HomeMy WebLinkAbout1,191 - August 23, 2022 signedMINUTES OF THE 1,191st PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia
held its 111915f 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
Carol Smiley Peter Ventura Wafa Dinaro
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.
Mr. Wilshaw: We do have a new Planning Commissioner with us tonight. Wafa
Dinaro. Welcome to the Commission. We look forward to working
with you.
As.
Dinaro: I'm excited to be here.
Mr. Wilshaw: Great. Thank you for being here. It's going to be a good time for
you to learn how the Planning Commission works. We'll start you
right in feet first, as they say. Our first item on our agenda, our
petitioner is not in the audience yet, so I'm going to give them a
little bit of time to come forward. Hopefully they'll show up by the
end of our meeting, but if not, we'll proceed without them if
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necessary. So, we're going to move to the miscellaneous section
of our agenda. I'm going to ask that the Secretary start with item
number two.
ITEM #2 PETITION 2022-08-08-03
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2022-
08-08-03 submitted by N.C. Designs & Contracting Inc.,
requesting approval of all plans required by Sections 3.11 and
13.13 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, in
connection with a proposal to remodel the interior and exterior of
the existing gas station (Sunoco) at 27417 Five Mile Road,
located on the southwest corner of Five Mile and Inkster Roads
in the Northeast'/4 of Section 24,
Mr. Taormina: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a request to remodel the gas
station at the southwest corner of Five Mile and Inkster Roads.
It's currently a Sunoco gas station that has existed at this location
since the early 1950s, and in 1971, the station was redeveloped
to what exists today. Along with the sale of gasoline, the facility
currently operates an auto repair business. There are two service
bays that occupy the westerly part of the building. The site
measures 140 feet along Five Mile Road by 110 feet on Inkster
Road, for a total area of 15,400 square feet. The zoning is C-2
(General Business). There's an existing one-story building on the
property. It measures roughly 1,900 square feet and is positioned
in the southwest corner of the property. The fuel pumps are
separated into two areas. There are four pumps that can
accommodate eight vehicles, one on each side, located between
the building and Five Mile Road, and then there's a single pump
that can accommodate two vehicles, which is located on the east
side of the building, adjacent to Inkster Road. Only the pumps
along the Five Mile Road frontage are covered with an overhead
canopy. The single pump on the east side of the building is not
covered. The site is sparsely landscaped. There are three small
areas of landscaping, one at each corner, as well as a small
greenbelt area behind the building. Four driveways provide
access to the site: two on Five Mile and two on Inkster. The site
currently has eight parking spaces, including five spaces along
the site's west property line and another three spaces along the
south property line. The plans propose to eliminate the existing
auto service center and convert the space for general retail
purposes to enlarge the convenience store operations. The new
floor plan shows a larger retail sales and display area with a walk-
in cooler and freezer. There would be a coffee bar, a utility room,
single restroom, office and cashier counter. So, gone are the auto
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repair operations. The enlarged convenience store, as shown on
the floor plan would occupy all of the interior space of the updated
building. On the exterior, the existing building consists mostly of
brick. It has an asphalt shingled roof and mounted on the top left
side of the roof is a cupola and weathervane. All of this would be
removed. The cupola and shingles would be removed and
replaced with a new membrane -covered roof that would be
concealed from view by a new facade that would consist of
parapet walls with varying heights and projections. The color
rendering gives you a good idea of what the new building would
look like. The materials would include a combination of brick, as
well as stone, E.I.F.S., and Hardie panels, which is a composite
material. New windows would be added, and the entrance would
be moved to the center of the storefront. Upon completion, the
tallest part of the building would measure 27 feet in height. The
ordinance limits the height to 35 feet, so it's still several feet below
the maximum limit for the C-2 district. For landscaping, required
along Five Mile Road are two full size trees, one ornamental tree
and 16 shrubs. Along Inkster, the requirement is two full sized
trees, one ornamental tree and 13 shrubs. There is a submitted
landscape plan that shows the added plantings along both street
frontages, mostly within the public road right-of-way. In terms of
parking, the requirement is one space for each fueling pump.
Thus, based on the number of fuel pumps this gas station
requires six striped parking spaces. As indicated earlier, the site
currently has eight spaces which would not be altered. The plan
shows an enclosed dumpster in the southeast corner of the site.
This was a topic of discussion at our study session. The
enclosure has been reoriented to be due north -south to allow for
better access to service the dumpster. Other than the proposed
remodeling and landscaping improvements, no other site
improvements are planned for the site. The parking lot layout, the
number of driveways and the canopy set up with all remain as is.
With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental
correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please.
Or.
Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated August 3,
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 project at this
time. The parcel is assigned the address of #27417 Five Mile
Road. The existing building is currently serviced by water main,
storm and sanitary sewer. The drawings do not indicate any
alterations to the existing services, so we do not anticipate any
issues with the proposed waiver use. It should be noted that
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30669
should the owner need to modify any of the existing utilities, or do
any work within the Five Mile or Inkster Road right-of-ways,
drawings will need to be submitted 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 August 16, 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 August 4,
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
August 3, 2022, which reads as follows: " Pursuant to your
request, the above referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1.
Free air is not currently provided for as required per a previous
ZBA case (8501-9). 2. The pavement is in disrepair and should
be repaired or replaced as necessary. 3. There are no provisions
fora dumpster enclosure on site. The Commission and/or Council
may wish to address this. 4. The existing brick columns shall be
repaired as necessary. 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 August 5, 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: $ 118.59 Total Due City of Livonia $ 118.59"
The letter is signed by Connie Kumpula, Chief Accountant. The
next letter is from the Treasurer's Department, dated August 4,
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: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? If not, our
petitioner is in the audience. Feel free to come forward. As
always, we ask that you start with your name and address for our
record. Good evening.
Nasser Choucair, 3241 S.
Telegraph
Road,
Dearborn, MI,
48124 Mr.
Taormina
explained
a lot, and
I just
got a couple
of samples
if people
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30670
someone wants to know what's the composite material, E.I.F.S.,
and the brick, so...
Mr. Wllshaw: Okay, great. If you want to hand those down to Ms. Reece, she
will pass those along to us.
Mr. Taormina: Mr. Chair, if maybe he can describe what parts of the building are
going to have which materials. I will go back to the rendering.
Mr. Wilshaw: Sure, Nasser, if you wanted to let us know which pieces are going
to go where.
Mr. Choucair: The one he is holding, that's the composite material. Yes, it's not
what... it looks like wood and hardy board, but it's not. So, this
material would last for a long time, with no maintenance, zero
maintenance. So, the material is not going to fade in the future.
Probably it would, but in an uncertain time. The E.I.F.S., as you
know, it's a material ... a stucco material... form under. They put
some mesh on it, and then they run a cement and then they paint
it. Actually, they waterproof it with paint, and that material also
would last as long as you don't hit or damage. That's why we put
the stone columns at the height that people cannot reach the
E.I.F.S. The canopy is going to be metal, as you see on the
picture, aluminum, painted black. The brick, something like what
we are presenting, sometimes the tone is a little bit different
depending on what's in stock on the market. Then we'll have a
coping and the crown on top would be E.I.F.S. covered with
coping, aluminum coping. The roof is going to be refaced with a
vinyl TPO material, which has not changed or any of that it's like
a roofing material, new roofing material. And, like so. And the
screening of course, in the back for the... would match the
building, whatever material we have on the building will screen
HVAC units that is going to be placed and the compressors for
the coolers. The inside, it's going to be really more modern look.
Tile, the big size tiles, granite tops and new coolers. Bulletproof I
guess that is and that's it, I guess.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Well, let's see if we have any questions for you. And we'll
go from there. Any questions for our petitioner?
Ms. Dinaro: Are there plans to change the asphalt?
Or.
Choucair: Definitely. Not changed completely, because that would kick in
the Engineering Department on us. So, whatever is really bad,
definitely will be repaired. They cut in take out. Of course, they'll
put a sealer if there is asphalt. They will put a sealer and restart
the whole parking brand new. It would be whatever we have
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30671
concrete if it's broken and hazard, of course, we'll take that piece
out and put a new one.
Mr. Wilshaw: Does that answer your question, Ms. Dinaro? Ms. Smiley.
Ms. Smiley: Where are you going to locate the free air?
Mr. Choucair: At the nearest parking next to the building. Whichever one over
this side, I think next to that dumpster. Yeah. Over there. Mostly,
you're not going to put it in front of the building. Yeah, we'll put it
on that corner. And the columns I heard the inspector saying that
that's definitely... it's going to be all stripped and rebuilt matching
the building color.
Ms. Smiley: Yeah, my next question is, they're aware of the taxes and stuff or
the water?
Mr. Choucair: Actually, probably, I mean, not only this is bill for this month,
maybe or something. I mean, it's $118,00, 1 mean, they didn't
miss...I mean if they're missing their payment, it should be
thousands. They're putting half a million -dollar refacing them all
day, so they should be okay.
Ms. Smiley: As long as they are aware.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Miss Smiley. Any other questions for our petitioner?
Sure, Mr, Bongero.
Mr. Bongero: Just construction wise, Nasser, the shingled roof that's there, do
you strip it off
Mr. Choucair: Completely and that material doesn't stick if you don't take that
asphalt out, and then we'll put (inaudible) inch insulation on it, and
then we'll put the material, the TPO material on.
Mr. Bongero: Gotcha. On the section, it's showing half inch interior gypsum
board applied to the back of the parapet wall.
Or.
Choucair: Half inch...
Mr. Bongero: When you no to the section, right there.
Or.
Choucair: That should be denser glass or plywood. Whatever they put down
probably it's a mistake, Miss typo.
Or.
Bongero: He's got half inch interior gypsum board.
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30672
Mr, Choucair: Oh, no, no, there's definitely...100% its not... either plywood.
7/16 or SPE or it's going to be dense glass. Yeah, five eighths of
an inch dense glass or SPE plywood. Okay.
Mr. Bongero: Okay. I just fear that...
Mr. Choucair: I'm sorry about that.
Mr. Bongero: That's no problem. Okay. Well, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Bongero. Any other questions? Mr. Ventura?
Mr. Ventura: Nasser, can you make us...which of these materials that you
passed out here will be on the columns and the front of the
building?
Mr. Choucair: None. That's a kind of material... it's a cement blocks. They come
24 inches by 4 inch thick, 16 inch high, and they're grinded. It's
not that it's nice on us, but they do them in Grand Rapids only,
and you put any color you want. I put them in about like eight gas
stations and they look beautiful. And there is one location, If
you're nearby in Brownstown, Dix -Toledo and King, there is
another one in Troy. And there is many other ones. In
Livonia... where did I put some? There is one on West Road and
1-75, the Mobil gas station that's Woodhaven. There is 14 and
Dequindre. Mobile.
Mr. Ventura: Okay, thank you. It's a masonry product.
Mr. Choucair: It's a masonry product lasts better even...why I like it better than
limestone, because limestone would ... sometimes the rain or if
you have an area that's dripping on it, it turns to dark and black,
and it looks like dirty. This material does not stain whatsoever. It's
a good material,
Mr. Ventura: This is quite a freshening up of that building, and it looks great. It
makes a big addition to the corner. When do you think you'll start?
Mr. Choucair: When we have permits.
Mr. Ventura: So right away
Mr. Choucair: Whenever they give us the permits we'll start.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Ventura. Any other questions for petitioner? I
don't see any other questions from anybody? Is there anybody in
our audience wishing to speak for or against this item? I don't see
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30673
anybody jumping forward. Mr. Nasser, is there anything else that
you would like to say before we make our decision?
Mr. Choucair: I hope it works okay with you.
Mr. Wilshaw: We'll see how it goes in a few minutes. Well, thank you for
coming. It's not public hearing this is a miscellaneous item, but a
motion would be an order.
On a motion by Smiley, seconded by Ventura, and unanimously adopted, it was
#08-48-2022 RESOLVED, That City Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to City Council that Petition 2022-08-08-03
submitted by N.C. Designs & Contracting Inc., requesting
approval of all plans required by Sections 3.11 and 13.13 of the
Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, in connection
with a proposal to remodel the interior and exterior of the existing
gas station (Sunoco) at 27417 Five Mile Road, located on the
southwest corner of Five Mile and Inkster Roads in the Northeast
'/4 of Section 24, be approved subject to the following conditions:
The Proposed Landscape Plan/Site Plan identified as sheet
SP.101 dated August 5, 2022, as revised, prepared by N.C.
Designers & Contracting Inc., is hereby approved and shall
be adhered to.
2. That all landscape areas shall be fully irrigated with an
underground system and any disturbed turf areas restored
with sod in lieu of hydroseeding.
3. 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.
a. The Exterior Building Elevation Plan identified as sheet
A.202 dated August 5, 2022, as revised, prepared by N.C.
Designers & Contracting Inc., is hereby approved and shall
be adhered to.
4. 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.
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5. 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.
6. Any new light fixtures shall not exceed a height of twenty
feet (20') from grade at the base of the light and shall be
aimed and shielded to minimize stray light trespassing
across property lines or on adjacent roadways.
7. No outside storage, placement or display of merchandise
shall be permitted.
8. Pursuant to Section 6.26(11), free air shall be provided and
dispensed at the point of service without having to enter the
station or perform any extra action to obtain the air without
charge.
9. Vacuum equipment or the outdoor placement/storage of
propane cylinder storage units is not allowed.
10. The sale of ice shall be restricted to the inside of the building.
11. 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.
12. No part of the pump island canopy fascia, except for
signage, shall be illuminated, and no LED lightband or
exposed neon is allowed on any part of the building,
including around the windows or on the overhead canopies.
13. Unless approved by the proper local authority, any type of
exterior advertising, such as promotional flags, streamers or
sponsor vehicles designed to attract the attention of passing
motorists, shall be prohibited.
14. 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,
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
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30675
building permit is obtained, this approval shall be null and
void at the expiration of said period.
Mr. Wllshaw: 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 #1 PETITION 2022-07-02-18 BBS Distillery
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item is Petition 2022-07-02-18
submitted by BBS Distilleries, L.L.C., requesting waiver use
approval pursuant to Section 6.09 of the Livonia Vision 21 Zoning
Ordinance, as amended, to expand the existing on -premise liquor
license to include an outdoor seating area, and to amend Council
Resolution #354-21 to expand the hours of operation in
connection with the serving of alcohol at 27600 Schoolcraft Road,
located on the north side of Schoolcraft Road between Inkster
Road and Cardwell Avenue in the Southeast'/ of Section 24.
Mr. Taormina: Thank you. This is a request by BBS Distilleries to expand an
existing on -premises liquor license to include an outdoor seating
area and to amend Council Resolution # 354-21 in order to
expand the hours of operation for the tasting room. BBS occupies
a unit located in the Buckingham Village Shopping Center which
is at the northwest corner of Inkster and Schoolcraft. Roads. The
unit is roughly 2,800 square feet in size. It was on December 1 of
last year that BBS was granted a waiver -use to open a small
distillery and tasting room. BBS was approved subject to a
maximum of 40 customer seats inside the tasting room. The
proposed outdoor seating area would be established adjacent to
the BBS storefront along the existing sidewalk. The patio would
extend roughly five feet out from the storefront, leaving the
remaining four or five feet of sidewalk available for pedestrians.
As you can see from this drawing, the outdoor patio area would
accommodate seating for approximately six people. It shows
three small tables, as well as chairs on either side of those tables.
The patio would be enclosed with a four -foot -high decorative
fence. A separate doorway that would be installed inside the
tasting room would provide customer access to the patio. A
requirement the City has for outdoor dining patio where alcoholic
beverages are served is for access be limited to within the interior
of the restaurant, and hence the reason a new door would be
added to the BBS storefront. Access and parking are shared
between the multiple parcels and tenants that make up the overall
shopping complex. The overall parking at the center is adequate
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30676
to accommodate the additional six customer seats. Also
requested as part of this petition is an extension of BBS's
business hours. As set forth in the Council Resolution, the hours
for public entry are currently limited from noon to 10pm on
Sundays through Thursdays and from noon to 11pm on Fridays
and Saturdays. The change would extend the hours from 7am to
tam, Monday through Saturday, and from noon to tam on
Sundays. No other changes or improvements including the
elevations of the building, or the landscaping are proposed with
this petition. 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 August 16,
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 subject parcel is assigned the address of #27600
Schoolcraft Road being assigned to the overall parcel. The
existing parcel is currently served by public water main, sanitary
sewer and storm sewer, and no alterations to the existing
services are planned, so we do not believe there will be any
impacts to the existing systems. "The letter is signed by David W.
Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is from the
Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated August 16, 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 with the following stipulations: -See
attached Petition 202140-02-20 dated October 25, 2021.
Stipulations shall apply. -Patio gate needs to meet ADA
requirements for egress. -Single action to open for emergency
egress. 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 August 15, 2022, which reads as follows: "I have concerns
with the safety of the public. I do not think that the fence offers an
adequate barrier for the protection of patrons that may be seated
so closely to the parking lot and vehicular traffic. Furthermore, the
sidewalk would be impeded by the fence and not allow very much
room for people to safely walk along the front of the business
between the establishment and the parking lot." The letter is
signed by Scott Sczepanski, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next
letter is from the Inspection Department, dated August 15, 20223
which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above
referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1. An accessible route
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30677
must be maintained between the proposed fencing and the
parking lot. A clear width of 36" must be maintained on the
sidewalk. 2. The additional front door that is proposed must meet
current Michigan Barrier Free requirements if installed. This
would be a minimum depth of 54" out from the door and 24" free
of any obstructions on the latch side of the door. 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 August 15, 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 August 15, 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. Lastly, we have a letter from
the Division of Police, dated August 23, 2022, and it reads: "We
have received the plans submitted by BBS Distilleries, LLC,
requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 6.09 of the
Livonia Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to expand the
existing Small Distiller license (manufacturer of no more than
60) 000 gallons of spirits per year) to include and outdoor seating
area and amend Council #351 -21 to expand the hours of
operation in connection with the operation of a distillery and
tasting room at 27600 Schoolcraft Road, located on the north side
of Schoolcraft Road between Inkster Road and Cardwell Avenue
in the Southeast quarter of Section 24. After conferring with the
Chi of of Police , we have identified the following issues for
consideration. We have concerns with the close proximity to the
residential environment directly west and north of the proposed
site. Also, concerning expanding the hours of operation,
Snooker's Pool & Pub directly next door at 27630 Schoolcraft
operates Sunday to Thursday, 11:00 AM to 12:00 AM, Friday &
Saturday 11:00 AM to 2:00 AM, and Sunday 12:00 PM to 12:00
M. We ask that City Council give significant consideration for
approval or denial of this waiver use request"That letter is signed
by Jeffrey Ronayne, Special Service Bureau.
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director?
Mr. Caramagno: Mark, I've seen one of the comments were regarding protection
bollards from the parking lot. Is that needed or not needed for this
type of patio or outdoor seating?
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Mr. Taormina: The need for bollards is somewhat discretionary and to my
knowledge, is not something that is required by code. What is
required is to maintain at least 36 inches of travel distance on the
sidewalk between the fence and the traveled portion of the
parking lot. This remaining sidewalk width must be at least 36
inches as reported by the Inspection Department.
Mr. Caramagno: Now, we talked last week about these not just being bolted to the
ground. This fence posts not being bolted to the ground but
actually cemented into the ground for to have some level of
strength.
Mr. Taormina: I recall that was brought up at the study session. The petitioner
indicated that there would be some permanent attachment to the
cement. How that was going to occur though, I don't think we
don't have those details. So, we don't know if its bolts driven into
the sidewalk or whether or not there's some deeper penetration
of the post into the cement.
Mr. Caramagno: Maybe we get that answer from the petitioner. Okay. Thank you.
Mr.Wilshaw: Thankyou,Mr.Caramagno. Anyotherquestionsforthepetitioner
or excuse me for staff? Mr. Bongero.
Mr. Bongero: For Mark. Mark, on the floor plan he is showing five feet from the
new gate fence to the edge of the sidewalk, and I think they're
referencing three feet in there.
Mr. Taormina: The Director of Inspection visually inspected the area, and while
he may not have taken an actual measurement, he indicated that
the distance is slightly less than ten feet. The submitted plan
shows that there is ten feet between the storefront and the
parking lot. If it's slightly, less than that, then there is a couple of
feet to play with since the requirement is 36 inches, or three feet.
Thus, as long as the existing sidewalk is not less than eight feet,
he could still have the five-foot wide patio with three or more feet
of sidewalk.
Mr. Bongero: He's showing he has ten feet to work with. Right?
Or,
Taormina: So, we don't we believe it's something less than that. Probably
closer to eight or nine feet.
Mr. Bongero: Okay. Okay, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Bongero. Any other questions for planning staff?
August 23, 2022
30679
Mr. Long: Mark, can you clarify Mr. Ronayne's letter? Is he asking or is he
suggesting that we approve hours that are similar to Snookers?
Is that what the gist of that was?
Mr. Taormina: I spoke with Investigator Ronayne about this. Part of the concern
is the late hours of both establishments and the interaction
between them. I think we heard from the petitioner last week a
desire to stay open even later than 2am to be able to serve food.
So, while the Michigan Liquor Control Commission may require
that there be certain precautions after 2a by having the alcohol
locked, there's nothing that would necessarily prevent him from
staying open, unless it's a condition of the waiver use.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Long. Any other questions for
planning staff? Mark, one question about the fencing. There was
a letter from the Fire Department indicating a need for a gate, and
I believe we talked at the study meeting that a gate is not
necessary in this situation?
Mr. Taormina: According the Inspection Department, due to the capacity, it's not
required to have that emergency gate.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, so those comments wouldn't necessarily apply.
Mr. Taormina: That is correct.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Great. Just wanted to make sure that we clarify that. Thank
YOU. If there's no other questions for our planning staff, our
petitioner is in the audience. Good evening, sir. We ask that you
to start with your name and address for our record and we'll have
some questions for you.
Jason Mitchell, 9919, Merriman Road, Livonia, MI, 48150.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Mitchell. Anything that you'd like to start with
before we start asking questions. Any information you want to
provide?
Or,
Mitchell: We pretty much provided everything. I know on the fencing they
are with Paramount. Their plans are to core down and put
concrete in, not to just, you know, anchor to the concrete. I have
done that as a contractor over the years, and it's fine for like a
little hand thing, but something like this, someone's going to end
up pushing it over and leaning on it, and it's going to fall and
someone's going to get hurt. So, we're going to go coring no
matter what.
August 23, 2022
30680
Mr, Wilshaw: Okay, good. Thank you for addressing that. And that was one of
our questions for you right away. So, is there any questions from
any of our commissioners, for our petitioner? Ms. Smiley.
Ms, Smiley: I guess I'm still confused. Is there 36 inches from the edge of
your...?
Mr. Mitchell: Yeah, we went back and measured, it's like, it's just over nine
feet. I thought it was ten...I thought it was a standard five-foot
thing, but it's just shy of ten there, but we do have enough to have
that three foot. We have plenty.
Ms. Smiley: And the people are primarily...you're talking smokers, mostly that
are going out there.
Mr. Mitchell: Yeah.
Ms. Smiley: Instead
of
being
out in front
of the place smoking, you want them
behind
the
gate
smoking. Is
that basically...
Mr. Mitchell: Yeah, that way they can be behind there, they can, you know,
they want to take the drinks out, because that's one of the
problems that we have is policing people, so they don't leave with
drinks. So, we want to make sure that we can facilitate that. And
then on top of that, when you have a group of people standing
outside your doors, smoking, it doesn't look as nice as having a
group enjoying their time in front of your storefront.
Ms. Smiley: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Smiley. Any other questions for our petitioner?
Mr. Wilshaw: Covered everything pretty well, I guess. Ms. Smiley, no ahead
Ms. Smiley: About your hours of operation, you want to talk about them a little
bit. Why you want to expand so much, or what your plan is with
the expansion of hours?
Or.
Mitchell: We've just had a lot of people in the community come to us
wanting expanded hours. You know, with the factories being
here, there's a lot of shift workers that get off at night. They don't
have anything to go to. They go to McDonald's to eat, and you
know, where they've come in for us on lunch and stuff, they'd like
to come back in the evening and grab food, not necessarily stay,
but at least grab it and go. That's kind of what we're looking at,
it's kind of like going more of a to go food after closing time, so to
August 23, 2022
30681
speak. People that are there, of course, can finish up, whatever,
and if they're still doing the karaoke or, you know, eating, then
they can finish then move along. And then the morning, again, we
can work more people pushing for that. With the food, we've been
pretty successful with it. We changed up a lot of our menu. Now
we're offering better things like, we've got brisket, corned beef,
you know, smoked chicken, higher end stuff. People are really
liking that now. So, we'd like to keep offering it. Then for the hours
extending past 10-11 o'clock at night, what we're running into is
like we have events that go on, and most people by the time they
get home, and everything, it's about eight o'clock is the time that
you can get out to relax and do things. That gives us two hours
to do an event. Like if we're doing a quiz show or something like
that, two hours is like the bare minimum. So, we end up always
worried about extending past our times. And you know, we have
extended past, but we really haven't had any problems with
people. And actually, the area seems to be getting a little nicer
where we're able to get a lot of professionals coming in the area
now. And Snookers has also been kind of going a little better too.
So, we're happy and we'd like to kind of help keep it going.
Ms. Smiley: I understand the police department has not had any problems
with your facility. Is that correct?
Mr. Mitchell: Correct. Yeah, we had one incident with a guy. He was walking
by. We had to call EMS. He had some issues or something that
they took him to St. Mary's. He's fine. He's actually one of our
cooks now. Yeah, it just happened that, you know, we saved his
life and it worked out that, you know, he's happy and getting
moving forward in his life
Ms. Smiley: Now, he wasn't one of your clients, but you said he's walking by...
Or. Mitchell: Yeah, he was resident at one of the hotels locally there, and he
was walking by, and he wasn't doing so well and stuff. So, we sat
him down, we actually brought him in, sat him down and got the
EMS there and everything. Got him assistance. He was being
nonresponsive.
Ms. Smiley: You were also telling us about some community outreach you're
doing?
Mr. Mitchell: Yes. We're trying to do a lot of community outreach, actually,
because we feel that we need to be a part of the community.
We're here for the community. Right now, we're working with Last
Day Dog Rescue. We are producing a Vodka for them. It's going
August 23, 2022
30682
to be Last Day Vodka. A portion of the sales goes towards them
for their donations. For the release party, we are doing an event
at Ford Field here in Livonia. It's going to be October 15, at which
they'll have a tasting event, and then there'll be some music, food,
stuff like that, entertainment, and also a chance for the people to
see some of the dogs that are available for adoption and allows
the adoption place... it'll bring more people in and get them
because right now, after COVID and everything, they're having a
hard time finding homes for all these and they're trying to save
the ones that are being put into pounds and no one wants them,
so they're getting euthanized for no reason. And that's their
priority is saving those ones.
Ms. Smiley: So, it's going to be called Last Day Vodka?
Mr. Mitchell: Yep. Because their last day dog rescue.
Ms. Smiley: I don't know it sounds like your last, I don't know. This is your last
day, have some vodka. At any rate. Thank you very much. I
appreciate that. And I appreciate what you're doing.
Mr. Mitchell: I'm trying.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Miss Smiley. Any other questions for petitioner?
Mr. Ventura: Mr. Mitchell, so you started out as a distillery as I recall, and that
was really going to be your main line, and so now you've kind of
segued into having food. At the end of the day, if we go along with
these hours that you're asking for, what do you anticipate the
percentage of sales will be between liquor and food?
Mr. Mitchell: Honestly? With the tasting room, we're probably going to see the
food sales surpass the liquor. I mean, the overall distillery of
course, is liquor is going to be the main sale overall. But the food
would be, you know, the tasting room, in that particular setting,
the food's probably going to be the more prevalent.
Mr. Ventura: So, you're saying that liquor will be the greater seller, but that's
packaged liquor to go.
Mr. Mitchell: Yeah, the packaged liquor that's going to the retail locations.
Mr. Ventura: On site, you're going to sell more food than...
Mr. Mitchell: Yes.
Again, you
know, it's
more of a
tasting room. It's
not
like we
want
people to,
you know,
become
inebriated. We're
not
looking
August 23, 2022
30683
for that, because what's the point in drinking a good product if
you're just going to that point.
Mr. Ventura: an you.
Mr. Wllshaw: Thank you. Mr. Ventura. Any other questions for our petitioner?
Mr. Caramagno: I've got some questions about your karaoke and your
entertainment. How often? What kind of hours for that? How long
does that go?
Mr. Mitchell: Right now, we are set up with the karaoke. We are kind of turned
into a karaoke box type thing where the, you know, the surround
can be ... it's all immersive. There's eight mics. That we pretty
much do all day long. Whenever people come in, they want to do
it, we can just turn it on and let it run and, you know, be there. In
the evenings, we get more of that, of course, we actually have a
DJ that comes in about five days a week now, that can handle
that way. We handle the rest of stuff. And then on top of that, we
do quiz nights, we actually just started open mic night, on Friday,
and we've been getting a lot of local talent come in, that's looking
for things and it's actually helping us because at the Ford Field
fundraiser with Last Day, we're looking for entertainment, and
those people are now helping out with that too. And it's a lot of
the local community that's been coming out to us. We actually
had a guy in there playing bongos last Friday, from the backside
of us there. He was an elderly gentleman.
Mr. Caramagno: So how late does that go typically during the operating hours?
Mr. Mitchell: I mean, how long will it go? I guess I mean, we'd like to go as
long, you know, as people want to be there, I guess. You know,
usually like one o'clock two o'clock time you know, it
starts... people are going home for work and stuff on the
weekdays but on the weekend of course it's probably going to run
longer.
Mr. Caramagno: You know the reason I'm asking them questions, I think it's good
that you have some activity entertainment, but you know, as you
move potentially further down the road with this hangar door and
the door potentially open, I'd have to think that that noise,
entertainment, would have to stop by eleven o'clock at night,
because you can't have ... we can't envision someone singing and
carrying on with neighbors not terribly far away.
Mr. Mitchell: Right, that would be inside. But the door would be closed in the
evenings, yeah, we wouldn't be...
August 23, 2022
30684
Mr, Caramagno: There would have to be restrictions.
Mr. Mitchell: I think eleven is the noise here, so that would be probably eleven
that we could close down.
Mr. Caramagno: And then the last question I've got for you is, you told us at the
study session, that you're going to make some changes inside in
the back and do some educational?
Mr. Mitchell: Yeah, the training and everything back there?
Mr. Caramagno: Yeah, tell us about that real fast.
Mr. Mitchell: Well, that the whole idea about the sessions with the training
would be a, you know, it's still kind of in the prototype phase here,
but there'd be like three sessions. You would come in, learn all
the basics, learn all the safety, before you do anything. Kind of
get an idea of what you want to do. Then you would come back
in to do your mash and your fermentation. At that point, you would
pick one of our recipes that we are allowed to produce. Ferment
it and then we will watch it over the next few days. You will come
back at another time and we have like many stills that we can get,
and you would actually distill on a mini still to get your own
product, and then be able to take those bottles home with you at
the end of the class.
Mr. Caramagno: That's good. I got to say I, you know, from your initial distilling
project, to what this is starting to become has got our or five, six
phases to it. I got to say I kind of like it.
Mr. Mitchell: Yeah, we're trying to do a lot more. And honestly, with the way
that the people have been coming to us and liking what we're
doing, they'd like more of it. And honestly, I'd like to get something
larger going in the future with more entertainment. We're actually
to the point now, we've got people coming in from other states,
Kentucky. We have had two couples come in from Thailand to try
our stuff. And the state is looking at making us a tourist attraction
listing as one as well.
Mr. Caramagno: Good for you. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for our petitioner? If there's no other
questions. I do have one that I want to ask you, Mr. Mitchell. This
is a maybe a little bit of a tricky question. But in regard to using
the patio for smoking, my understanding of the Michigan law is
that for restaurants and bars, those types of operations, the patio
August 23, 2022
30685
area is generally not allowed to have people smoking in those
areas. Are you aware of the actual details of the law?
Mr. Mitchell: Yes, that is excellent and absolutely true. As long as we are
serving food to those areas, if we are no longer doing food service
to those areas, we are allowed to have patrons smoke there.
Okay, so a person can go out and use...
Mr. Mitchell: They can take their food and drink and go out there, but we can't
go out and serve them. They would have to come back in to
refresh their drink or anything like that. We don't want people
actually sitting out there all day long.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, good. I just didn't want you to run afoul of the state law in
regard to...
Mr. Mitchell: We're trying to follow it all. There's a lot. We're learning a lot. It's
like, everywhere at once right now. It's like, yeah, I didn't expect
to expand and get this type of group to push along.
Mr. Wilshaw: Well, I do want to say I do appreciate your entrepreneurial spirit,
and you certainly are one of the more unique petitioners we've
had in a long time, and you have a pretty creative business and I
appreciate that. I did also want to mention that, as we talked
about the hangar door concept, which is not part of your petition
for tonight's agenda, what we try to do in terms of accommodating
your request that you don't have to pay the whole start a whole
process over again, is we're going to try to incorporate that into
the resolution tonight. So, that will be a callback and if you want
to do that in the future, you'll be able to come back and not have
to start the whole process over again for another modification. So,
we're trying to accommodate that and make it a little bit easier for
you. So, just want you to be aware of that. Because sometimes
these procedural things get lost in the weeds. So, with that, if
there's no other questions for our Petitioner from the
Commission, I will ask if there's anyone in our audience wishing
to speak for or against. I don't see anybody else in their audience
who wishes to speak for against this item, but it is a public
hearing. So, we need to make sure we do that. For you, Mr.
Mitchell, you'll have the last word. Is there anything else you'd like
to say before we make a decision?
Mr. Mitchell: I'm just ecstatic to be here and happy that you guys embraced us
and the community is embracing us and we just want to do
something good to anchor that area.
August 23, 2022
30686
Mr. Wilshaw: Alright, well thank you for coming this evening and I'm going to go
to my colleagues on the commission and look for a motion.
On a motion by Caramagno, seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it
was
#08-49-2022 RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on August 23, 2022, on Petition
2022-07-02-18 submitted by BBS Distilleries, L.L.C., requesting
waiver use approval pursuant to Section 6.09 of the Livonia
Vision 21 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to expand the existing
on -premise liquor license to include an outdoor seating area, and
to amend Council Resolution #354-21 to expand the hours of
operation in connection with the serving of alcohol at 27600
Schoolcraft Road, located on the north side of Schoolcraft Road
between Inkster Road and Cardwell Avenue in the Southeast'/4
of Section 24, the Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2022-07-02-18 be
approved subject to the following conditions:
1. That the sidewalk in front of the patio maintain an
unobstructed width of at least thirty-six (36") as measured
between the edge of the parking lot/drive aisle and the
fence.
2. That the number of outdoor patio seats shall not exceed six
(6).
3. That the outdoor patio area be fully enclosed with decorative
fencing as shown on the submitted plans and be accessible
directly from the distillery by a doorway within the patio
enclosure.
4. That no
advertising shall
be permitted
on any of the seating
or table
apparatus of the
outdoor patio
area.
5. That the hours of operation for public entry into the facility,
including the tasting room, patio and any other retail
operations, shall be limited from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.,
Monday through Saturday, and from noon to 2:00 a.m. on
Sundays, in accordance with the Michigan Liquor Control
Commission (MLCC).
6. That this petition may be modified at a future date to include
a bi-fold or similar hangar door for the front of the restaurant
upon submission of plans and the approval by the Planning
Commission.
August 23, 2022
30687
7. That all other conditions imposed by Council Resolution
#354-21, which granted approval to utilize a Small Distiller
license in connection with the operation of a distillery and
tasting room, shall remain in effect to the extent that they are
not in conflict with the foregoing conditions, and
8. 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, 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.
ITEM #3 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,190th Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of
the Minutes of the 1,190'"Public Hearing and Regular Meeting
held on August 9, 2022.
On a motion by Bongero, seconded by Smiley, and unanimously adopted, it was
#08-50-2022 RESOLVED, That the Minutes of 1,190'" Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on August 9,
2022, are hereby approved.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Bongero, Long, Smiley, Ventura, Caramagno,
Wilshaw
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: Dinaro
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
August 23, 2022
30688
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,191st Public
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on August 23, 2022, was adjourned at 7:55
CITY PLANNIP'ICvCOMMISSION
Serm C r magno,
ATTEST:
Ian Wilshaw, Chairman