and bulk
standards. If this were proposed as a conventional multifamily
development, depending on the zoning classification, the setback
distance would vary from between 25 to 50 to 75 feet. If these
May 17, 2022
30502
were three-story buildings, the minimum setback would be 75
feet. For the NM2 multifamily classification, which allows for
apartment buildings, the minimum required setbacks for the side
and rear yards vary between 25 and 50 feet. To show you what
the setbacks are for this project, Building #1 at its closest point is
20 feet from the north property line. Building #2 at its closest point
is about 30 feet from the property line. As you can see, as the
buildings continue further to the east, the setback for both
buildings increase slightly, varying from between 20 to 50 feet.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Thank you. I appreciate that. If there's no other questions.
Oh, Ms. Smiley,
Ms. Smiley: On that note, they were specifically asking what other waivers
they had to have. Their dumpsters away from the property line,
at least 20 feet, right?
Mr. Taormina: There is no minimum setback requirement for a dumpster. So,
there's no waiver, if you will, being sought relative to the
placement of the dumpster. Again, this is a PRD, a Planned
Residential Development, and it's really something that is
determined by the Planning Commission and City Council.
Ms. Smiley: So, there's no other waivers besides the setbacks that they're...
Mr. Taormina: We talked about the parking. The original plan showed a few
more parking spaces. The standard zoning recommendation is
two (2) spaces per unit which would be 48 total spaces. The
zoning ordinance, however, allows us to look at other sources,
including the Institute of Traffic Engineers Manual. When we do
that, the recommendation is something slightly less than two
spaces per unit. In this case, they're showing 1.75. We believe
that is adequate and is in line with other recently approved multi-
family developments. Thus, we're not concerned with the amount
of parking shown on the plan.
Ms. Smiley: Okay.
Or.
Taormina: We also mentioned the density. The Master Plan recommends a
range of between 5 to 14 dwelling units per acre. In this case,
they're proposing 16-'/z dwelling units per acre. So, it is slightly
higher. There's about a four -unit difference between what this
project shows and what the Master Plan, not the Zoning
Ordinance, would recommend in terms of overall density.
Ms. Smiley: Okay, and didn't we discuss about doing away with some of the
parking so that there would be more green space?
May 17, 2022
30503
Mr. Taormina: That was really intended to increase the buffer along the single
family property lines, in order to get enough space for a row of
evergreen trees in order to supplement the screening with not
only the fence, but to also include some full-size evergreen trees.
In this case, they're showing spruce trees.
Ms. Smiley: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Smiley. Any other questions or comments from
any of the commissioners? I think we're all set then. Thank you,
Mr. Longo, for coming.
Mr. Longo: Thank you so much.
Mr. Wilshaw: With no other further questions or comments, I'm going to close
the public hearing at this time. And a motion would be an order.
On a motion by Caramagno, seconded by Smiley, it was:
RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on May 17, 2022, on Petition
2021-12-02-27, submitted by Maple Real Estate Group, L.L.C.
requesting special waiver use approval to develop a Planned
Residential Development pursuant to Section 5.02 of the Livonia
Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, consisting of an apartment complex
made up of three (3) buildings and twenty-four (24) dwelling units,
on the properties at 9106 and 9120 Middlebelt Road, located on
the east side of Middlebelt Road between Joy Road and West
Chicago Avenue in the Southwest'/4 of Section 36, the Planning
Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that
Petition 2021-12-02-27 be approved subject to the following
conditions:
1. That Site Plan, identified as drawing 1, dated May 9, 2022,
as revised, prepared by Edwards Group International, Inc.
is hereby approved and shall be adhered to.
2. That the Landscape Plan, identified as drawing OF, dated
May 10, 2022 prepared by Edwards Group International,
Inc. is hereby approved in concept, except that a final plan
prepared by a registered landscape architect shall be
submitted to the Planning Department for approval prior to
any construction, said plan shall include a continuous row of
evergreen trees along the north and east property lines
where the site abuts any single-family properties, and shall
May 17, 2022
30504
properly identify all proposed plants according to species,
size and numbers.
3. That all disturbed lawn areas, including road rights -of -way,
shall be sodded in lieu of hydroseeding.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. That the Exterior Building Elevation Plans, identified as
drawings 5 and 6, dated October 12, 2021, prepared by
Edwards Group International, Inc. are hereby approved and
shall be adhered to.
7. That the maximum height of any pole -mounted light fixtures
shall be sixteen feet (16') and shall be located and shielded
to prevent light trespass and glare on adjacent properties.
8. That the exterior walls of the trash enclosures shall be
constructed out of the same brick used in the construction
of the buildings, and the enclosure gates shall consist of
solid panel steel or durable, long-lasting solid panel
fiberglass.
9. That the Petitioner shall work in cooperation with the
abutting residential property owners to avoid the issue of
double -fencing along the subject site's property lines.
10. That the issues as outlined in the correspondence dated
May 9, 2022, from the Fire Marshal, including the
recommended width and vertical clearance of the roadway
and the placement of fire hydrants, shall be resolved to the
satisfaction of the Department of Public Safety, Livonia Fire
and Rescue.
11. That this site shall meet either the City of Livonia or the
Wayne County Storm Water Management Ordinance,
whichever applies, and the developer shall secure any
required permits, including storm water management
May 17, 2022
30505
permits, wetlands permits and soil erosion and
sedimentation control permits.
12. The developer and all contractors and subcontractors shall
employ best management practices to prevent, reduce and
mitigate the problems associated with soil erosion and
airborne dirt and dust from migrating off -site, including
provisions for erosion control barriers, daily street sweeping,
watering, and halting earthwork activities on days when the
wind conditions are likely to cause a problem.
13. That only a conforming entrance marker is approved with
this petition, and any additional signage shall be separately
submitted for review and approval by the Zoning Board of
Appeals.
14. That all required cash deposits, certified checks, irrevocable
bank letters of credit and/or surety bonds shall be deposited
with the City prior to the issuance of engineering permits;
and
15. 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?
Ms. Smiley: Could we put something in there that they will work to eliminate
that double fence thing? To work with the neighbors or try to come
up with a plan so that we don't have the double fence area?
Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Taormina? Do you think there's a way that we can incorporate
something like that?
Or.
Taormina: Yes, we would have to figure out some language to encourage
that as best as possible. I'd have to find out more from the
Inspection Department, what they normally do when they're
confronted with this issue.
Ms. Smiley: Thank you.
May 17, 2022
30506
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. And Mr. Caramagno? You're okay?
Mr. Caramagno: Yeah. It's something to encourage the one fence solution. That's
all.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Any other questions or comments on this motion? If there's
nothing then Mr. Secretary, please call a roll on a motion to
approve
A roll call vote was taken on the foregoing with the following result:
AYES: Caramagno, Smiley, McCue
NAYS: Bongero, Long, Wilshaw.
Chairman Wilshaw declared the resolution failed due to lack of majority.
Mr. Wilshaw: I will now open the floor up to any additional motions.
Mr. Long: Mr. Chairman, obviously, with athree-to-three vote, a denying
resolution is likely to meet the same fate. So, when we have a
hung jury, what are our options here?
Mr. Wilshaw: Well, we
could
try
a vote
on a denying resolution and see if
anybody's
going
to
change
their mind. It's not to say that they will.
Mr. Long: Correct.
Mr. Wilshaw: Beyond that, we're at a stalemate.
Mr. Long: So, with a stalemate, then does it go on to City Council with no
recommendation?
Mr. Taormina: I know that when City Council is confronted with this same
situation, they render a determination that the project is denied
for failure to have a positive vote. So, your option is to either leave
it as is or consider an alternative motion that would see if there's
a majority that would be in favor of tabling the item to allow the
petitioner to come back with any changes that might meet the
Planning Commission's approval.
Mr. Wilshaw: That's a good, good suggestion. Tabling is always an option. Mr.
Long?
Mr. Long: So,
I would
understand that with City Council, because they're
the
ultimate
arbiter of that. We're just recommending. Since we're
May 17, 2022
30507
just recommending, it would seem to me, to be prudent, to just
send it along with no recommendation.
Mr. Taormina: I guess my point is, if I may, Mr. Chair, in that case we would
advise the petitioner that they would have to file an appeal to
move this forward to the City Council. Whether it was formally
denied or failed due to a lack of majority, it would have to go
through the appeal process to be heard by Council.
Mr. Wilshaw: Exactly. And at the end of the day, just so the folks in our
audience are aware, we are just a recommending body to City
Council. They are the ultimate decider of all our petitions that
come before us this evening. We are just simply vetting the
process and trying to give a recommendation as to whether it
should be approved or denied. Ultimately, City Council will have
to make that decision. So, if there is no other motions offered by
any of the commissioners, which there are, we've heard a couple
different options laid out before us, I'll give one more chance to
see if there is any other motions.
Mr. Bongero: We're not going to invite them back and table this, right? That's
kind of out.
Mr. Wilshaw: Tabling is always an option. If you think that there's some
changes that could be made that would change the vote process
by anybody, if we don't think that's the case, and we just want to
let this proceed on to the City Council, then we would not offer
any other additional motions at this time, and it would effectively
be denied by lack of support, and then they could appeal to City
Council.
Mr. Bongero: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is that clear to everybody? And there's no other motions from
anybody? If not, then that's where we're going to leave things
standing. We do not have support for this recommendation to
approve this. Therefore, it is by proxy effectively denied. You will
have 10 days in which to appeal the decision in writing to City
Council. All right, Mr. Longo? Thank you to everyone who came
this evening. And if you want to continue to follow this through
City Council, please make sure to look for those meetings in the
future if that is appealed and goes on to their agenda. All right.
Thank you everyone. With that we will now move on to item
number two on the public hearing section of our agenda.
May 17, 2022
30508
ITEM #2 PETITION 2022-03-02-08 TrueHeal Veterinarian
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2022-
03-02-08 submitted by Tiseo Architects, Inc. on behalf of
TrueHeal Veterinarian Clinic requesting waiver use approval
pursuant to Section 6.59 of The Livonia Vision 21 Zoning
Ordinance, as amended, to operate a veterinary clinic at 27488
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.
Mr. Taormina: This is a request to operate a veterinary clinic on Five Mile Road
between Green Lane and Foch Avenue. This property is roughly
0.18 acre in size with 50 feet of road frontage by a depth of 160
feet. so, it's a small property. The site is divided into two (2)
zoning classifications: C-1 (Local Business) and P (Parking). The
southerly part of the site contains the commercial zoning and is
where the building is located. The rear 40 feet of the property is
zoned for parking only. The site contains a one-story building
that's about 3,100 square feet in size. The original structure was
only 1,500 square feet and was built in 1962 as a bookkeeping
and accounting office. In the mid-1960s, the building was
expanded to its current size. Off street parking is available both
in the front of the building, as well as behind the building.
Veterinary clinics, and animal clinics and animal hospitals are
treated as a waiver -use in the C-1 zoning district. To the west is
commercial zoning. To the east is a vacant parcel that is zoned
NM1 (Neighborhood Multifamily), and to the north are residential
homes that are a part of the Parkway Subdivision. The plan that
was submitted with the application shows how the interior of the
building would be remodeled. It would include an exam, surgery
and X ray rooms. There would also be a treatment center, office,
reception and waiting area, public restrooms, utility room, and
employee break room. There would be no outdoor runways,
kennels, or pens. In terms of parking for veterinary clinics, the
requirement is one space for every 200 square feet of usable floor
area. As such, the use would require a total of thirteen (13)
parking spaces. The site plan shows nine (9) parking spaces, four
of which are in front of the building adjacent to Five Mile Road
and five (5) which are located behind the building. The rear
parking spaces are accessible via an easement that runs through
the parking lot of the adjacent commercial property to the west.
The ordinance provides flexibility for adjusting the numerical
parking requirements based on evidence that another standard
would be more reasonable. Referring to the Institute of Traffic
Engineers Parking Generation Manual, and the average rate of
peak period parking demand for every 1,000 square feet of gross
May 17, 2022
30509
floor area of a similar use is 3.3. Applied to this site results in a
recommendation for ten (10) parking spaces. Again, the site
shows nine (9) spaces total. It's important as part of tonight's
proceedings that we determine if nine (9) spaces will be suitable
for this use, depending on the number of employees and what
they anticipate in terms of customer demand. The plans do not
show a dumpster on the property. It was indicated at the Study
Meeting that trash would be stored in the building and handled by
private contractors. For landscaping, they're showing additional
trees and shrubs in front of the building. There are no other
exterior site improvements except for an awning and maybe
painting the building. An issue that came up at the Study Meeting
was a small retaining wall that is leaning on the east side of the
property. The petitioner indicated a willingness to remove this
wall since it doesn't really serve any functional purpose. 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 March 28,
2022, 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 existing parcel is assigned the address of #27488 Five
Mile Road. The existing building is currently serviced by public
water main and sanitary sewer, as well as private storm sewer.
According to the proposed plans, there should not be impacts to
the sanitary sewer or water main. Should the developer need to
make revisions to the existing leads, or do any work within the
Five Mile Road right-of-way, they will need to submit Engineering
drawings to this Department to determine if permits will be
required from either the City of Livonia or Wayne County." The
letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer.
The next letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated
March 31, 2022, 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 Brian Kukla, Fire Marshal. The next letter is
from the Division of Police, dated March 29, 2022, 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 Scott
Sczepanski, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the
Inspection Department, dated April 19, 2022, which reads as
follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition
May 1722022
30510
has been reviewed. This Department has no objections to this
Petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of
Inspection. The next letter is from the Finance Department, dated
April 8, 2022, which reads as follows: " I have reviewed the
address connected with the above noted petition. As there are no
outstanding amounts receivable (general or water and sewer), 1
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 April 5, 2022, which reads as
follows: "In accordance with your request, the Treasurer's Office
has reviewed the name and addresses connected with the above
noted petition. At this time there are no taxes due, 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:
Are there any questions of the Planning Director? If not, our
petitioner is in the audience. Good evening, Mr. Tiseo,
Ben Tiseo, 19815
Farmington Road, Livonia, MI. I did want to point out some things
about the parking issue. If you note on the floor plan, we have
four exam rooms, and that's all we can have here because there's
going to be one doctor on staff, receptionist, and one other
assistant. That's all. Again, this size of a clinic, that's all you can
have. So, you can't have more people there. So, the four spaces
in front should take care of one for each of the four exam rooms.
And again, we have three employees parking, there's five spots
in the back. So, from a practical standpoint, we actually exceed
the parking that is going to be required for the site. And again,
this is going to be a small neighborhood operation. It is not
intended to be a big clinic where a lot of people come in. Again,
it is going to be one doctor, an assistant, and a receptionist. So,
with that, I don't have any other questions. I mean, any other
questions? I didn't hear any real objections to it. And thanks
again, Mr. Bongero, for bringing up that fence that's leaning. I
should have put it on the drawings, but I did not. So, we will be
taking that down. And we're here to answer any questions that
you might have.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Great. It's been a couple of weeks, a few weeks since we've seen
you.
Mr. Tiseo:
Yes.
Mr, Wilshaw: So, we may have some questions that have popped up. Any
questions for our petitioner?
May 17, 2022
30511
Mr. Long: Thank you. A couple of questions. With the so much of the
parking in the rear, will there be access in the front as well as the
rear for people or will people have to walk around in order to get
into the building?
Mr. Tiseo: No, there is aback door. So, if... let's say another customer came
in, and there's only the four spots in front were occupied, they
could go around to the back of the building. There is another door
in the back that they can enter the clinic. And it's not ideal only
because that back portion is not really available to the public.
Also, I know one of the things that came up last time was that
there was a lack of a dumpster on the site. One, there's no real
room to have that there. Two, we do have a roll away dumpster
inside. If you note on the plan, that's in the back vestibule, if you
will. That will be rolled out once a week as it is needed. There are
not going to be any barking dogs. There's no running track. This
is strictly a veterinary clinic, where they bring their animals in, and
they get treated. They're not spending any time overnight. If they
have to have any sort of real surgery, they would go to another
clinic. So, this is going to be a real neighborhood function.
Mr. Long: Continuing on that...so, with the lack of a dumpster and the waste
removal only happening once a week, is that a concern? Is that
ideal for a veterinary clinic with waste, and animal waste and
such?
Mr. Tiseo: Again, I'm sure you're familiar with trash pickup, you can call and
have it picked up every day. its a matter of how you schedule it.
I have clients that have multiple shopping centers, and in some
cases, they have to have the trash picked up four times a week
because they don't have room for more dumpsters. That's simply
a matter of function of determining when they need to be picked
up.
Mr. Long: And then my last question is...l'm actually quite in favor of this I
think this is a great idea, but with one doctor, what happens
should he decide he wants to take a day off or a vacation or
something like that? Is it ... bring in another or do you just close
down?
(Inaudible)
Maria Petrenko, 27488 Five Mile Road, Livonia, MI. I am the building owner and
the manager. I'm not the doctor that can cure your pet. But, so,
the idea is with that we will bring in a substitute doctor for the time
that we're away, orjust... there's lack of veterinarian as everybody
knows. If we cannot find one, good one, then we'll just put a sign
May 17, 2022
30512
on the door and go on vacation. The idea is that its a very small
boutique hospital, you know, and a very small operation.
Mr. Long: an you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Long. Any other questions for our petitioner this
evening?
Mr. Ventura: Excuse me. I've got a couple of questions.
Do you just
used the
word hospital?
Is this a veterinary hospital
or veterinary
clinic?
Mr. Tiseo: Veterinary clinic
Mr. Ventura: So. it's not a hospital?
Ms. Petrenko: So, I don't really know the official difference between the clinic
and a hospital. So, I think...I don't know if anybody can fill me in.
So, there will be their vaccinations clinics and that is not one of
them. We will be conducting treatment of animals. There will be
no animals left overnight. So, if an animal is there past five o'clock
and it needs additional help, he will... the pet owner will be
referred to an emergency clinic or a neighboring clinic. So,
theoretically, it's more than just seeing pets. So that's why I think
we got hospital, because there will be minor medical procedures
conducted. There will be a surgery room. But, so, therefore we
kind of feel like we have to call it hospital.
Mr. Ventura: Okay, thank you. I too am concerned about the parking here. How
are patients going to know if all the spaces in front are full that
spaces in the back are accessible to them?
Ms. Petrenko: I'm going to design a pretty sign that will say parking in the rear.
Mr. Ventura: How do they know where the rear is? You've got to leave the site,
get back on Five Mile Road and go over to Foch and up Foch and
then in. How do they find that out?
Ms. Petrenko: You're absolutely correct. It's not intuitive. So, besides the
signage on the front, at the time of them making an appointment,
we will you know, try to make sure that the receptionist explained
for the lack of parking that you have to go around the building.
Again, this is ... we are expecting very little walk-in traffic because
of only one doctor. So, majority of patients will be there because
whether they are regulars or are there for a regular visit or they
have made an appointment. So, I don't think we will have capacity
for just walk-in traffic.
May 17, 2022
30513
Mr. Ventura: So, is the veterinary physician that's going into space already in
Livonia.
Ms, Petrenko: No.
Mr. Ventura: So, he doesn't have an existing...
Ms. Petrenko: He is practicing in a neighboring city.
Mr. Ventura: So those animals are not going to be coming to Livonia.
Ms. Petrenko: No, no, they're not. If you're asking if he's taking the clientele from
where he's practicing currently, that is not a possibility.
Mr. Ventura: Will he be running both operations?
Ms. Petrenko: No, this will be the only operation. When we came first time for
the discovery session, the doctor was actually present so and he
can explain his thinking. No, he will be working... that will be the
only business he'll have.
Mr. Ventura: I'm still concerned about the parking. We put another veterinary
hospital on the southern end of the city that wasn't any bigger
than this, and after they were in the building there, people were
parked all over the place. I mean, in the streets on the adjacent
lots. I mean, I just don't see how the parking works here. I
understand you've got four rooms, but if you've got four rooms
that are full, and you have people coming in for their next
appointments, I mean, when I take my animals to the veterinary
hospital or the veterinary clinic, the waiting rooms are full. And so,
it's not a matter of how many opportunities you have or how many
exam rooms you've got, it's how many patients you have. I don't
know how you make this work. I really don't.
Jr
Tiseo: Part of it is scheduling, and unfortunately, a lot of medical clinics
double book. It's that plain and simple, and they shouldn't be, but
they do.
Or.
Ventura: I don't know that ours double books, Mr. Tiseo, but there's an
overlap between exam and intake. While you're going through the
process, you've got two customers out there, but thank you very
much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Or.
Wilshaw: Thank you go ahead and make your...
May 17, 2022
30514
Ms. Petrenko: Just about the barking. The veterinarian happens to be my
husband, so I know him intimately, but as a lot of ... there's another
veterinary hospital present here. So, most of the veterinarians are
overworked, overbooked, overtired. The idea for this business
venture in my family is to relieve that situation. So, the idea is to
have a very accurately planned prescheduled boutique hospital.
So, we do happen to have a building with four exam rooms, and
it is my deep hope that they will not be all full at the same time.
So, again, I think that wherever you take your animal, it might be
a bigger hospital. This will not be one of this kind of like production
line bigger hospitals.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, thank you for your comments. Any other questions from
any of our commissioners, for our petitioner?
Mr. Caramagno: Just
on
the
theme of parking. Is it your intent that any employees
park
in
the
back
of the
hospital?
Mr. Tiseo: Of course.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. Very good. Is there an opportunity to put a small sign on
Foch that says veterinary parking, or clinic parking, whatever it
is ... clinic parking, to give some direction?
Mr. Tiseo: We'd be willing to do that. Correct.
Mr. Caramagno: And they'd be maybe...something that would help.
Ms. Petrenko: Another thing we did was have a conversation with the
neighboring business and they're willing to rent us spaces if
necessary. So that is also a possibility.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, what's the neighboring business now?
Mr. Tiseo: I believe the next -door neighbor is a gun shop.
Ms. Petrenko: Gunsmith.
Mr. Tiseo: Gunsmith? It is the adjacent property?
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Tiseo: I'm pretty sure they have
an
excess of parking spots when you
take a look
at the number
of
spaces that they have.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is it possible Mr. Tiseo, you can secure cross parking access?
May 17, 2022
30515
Mr. Tiseo: We do we have cross access. We do have that. That was part of
the 1962 approval with the property, but we have not entered into
an agreement for any additional parking, if it's required.
Mr. Wilshaw: It might be something to do between now and Council.
Mr. Tiseo: We can pursue
that further if we
get approval
tonight. We could
have something
at least in a draft
form for the
City Council.
Mr. Wilshaw: Sure, that might ease some of the concerns that you hear tonight.
Any other questions from any of the commissioners? Was there
anyone in our audience wishing to speak for or against this
petition? I don't see anybody coming forward. There's no one to
speak on this. We'll go back to our Petitioner for any final
comments.
Mr. Tiseo: I don't have any. Thank you for your time.
Ms. Petrenko: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for being here. And if there's no further comments or
questions, I'll close the public hearing and a motion would be an
order.
On a motion by Smiley, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was
#05-25-2022 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on May 17, 2022, on Petition
2022-03-02-08 submitted by Tiseo Architects, Inc. on behalf of
TrueHeal Veterinarian Clinic requesting waiver use approval
pursuant to Section 6.59 of The Livonia Vision 21 Zoning
Ordinance, as amended, to operate a veterinary clinic at 27488
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, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend
to the City Council that Petition 2022-03-02-08 be approved
subject to the following conditions:
1. That the Site &Floor Plans, Elevations identified as Sheet
No. P1, dated March 25, 2022, prepared by Tiseo
Architects, Inc., is hereby approved and shall be adhered to.
2. That the landscaping shown on the approved plan shall be
installed to the satisfaction of the Inspection Department.
May 17, 2022
30516
3. That
all
disturbed
lawn
areas, including road rights -of -way,
shall
be
sodded
in
lieu
of hydroseeding.
4. That the
operation
of
the subject use shall not include the
overnight
boarding
or
care of animals.
5. That there shall be no outside dumpster located on the site,
and all trash must be contained within the building except on
the day trash is scheduled for removal.
6. That all animal remains, medical and animal waste shall be
properly disposed of.
7. That adequate soundproofing shall be installed to the extent
necessary to insure the elimination of all noise from the
building.
8. That the use of open or outdoor runways, kennels or pens
are prohibited.
9. 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.
10. That no LED light band or exposed neon shall be permitted
on this site including, but not limited to, the building or
around the windows.
11. That the specific plan referenced in this approving resolution
shall be submitted to the Inspection Department at the time
the building permits are applied for; and
12. Pursuant to Section 13.13 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning
Ordinance, as amended, this approval is valid fora 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, as amended.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
May 17, 2022
30517
ITEM #3 PETITION 2022-03-02-10 Excellerated Towing
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2022-
03-02-10 submitted by Excellerated Towing & Recovery
requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Sections 3.16 and
6.58 of The Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to
operate a vehicle tow yard at 12780 Wayne Road, located on the
east side of Wayne Road just south of Schoolcraft Road in the
Northwest % of Section 28.
Mr. Taormina: Thank you. This request is to operate a vehicle tow yard. The site
is on Wayne Road south of Schoolcraft Road. The property is
roughly 0,68 acres, measuring 100 feet in width by 290 feet in
depth. The zoning is M-1, Light Manufacturing, and the site is
completely surrounded by other industrial properties. The existing
building is on the front part of the site. This building is roughly
6,000 square feet in size. It includes 4,800 square feet of shop
area and approximately 1,200 square feet of office space.
Parking is available on the south side of the building, as well as
behind the building on the east side. The proposed tow storage
yard would be in the rear yard. This fenced -in area is about
13,000 square feet and contains a gravel surface. Gated access
to the proposed vehicle tow yard would be located next to the
southeast corner of the building. On the front of the building next
to the office, there's an existing truck well. It is uncertain if it would
serve any purpose for the proposed use. Eight (8) paved parking
spaces are shown on the south side of the building which would
be available for customers. The gravel tow storage yard has the
capacity to accommodate roughly 25 parking spaces for both
recovered vehicles and company tow trucks. The site plan does
not show any trash containers. Landscaping requires one full size
tree plus one ornamental tree and 10 shrubs. The plan shows one
existing full-size tree, two ornamentals and 18 shrubs. Thus, the
plan provides the required amount of landscaping. In terms of
exterior lighting, the plan is showing wall packs placed on the rear
wall of the building. We're not sure how the south parking spaces
are or would be illuminated, but the rear appears that it would be
with the use of the wall packs. The site would be allowed one wall
sign measuring 25 square feet, but we do not have details on that.
With that I will read the correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please.
Or.
Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated March 28,
2022, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request,
the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced
May 17, 2022
30518
petition. We have no objections to the proposed waiver use at this
time. The existing parcel is assigned the address of #12780
Wayne Road. The existing building is currently serviced by public
water main, storm sewer and sanitary sewer. According to the
proposed plans, there should not be impacts to the existing
utilities. Should the developer need to make revisions to the
existing leads, or do any work within the Wayne Road right-of-
way, they will need to submit Engineering drawings to this
Department to determine if permits will be required." The letter is
signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next
letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated April 18,
2022, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site
pIan 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 with the following
stipulations: On submitted plans, please include nearest fire
hydrant location(s). A further detailed plan review will take place
when this division receives an official plan set." The letter is
signed by Brian Kukla, Fire Marshal. The next letter is from the
Division of Police, dated March 29, 2022, which reads as follows:
"I 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 April 19, 2022, which reads as
follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition
has been reviewed. 1. The rear of this property is gravel. The
petitioner would need to pave the rear lot within two years if this
petition moves forward. 2. A zoning compliance permit and
inspections of the building and property will be required if this
petition moves forward. 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 April 8, 2022, which reads as follows: " 1 have
reviewed the address connected with the above noted petition.
The following amounts are due to the City of Livonia: Unpaid
wafer and sewer charges: $ 222.82 Total Due City of Livonia $
222.82" The letter is signed by Connie Kumpula, Chief
Accountant. The next letter is from the Treasurer's Department,
dated April 5, 2022, which reads as follows: In accordance with
your request, the Treasurer's Office has reviewed the name and
addresses connected with the above noted petition. At this time
there are no taxes due, therefore I have no objections to the
proposal. "The letter is signed by Lynda Scheel, Treasurer That
is the extent of the correspondence. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Taormina. Is there any questions for our planning
staff? Ms. Smiley.
May 1732022
30519
S. Smiley Currently, what's in there right now, Mark?
Mr. Taormina: I don't know the actual business or use.
Ms. Smiley: Well, I'm looking at this overhead, and I was just curious, what's
going on there?
Mr. Taormina: A
business
that
has a
very strange way of storing their equipment
in
the
back
just
based
on the aerial photograph.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Smiley. Any other questions for our planning
staff? Is our Petitioner is in the audience? You are welcome to
come forward to our podium. Good evening, sir. I'll ask that you
start with your name and address.
Michael fields, 14310 21 Yz Mile Road, Marshall, MI.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay.
Thank
you,
Mr. Fields. And is there anything else that you'd
like to
add to
this
petition?
Mr. Fields: No, not at the current moment.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, is there any questions from any of our commissioners for
our petitioner? Mr. Caramagno.
Mr. Caramagno: When you were here...seems like an eternity ago, with the study
session, you told me you had a towing yard off of Telegraph
Road,
Mr. Fields: Correct.
Mr. Caramagno: Was it Tamaroff?
Mr. Fields: We rent space from Tamaroff. 25 spots.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. Do you keep equipment there?
Mr. Fields: Nothing other than our trucks.
Mr. Caramagno: What do you keep in the 25 spots that you hold forTamaroff?
Mr. Fields: Well, we were keeping cars that needed to go to insurance
companies or collision shops or what have you, but we've
downsized down to 10 spots.
May 17, 2022
30520
Mr, Caramagno: So, you said you dialed back at 10 spots?
Mr. Fields: Yes.
Mr. Caramagno: Because I drove by there and I didn't see any Excellerated
equipment towing. I didn't see any smashed -up cars. I didn't see
anything there.
Mr. Fields: We've stopped doing a lot of roadside, so we don't really have the
need for that much space anymore.
Mr. Caramagno: But you still hold that spot, but you don't utilize...
Mr. Fields: In case we need it.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, so where do you operate out of now?
Mr. Fields: Right now we're all mobile. We're mobile until this deal here and
either passes or fails. There's no need for us to secure any other
property because we're in the middle of this process right here.
Because the property we're trying to build in Livonia obviously did
not go through. So that kind of basically threw us for a big loop.
Mr. Caramagno: So mobile, meaning you keep the trucks...
Mr. Fields: On the road, basically 24 hours now and I let two of the drivers
take the trucks home.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, so when you tow something, you tow it, where to?
Mr Fields: Either to our shop or to owners' residence. If it needs to be stored
overnight, we have the ability to store about 10 vehicles.
Or. Caramagno: Is that what the intent of this building on Wayne Road is? You'd
bring the equipment and keep your trucks there?
Jr,
Fields: Yes,
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. Thank you.
Or. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Caramagno. Any other questions for our
petitioner? No other questions from our commissioners?
Mr.Long.
Jr.
Long: What would be the average stay of a vehicle at this location?
May 17, 2022
30521
Mr. Fields: I would say two to three days at the most. Probably more like 12
to 14 hours.
Mr. Long: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Long. Any other questions? Ms. Smiley/
Ms. Smiley: If like the
car was
involved
in
an accident
or something
and... don't
police have
to keep it
for
evidence for
a while.
Mr. Fields: No, we don't have a police contract. That's something totally
different. If a vehicle is picked up on the scene, and there's any
investigation, it wouldn't go to us it will go to Livonia towing or
whoever has the contract for the Livonia Police Department,
which we're not interested in.
Ms. Smiley: So, you're not interested in bidding or doing anything with the
Police Department?
Mr. Fields: No. ma'am. Not at all.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Ms. McCue.
Ms. McCue: Sorry, just to reiterate this, but so your model that you have right
now is basically going to continue. It's just that you will have a
location to park your trucks.
Mr. Fields: Correct.
Ms. McCue: You're
not storing
cars there? There's nothing else? You're not
adding
additional services or anything
like that?
Mr. Fields: No. We're downsizing.
Ms. McCue: Okay. Thank you.
Or.
Fields: Yep. You're welcome.
Or.
Wilshaw: All right. Any other questions for our petitioner? I don't see any
other questions. Anyone in our audience wishing to speak for or
against this item? We do have one person coming forward. Give
them a chance to come forward and speak. Good evening, sir.
Chris Reeve. 12815 Wayne Road, Livonia, MI.
I operate a
commercial
flooring
installation company at 12815
Wayne Road.
We're right
around
May 17, 2022
30522
the corner of Wayne and Glendale. So, I'm not really opposed to
this, but I do have a couple of concerns. Couple questions.
Couple concerns. One, would this be a temporary use exemption
for the duration of their tenancy there or would the rest of us in
that zone also have the additional benefit of that from a
commercial property value? standpoint?
Mr. Wilshaw: Well, this is a
waiver -use that's
being
sought
to
us, and the
waiver -use runs
with the property.
Is that
correct
Mr.
Taormina?
Mr. Taormina: That is correct unless we stipulate that it's for this user only.
Mr. Reeve: Okay, and the other two concerns...) know that that building does
have a gated lot, so would all the tow vehicles and recovered
vehicles be kept behind that gated lot?
Mr. Wilshaw: that's something that we could, again, stipulate in our approval if
we wanted to do that.
Mr. Reeve: And the main couple reasons for concern...our business, we
have a gated privacy fence and a gated backlot, and we've
already had two vehicles and a trailer stolen from back there,
so... I'm also a little bit concerned about the extra traffic, off hours
traffic, you know, whether it be extra, you know, maybe police
patrol in that area because it is kind of a blind corner. You know,
and it does dead end. So, it is kind of a little bit of a security
concern for us as well... But definitely, like I said, I'm not opposed
to it if we can all just kind of work together with those concerns.
Mr. Wilshaw: Sure. Makes sense. Appreciate that. Alright, thank you for coming
this evening. Anyone else wishing to speak on this item? for or
against? I don't see anyone else coming forward. Mr. Fields, is
there anything else that you wanted to add before we make our
decision?
Mr. Fields: No, not at the moment.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Any other questions from any of our commissioners for
petitioner? If there's nothing else, I'll close the public hearing and
a motion be an order. Thank you for coming.
On a motion by Caramagno, seconded by Smiley, and unanimously adopted, it
was
#05-26-2022 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on May 17, 2022, on Petition
2022-03-02-10 submitted by Excellerated Towing & Recovery
May 17, 2022
30523
requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Sections 3.16 and
6.58 of The Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to
operate a vehicle tow yard at 12780 Wayne Road, located on the
east side of Wayne Road just south of Schoolcraft Road in the
Northwest '/4 of Section 28, the Planning Commission does
hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2022-03-02-
10 be denied for the following reasons:
1. That the petitioner has failed to affirmatively show that the
proposed use complies with all the general waiver use
standards and requirements as set forth in Sections 6.58
and 13.13 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as
amended.
2. That the operation of a vehicle tow yard with outdoor storage
at this location and the pattern of traffic generated from the
proposed use would have a detrimental effect upon the
neighboring properties.
3. That the nature and intensity of the proposed use is
inconsistent with the predominant small manufacturing
businesses that are located within this industrial park, and
4. That the petitioner has failed to comply with all the concerns
deemed necessary for the safety and welfare of the City and
its residents.
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, as amended.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adoptedI
ITEM #4 PETITION 2022-03-02-11 Livonia Veterinary Hospital
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2022-
03-02-11 submitted by Livonia Veterinary Hospital requesting
waiver use approval pursuant to Sections 3.11 and 6.59 of The
Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to expand the
existing veterinary hospital at 13389, 13391 and 13393
Farmington Road, located on the west side of Farmington Road
between the CSX Railroad right-of-way and Schoolcraft Road in
the Northeast % of Section 28.
May 17, 2022
30524
Mr. Taormina: This petition is a request to expand an existing veterinary hospital
located on the west side of Farmington Road south of Schoolcraft
Road. Bordering the site to the west and to the south is the City's
DPW yard and administrative offices. This property has frontage
on three (3) public streets: Farmington road to the east, Graytona
Avenue to the north, and then Surrey Avenue to the west. The
land area of the property measures 145 feet by 240 feet, for a
total area of 0.8 acres. The existing veterinary clinic on the
property is one-story in height and about 2,200 square feet. As
you can see from the aerial photograph, it's located in the
southeast corner of the property, roughly 32 feet from the
sidewalk along Farmington Road. Parking is mostly available on
the north side of the building. Currently, there are two driveways
that serve the site. One is on Farmington Road and the other is
on Graytona Avenue. The rear undeveloped portion of the site is
zoned M-1 (Light manufacturing), and it is currently in the process
of being rezoned to C-2. On September 9, 2019, City Council
gave first reading to the rezoning. If approved, the entire site
would be under the C-2 zoning classification. The proposed
addition would extend off the northwest corner of the building.
The addition would be one-story in height and measure roughly
3,170 square feet in size, bringing the total floor area of the facility
up to 5,367 square feet. The expansion would provide additional
exam rooms, as well as a pharmacy, a food store, and an
employee lounge. The main customer entrance would be moved
to the front of the addition, where there would be a new vestibule.
Just inside this vestibule would be a reception area and client
waiting room. The submitted floor plan shows the layout of the
various rooms within both the existing building as well as the
proposed addition. The proposal meets all the minimum required
building setbacks. In terms of parking, it is based on a ratio of one
space for every 200 square feet. That translates to 21 required
parking spaces. This plan provides 22 parking spaces, six (6) of
which would be in the front yard and sixteen (16) in the rear yard.
The larger parking lot at the back of the site would be accessible
via a driveway that would come off of Surrey. The existing drive
approach from Graytona would be removed. The site plan shows
an enclosed dumpster directly behind the building adjacent to the
entrance and it would be used primarily for employees. It would
be screened using eight -foot -high walls that would match the
brick on the building. For landscaping, the only issue that came
up at the Study Meeting was the need for a couple of trees on
Farmington Road. The petitioner indicated a willingness to plant
additional trees which is provided in the prepared resolution. In
terms of building materials, the intent is to have a uniform
appearance between the existing building and the addition. The
addition would consist of brick that would match the existing
May 17, 2022
30525
building. Some stone accents would be provided along the base
of the building which would be carried over to the existing
building. Phase one, as a petitioner indicated at the study
session, the existing building would maintain the flat roof and
once the construction of the addition is completed, a matching
peaked roof would be added to the existing building. 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 May 9, 2022,
which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the
Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced waiver
use approval request. The addresses of #13389, #13391 &
#13393 Farmington Road are correct for the subject parcels and
should be used in connection with this petition. We have no
objections to the proposed petition, although the following items
should be noted: 1. The proposed project will need to meet the
requirements of the current Wayne County Stormwater
Ordinance. The submitted drawings do indicate that storm sewer
and detention are proposed, but no details on the utilities have
been given at this time. 2. The owner will need to coordinate
removal of the existing overhead utilities for the proposed building
addition. 3. The owner will need to submit full Engineering plans
to this department for permitting should the project move forward
and maybe required to obtain permits from Wayne County should
any work occur within the Farmington Road right-of-way. 4. The
owner will need to combine the parcels to create a single parcel.
Please coordinate the parcel combination with the Assessing
office should the project be approved." The letter is signed by
David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is
from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated May 10, 20221
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. A further detailed plan review
will take place when this division receives an official plan set."
The letter is signed by Brian Kukla, Fire Marshal. The next letter
is from the Division of Police, dated May 9, 2022, which reads as
follows: `I 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 May 9, 2022, which reads as
follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition
has been reviewed. 1. The parking spaces shall be 10' x 20' and
double striped. 2. Adequate soundproofing shall be installed to
the extent necessary to ensure the elimination of all noise from
May 17, 2022
30526
the area used for the treatment and temporarykeeping of such
sick and diseased household pets. This Department has no
furtherobjections to this Petition." The letter is signed by Jerome
Hanna, Director of Inspection. The next letter is from the Finance
Department, dated April 8, 2022, which reads as follows: "1 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 April 5, 2022, 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.
The next letter is from the Assessor's Department, dated April 7,
2022, and reads: "Plans submitted by Livonia Veterinary Hospital
requesting waiver use approval to expand the existing veterinary
hospital would require a Lot Combination to create one parcel
number. Currently there are 2 separate parcels; parcel 109-01-
0001-000 13389 Farmington is the existing building parcel and
parcel 109-01-0003-000 13391 Farmington is an adjacent vacant
lot. Please contact the Assessor's Office with any questions. The
lot split/combination application can be found on the Livonia.gov
website." That is the extent of the correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Excellent. Any questions for our planning staff? I don't see any
questions. Is our petitioner in the audience? Good evening, sir.
Could you please start with your name and address?
Dean Devonce, Devonce Custom Construction, 4350 Utica Road, Sterling
Heights, MI.
Or. Wilshaw: Thank you. Is there anything else that you'd like to add to this
presentation this evening?
Mr. Devonce: No, the rezoning has already been addressed in the ZBA and we
did quite a while ago. Presuming the approval, that will actually
all kind of fall automatic.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay,
Or,
and is there
any questions from
any of our commissioners
for our petitioner's
representative? Mr.
Caramagno.
Caramagno: You're the construction manager you said.
Or,
Devonce: Yes.
May 1732022
30527
Mr. Caramagno: So, I don't know what you know about the business, but I'm
assuming the business is going pretty well with quite an
expansion.
Mr. Devonce: Oh, her business?
Mr. Caramagno: Yes.
Mr. Devonce: I thought you meant my business sorry.
Mr. Caramagno: Hopefully yours to.
Mr. Devonce: Ours is doing well. Thank you. Hers is doing good. She's just
looking... the older existing building is older and is needed
renovation. She wants to expand, have the new one, and then
once that's done, then she can decide what she's doing with the
old section.
Mr. Caramagno: Now, this is a stark contrast from what you heard earlier with the
Veterinary Clinic before. He was going to start off very small. This
is quite large, but I guess if business demands, good for you and
good for the clinic.
Mr. Devonce: From what I think I told you guys before, her anticipation is with
her other clinics to downsize and then hope she's kind of I'm
guessing, hoping she can pull one of the vets from there. So, then
there would be her and another. That's why the amount of parking
is adequate for what the space requires.
Mr. Caramagno: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Caramagno. Any other questions for the
petitioner's representative?
Mr. Ventura: On the material we were given on this petition, it showed that the
existing building, when the construction was complete on the new
structure, the existing building would be refurbished with the
same exterior materials as the new building.
Mr. Devonce: Correct. The lower portion of the exterior will actually be done
during the construction...during the addition. It's the roof portion.
We don't want to work over the existing building.
Mr. Ventura: So, I thought I heard you say, when you made your presentation,
that there would be a decision made about what to do with the
existing building once the new construction was completed.
May 17, 2022
30528
Mr. Devonce: Correct. She's... whether it becomes another exam room or
another...
Mr. Ventura: So, you're not saying that she'd demolish it?
Mr. Devonce: No, no, no, no, no, not at all.
Mr. Ventura: You're saying she would just refurbish the use.
Mr. Devonce: The size...the existing building...l don't know if you guys have
any pets or have been in there. The rooms are kind of small. So,
in the newer building, they're much larger, so she just has to
reconfigure the layout.
Mr. Ventura: Right, you've answered my question. Thank you very much.
Mr. Wilshaw: Excellent. Thank you, Mr. Ventura. Any other questions for our
petitioner?
Mr. Bongero: Just quick questions. When are you planning on starting
construction if everything goes through, and you get your
approvals?
Mr. Devonce :I really want
to get a shovel in the ground
this
year.
We're
trying
everything's...
hopefully, pending you guys
and
we're
ready
to go.
Mr. Bongero: Sounds optimistic. Sounds good.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Bongero. Any other questions? No other
questions? Is there anyone in the audience wishing to speak for
or against this? I don't see anybody else. Mr. Devonce, anything
else that you'd like to add before we make our decision?
Mr. Devonce: No. Thank you for your time.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank
you
for
coming
tonight.
I'm going
to close the public
hearing
on
this
item and
a motion
would be
in order.
On a motion by McCue, seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it was
#05-27-2022 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on May 17, 2022, on Petition
2022-03-02-11 submitted by Livonia Veterinary Hospital
requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Sections 3.11 and
6.59 of The Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to
May 17, 2022
30529
expand the existing veterinary hospital at 13389, 13391 and
13393 Farmington Road, located on the west side of Farmington
Road between the CSX Railroad right-of-way and Schoolcraft
Road in the Northeast'/4 of Section 28, the Planning Commission
does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2022-
03-02-11 be approved subject to the following conditions:
1. That the Site Plan identified as Sheet No. C-2, dated
October 13, 2021, prepared by GLA Surveyors & Engineers,
is hereby approved and shall be adhered to.
2. All parking spaces, except the required barrier free parking,
shall be doubled striped at ten feet (10') wide by twenty feet
(20') in length as required, and the number and location of
the barrier free parking space(s) shall be provided at the
direction of the Inspection Department.
3. That the Landscape Planting Plan identified as LP-1, dated
September26, 2021, prepared by Nagy Devlin Land Design,
is hereby approved and shall be adhered to.
4. That two (2) additional full-size deciduous trees, equal in
characteristics to those listed in Article X of the Livonia
Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, shall be installed
on the front part of the site adjacent to the Farmington Road
right-of-way.
5. That
all
disturbed
lawn
areas, including road rights -of -way,
shall
be
sodded in
lieu
of hydroseeding.
6. 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.
7. That the Building Elevations Plan identified as Sheet
Number A102, as received on March 30, 2022, is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to.
8. That the three walls of the trash dumpster area shall be
constructed out of the same brick used in the construction
of the building or in the event a poured wall is substituted,
the wall's design, texture and color shall match that of the
building. The enclosure gates shall be of solid panel steel
construction or durable, long-lasting solid panel fiberglass.
May 17, 2022
30530
The trash dumpster area shall be maintained and when not
in use closed at all times.
9. That all animal remains, medical and animal waste shall be
properly disposed of.
10. That all Tight fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in
height and shall be shielded to minimize glare trespassing
on adjacent properties and roadways.
11. That a duly qualified attendant or veterinarian be available
on the premises any time there is overnight boarding of pets.
12. That adequate soundproofing shall be installed to the extent
necessary to insure the elimination of all noise from the
building.
13. That the use of open or outdoor runways, kennels or pens
are prohibited.
14. 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.
15. That no LED lightband or exposed neon shall be permitted
on this site including, but not limited to, the building or
around the windows.
16. 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
17. Pursuant to Section 13.13 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning
Ordinance, as amended, 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, as amended.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
May 17, 2022
30531
ITEM #5 PETITION 2022-04-02-12 Area Towing & Recovery
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2022-
04-02-12 submitted by Area Towing & Recovery, Inc. requesting
waiver use approval pursuant to Sections 3.17 and 6,58 of The
Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to operate a
vehicle tow yard at 12719 Inkster Road, located on the west side
of Inkster Road between the CSX Railroad and Schoolcraft Road
in the Northeast'/4 of Section 25,
Ms. Smiley: Chair, I'd like to be excused on this item.
Mr. Wilshaw: All right.
Well, note in our
minutes
that Miss Smiley is stepping
away at
8:44pm. And we'll
go to Mr.
Taormina.
Mr. Taormina: This next item involves a vehicle tow yard on property located on
the west side of Inkster Road between the CSX Railroad and
Schoolcraft Road. The subject parcel measures 2.65 acres with
270 feet of width by a depth of 635 feet. As you can see from the
zoning map, the zoning of the property is M-2 (General
Manufacturing), and the site is surrounded by other industrial
zoned parcels. The site of the actual tow yard is setback several
hundred feet from Inkster Road. Access is available across the
adjacent property to the east, which is 12701 Inkster Road. The
driveway that provides access to the proposed tow yard runs
along the north side of the property. The main business at 12701
Inkster is O'Keller Tool Engineering Company. There are no
buildings located on the parcel that would contain the actual tow
yard. Instead, the office of the tow yard would operate out of a
portion of a second building that is located on the O'Keller Tool
site. The aerial photograph is probably the best way to show this.
This is the site in question this is the building where the offices
would be located which is situated on a separate parcel. The
aerial partially shows the driveway that extends approximately
700 feet to Inkster Road. O'Keller occupies the main building
closest to Inkster Road. The smaller building at the rear would
house the tow company's offices. It is one-story and about 8,000
square feet in total area. Area Towing would occupy roughly half
of the building. The westerly unit, which is closest to the property,
is where the tow yard would be. The interior layout, as shown on
the submittal, includes a combination of offices, restroom, as well
as a storage bay and warehouse. Between the building and the
tow yard there is a small parking lot. This area is paved with the
capacity to handle about 16 vehicles and would be used mainly
for employees and customers. The tow storage yard is surfaced
with gravel. It is completely enclosed with a six -foot -high cyclone
fence — something that the ordinance requires. The access gate
May 17, 2022
30532
is located across from the northwest corner of the proposed office
building. Parking, as I indicated, would be within the paved lot that
is directly behind that building. The tow storage yard would have
the capacity to accommodate roughly 343 recovered vehicles.
The site plan shows a trash enclosure located behind the
building. The enclosure walls would be constructed out of brick.
There is minimal landscaping shown on the site. Site lighting
would consist of an unspecified number of pole -mounted fixtures.
The plan does not provide much detail relative to lighting, so that
is something that the Planning Commission should get additional
information on. 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 April 8,
2022, 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 existing parcel is assigned the address of #12719
Inkster Road. The existing property is currently serviced by public
water main, storm sewer and sanitary sewer. According to the
proposed plans, there should not be impacts to the existing
utilities. Should the developer need to make connections to the
utilities, or do any work within the Inkster Road right-of-way, they
will need to submit Engineering drawings to this Department to
determine if permits will be required." The letter is signed by
David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is
from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated April 18, 2022;
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. A furtherdetailed plan review
will take place when this division receives an official plan set."
The letter is signed by Brian Kukla, Fire Marshal. The next letter
is from the Division of Police, dated April 7, 2022, which reads as
follows: "I 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 May 9, 2022, which reads as
follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition
has been reviewed. 1. All parking areas, regardless of size, must
be hard surfaced. Pavement type and thickness must be
approved by the City Engineer prior to construction, taking into
consideration soil conditions and traffic loadings. This
Department has no further objections to this Petition." The letter
is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of Inspection. The next letter
May 17, 2022
30533
is from the Finance Department, dated April 8, 2022, 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 April 7, 2022, 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. The next letter is from the Assessor's
Department, dated April 7, 2022, that reads: "Plans submitted by
Area Towing and Recovery, Inc requesting waiver use approval
to operate a vehicle tow yard at 12719 Inkster, parcel number
097-99-0011-010. The aerial map and address zoning map
shows the parcel to have no direct access to Inkster Road. In
2015 the parcel was created through a lot split and part of the
terms of the approval included the need for an ingress/egress
easement agreement between 12719 Inkster and 12701 Inkster
which has frontage on Inkster Road. Attached please find the
survey denoting the 28' Easement on "Parcel A" 12701 Inkster
with 12719 Inkster denoted as "Parcel B". Please contact the
Assessor's Office with any questions." The letter is signed by
Kathie Siterlet, Residential Appraiser. There is a second letter
from the Assessor's office, dated April 20, 2022, it reads: "Plans
submitted by Area Towing and Recovery, Inc requesting waiver
use approval to operate a vehicle tow yard at 12719 Inkster,
parcel number 097-99-0011-010. This parcel is owned by 12719
Inkster LLC and can only be accessed via Easement from
adjoining parcel owned by O Keller Tool, at 12701 Inkster Road
(097-99-0013-001). In my first response I included a copy of the
survey showing the easement. However, based on the petition it
appears that part of the plan is for Area Towing and Recovery to
use a building (12715 & 12717 Inkster) that is located on the
adjoining parcel. Is their intent to lease the building form O'Keller
Tool? Will they be leasing the building? Perhaps the building
should be split from 12701 Inkster and combined to 12719
Inkster." The letter is signed by Kathie Siterlet, Residential
Appraiser. That is the extent of the correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Taormina. Any questions for our planning staff? I
don't see any questions. Our petitioner is in the audience. Feel
free to come forward to our podium. Introduce yourself, and we'll
see if we have some questions for you.
May 17, 2022
30534
Shane Anders. at 9 Glen Eagle, Dearborn, MI. My business address... one of them
is 16550 Racho Road, Taylor, MI.
Mr, Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Anders. Is there any other information you like
to provide based on the presentation you've heard so far?
Mr. Anders: You know, other than the fact we spoke about the other night. it's
obvious that this property follows the spirit of Livonia, 21. The
property to the north stores RV's, cars, and boats. The property
to the south stores vehicles. It's really a perfect location. It's out
of sight, out of mind. All my other impound facilities are on main
thoroughfares, and that can always be a challenge. I was very
fortunate to strike a deal with O'Keller, who owns all the property
and who is in control of that easement and who, less than five
years ago, used it as an RV storage facility, and no longer does.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Alright, let's see if we have some questions from our
commissioners and any other information we can get that way.
Any questions for our petitioner? Mr. Long,
Mr. Long: Thank you. That access road, we're confident that that's going to
hold up with the traffic that you're going to be coming in and out
of there with the trucks and what you're towing and everything
else.
Mr. Anders: WeII, I have spoken to O'Keller about that, and at some point in
time, they're going to replace that, and I will have to pay a
percentage of that. But he's been very open minded, unlike most.
I'm quite shocked, but very, very flexible. Has been very, very
accommodating and would love to see something there instead
of vacant property in the back portion of his facility.
Mr. Long: Thank you. Is there You've obviously, you know, got a much
larger lot than the other one we considered earlier today. What's
going to be the average day do you think for vehicles?
Mr. Anders: So, when you...the reason for this facility is strictly to bid on the
Livonia Police towing contract. My primary and only business
really from a towing perspective is strictly law enforcement
towing. I don't do road service. I don't tow vehicles for insurance
companies. These are strictly police impounds. On average, most
of your vehicles stay, you know, somewhere between one to four
days, if they stay longer than 10 days, these are the vehicles that
we get stuck with. The abandoned vehicles out of the apartment
complexes, or you know, somebody was driving down the road in
a $500 beater, and it went out on him. They grabbed the license
May 17, 2022
30535
plate and left it on the side of the road. Its part of the business
and those vehicles we have to go through a process with the law
that allows us through the police department to get rid of those
vehicles.
Mr. Long: Well, my last question is, you now, obviously we considered a
different tow yard earlier. Obviously, this is a different use. Like
you said you were looking for the police contract. Is there
anything else that you want to point out about your business that
may differ from the standard towing businesses?
Mr. Anders: Yeah, so my business is quite different. I am heavily involved in
technology. With the five impound facilities that I own, I tow for 15
different police agencies, and that's all that I do. One thing that
I'm very unique on is I also own an environmental company. All
of the absorbent that we use on scene, we reclaim. We don't
leave it out there. It all gets tested. We have to complete a special
waste profile before we can deliver it to the landfill. We have to
test it, and then after that, we do receive a manifest and proof of
how we disposed of our absorbent. Most impound facilities, throw
it in the trash. Probably 99%. This is a very expensive process to
go through. You're not guaranteed payment. It's not part of the
contract. All of my facilities I own. So, I have what they call hazmat
pools and different types of pads and filtration systems that we
use. A lot of these vehicles will come into our facility and will still
be leaking some fluids from the accident. In all of our facilities, we
have a cement area where those vehicles go, and then there's a
hazmat pad that will collect any of the existing fluids that are being
released before we move it into what I would call pulverized
asphalt hard surface facility. The reason for that is vehicles that
come in that are damaged or missing tires... that are... when you
unload those vehicles, they will tear up your brand-new asphalt,
and it will become pulverized asphalt in a very short period of
time. The cemented area works better when we first half to
contain those vehicle operating fluids. The problem with the
cemented area is when you unload those vehicles, quite often
they do chip your cement and over time you're replacing it. So,
the nice thing about the hard surface pulverized asphalt is every
year you have an opportunity to grade it, and you're able to rake
through and pick up any of the loose parts that come off of these
accident vehicles. I'm really involved in that, and I think that, you
know, over time, a lot of communities are going to get stuck with
these impound facilities. They're going to become brownfield
sites, because they're all going to be contaminated. If you don't
take care of those vehicle operating fluids, they end up in your
stormwater system, and then into our lakes and rivers. So, I would
think that's probably... besides the technology side of things, I
May 1722022
30536
would say the environmental is ... makes me very, very unique. In
no way shape or form, do I want to contaminate property that I'm
on, At the end of the day, I would obviously be liable for that, so
we take that very, very seriously. Thank you.
Mr. Long: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Long. Any other questions for our petitioner? Mr.
Ventura.
Mr. Ventura: At the study session, I asked you the question whether or not you
were going to get a BEA on the land so that you know it's not
contaminated when you get it, and you said, you were going to
look into it. Have you come to a decision in that regard?
Mr. Anders: I definitely would do that because this is leased property.
Obviously, I would get that if I owned the property prior to
purchasing it. Ultimately, I would like to purchase it. I do like to
invest in my facilities. I own all of them. This would be the first
one. And I would be spending quite a bit of money on a property
that I don't own. But yeah, I definitely would get a baseline and
have that documented so that I would at least limit my liability,
knowing the condition of that property being that for many, many
years, they were storing boats, RVs, and cars way before I was
around.
Mr. Ventura: Great. Thank you, Mister.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Ventura. Any other questions?
Mr. Caramagno: Good evening. I got a couple of questions. The lease. You just
answered that. Where is your concrete area you plan to put cars
on to let the fluids run out that are going to run out? Where is that
on this property?
Mr. Anders: So, right now those 16 spots. Typically, in a police impound lot
you don't have a ton of traffic. Most of the vehicles are, you
know... insurance companies are calling and we're loading the
vehicles up and delivering them. But I wouldn't... first of all, I have
a lot of hoops. This is just the first of many. I still have to win the
bid, which is a long way away. So, this is just the first step. So, I
would propose, and I would be willing if you didn't feel as though
that wasn't enough of a cemented area, I wouldn't have a problem
expanding off of those 16 parking spots. There's another area
that we could use for a holding area.
May 17, 2022
30537
Or. Caramagno:
So, the
answer is the 16
spots. That
is your area
to drop a car or
vehicle
and contain that
whatever
it's
leaking.
Mr. Anders: Absolutely. I may have one or two employees there at a time
basically releasing vehicles. We don't allow anybody to enter the
property without being escorted because of evidence and things
like that, that you're storing. So, anybody that goes on to that
property, there would have to be two people there. One that
would handle the releasing, and the other one that would take
them out to retrieve property from an accident vehicle or whatever
it may be.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, so you have a secured gate. Nobody gets in without your
authorization or someone's authorization.
Mr. Anders: Every one of my facilities will have power gates. We have CCTV.
I have a central dispatch center that takes all of the phone calls
from all the police agencies and all five impound facilities have
cameras that come back to that facility and there it's manned 24/7
by a human being. We don't forward phones. We have somebody
actually there who picks up the phone and keeps an eye on all of
the properties, and the security cameras. Along with ... we use
quite a bit of lighting. When you're using cameras, lighting does
help.
Mr. Caramagno: You're talking right into my next question. So, something...an
operation like this requires how many trucks and how many
employees?
Mr. Anders: So, I currently have 30 employees. I have five impound lots. This
Iocation... my model between being able to provide service to all
the police departments based on emergency response is I send
the assets based on my locations where it's needed most.
Sometimes, for example, my location in Monroe, 175 may freeze
up, but my location in Taylor, which is really odd, does not. We
will shift those assets that way. So, at any given...
Mr. Caramagno: Typically, how many people...
Jr.
Anders: You are going to have a minimum of three to four tow trucks that
will be in and out of there. Typically, we have a one there in case
you have to move a vehicle out. So, you know, you're talking three
to four drivers. My heavy-duty drivers are all over the place. We
have rotators that are large cranes, and so I have two of those.
Those run about $800,000. And those go based on the big wrecks
typically on the freeway.
May 172 2022
30538
Mr. Caramagno: Forth is site you're talking three or four trucks, maybe a half dozen
people here.
Mr. Anders: Yeah, I wouldn't think that I would have at any given moment a
half dozen. Yeah, I would say that's probably reasonable, but I... it
really varies based on the weather and that kind of stuff.
Mr. Caramagno: Pete asked about the gravel and checking it beforehand.
Obviously, the gravel is a concern with me. I get that you're
thrown absorbent down and throw absorbent on a gravel lot. I
don't know what, what you're really coming back with out of there.
You mentioned your five tow yards and your 15 Police contracts.
Where are your five tow yards at?
Mr. Anders: So, in the City of Taylor, I have one large facility. That's about
four (4) acres that stores about 400 to 500 vehicles. I tow for the
City of Taylor. They have one vendor who does all that. I tow
about 5000 cars a year for them. I do the state police. I do all of
1-94 from Inkster Road, all the way back to the City of Detroit,
which is at 1-94 and Wyoming. In Monroe I have four lots down
there. Those lots are strategically located throughout the county.
I cover US-23 for Monroe County, along with the different police
agencies in the state police. I provide service for the State Police
along 1-75 from the state border all the way up to the Wayne
County border. And then also in Wayne County, I cover for the
State Police, 1-75 from Southfield to Schaefer Road, which is the
border of Detroit again. Just to clarify, we don't use absorbent in
our facility, we actually use pools that collect it, or we use
absorbent pads. And so those pads you lay down, or in the
cemented area we have a structure where the cemented pad is
covered by a hazmat mat that you remove over time. It collects
the absorbent and all the vehicle operating fluid, and then you
dispose of it, and you replace it.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. I guess the last question I've not so you got a yard at
Taylor that holds 400 to 500 vehicles.
Mr. Anders: Correct.
Mr. Caramagno: I can't do the math really quick in my head here, but man, you got
to be turning vehicles in and out of there very quickly to move in
the yard every four or five days. It has to be just a nonstop shuttle
of vehicles.
Mr. Anders: It's quite an operation. I do run an auction every single month. I
auction off about 100 and some vehicles a month currently. I'm
the only tower. I actually do it online, and then I am nowjust rolling
May 17, 2022
30539
out with not only the online auction, but what after having the
oMine I am now implementing a live auction at the same time. So,
we auction off a minimum of 100 cars right now, a month, out of
that Taylor location.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: All right. Any other questions for our petitioner? Mr. Taormina.
Mr. Taormina: Would that same operation occur here? Would it be your intention
to have a Class-W license?
Mr. Anders: When I've done some information with the police numbers, the
City of Livonia Police Department, on average tows about 75% of
what the City a Taylor Police Department does. I FOIA' d there
impound cards and went through and figured out the numbers of
how many abandoned vehicles, how many impounds and how
many arrests and Livonia is quite larger than the City of Taylor. I
was quite shocked. But it's about 75% and I'm guessing, you
know, 2000. That 5000 number includes MSP, which I would then
compete for the 1-96 area for MSP also.
Mr. Wilshaw: So, to answer his question he's asking, are you looking to get a
Class- W to conduct auctions at this site?
Mr. Anders: I'm required by law if you're the police tower. The law is very clear
that the law enforcement agency who is the individual or the
department that requests the vehicle to be towed. By law, I work
with every police agency to run that auction. They have to provide
the paperwork and there are guidelines that we must advertise,
which currently, your current tower has done that for the last 30
years. It would be no different than what they do. It just would be
a little different. And being online, it brings a lot more bidders.
Or, Taormina: The state must have a different and separate process for tow
yards.
Mr. Wilshaw: For police tows.
Or.
Anders: Yeah, it's very clear in the law under 257 252 G. I'm sure you're
not going to look at it, but it outlines exactly what law enforcement
is supposed to do. And what the custodian is required to do and
working with law enforcement to get rid of those vehicles and your
police department has been doing that forever.
Or,
Wilshaw: Sure. Okay. All right. Any other questions from any of our
commissioners?
May 17, 2022
30540
Mr. Caramagno: There just seems to be a disconnect in the cars staying four (4)
or five (5) days and then the auction and the big number of 400
or 500 cars a year, and it just seems to be a disconnect how long
the vehicles sit there to me.
Mr. Anders: So, the law requires this. When a police department has a vehicle
towed, if it's towed for an impound, the law states that the police
department must wait seven (7) days to deem the vehicle
abandoned. If the person comes and gets the vehicle before it's
deemed abandoned, then they take it out of the system. If it
exceeds seven (7) days, the law states you must wait seven (7),
but no more than 30 days. You have to deem the vehicle
abandoned. Then what happens is, the registered owner gets a
notice in the mail from the Secretary of State. And they're given
20 days from the date of that notice to deem that vehicle or to
petition the court that the police department improperly towed the
vehicle or that our fees were unreasonable. You have to go
through that process. And then once you do that, you then have
to schedule an auction. And the law requires you that you must
advertise five (5) days prior to auctioning that vehicle off. So, you
have to wait if they petition. You have to wait till you go through
the entire process before you can auction that vehicle off.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, so I'm trying to get this in my head. So, essentially these
cars don't sit there for four (4) or five (5) days, they sit there for
two or three months before that ... a lot of them sit there for months
before they move out this property. Would that be true?
Mr. Anders: Yeah, what I stated earlier was typically, a vehicle that somebody
wants to come get, typically gets it in the is one (1) to seven (7)
days. If they if they don't come within that period of time, more
than likely they end up through that lengthy process. And that is
the current process that the police department has implemented
for the last 50 years already here in Livonia, it doesn't change
based on where the lot is.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. The other thing that I had...l think Mark mentioned lighting.
The insufficient lighting at the property, what would be...l
imagine, let me say this, I imagine you're not going to do anything
if you don't get the police impound job. So, what would be your
plan if you were to be awarded the police impound job? What
would you do with lighting there?
Mr. Anders: Well, there's two things for lighting, I don't use telephone poles.
Most people will just go take a telephone pole with wood and put
it in. I run all the electrical underground. I have light poles no
May 17, 2022
30541
different than your Target parking lot. And the reason for that is I
also include my CCTV wiring through that, so that we can monitor
the entire facility because at the end of the day, if any property is
missing out of those vehicles that are being impounded, we're
financially liable for that. And so that allows us to monitor what's
going on.
Mr. Caramagno: So, there would be a substantial amount of work here in the
event, and I guess at the end of the day, in my opinion, we're
authorizing or possibly authorizing a tow yard /junkyard, in my...l
got that in my head., but let's see where we're at.
Mr. Anders: I would completely agree with you. That's why this location is a
perfect location because it's out of sight and out of mind. You
can't see it from the roadway, and it's not something where
someone is going to realize that it's even back there.
Mr. Caramagno: Thanks.
Mr. Anders: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Caramagno. Any other questions?
Mr. Bongero: Just one quick question. If you...so you're bidding on this one.
When are the bids starting?
Mr. Anders: So, I think we have another two weeks before we submit the bid.
Bd Okay.
Mr. Anders: This is this is part of the bid process. This is kind of unique.
Historically, Livonia has never allowed for competition. It's been
very, very difficult. They have decided to take a very transparent
process and have opened it up and tried to create some
competition. It's still very, very difficult. We normally do not go
through these types of hoops and hire a firm to provide planning
plans and, you know, drawings and things like that.
Mr. Bongero: Okay, let's just
say you win the bid. How much time do
you have
to get this
yard
purchased and closed or leased?
Right?
And then
get it fit to
store ... you got to
be moving cars. So,
pretty
fast?
Mr. Anders: So, I already have a lease. Right? Contingent on that. So, we've
already
agreed. As far as that goes,
it's just a matter of winning
the bid.
When
I took
over the City of
Taylor, 25 years ago,
I won
the bid.
I opened up
the facility, and
we did a transition with that
current
vendor
and
either
they would
keep the cars and they
May 17, 2022
30542
would release the remaining and auction off whatever leftover,
or I would bring the cars to our facility, especially if there is
evidence that has to be held. So, it's a process.
Mr. Bongero: What's the turnaround time from the award of the bid to you
moving cars?
Mr. Anders: Well, I don't have control over that. That would be up to the city.
And the police department would work through that process.
Yeah.
Mr. Bongero: Because you've got some work to do to get the yard fit to store.
Mr. Anders: Yes.
Mr. Bongero: Okay. So, it's going to take a little bit, I think, kind of trying to get
it figured because it's kind of like all hypothetical.
Mr. Anders: Yeah, it's a unique like I said, it's a very unique situation.
Typically, if you don't own property, you know, and a lot of people
complain about that, that you never give an opportunity. You're
not being transparent. You're not trying to create a competitive
process and Livonia is trying to be different. I will say that much.
It's a ... it's interesting. They're trying... it's very difficult to do, and
I don't think they're...I don't think you've approved one Yeah, I
don't think anybody's made it through the entire process and was
able to strike a lease agreement and get everything done. I've
been fortunate enough; it has not been easy.
Mr. Bongero: I do agree though this site is evolving. Pretty well. It's fit for
something like this. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Bongero. Any other questions? No other
questions? I don't have any other questions for you either. Is
there anyone in our audience wishing to speak on this item? I
don't see anybody coming forward. So, Mr. Anders, is there
anything else that you wanted to say before we close in make our
decision?
Mr. Anders: I can talk forever so I'll leave it.
Mr. Wilshaw: All right.
Thank you very much.
Appreciate that. With
that I'm
going to
close the public hearing
and a motion would be
in order.
On a motion by Long, seconded by Ventura, and adopted, it was
May 17, 2022
30543
#05-28-2022 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on May 17, 2022, on Petition
2022-04-02-12 submitted by Area Towing & Recovery, Inc.
requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Sections 3.17 and
6.58 of The Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to
operate a vehicle tow yard at 12719 Inkster Road, located on the
west side of Inkster Road between the CSX Railroad and
Schoolcraft Road in the Northeast'% of Section 25, the Planning
Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that
Petition 2022-04-02-12 be approved subject to the following
conditions:
1. That the Site Plan identified as Sheet CE1 dated April 6,
2022, as revised, prepared by Hennessey Engineers, Inc.,
is hereby approved and shall be adhered to.
2. That the easement right-of-way leading back to the tow yard
shall be repaired to the satisfaction of the Engineering
Department.
3. That the parking lot for employees and customers directly
behind the building shall be repaired, resealed, and
restriped as necessary to the satisfaction of the Inspection
Department. Parking spaces shall be doubled striped at ten
feet (10') wide by twenty feet (20') in length
4. That the maximum number of vehicles parked in the tow
yard at any given time shall not exceed 343 vehicles.
5. That asix-foot (6') high vinyl privacy fence shall replace the
existing chain link fence along the east side (front) of the
outdoor storage yard to help shield the vehicles and
activities from the adjacent properties.
6. That the vehicle tow yard shall be resurfaced with a material
approved by the Engineering Division prior to the issuance
of the Certificate of Occupancy and shall be properly graded
and drained to dispose of all surface water and maintained
in a dust -proof condition; provided further that the
Engineering Division shall inspect the condition of the
vehicle tow yard within two (2) years with direction on any
needed repairs or improvements.
7. That the landscaping shown on the approved site plan shall
be installed to the satisfaction of the Inspection Department.
May 17, 2022
30544
8. 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.
9. That the three walls of tetras dumpster area shall be
constructed out of building materials that shall complement
that of the building. The enclosure gates shall be of solid
panel steel construction or durable, long-lasting solid panel
fiberglass.
10. That appropriate recordable legal instrumentation, such as
a cross parking agreement, that gives notice and outlines
the terms of how the subject property(s) would share parking
and access, be supplied to the City;
11. 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.
12. 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,
13. Pursuant to Section 13.13 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning
Ordinance, as amended, 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, as amended.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Bongero, Long, McCue, Smiley, Ventura, Wilshaw
NAYS: Caramagno
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
May 17, 2022
30545
ITEM #6 PETITION 2022-04-02-13 Wade Shows
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2022-
04-02-13 submitted by Wade Shows, Inc. requesting waiver use
approval pursuant to Sections 3.11 and 6.56 of the Livonia Vision
21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to conduct a carnival in the
parking lot of the former Sears, sponsored by the Livonia AM
Rotary Club, consisting of amusement rides, games and food
concessions from July 14, 2022 through July 243 2022, on
property at 29500 Seven Mile Road, located on the northwest
corner of Seven Mile and Middlebelt Roads in the Southeast'/4 of
Section 2.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. We'll note that Mr. Smiley has rejoined
us at 9:20pm Welcome back.
Mr. Taormina: Thank you. This year's Rotary carnival is at the former Livonia
Sears property located at the northwest corner of Seven Mile and
Middle Belt Roads. It will be conducted for a duration of 11 days,
running from July 14 through July 24, 2022. Everything is
consistent with previous approvals involving the carnival at this
location. The hours are Monday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.,
and then on the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 11
p.m. The carnival will close out on July 25, 2022. 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 April 22,
2022, which reads as follows: in accordance with your request,
the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced
waiver use approval request. The address of #29500 Seven Mile
Road is correct for the subject parcel, and should be used in
connection with this petition. We have no objections to the
proposed petition, although the following items should be noted.
1. Should the carnival have the need to occupy, or should any of
the associated activities impact either of the Seven Mile Road or
Middlebelt Road right-of-way, a permit from Wayne County will
be required as both roads are under their jurisdiction. 2. All
sanitary sewage from the site, recreational vehicles or campers
shall be disposed of properly. 3. Should the operators need to
have water provided for their facilities, they should contact the
City of Livonia Water Department to obtain the proper equipment,
including a water meter with backflow preventer." The letter is
signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next
letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated May 9,
2022, which reads as follows: "We have no objections to this
May 17, 2022
30546
proposal with the following stipulations: As with past practice,
please maintain proper ingress/egress points for rescue
personnel in case of emergency. A more detailed review will take
place once plans and permits are submitted. " The letter is signed
by Brian Kukla, Fire Marshal. The next letter is from the Division
of Police, dated April 25, 2022, which reads as follows: "I 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 May 9, 2022, which reads as
follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition
has been reviewed. 1. Permits and inspections will be required
for this proposed carnival. A pre -event meeting will be required
with the Director of Inspection, Fire Marshal and the Public
Emergency Manager prior to filing the required permits. 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 May 9, 2022, which reads
as follows: " I have reviewed the address connected with the
above noted petition. The following amounts are due to the City
of Livonia. Unpaid water and sewer charges: $ 1,882.92 Total
Due City of Livonia $ 1,882.92." The letter is signed by Connie
Kumpula, Chief Accountant. The next letter is from the
Treasurer's Department, dated April 26, 2022, 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, Mr. Taormina. Any questions for our planning staff?
Mr. Bongero.
Mr. Bongero: Just for Mark on that unpaid water...is that from Sears or...?
Mr. Taormina: That's from the current owners. So, that's something that we'd
probably have to take up separately from them.
Or. Bongero: Okay. It's not this petition, okay. Thank you.
Or. Wilshaw: All right. Excellent. Thank you. Any other questions for our
planning staff? If not, our petitioners are in the audience. Feel free
to come forward. Good evening, Miss Hardesty.
May 17, 2022
30547
Joanna Hardesty, PO Box 51730, Livonia, MI 48151. Good evening. Thank you.
Good to be here.
Mr. Wilshaw: Good to see you.
Ms. Hardesty: Good to see you.
Pat Zucal: Livonia Rotary Club.
Mr. Wilshaw: Excellent. Thank you. Anything that you would like to add from
what's already been presented?
Ms. Hardesty: Nope. Same, same as we've done in many years past. So, no
changes.
Mr. Wilshaw: Excellent. Any questions from any of our commissioners, for our
petitioner? Mr. Long,
Mr. Long: Could you detail the inspection of the ride's that occurs every year
with us?
Ms. Hardesty: Yes, yes. The state inspectors. We petition the state...apply with
the State of Michigan for permits, and the inspections are done
once the rides are here on site in Michigan. Hamburg is the first
place that there'll be this year prior to Livonia's Spree and then at
those two events where the state inspectors will conduct them.
They're done. We also have a third -party inspection done and
then, of course, our own staff does the inspections at every site.
Mr. Long: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Long. Any other questions for petitioner?
Mr. Ventura: At our study session, there was some discussion about the site
being available. It was being considered by another user, and I'm
assuming that your presence here this evening, indicates that you
have a firm lease for this site on these dates.
Ms. Hardesty: We do have a lease. We did receive notice that there was a
potential interest in the property, and they would be notifying us,
if in fact, that went through. We have not received notice of that.
So, we're proceeding with our lease. We have not been given
notice that we cannot be there.
Mr. Ventura: Do we understand that it's possible you will still get this notice?
May 17, 2022
30548
Ms. Hardesty: It's a possibility. But I don't think it's likely. I don't think that's going
to happen.
Mr. Ventura: Great. an you.
Mr. Wilshaw: All right. Excellent. Any other questions for our petitioner? Is there
anyone in our audience wishing to speak on this item? I don't see
anybody coming forward. Anything else Miss Hardesty, you'd like
to say before we make our decision?
Ms. Hardesty: I don't think so. Thank you. Thank you for working with us every
year to do this. It's a tremendous fundraiser for the Livonia Rotary
Club that gives back to the City of Livonia. So, we're pleased to
be back.
Mr. Wilshaw: Definitely,
and we'll
see
what we can do to
move this along for
you. With
that, if there's no other questions or
comments, I'll close
the public
hearing and a
motion would be an
order.
On a motion by Ventura, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was
#05-29-2022 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on March 9, 2022, on Petition
2022-04-02-13 submitted by Wade Shows, Inc. requesting waiver
use approval pursuant to Sections 3.11 and 6.56 of the Livonia
Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to conduct a carnival
in the parking lot of the former Sears, sponsored by the Livonia
AM Rotary Club, consisting of amusement rides, games and food
concessions from July 14, 2022 through July 24, 2022, on
property at 29500 Seven Mile Road, located on the northwest
corner of Seven Mile and Middlebelt Roads in the Southeast'% of
Section 2, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to
the City Council that Petition 2022-04-02-13 be approved subject
to the following conditions:
That the carnival shall be limited to the dates as specified by
Wade Shows, Inc., which are from July 14, 2022, through
July 24, 2022, inclusive.
2. That the proposed carnival operation shall be confined to
the area as illustrated on the aerial layout plan submitted as
received by the Planning Commission on April 18, 2022.
3. That all rides, food concessions, booths and all other
equipment and apparatus relating to the operation of the
carnival shall be located at least sixty feet (60') distant from
the Seven Mile and Middlebelt Roads right-of-way lines.
May 17, 2022
30549
4. That the temporary housing and storage of other trucks and
equipment associated with the carnival shall be parked or
stored within the extreme southwestern portion of the Sears
parking lot, but no closer than sixty feet (60') from the Seven
Mile Road right-of-way line.
5. That the hours of operation shall be limited to the following:
Monday through Friday from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.; and on
the weekends, Saturday and Sunday, from 12:00 p.m. to
11:00 p.m., and
6. That the issues as outlined in the correspondence dated
May 9, 2022, from the Fire Marshal, including maintaining
proper ingress/egress points for rescue personnel and
access to fire hydrants, shall be resolved to the satisfaction
of the Department of Public Safety, Livonia Fire and Rescue.
Subject to the preceding conditions, this petition is approved for
the following reasons:
1. That the proposed use complies with all of the special and
general waiver use standards and requirements as set forth
in Sections 6.56 and 13.13 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning
Ordinance, as amended.
2. That the site has the capacity to accommodate the proposed
use.
3. That the use of the subject property for carnival purposes
will not interrupt the normal traffic flow and circulation in the
area and will not impede access to neighboring properties;
and
4. That no reporting City department objects to the proposed
use.
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, as amended.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the
motion
is carried and
the foregoing
resolution
adopted. It will go on
to City
Council with
an approving
resolution.
May 173 2022
30550
ITEM #7 PETITION 2022-03-08-01 MA Designers
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2022-
03-08-01 submitted by MA Designers Inc. requesting approval of
all plans required by Sections 3.10 and 13.13 of the Livonia Vision
21 Zoning Ordinance, in connection with a proposal to construct
an addition and remodel the interior and exterior of the retail
center at 34800 Plymouth Road, located on the north side of
Plymouth Road between Stark and Wayne Roads in the
Southwest'/ of Section 28.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Secretary, Mr. Taormina, any updates on this
item?
Mr. Taormina: Additional information was received which was discussed briefly
at the study session. It includes an updated rendering of the
proposed retail center showing how the exterior would be finished
using a combination of brick, stone and aluminum panels. The
roofing material is standing seam metal that will include all of the
old roof that will remain as well as the additions. The proposed
two-story addition is on the right-hand side. On the left side, a
second story would be constructed above the existing end unit
increasing the overall square footage of the building by about
6,900 square feet, which would bring the total gross floor area up
to roughly 14,000 square feet. The plan shows five (5) potential
retail tenants on the ground floor and two office tenants located
on the new upper levels of the building. This project will ultimately
have to be reviewed by the Zoning Board of Appeals because the
rear setback is non -conforming. That building is currently
approximately 6'-9" from the back wall. The ordinance requires a
setback of 20 feet, so adding to the building is going to
necessitate a variance. While the amount of available parking
would be slightly less than the minimum number of parking
spaces required under Section 9.05, Section 9.03(6) of the
Zoning Ordinance now allows the City to consider alternative
parking standards including parking generation studies
conducted by the Institute of Traffic Engineers. The staff report
details this information. Based on the ITE standards, a total of 55
parking spaces are needed, whereas the site plan shows 53
parking spaces, resulting in a minimal deficiency which Council
can approve based on the Planning Commission's review and
recommendation. Landscaping has also been provided.
Significantly more than what is there today. With that, Mr.
Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence.
Or,
Wilshaw: Yes, please.
May 17, 2022
30551
Mr. Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated April 14,
2022, which reads as follows: `In accordance with your request,
the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced
petition. We have no objections to the project at this time. The
existing parcel is assigned the address of #34800 Plymouth
Road. The existing property is currently serviced by public water
main, storm sewer and sanitary sewer. According to the proposed
plans, there should not be impacts to the existing utilities. Should
the developer need to make changes to the utility service leads,
or do any work within the Plymouth Road right-of-way, they will
need to submit Engineering drawings to this Department to
determine if permits will be required from either the City or the
Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)." The letter is
signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next
letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated April 18,
2022, 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. A further
detailed plan review will take place when this division receives an
official plan set."The letter is signed by Brian Kukla, Fire Marshal.
The next letter is from the Division of Police, dated April 14, 2022,
which reads as follows: `I 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 April 28,
2022, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the
above referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1. The parking lot
shall be repaired and restriped as necessary. Parking spaces
shall be 10' wide and 20' deep and double striped. 2.The gates
on the dumpster enclosure shall be steel or may be as approved.
3. Signage was not reviewed with this petition. All signage must
comply with the ordinance. 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 May 16, 2022, which reads as follows: "/ have
reviewed the address connected with the above noted petition.
The following amounts are due to the City of Livonia: Unpaid
water and sewer charges: $ 371.64 Total Due City of Livonia $
371.64," The letter is signed by Connie Kumpula, Chief
Accountant. The next letter is from the Treasurer's Department,
dated April 14, 2022, 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.
May 17, 2022
30552
Mr. Wilshaw: All right. Thanks, Mr. Taormina. Any questions for our planning
staff? Ms. Smiley.
S. Smiley: Yes,
I had
a question about... we
talked
about the mechanical
stuff
there.
What happened? So, I
missed
that. Where is it now?
Mr. Taormina: We still do not have details on where the mechanical equipment
would be installed. They are on the roof currently. While the
elevation plan shows a decorative fence on the flat portion of the
roof along the back of the building, it is uncertain whether or not
this area would contain any rooftop mechanicals. Maybe the
petitioner has new information that he can provide. I'll zoom in on
that area to show you what it looks like. You can see here, this
36 inch high aluminum rail that presumably would conceal any
rooftop mechanical equipment.
Ms. Smiley: And the roof goes like this, not like...
Mr. Taormina: No. Let me show you.
Ms. Smiley: Very mechanical, isn't it?
Mr. Taormina: Well, a portion of the roof is flat. Probably the best way to show
this is with the aerial photograph. If you look carefully, the portion
of the roof that contains a peak is here, and this is the flat portion.
So, if the mechanicals are going to be relocated, they're going to
be located on the part of the roof that is flat. It's a little difficult to
see.
Ms. Smiley: Commissioner Bongero, does that work for you?
Mr. Bongero: I think they're going to have to work it out, because when you're
looking at the roof view, the way it is now, on the left side, that
whole group is getting cut away, because there's a second -floor
stacking over the top of that. So, that rooftop unit is not going to
stay. The other one, they might as well put it inside the other
addition as well and save all the headache of having to have
somebody service those units because they need to be serviced
at least twice a year, trying to get up on a roof in the middle of the
winter. You know what I mean? They should just go inside and
the noise forthe neighbors too. Itjust seems like it's... that's going
to be worked out. I'm sure it's... this just a preliminary plan. I'm
sure once they get the architectural done, they'll have that taken
care of.
As.
Smiley: Okay.
May 17, 2022
30553
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. All right. Well, 111 ask our Petitioner about that in a
moment. Any other questions for our planning staff? Mr. Venture?
Mr. Ventura: Mark, maybe you on know the answer to this, but on the
elevation, it shows what appears to be offices on the second floor,
the additions on the eastern West End. If those office spaces
were to be leased to somebody other than the person that
occupied main floor, how do you handle barrier free code?
Elevator required? What happens?
Mr. Taormina: I'm not sure. I don't know under what circumstances an elevator
is required. If the office is private and associated with the use on
the ground floor, then I believe there is no need for an elevator.
That is something that would be determined by the Inspection
Department,
Mr. Ventura: Okay, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Good question. Thank you. Any other questions? If not, our
petitioner is in the audience. Good evening, sir.
Feras Seryani, 25734
Ann Arbor
Trail,
Dearborn Heights,
MI 48127.
I'm not sure
what
I can add,
but
if
you guys have any,
I will try to
answer.
Mr. Wilshaw: Alright, let's...well, you heard a question already. There's a little
bit of discussion and some question about what's going to happen
to those rooftop mechanical.
Mr. Seryani: Definitely the, we're going to move them. Our plan to install inside
every unit heat, unit inside. It's a lot easier on the maintenance
like he mentioned. Also, that's my plan from the beginning. I just
don't want the heat unit to be in the roof. It's just a matter of leak
and stuff like that. It just...I want to cut the maintenance on the
building.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay,
excellent.
Thanks for
answering that question. Is there any
other
questions
from any of
our commissioners?
Ms. Smiley: This is to Mr. Taormina. Is that signage approved or within range?
I guess you really don't know how big the letters are or what the
signs... right? Is the signage approved as it is?
Or.
Taormina: No. The Commission's action this evening is not intended
address any specifics with respect to signage. That would have
to be handled separately through permits from the Inspection
May 17, 2022
30554
Department. They're limited on size and placement. So, we
presume that they'll meet the ordinance when it comes to all of
those requirements.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Wilshaw: All right. Any other questions for anybody tonight? made this poor
gentleman sit for two and a half hours. Get him out of here. Right.
Mr. Seryani: It's worth it.
Mr. Wilshaw: I don't
see any other questions from the commissioners. Is
there...
nobody
is left in the audience to ask
anything. So, if
there's
no other
discussion, I think a motion can
be made.
On a motion by Smiley, seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it was
#05-30-2022 RESOLVED, That the City Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to City Council that Petition 2022-03-08-01
submitted by MA Designers Inc. requesting approval of all plans
required by Sections 3.10 and 13.13 of the Livonia Vision 21
Zoning Ordinance, in connection with a proposal to construct an
addition and remodel the interior and exterior of the retail center
at 34800 Plymouth Road, located on the north side of Plymouth
Road between Stark and Wayne Roads in the Southwest '/4 of
Section 28, be approved subject to the following conditions:
1. The Site Plan identified as Sheet No. SP-1 dated January 4,
2022, prepared by MA Designers Group Inc., is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to.
2. All parking spaces, except the required barrier free parking,
shall be striped at ten feetby twenty feet (20') in
length as required, and the number and location of the
barrier free parking space(s) shall be provided at the
direction of the Inspection Department.
3. That bumper blocks or other type of barrier approved by the
Inspection Department shall be installed in the parking
spaces immediately in front of the building so that vehicles
do not encroach over the storefront walkway.
4. The Landscape Plan identified as Sheet No. SP-2 dated
April 5, 2022, as revised, prepared by MA Designers Group
Inc., is hereby approved and shall be adhered to.
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30555
5. That the Petitioner shall work with staff and the Plymouth
Road Development Authority (PRDA) on plans to install
additional landscaping and other streetscape improvements
(i.e., brick piers and fencing) along Plymouth Road.
6. All
disturbed
lawn
areas, including road rights -of -way, shall
be
sodded in
lieu
of hydroseeding.
7. Underground sprinklers are to be provided for all
landscaped and sodded areas including the rights -of -way,
and all planted materials shall be installed to the satisfaction
of the Inspection Department and thereafter permanently
maintained in a healthy condition.
8. The Exterior Building Elevation Plan identified as Sheet No.
A-3 dated May 2, 2022, as revised, prepared by MA
Designers Group Inc., is hereby approved and shall be
adhered to.
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 all light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in
height and shall be aimed and shielded so as to minimize
stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring into
adjacent roadways.
11. That the three walls of the trash dumpster area shall be
constructed out of the same brick used in the construction
of the building or in the event a poured wall is substituted,
the wall's design, texture and color shall match that of the
building. The enclosure gates shall be of solid panel steel
construction or durable, long-lasting solid panel fiberglass.
12. Only conforming signs are approved as part of this petition,
and any additional signs shall be separately submitted for
review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
13. That no LED Iightband or exposed neon shall be permitted
on this site including, but not limited to, the building or
around the windows.
14. That unless approved by the proper local authority, any type
of exterior advertising, such as promotional flags, streamers
May 17, 2022
30556
or sponsor vehicles designed to attract the attention of
passing motorists, shall be prohibited.
15. 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,
16. Pursuant to Section 13.13 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning
Ordinance, as amended, 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.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
ITEM #8 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,185�h and 1,185th Public
Hearings and Regular Meetings
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of
the Minutes of the 1,185thand 1,186th Public Hearing and Regular
Meeting held on March 22, 2022, and April 12, 2022, respectively.
On a motion by Ventura, seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it was
#05-31-2022 RESOLVED, That the Minutes of 1,185th Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on March 22,
2022, are hereby approved.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Bongero, Long, Smiley, Ventura
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: McCue, Caramagno, Wilshaw
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
On a motion by Long, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was
#05-32-2022 RESOLVED, That the Minutes of 1,186th Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on April 12,
2022, are hereby approved.
May 17, 2022
30557
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Long, McCue, Smiley, Caramagno, Wilshaw
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: Bongero, Ventura
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,187t" Public
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on May 17, 2022, #as adjourned at 9:47 p.m.
CITY PILANTVING COMMISSION
ATTEST:
Ian Wilshaw, Chairman