HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2019-05-14
nd
MINUTES OF THE 1,142PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
________________________________________________________________
On Tuesday,May14,2019, theCity Planning Commission of the City of Livonia
nd
held its 1,142Public Hearings and Regular Meeting in the Livonia City Hall,
33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan.
Mr. Ian Wilshaw, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Members present:David BongeroSam CaramagnoGlen Long
Betsy McCueCarolSmileyPeter Ventura
Ian Wilshaw
Members absent:None
Mr. Mark Taormina, Planning Director,and Stephanie Reece, Program Supervisor,
were also present.
Chairman Wilshawinformed 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 #1PETITION 2019-03-02-04My Mechanics Place
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2019-
03-02-04 submitted by My Mechanics Place requesting waiver
use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(k) of the City of Livonia
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, for the outdoor storage
and rental of U-Haul trucks at 35655 Plymouth Road, located on
the south side of Plymouth Road between Yale Avenue and
Levan Road in the Northeast ¼ of Section 32.
May 14, 2019
29091
Mr. Taormina:This is a request for outside storage and rental of U-Haul trucks
and trailers. This property is located on the south side of
Plymouth Road between Yale and Levan Road. The site is
approximately 1.7 acres. It has 273 feet of frontage off Plymouth
Road and a depth of approximately 270 feet. You can see on the
zoning map that this property is zoned C-2 (General Business),
as are the properties to the east and to the west of the subject
site. Across Plymouth Road on the north side is the Ford
Transmission Plant, which is zoned M-2 (General
Manufacturing). To the south are single-family homes that are
part of the Kenwood Park Subdivision. There is an existing
building on the property. It is about 19,000 square feet. It
contains 14 service bays. The principal use of the site is an
automotive car/truck repair business. Parking, as you can see
from the aerial photograph, is available both on the north side of
the building, as well as the west side of the building. There is also
vehicle storage located within a fenced-in gated area at the rear
of the building. Section 11.03(k) of the Ordinance allows for the
open-airdisplay and rental of utility trailers, subject to waiver use
approval. The waiver use for the automotive truck repair
business was granted by City Council in 1993. In 1995, the
previous tenant of this property, which was Super Hi-TechAuto
Service Center, requestedwaiver use approval for the outdoor
storage and rental of U-Haul trucks. That request in 1995 was
denied mainly because the Commission at the time believed that
the use would be detrimental to the neighborhood to the south.
This matter is before you this evening as an after-the-fact request,
as the current owner entered into a contract with U-Haul without
first going through the waiver use approval process. The rental
vehicles would utilize the westerly 20 parking spaces in the
parking lot. The vehicles would include utility and cargo trailers,
as well as pick-up trucks, vans, and several size box trucks.
Parking for the automobile and light truck repair facility is based
on two parking spaces for each repair bay plus one space for
each employee. By Zoning Ordinance standards, the principal
use of the property, the auto repair business, requires33 parking
spaces. The plan shows a total of 56 parking spaces, 50 if you
eliminate 20for the purposes of storing the U-Haul trucks and
trailers, that allows for 36 spaces to be available for customers
and employees which is three more than the ordinance requires.
The site does comply in terms of the parking. There is a special
requirement in the ordinance regarding adequate lighting for the
storage and rental of these vehicles. There are existing light
poles along the west property line directly over the area where
the rental vehicles are parked. There is another special
May 14, 2019
29092
requirement that the area must be fenced. This site is not in
compliance with that requirement. There is no fence provided or
proposed. Thus, it would require approval by City Council.
Mr. Taormina: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 April3,
2019, which reads as follows: “In accordance with your request,
the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced
waiver use petition. We have no objections to the proposed
project at this time.The existing parcel is assigned the address
of #35655 Plymouth Road.The legal description provided with
the petition appears to be correct and should be used with the
subject petition.The existing building is currently serviced by
public sanitary, storm and water main. The information submitted
does not indicate any new connections to the existing utility
services, so it appears that therewill not be any additional
impacts to the existing systems at this time. Should alterations to
the existing services be required, the owner will need to provide
plans to this Department to determineif permits will be required.
Should the owner do any work within the Plymouth Road right-of-
way, they will need to contact the Michigan Department of
Transportation (MDOT) for any permits that may be required. ”
The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City
Engineer. The second letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue
Division, datedApril10, 2019, which reads as follows: “This office
has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request
for outdoor storage and rental of U-Haul trucks on property
located at the above referenced address.We have no objections
to this proposal with the following stipulations:1. A fire access
road 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. Gate access for fire department vehicles must
provide for 20 feet of unobstructed width on the west side and
rear lots.3. Knox Box (Knox Locks on gated entries) must be
installed for Fire Department access.”The letter is signed by Greg
Thomas, Senior Fire Inspector.The third letter is from the Division
of Police, Traffic Bureau, dated April10, 2019, 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 Brian
Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The fourth letter is from the
May 14, 2019
29093
Inspection Department,dated April 30,2019, which reads as
follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition
has been reviewed.1. This plan does not make provision for a
dumpster or dumpster enclosure. The Commission and/or
Council may wish to determine how trash disposal will be
maintained at this site.2. A fence is required to enclose the area
of the rental vehicles. It is unclear if a fence is being provided
according to the proposed plan.This Department has no further
objections to this Petition. I trust this provides the requested
information.””The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of
Inspection. The fifthletter is from the Finance Department, dated
April 5, 2019, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the
addresses connected with the above noted petition. As there are
no outstandingamounts receivable, general or water and sewer,
I have no objections to the proposal.” The letter is signed by
Coline Coleman, Chief Accountant. The sixthletter is from the
Treasurer’s Department,dated April 3, 2019, 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.I will just note that
the indication from the Inspection Department, that there is no
dumpster on the site, we have verified that there is. It is not on
this plan, but there is a dumpster located behind the building
within that fenced in area. Thank you
Mr. Wilshaw:Are there any questions of the Planning Director?
Ms. Smiley:That letter from the Fire Department. I am not sure about that.
They have tohave a fire access road and all that stuff. What is
all of that?
Mr. Taormina:I think that is about maintainingperimeter access. They have to
have access to the fenced off areas. That is usually provided by
means of a Knox Box,whichis something that they coordinate
through the owner to get access. I don’t see that being a
problem in this particular case. They do have access on at least
three sides of the building without any obstructions. Other than
the fence, they can deal with that with the owner in terms of
providing the necessary access.
Ms. Smiley:Thank you very much.
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions for our Planning staff?
May 14, 2019
29094
Mr. Bongero:Mark, Jerome from the Building Department was sayingabout a
fence.
Mr. Taormina:That is a requirement in the ordinance for this type of use. I
think that was discussed briefly at the meeting. It was indicated
by the representative from U-Haul that security at this location
has not been an issue.They feel that a fence is not necessary
so they would seek a waiver from the City Council, depending
on what your recommendation is.
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions? Seeing none, if the Petitioner is here,
please come forward. Good evening sir.
Jamison Rabaut, 12067 Boston Post, Livonia, MI 48150, I have never done this
before so…
Mr. Wilshaw:We’ll go easy on you (laughs).
Mr. Rabaut:This is my first time. My Mechanics Place is a unique business
plan where we provide the services for people who do work on
their vehicles themselves.The business is kind of a la carte
business. U-Haul is providing a huge service to the community
by giving the opportunity to our customers to get their cars
there, to and from, car haulers, and auto dollies. It provides a
service to the whole community. As you can see, we have a
petition there of many names. Our customers and neighbors
around us seem to approve of us. We haven’t really seen any
incidents of increase in crime or anything like that. I don’t really
know what else to say. We have a privacy fence up there. At
the U-Haul services, we have the opportunity for 24 hour drop
off. Having it enclosed and locked, a gate would be detrimental
to its operation. I don’t have anything else to say.
Mr. Wilshaw:That was a perfectly good presentation Mr. Rabaut.
Mr. Rabaut:Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:We will see if there are any questions for you from any of the
commissioners. Any questions?
Ms. Smiley:Am I understanding that you are going to ask for the waiver to
not put up a fence right?
Mr. Rabaut:There are currently poles that are sunk in.
May 14, 2019
29095
Ms. Smiley:I see them on the picture.
Mr. Rabaut:Those prevent vehicles from being pulled from the lot. Other
than that, there is a gate there but we don’t close it because of
the 24 hour drop off.
Ms. Smiley:None of your neighbors have had any complaints about any of
this? How long has it been going on?
Mr. Rabaut:We inadvertently entered into the contract with them unknowing
that we would have to go through this process. We are just
trying to comply with the requirements of the City of Livonia.
We have been operating for about two years now.
Ms. Smiley:With no incident?
Mr. Rabaut:No incident.
Ms. Smiley:Thank you sir.
Mr. Ventura:Ms. Smiley asked my question.
Mr. Wilshaw:Do we have any other questions for our Petitioner?
Mr. Bongero:How are you? I met you there a couple weeks ago. In the back
lot you had said that some of the vehicles stay there for an
extended period of time and that you don’t want that. You don’t
want that because you want to see those vehicles being
repaired and taken out in a timely manner.
Mr. Rabaut:That is correct.
Mr. Bongero:You were also talking about instituting a policy where there is a
time limit. 30, 60, 90 days to get it out or you are going to get it
out. Are you still considering that?
Mr. Rabaut:What we do is maintain an open dialogue with our customers for
their needs. We do offer them opportunities to do some short
term storage outside while they are waiting for an engine or
transmission or some component of their vehicle. It has been
our experience in the three and a half years that we have been
there that once and a while somebody isn’t honest and I end up
with a vehicle. So we now offer the storage for 30 days and
then we review that at the end of 30 days if they still need it. It
May 14, 2019
29096
will go up to, I don’t know…I haven’t really gone beyond 90 days
because after 90 days I feel they are being disingenuous. We
contact Livonia Towing, they mark it, and we have it removed
from the property. We were asked to not have a junk yard back
there.
Mr. Bongero:I was there today. It looks even better than a couple weeks
ago.
Mr. Rabaut:We are currently involved in spring clean up so we are trying to
get rid of all of the vegetation knocked back and the parking lot
covered.
Mr. Bongero:If you go to Council for the waiver on the fence and they want a
fence, is that a deal breaker for you or are you going to do it?
Mr. Rabaut:This is my dream, so….no it isn’t a deal breaker.
Mr. Bongero:Thank you
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions for our Petitioner? Seeing none. Mr.
Rabaut, just one more question. I think we asked this at the
study meeting,but I wanted to get it on the record. What
percentage of your total business is based on the U-Haul
operation?
Mr. Rabaut:Currently, U-Haul is running about 25%of our revenue.
Mr. Wilshaw:Good. Thank you. I appreciate that. Anyone in the audience
wishing to speak for or against this item? Sir, please feel free to
come forward.
Nick Nichols, 50547 South Tyler, Plymouth, Mi, I would just like to add that I have
been a long time customer of J’s. I have worked on my vehicles
at his garage and as far as the issue that comes up about the
storage behind his building, I have had dialogue about my
vehicle which was stored there for an extended period of time. I
just wanted to add that he does talk to all of his customers about
their vehicles. He has no intention of keeping a junk yard back
there. I recently moved my vehicle out. It is relatively organized
back there as you saw recently also. That is all I wanted to add.
Mr. Wilshaw:Excellent. Thank you for coming. Anyone else wishing to
speak on this item? I don’t see anyone else. Mr. Rabaut, we
always like to give you the final word. Is there anything else you
May 14, 2019
29097
would like to add? Your all set. Okay, good. With that we will
close the public hearing and a motion would be in order.
On a motion by Smiley, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was
#05-39-2019RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on May 14,2019, on Petition
2019-03-02-04, submitted by My Mechanics Place requesting
waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(k) of the City of
Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, for the outdoor
storage and rental of U-Haul trucks at 35655 Plymouth Road,
located on the south side of Plymouth Road between Yale
Avenue and Levan Road in the Northeast ¼ of Section 32,the
Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City
Council that Petition 2019-03-02-04 beapproved, subject to City
Council approval and the following conditions:
1.That the outdoor storage of U-Haul trucks and trailers shall
be limited to the designated location as shown on the site
plan received by the Planning Commission on March 29,
2019;
2.That the outdoor storage and rental of U-Haul trucks at this
location shall be permitted provided that the Zoning
Ordinance standard set forth in Section 11.03(k)(6) requiring
that the display area be enclosed with a fence is waived by
the City Council;
3.That the total number of trucks and trailers to be stored and
displayed outdoors at this location shall not exceed twenty
(20), and that no trucks or trailers shall be displayed closer
than twenty feet (20’) to the front lot line;
4.That all 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;
5.That the rear parking lot shall be cleaned to the satisfaction
of the Inspection Department, including the removal of all
debris and weeds and the trimming of existing trees along
the back wall. All dead, dying or diseased plant material
shall be removed and replaced with new plant material, and
all gaps along the rear property line where evergreen trees
or shrubs were previously removed shall be replaced;
May 14, 2019
29098
6.That 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;
7.That there shall be no outdoor storage of auto parts, scrap
material, waste petroleum products, junked, unlicensed or
inoperable vehicles, or other similar items in connection with
this operation;
8.That no LED lightband or exposed neon shall be permitted
on the site including, but not limited to, the building or around
the windows;
9.That no overhead speakers will be used outside the building;
10.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;
11.That the specific plan referenced in this approving resolution
shall be submitted to the Inspection Department at the time
an occupancy permit is applied for; and
12.Pursuant to Section 19.10 of Ordinance #543, the Zoning
Ordinance of the City of Livonia, this approval is valid for a
period of ONE YEAR ONLYfrom 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, the Planning Commission recommends the approval
of a Conditional Agreement limiting this waiver use to this user
only, with the provision to extend this waiver use approval to a
new user only upon approval of the new user by the City Council.
FURTHER RESOLVED,that notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 19.05 of
Zoning Ordinance #543, asamended.
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 14, 2019
29099
Mr. Wilshaw:In my enthusiasm of getting the meetinggoingI did neglect to
note that item #5, which is the sign request for Bob’s Discount
Furniture, per the Petitioner, has been postponed to a future
meeting. It will not be discussed this evening. So, with that we
will go back to our regularly scheduledagenda and item #2.
ITEM #2PETITION 2019-04-02-05 Piano Shoe Properties L.L.C.
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2019-
04-02-05 submitted by Piano Shoe Properties L.L.C.requesting
waiver use approval pursuant to Section 10.03(j) of the City of
Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to utilize a Micro
Brewer license, including redeveloping the site, expanding the
parking lot and modifying the exterior façade of the existing
building, in connection with the operation of a brew pub(Piano
Shoe Brewery) at 27717 and 27719 Seven Mile Road, located on
the south side of Seven Mile Road between Inkster Road and
Harrison Avenue in the Northeast ¼ of Section 12.
Mr. Taormina:This is a request to operate a Micro-brewery in connection with
the redevelopment and reuse of a site that is located at the
southeast corner of Seven Mile and Deering. This site is about a
¼ mile west of Inkster Road. It is a relatively small site. It is under
½ acre, .45 acre. It has 115 feet of frontage on Seven Mile Road
and approximately 170 feet along Deering. The zoning is C-1
(Local Business), and relatively new to the C-1 regulations is a
provision under section 10.03(j), which allows establishments
having liquor licenses, including Class C,Small Distiller and
Micro-brewer. Licensedmicro-brewers, which produce less than
1000 barrels per year,can qualify to sell direct to licensed
Michigan retailers. They can also sell beer to consumers for
consumption on the premises as well as for take-out and offer
free samples. There are a number of special requirements that
pertain to this type of use. The first is that they must not be
located within 1,000 feet of any other such licensed
establishment. There are two Class C licensed business within
1000 feet of this site. The first one is on the north side of Seven
Mile. It is about 267 feet west and that is the Corsi’s Restaurant
andBanquet Hall. Located on the south side of Seven MileRoad
about 400 feet west of the site is the Up-NorthCraft Bar which is
the former Sands lounge. The City Council will have to waive the
separation requirementin both cases. Another requirement
under section 10.03(j)3 is that no micro-brewer shall be located
May 14, 2019
29100
with 400 feet of a church or school. There are no churches or
schools within these 400 feet. The site contains, as you can see
from the existing survey, a small commercial building as well as
a parking lot, that is located at the north end of the property
adjacent to Seven Mile Road. The balance of the site is
undeveloped and maintained as a lawn. The existing building will
remain and will be used mainly for the brewing operations as well
as for indoor seating for customers. Additional seating would be
available in an outdoor biergarten that would be created on the
east side of the building. This biergartenwould measure roughly
36 feet by 59 feet for a total of 2,124 square feet. The existing
parking lot, which is located adjacent to the east side of the
building, would remain. It only contains two parking spaces so a
new parking lot would be created on the south portion of the
property, that would contain a total of 19 parking spaces. Access
to this new parking lot would be from a single driveway located
off Deering Street. There is a six-foot-widesidewalk that would
connect the new parking lot to the side of the building. Screening
would be provided along the south property line between the new
parking lot and the adjacent residential property, that would
consist of a seven-foot-highwall, as well as landscaping. A new
concrete approach would be created off of Deering on the south
side of the buildingthatwould mainly be used to accessthe rear
service area, which includes a loading zone and a dumpster
enclosure. Inside the building would be the brewingoperations
that would occur at the back half. There would be a small bar
area as well as room for additional customer seating and
bathrooms. The area located in the front of the building would
have tables and seating for 18 persons. The bar area would have
nine bar stools and the remaining back half of the building, as I
indicated, would contain the brewing area. Through the bar
would be an access door that would go right directly to the
biergarten. The biergarten itself would be a combination of
pavers and grass. This area would be enclosed by a four-foot
high decorative metal fence. There will be seating available for
an estimated 30 persons. Between the parking lot and the
biergarten would be a bioretention area. This would be used to
manage the sites storm water runoff. There is an additional
smaller bioretention area that is shown in the northeast corner of
the site. In terms of parking and customer seating, it would
include 27 inside the building and 30 within the biergarten. The
required parking would be 24 spaces. This includes one space
for every two seats inside the building and one space for every 3
seats outside thebuilding. This does not include employees. The
21 parking spaces shown, altogether on the site, result in a
May 14, 2019
29101
deficiency of three parking spaces at least. The Petitioner has
indicated in his letter to you that he is pursuing an arrangement
with the neighboring commercial business to rent parking spaces.
Looking at the building itself, the exterior would be modified. It is
currently a masonry block that would be repaired and repainted.
There would be an existing mansard roof that is on the front of
the building that would be removed. A new door and new window
would be installed on the east elevation, as well as a new canopy
that would be over a portion of the sidewalk. This is a rendering
showing what the building would look like, general speaking, after
the renovations are complete. In terms of landscaping, a fully
detailed landscaping plan was submitted with the application.
Green space on the site constitutes roughly 40% of the property.
That is well above the 15% that we look for as a minimum. The
majority of the new plant material would be located both on the
north and the south sides of the biergarten for screening, as well
as within the bioretention area and then behind the building to
screen the service area, and lastly along the south property line
in conjunction with the wall. That wall as I indicated has been
modified. Originally it was five feet in height. That has been
increased to seven feet in height, although we do not have details
at this time. Lastly, in terms of signage, this business would be
allowed one wall sign equal to one square foot per one foot of
frontage. There is no ground sign allowed due to the non-
conforming setback of the building. Any addition signage would
have to go back before the Zoning Board of Appeals for approval.
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, datedApril 15,
2019, 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 parcels are assigned the addresses of #27717
and #27719 Seven Mile Road.The legal descriptions provided
appear to be correct and should be used in conjunction with this
petition.The existing parcels are currently serviced by public
utilities, and no disruption to the existing service leads is planned.
The developer has been in contact with this Department and is
aware of the site plan requirements including storm water
detention and the requirements for certifying that the storm sewer
outlet has the available capacity to handle the additional flows
from the site. It should be noted that the developer will also be
May 14, 2019
29102
required to obtain Wayne County permits for any work within the
Seven Mile Road right-of-way. We will provide a detailed review
once full Engineering site plans have been submitted for
approval. ”The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant
City Engineer. The second letter is from the Livonia Fire &
Rescue Division, dated April 22,2019, which reads as follows:
“This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection
with a request to utilize a Micro Brewer license, including
redeveloping the site, expanding the parking lot and modifying
the exterior façade of the existing building, in connection with a
limited service restaurant on property located at the above
referenced address.We have no objections to this proposal.”The
letter is signed by Keith Bo, Fire Marshal. The third letter is from
the Division of Police, dated April 16,2018, 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 Brian
Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The fourth letter is from the
Inspection Department, dated April 30,2018, which reads as
follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition
has been reviewed.1. Parking spaces shall be 10’ wide and 20’
deep and double striped.2. The Commission and/or Council may
wish to address exterior lighting on this property. This Department
has no further objections to this Petition. I trust this provides the
requested information.” The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna,
Director of Inspection. The fifthletter is from the Finance
Department, dated April 16, 2019, 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 Coline Coleman, Chief Accountant. The sixthletter is
from the Treasurer’s Department, dated April11,2019, 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 12,
2019, which reads as follows: “The petition submitted by Piano
Shoe Properties L.L.C., involves two individual Tax Parcels. The
current owner on Livonia’s Tax Records is 7 Mile Livonia Center
LLC. If the ownership has transferred, Michigan Law requires the
buyer to bring a copy of the Property Transfer Affidavitto the local
Assessor’s Office. The owner of the property will need to apply
for a combination of the two parcels in conjunction with this
petition. “The letter is signed by Mary Ciolino, Department of
May 14, 2019
29103
Assessing.The next letter is from Department of Public Safety,
dated April 17, 2019, which reads as follows: “We reviewed the
plans submitted by Piano Shoe Properties L.L.C. requesting
waiver useapproval, pursuant to Section10.03 (j) of the City of
Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to utilize a Micro
Brewery license, including re-developing the site, expanding the
parking lot, and modifying the exterior facade of the existing
building, in connection with a limited service restaurant (Piano
Shoe Brewery) at 27717 and 27719 Seven Mile Road, locatedon
the south side of Seven Mile Road, between Inkster Road and
Harrison Avenue, in the northeast quarter of Section 12. After
conferring with the Chief of Police, we have identified the
following issues for consideration. Both Corsi's Restaurant &
Banquet Hall, located at 27910 Seven Mile, and Up North Craft
Bar, located at 28001 Seven Mile, hold an active Class C liquor
license and are well within the one thousand (1,000) foot
separation requirement distance of the proposed site. We ask
that City Councilgive significant consideration for approval or
denial of this waiver use request.” This is letter is signed by
Jeffrey Ronayne, for the Chief of Police, he is from Special
Services Bureau.Lastly, we have a letter from a resident, Cheryl
Kassak, dated May 9, 2019,which reads as follows: “I am writing
concerning the request for waiver use approval in the above-
mentioned petition. My family and I are not able to attend the
hearing scheduled for May 14th as we are scheduled to be out of
town and therefore, I'm writing to voice our concerns. Our
property located at 19004 Deering Street adjoins the property
being considered in this petition on its southern property line. My
family has owned and resided on this property since
approximately 1970. Weare a very close family and our summers
are spent together outdoors barbequeing, swimming and
entertaining for birthdays, holidays and weekends. I have young
granddaughters who spend entire summers in our backyard. We
love being Livonia residents and plan to continue so. Our
concerns with the filed petition and proposed development are
safety, privacy and noise/light intrusion. A micro-brewery with an
outdoor "beer garden" area will have many people coming and
going, but more importantly they will mostly be "staying" in an
outdoor area drinking alcoholic beverages. We have been
advised that there will be outside "games" provided for
entertainment such as corn hole and Jenga. As you know, when
people aredrinking at a bar, they tend to be loud. This is fine for
most, unless it is 12:00 a.m. and you happen to live right next
door to the "beer garden," as my home will be if this is permitted.
The plans indicate that parking is located directly in front of the
May 14, 2019
29104
proposed five foot high false brick screen wall We feel because
a major portion of the parking will be against the part of our
property which is our outdoor living space (where our family
will be enjoying outdoor activities), a five foot wall with nothing
between the wall and the vehicles would not block guests of tl1e
brewery from viewing those activities (especially from tall trucks)
or possibly accessing our backyard. We request that a seven-foot
wall be erected with the addition of tall shrubbery/evergreens
planted on our side of the wall, and the existing chain link fence
be removed. Although we would request that the initial expense
of the shrubbery along the wall be borne by the brewery, in the
spirit of cooperation, these plantings would be installed and
maintained by us. If a seven foot wall is not possible, we would
request that there be a grassy area with tall
shrubbery/evergreens planted on the brewery side between the
vehicle parking and the five foot wall to dissuade unwanted
viewingand curiosity and to buffer any noise from the vehicles,
as well as lights from the vehicles and building. We also request,
due to the fact that we have a deep lot, that the proposed grassy
areas at the east end of the parking lot also include some type of
tall shrubbery/evergreen that would block the noise of the
vehicles and beer garden activities. I spoke with Mark Taormina
and received correspondence from Andrew Schumacher who
both indicate that the hours of operation were going to be only on
weekends and would close at reasonable hours for a
neighborhood. However, during those hours the outdoor guests
will be playing games and drinking. That, we believe,
necessitates the seven-footwall and all the grassy areas with
shrubbery/ evergreens sufficient to shield our backyard use. We
believe, if the balance of the proposed plans are adhered to, that
hours of operation are within limits deemed reasonable for a
residential neighborhood and as specified in Mr. Schumacher's
correspondence and our requested modifications are
implemented, it will provide for a more agreeable existence
between the Piano Shoe Brewery and our home. Thank you.”
That letter is signed by Cheryl Kassak, 19004 Deering, Livonia,
MI. Thank you
Mr. Wilshaw:Are there any questions of the Planning Director?
Mr. Ventura:Mr. Taormina, are you aware of any factor that would prevent the
retention area in the parking area to be switched. In other words,
that the retention area be adjacent to the home and the parking
area be adjacent to the biergarten? Is the anything, that you
know of, that would preclude that?
May 14, 2019
29105
Mr. Taormina:The one factor,and I don’t know if it is shown on any of these
plans,is the proximity of the storm outlet from bioretention #2.
That is the main area that you are referring to and I know that the
outlet for that bioretention area is due west. Whether or not there
is a limitation by moving itfurther to the south based on the
grades or the slope of the pipe, I don’t know.I am not aware of
something that would prevent that.
Mr. Ventura:So it is possible?
Mr. Taormina:It may be possible from a hydrologic standpoint.
Mr. Ventura:There are a number of site plans in our package tonight. One of
which shows heavily planted area adjacent to what I am
assuming is a seven-footwall. So what site plan are we really
looking at? Site plan with the plantings?
Mr. Taormina:Yes. I think we will hear this from the Petitioner shortly, but they
have made changes based on the communication that he has
had with the neighbor tothe south. In response to her concerns
aseven-footwall has replaced the original five-footwall. That
would be a masonry wall. In addition,there has been some shift
to the parking lot.Four feet to provide some additional space for
planting shrubs on the north side of that wall, I believe that is what
is shown. I know she indicates that she would prefer those to be
on the south side of the wall on her property, but these shrubs
are shown on the north side of the wall. I have also indicated to
Mr. Schumacher that they can achieve at least four more feet of
distance/separation by reducing the depth of theparking stalls
from 20 feet to 18 feet on both sides because there is no
interference with sidewalks. That is something we allowdespite
what Inspection indicated that the minimum size had to be 10 x
20, In this case we can live with 10 x 18-foot-deep spaces,
because again there is no interference with public walkways.
Mr. Ventura:Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions for our Planning staff?
Mr. Caramagno:Mark, is a seven-foot wall a typical thing? I don’t remember
hearing about seven-foot walls.
Mr. Taormina:We see them occasionally, but the standard, general speaking, is
five feet, but the ordinance does specify five to seven feet.
May 14, 2019
29106
Mr. Caramagno:Ok, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions? I don’t see any. The Petitioner, I believe,
is here. Good evening sir. Please start by stating your name and
address.
Andrew Schumacher, 17555 Dolores Street, Livonia, MI 48152, I do have a usage
intent that I think will help answer some questions.
Mr. Wilshaw:Please go ahead.
Mr. Schumacher:The primary intent of this property is to manufacture beer for
sales through distribution. As Mr. Taormina already stated, under
the MLCC license, a qualified micro-brewer under 1000 barrels
of production per year can sell directly to retailers. The brewing
process that we would use would actually produce relatively few
fumes and waste. The humidity would be controlled by a track
system. The waste grain would behandled separately from the
normal trash. Brewing fermentation, storage, and packaging
would all occur in the building, not outside on the property. As
part of the license, as he said, free samples on premises for
consumption and take-out purchases are allowed as well. Our
vision with the tap room is to have a family friendly space for
friends to gather and spend time. We envision people playing
board games and card games as a way to pass the time as they
talk. I grew up traveling to Germany with my family. Half of them
are from Germany and live there. This idea for this space is
influenced by the biergarten culture there. It is a community
space where all ages are welcome, and it is a place to sit outside
and mingle when the weather is nice. The purpose of the outdoor
seating area is to provide a space for everyone to sit. So,
everyone can be outside if they choose. It is not necessarily to
double the numberof seats we have on the site. To
accommodate the number of seats, we have reached out to
adjacent business owners to talk about renting space from their
parking lots. We think they are agreeable. We are still in
communication, but as their hours are during the daytime and
ours would be during the evening and night, there should not be
any overlap or a pressure for the space, taking away from their
space. The hours of operation…. we are planning to go
Thursday thru Sunday. Pretty much in the eveningon Thursday
and Friday, and then noon to evening on Saturday and Sunday.
The outdoor hours will end by 10:00pm every night and the indoor
hours on Friday and Saturday would go all the way until midnight,
May 14, 2019
29107
otherwise 10 o’clock. As for noise and disturbances, we are not
going to have any outdoor music or any live music. We might
play some quiet ambient music inside. Lighting will be directed
away from neighboring properties and will try to go to the center
as much as possible anduse ground lighting for path illumination.
Thank you
Mr. Wilshaw:Thank you Mr. Schumacher. I believe you told us a little bit at the
study meeting, but can you tell us a little bit about why you have
decided to get into this business or what your background in this
business is?
Mr. Schumacher: We are interested in it because both myself and Nathan, who
couldn’t be here tonight from a medical issue, got our degrees
from University of Michigan through chemical engineering and so
it is a very interesting craft for us because it is acombination of
the kind of art of brewing with the science of chemical
engineering.It just happens to be something that we can enjoy
and share with people and have a good time experimenting with.
Mr. Wilshaw:Any questions for our Petitioner?
Mr. Long:First of all, I love the idea of brewing through chemistry. That is
a wonderful plan. I applaud you for working to address the
concerns of the neighbor. I guess I have just one question about
the biergarten. You commit to not having any outdoor music.
Mr. Schumacher: That’s correct.
Mr. Long:So while the games are going on, you don’t want anything going
on there?
Mr. Schumacher: No we aren’t planning on it.
Mr. Long:It doesn’t seem like a good mix, but I guess you know your
business better than I do. The lighting….I think I saw one of the
pictures here where you are going to have…..are you going to
have lighting strung across? Did I see that correctly?
Mr. Schumacher: Yes, they are going to be strung across on 10-footposts so they
are outof reach and jump height.
Mr. Long:So,it would be high enough where you don’t have to worry about
that and it will be low enough where it won’t interfere with the
neighbors.
May 14, 2019
29108
Mr. Schumacher: Yes..
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions for our Petitioner?
Mr. Ventura:Mr. Schumacher, you have worked hard to answer questions that
were we presented to you at the study session. I would like you
to address the reason you have the parking next to the neighbor
and the retention pond, basically landscaping, next to the
biergarten and why that can’t be switched. Have you investigated
that?
Mr. Schumacher: I personally thought that it made more sense to push the
bioretention closer to the neighbor and keep the parking in the
middle. The site engineer that drafted these drawings thought it
was better for the bioretention to be in the center for grading plans
to be able to manage the rainwaterthe most efficiently. I have
asked him since the study meeting whether it can be put on the
south side again and he saidit wasn’t possible just due to the
grading and drainage.
Mr. Ventura:Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:Clearly,they are chemical engineers not civil engineers.
Mr. Bongero:One question. Itkind of goes back to Mark. Across the street
there is a beer store. It looks like it has been closed, I don’t
know….everything is up. It looks like it is still open, but I don’t
think it is. Is it Mark? Is that business no longer there? If so, is
anybody going to open it up? Obviously, it was beer right across
the street. Is that active?
Mr. Taormina:The answer is no. You are referring to…..I think it may even have
the sign up there.
Mr. Bongero:It does. It looks active.
Mr. Taormina:The license left that location a long time ago and there are no
plans that I am aware of to bring a license back there. That would
not be contrary to the ordinance separation because that would
be for consumption off the premises solely. That was an SDM
license at that location previously. It was only for the sale of
packaged beer and wine products.
Mr. Bongero:It looks like you’re saving them trees on the site?
May 14, 2019
29109
Mr. Schumacher: Yes,we want to save them.
Mr. Bongero:It’s a great plan. Thanks.
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions for our Petitioner? Seeing none we will go
to our audience and give them a chance to speak. We will have
you back up here shortly Mr. Schumacher. Anyone in the
audience wishing to speak for or against this item? You have a
few people wishing to speak on this item. Either podium is fine.
Please state your name and address.
Kevin Doran, 9837 Sunset, Livonia, MI 48150, I am here representing the property
immediately east. It is the Livonia Masonic Temple at 27705
Seven Mile Road. Our parking lot shares the lot line with the
proposed site. Parking is our main concern. When we have
larger events,our parking is already inadequate and what I am
hearing this evening is that this site plan has a deficiency in
parking. If the parking isn’t….and I know the ordinance doesn’t
require it, but if their parking isn’t at capacity, we are worried that
the patrons will use our parking lot. We don’t want to be bad
neighbors. We really don’t want to gate off our parking lot. That
creates a major inconvenience for us. We have no desire of
going to the Draconian methods that stores and other….our goal
is to be a good neighbor in the city. We need to figure out a way
that our parking lot doesn’t become their parking lot. That is our
major concern. I missed, there was a blip in the mic system for
the outdoor seating.I missed the total number that was planned
for outdoor.
Mr. Wilshaw:I think Mr. Taormina can refresh your memory on those numbers.
Mr. Taormina:Mr. Schumacherhas indicated that seating would be available for
30 people in the outdoor portion of the operation.
Mr. Doran:I remember a parking number in the low 20’s, where that creates
our concern that our parking lot will become used as their parking
lot. Not by their desire, but it’s conveniently located if things aren’t
done to make it inconvenient for his patrons.
Mr. Wilshaw:Sure.
Mr. Doran:So, that is our major concern. As an organization, we have no
for or against the use of the site, other than we were hoping to, at
May 14, 2019
29110
one time, buying it to increase our parking. The owner of the
building was not willing to go that route.
Mr. Wilshaw:I see.
Mr. Doran:That is our major concern and I thank you for allowing me to
address this Commission. If possible, can I get these a copy of
these site plans to share with members of our lodge?
Mr. Wilshaw:Yes you can. You can contact our Planning Department. You
can call City Hall and ask for the Planning Department and they
can email or get you copies of anything you might need. You can
call 734-466-2200.
Mr. Doran:466-2200
Mr. Wilshaw:Just call that during the day and ask for Planning.
Mr. Doran:That’s the city number? That’s why it looked familiar.
Mr. Taormina:Mr. Schumacher can provide youa copy.
Mr. Wilshaw::Yes, Mr. Schumacher may have a copy for you as well. In any
case, everything is freely available. Make sure you get a copy
from the Petitioner or from the city. We do have someone with a
question.
Ms. Smiley:What are your hoursof operation?
Mr. Doran:Well, it varies. We are predominately during the week, but our
large social events, which are six to eight times a year, will
happen on a Saturday. We end up parking down the street in the
neighborhood. If any cars drifted from next door that would be a
major problem. Overallit wouldn’t be an issue, other than we
would want to dissuade people from using our parking lot for
those instances when we do need it.
Ms. Smiley:Certainly, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:Mr. Doran, just a couple comments on what you said. We will
have the Petitioner come forward and talk about the parking issue
a little bit more to answer your question about his intent in terms
of working with the neighbor to his west to get a shared parking
arrangement. Just so you know that when we talk about the
number of patrons that may be inside or outside the building, we
May 14, 2019
29111
have a formula of, a ratio of either two to one or three to one that
we use to determine if the parking is adequate. That is assuming
that every single person that comes there is going to come in a
separate vehicle.
Mr. Doran:I understand that. I just know that there will be occasions when a
lot of people come in one vehicle and with the immediate
proximity of our parking lot…I know things will bedone with the
lot line, but there is a skeleton of a three-foot fence that is easily
stepped over by an average height person. There is no barrier in
the front to prevent walking fifteen feet and then you’rein the
property next door.
Mr. Wilshaw:We will talk to the Petitioner about it and hopefully calm your
nerves on that one.
Mr. Long:Do you have a wall on the south side of your property and if so,
how tall is it?
Mr. Doran:On the south side? The only walls are the building.
Mr. Long:Ok.
Mr. Wilshaw:Anything else Mr. Doran?
Mr. Bongero:Would you have any willingness to talk to Mr. Schumacher to talk
about the parking?
Mr. Doran:In the nature of being a good neighbor, we are willing to talk and
work things out.
Mr. Bongero:Parking,right?
Mr. Doran:We received a letter and the only information that we have is the
article in the Livonia Observer. We are here to address our
concerns and where we can go forward. Absolutely.
Mr. Bongero:If he approached you, you would consider an agreement on both
parties?
Mr.Doran:I imagine we could work something out, but I needed …..in order
to get that process started I needed to be here to voice the
concerns.
Mr. Bongero:Thank you.
May 14, 2019
29112
Mr. Wilshaw:Thank you, Mr. Doran. That is exactly why we have these
meetings. It is an opportunity for you to come and express your
views and your concerns. The things on your mind and to also
see this item for the first time as well. Hopefully, we can answer
your questions and give you some peace of mind, and also open
those doors to dialogue with the Petitioner and the city if you need
any information. Thank you for coming.
Mr. Doran:Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:Anyone else wishing to speak on this item? Sir, please step
forward.
Ivan Meyette, 18811 Foch, Livonia, MI, 48152, I am kiddy corner to where this
proposed micro-brewery is being built. Directly behind the
Masonic Temple.My main objection is to a wall, any kind of wall
they might put back there. I know city ordinance whatever, they
want a wall at least five feet. The problem being with putting a
wall up there…we have like, Mother Nature has created, a wind
tunnel that goes back there that brings a nice breeze through the
neighborhood and stuff and everything. It keeps the houses and
everything cool and refreshing. It keeps us in the old-time
neighborhood deal and stuff and everything. Masonic Temple,
Council is trying to force them to build that five-foot wall and stuff.
We all in the neighborhood have supported to not have that wall
put up for basically that purpose. I have no objection against the
micro-brewery or what he intends to do, but I was wondering if
there was any other way that we could design something that
wouldn’t block off the air flow and stuff and everything. Also,I
know he is going to have put up security lighting and stuff out
there and I am wondering how far those lights can spread out
through the neighborhood and that stuff and everything. I don’t
believe that it will be a real noisy establishment, but you know
whenever you get to gathering together people having a good
time it is going to get a little loud every once and while. We can
put up with it every once and while and stuff, but I still want to
keep the antiquated antique petition of the neighborhood and
stuff and everything.
Mr. Wilshaw:Right, you don’t want to seeany significant changes that would
block the wind.
Mr. Meyette:Yeah, so we have had it since I lived there for 40 years and stuff.
It has been fairly quiet and peaceful neighborhood and stuff and
May 14, 2019
29113
everything. If his business is successful in doing what he plans
on doing and stuff, which I hope he is, but he is goingto have an
overflow problem with the parking and stuff. Eventually going end
up not only in the Masonic Temple or across the street, but
definitely down the street of Deering and stuff and everything.
People are a creature of habit. They are going to take the
shortest route possible to get to where they are going.
Mr. Wilshaw:Yes, they do.
Mr. Meyette:Other than that, I have no other misgivings about it.
Mr. Wilshaw:Thank you, sir, for coming. I don’t believe there are any new walls
proposed as part of this. I think you are ok there, and in terms of
lighting we are always very careful that businesses don’t shine
lights outside their property. Now with the new LED lighting, it
makes it much easier to focus lighting onto the property,so it
doesn’t shine into your backyard or anyone elses. I think that will
be okay. Thank you for coming and expressing your views. We
really appreciate it.
Mr. Meyette:Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:Is there anyone else in the audience wishing to speak for or
against this item? I don’t see anyone else. Mr. Schumacher, if
you would like to please come forward, we again always like to
give you the last word, but also you have the chance to hear from
a couple residents about parking concerns and so on. If you
would liketo address those things, you are free to do so.
Mr. Schumacher: Sure, I have a couple comments on both points. As for the
overflow parking, as the neighbor mentioned, human nature is
going to go to the easiest path. The next easiest one, that would
beacross the street at the other businesses. There are 17
parking spots there and then down the street would be the next
option if everything else was full. The entrance to the Masonic
Temple is not so easy to get to. It is actually out on Seven Mile
around and you actually have to go on Goff Street to get into it I
believe. It is not an obvious entrance, and I hope that helps to
squash some concerns. I do also plan on having a bike rack
there, just of note, for people to bike to the property because it is
that kind of neighborhood. I also happen to live in the
neighborhood,so I have been taking the idea of someone moving
into my neighborhood and starting a brewery very courteously. I
am trying to have as minimal impact on the neighborhood as
May 14, 2019
29114
possible. We will see what we can do and what the city says
about a wall and maintaining a breeze or maintaining privacy with
the neighbors. We will do everything we can with lighting to be
discreet.
Mr. Wilshaw:Thank you, we appreciate your comments. Any additional
comments for our Petitioner while he is up here?
Mr. Ventura:Mr. Schumacher, you say you are working with, your words,
businesses adjacent to yours on parking.
Mr. Schumacher: I have reached out.
Mr. Ventura:So, do you have any contractual agreements that guarantee you
that your customers can park on someone else’s land?
Mr. Schumacher: Not at this time.
Mr. Ventura:How far away do think you are?
Mr. Schumacher: Likely two to three weeks.
Mr. Ventura:What happens if you areunable to secure that? Let’s just say
that the people you are working with finally say we want to rent
an uneconomic rent, for you, for the space and you walk away.
Then what?
Mr. Schumacher: We would have to scale down the seating.
Mr. Ventura:Do you think you can have some indications, confirmed
indications, of you arrangements with the adjacent property
owners for parking by the time you get to City Council?
Mr. Schumacher: I hope to, yes. I hope to work through the City to understand
who those business owners are instead of working through
renters to get to the landlords.
Mr. Ventura:Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions for our Petitioner?
Mr. Taormina:Regarding the issue of parking, the prepared resolution does
recognize that thereis a deficiency, so depending on the direction
that the Planning Commission would like to go on this, whether
they would direct him either to the Zoning Board of Appeals or
May 14, 2019
29115
scale back the seating, the resolution makes the adjustment to
match the number ofparking spaces that are currently on site.
You could append to that, either an option if he took it back to the
original plan seating count, should he secure an agreement with
the neighboring businesses, or secure a variance from the Zoning
Board of Appeals. I just wanted to point that the resolution as
prepared does make a slight adjustment. It has24 seatsin the
brewery building which would require 12 parking spaces and 27
in the biergarten which requires9 parking spaces. That would
bring the total to 21. That doesn’t include employees,but I
believe Mr. Schumacher has indicated that there are only two
employees.
Mr. Schumacher: At this time, yes.
Mr. Taormina:Very limited amount of employees at thistime.
Mr. Wilshaw:Thank you for that information Mark.
Mr. Taormina:I don’t know if he has any objection to that. If that is okay with
him. If that seating adjustment would be acceptable to him or
not at this point.
Mr. Wilshaw:Before we go and get any motions, it would probably make
sense to ask Mr. Schumacher how hefeels on that. If you are
ok with the reduced seating count to have conforming parking or
you would seek a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Mr. Schumacher: I think it is very reasonable to have that reduced and seating
inside and outside.
Mr.Wilshaw:Ok, Thank you, sir. Any other questions, comments, before we
close this public hearing. Ok, with that I will close the public
hearing. Thank you, Mr. Schumacher for coming forward again.
I will look for a motion on this item.
On a motion by Long, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was
#05-40-2019RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on May 14,2019, on Petition
2019-04-02-05 submitted by Piano Shoe Properties L.L.C.
requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 10.03(j) of
the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to utilize
a Micro Brewer license, including redeveloping the site,
expanding the parking lot and modifying the exterior façade of the
May 14, 2019
29116
existing building, in connection with the operation of a brew pub
(Piano Shoe Brewery) at 27717 and 27719 Seven Mile Road,
located on the south side of Seven Mile Road between Inkster
Road and Harrison Avenue in the Northeast ¼ of Section 12,the
Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City
Council that Petition 2019-04-02-05 be approved for the following
reasons or subject to the following conditions:
1.That the use of a Micro Brewer licenseat this location shall be
permitted provided that the Zoning Ordinance standard set forth
in Section 10.03(j)(2) requiring that there be at least 1,000 feet of
separation between any other suchlicensed establishmentis
waived by the City Council;
2.That the site plan identified as Drawing No. C-03 dated May
13, 2019, as revised, prepared by National Consultants and
Engineering is hereby approved and shall be adhered to, except
that the spaces in the parking lot may be reduced in depth from
20 feet to 18 feet in order to provide four (4) feet of additional
greenspace along the south property line;
3.That the maximum customer seating count shall not exceed
24 inside the brewery building (requiring 12 parking spaces) and
27 in the beer garden (requiring 9 parking spaces), except that
the seating is allowed to increase to 27 and 30, respectively,
should the Petitioner be granted a variance from the Zoning
Board of Appeals or secure a parking agreement with a nearby
business for additional parking;
4.That the hours of operation shall be limited to the hours as set
forth in Table 1 in the letter from Piano Shoe Properties, LLC,
dated May 7, 2019;
5.That the landscape plan identified as LP-1 dated January 25,
2019 prepared by Nagy Devlin Land Design is hereby approved
and shall be adhered to, except that evergreen trees and/or tall
evergreen shrubs shall be planted between the wall and the
parking lot for additional buffering;
6.That underground sprinklers are to be provided for all
landscaped and sodded areas (but not including the bioretention
basins) and all planted materials shall be installed to the
satisfaction of the Inspection Department and thereafter
permanently maintained in a healthy condition;
May 14, 2019
29117
7.That the architectural elevation plan identified as Sheet No.
PD2 dated February 25, 2019 prepared by Joseph Philips
Architect is hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
8.That the three walls of the trash 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. The
trash dumpster area shall always be maintained and when not in
use closed ;
9.That this site shall meet either the City of Livonia or the Wayne
County Storm Water Management Ordinance, whichever applies,
and shall secure any required permits, including soil erosion and
sedimentation control permits;
10.That all light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20’) in
height and shall be aimed and shielded to minimize stray light
trespassing across property lines and glaring into adjacent
roadways;
11.That 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 no LED lightband or exposed neon shall be permitted on
this site including, but not limited to, the building or around the
windows;
13.That 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.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
15.Pursuant to Section 19.10 of Ordinance #543, the Zoning
Ordinance of the City of Livonia, this approval is valid for a period
of ONE YEAR ONLYfrom 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.
May 14, 2019
29118
FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 19.05 of
Zoning Ordinance #543, 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 #3PETITION 2019-04-02-06Taiji Relax
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2019-
04-02-06 submitted by Taiji Relax requesting waiver use approval
pursuant to Section 11.03(u) of the City of Livonia Zoning
Ordinance #543, as amended, to operate a massage
establishment at 36155 Plymouth Road, located on the south
side of Plymouth Road between Yale Avenue and Levan Road in
the Northeast ¼ of Section 32.
Mr. Taormina:This is a request to operate a massage establishment, which falls
under the waiver use requirements of Section 11.03(u) of the
Zoning Ordinance. This would be located at the LA Shopping
Plaza which is on the south side of Plymouth Road between Yale
and Levan Road. This site is about 4.8 acres in size. It has 480
feet of frontage on Plymouth Road. The shopping center itself is
about 36,350 square feet in total area. As you can see it is an L-
shape plaza with most of the storefronts facing Plymouth Road.
Some face west toward Levan Road. This particular unit, as you
can see from this graphic, islocated on the west half of the
building. Theunit is about 1400 square feet in size. The layout
for the massage establishment shows that there would be several
semi-enclosed massage stations. There would be restrooms, as
well as a front counter / lobby area. This is a change to the plan
that was submitted to the Commission at the study meeting. The
main change, and I believe it is also reflected in correspondence
provided to the Commission, that the rooms that were originally
enclosed with doors and walls, will now be semi-enclosed and if
necessary curtains can be drawn for what they have indicated
would be their female customers. There are a couple special
requirements that apply to massage establishments. One is that
they cannot be located within 400 feet of any other massage
establishments. There are no other massage establishments
within 400 feet of this location. The next special requirement
May 14, 2019
29119
applies to the separation between schools, places of worship,
state licensed day care facilities or public grounds. The Detroit
Livonia Christadelphian Ecclesia Churchis located about 350
feet from the shopping center property, so this is going to require
a waiver from City Council. There are no modifications proposed
to the exterior of the building and they would be allowed one wall
sign and parking is more than adequate at LA Plaza to support
the proposed use.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 April15,
2019, which reads as follows: “In accordance with your request,
the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced
waiver use petition. We have no objections to the proposed
project,at this time.The existing parcel is assigned the range of
addresses of #36083 thru #36175 Plymouth Road, with the
address of #36163 Plymouth Road being assigned to the overall
parcel.The legal description provided with the petition appears to
be correct and should be used with the subject petition.The
existing building is currently serviced by public sanitary, storm
and water main. The information submitted does not indicate any
new connections to the existing utility services, so it appears that
there will not be any additional impacts to the existing systems at
this time. Should alterations to the existing services be required,
the owner will need to provide plans to this Department to
determine if permits will be required.Should the owner do any
work within the Plymouth Road right-of-way, they will need to
contact the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) for
any permits that may be required. ”The letter is signed by David
W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second letter is from
the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated April22,2019, which
reads as follows: “This office has reviewed the site plan submitted
in connection with a request to operate a massage establishment
on property located at the above referenced address.We have
no objections to this proposal.”The letter is signed by Keith Bo,
Fire Marshal. The third letter is from the Division of Police, dated
April 16,2019, 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 Brian Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic
Bureau. The fourth letter is from the Inspection Department,
dated April 30,2019, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your
request, the above-referenced petition has been reviewed. This
Department has no further objections to this petition.” The letter
May 14, 2019
29120
is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of Inspection. The fifthletter
is from the Finance Department, dated April 16, 2019, 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 Coline Coleman, Chief
Accountant. The sixthletter is from the Treasurer’s Department,
dated April 16,2019, 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.
Mr. Wilshaw:Are there any questions of the Planning Director?
Ms. Smiley:Mr. Taormina, so there is no walls? Is this acupressure? I am
confused on that.
Mr. Taormina:I think we are going to assume that this is a massage….I think we
covered that at the study meeting. This would fall under the
definition of massage so we will operate under that premise. So
your question regarding massage therapy….
Ms. Smiley:They won’t be in private rooms, they will be in….
Mr. Taormina:I am going to let the Petitioner describe …..I have the same
information you have including the plan and the letter. From what
I understand, they have eliminated the hard wall that would fully
enclose these rooms and instead are proposing some type of
curtain they can use at time. I will let them describe when and
how that would apply.
Ms. Smiley:Okay, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions for the Planning Staff? I don’t’ see any. Is
our Petitioner here? Good evening. If you could please come
forward to the podium. Will you start with your name and
address?
Ziujie Wang, 5791 North Ford Road, Canton, MI 48187/
Mr. Wilshaw:Is there anything youwould like to add about your business?
Mr. Wang:No.
May 14, 2019
29121
Mr. Wilshaw:Do we have any questions for our Petitioner?
Ms. Smiley:You run the establishment in Westland,and this is going to be
identical to that?
Mr. Wang:The services we offer is the same. By the floor plan, like you saw
there, is a little bit different. In Westland Mall, we are just
separated by a curtain or something, but for this one we will have
individual drywall,but we will have an open area. There is an
area of no wall in front. By the way too, we may use curtain for
female customer. We do have like 50% female,so we give them
privacy. Women use curtains.
Ms. Smiley:A little bit like an emergency room. How they have those curtains
that you pull so you wouldn’t be able to see in there right?
Mr. Wang:Sorry what is the question?
Ms. Smiley:Somebody walking down the hall wouldn’t be able to see the
person getting….
Mr. Wang:For females we use curtains. For male we do not.
Ms. Smiley:Would females or males be wearing a sheet? Or is this more like
pressure?
Mr. Wang:Yes they will be wearing a sheet.For the back it will be exposed.
Ms. Smiley:Ok. Thank you.
Mr. Wang:Your welcome.
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions?
Mr. Ventura:Do the walls between the various stations go to the ceiling? How
high are the walls?
Mr. Wang:Its not go to the ceiling.
Mr. Ventura:They do go?
Mr. Wang:No they don’t.
Mr. Ventura:How high do you think they are?
May 14, 2019
29122
Mr. Wang:I am not sure right now, but I am thinking about maybe like the
TV (pointing) or something like that?
Mr. Wilshaw:Maybe about eight feet. Thank you. Any other questions for our
Petitioner?
Mr. Caramagno:Why are you thinking you need an establishment in this area? Do
you have demand in this area?
Mr. Wang:Yes, we do have some demand. We have some customers right
now working in Ford Transmission Plant. We have some
customers there. We also have some customers living in Livonia
and they asked for it.
Mr. Caramagno:Thank you.
Mr. Wang:Your welcome.
Ms. Smiley:How many employees do you think you are going to have?
Mr. Wang:We are going to start out with two people. One will be my mom.
We also have one people working in Westland Mall. He will be
there also. Weare going to start with two, but we are thinking
because it is a new business it will be kind of slow. When the
business on track we may have more people work there.
Ms. Smiley:Both the people there are licensed massage therapists?
Mr. Wang:Yes.
Ms.Smiley:Okay.
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions for our Petitioner? I don’t see any questions
at this time. Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to
speak for or against this item? Seeing no one coming forward, Is
there anything else you would like to add before we conclude or
any other information that you would like to provide?
Mr. Wang:Yeah. It is a family business and actually westart out like five
years ago in Westland Mall. They gave us an opportunity and we
work hard to build a reputation. Five years later we come to
Livonia. We think it might be another good start.
Mr. Wilshaw:Are you moving your business from the mall to this place?
May 14, 2019
29123
Mr. Wang:No. It is expanding.
Mr. Wilshaw:It’s expanding, so you will keep it in the mall also.
Mr. Wang:Yes.
Mr. Wilshaw:Thank you, sir. If there is no other questions? I think we have
gone through that. I think we are all set, sothank you sir. We will
make our decision.
Mr. Wang:Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:I will close the public hearing and ask for a motion.
On a motion by Caramagno, seconded by Ventura, and unanimously adopted, it
was
#05-41-2019RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on May 14, 2019, on Petition
2019-04-02-06 submitted by Taiji Relax requesting waiver use
approval pursuant to Section 11.03(u) of the City of Livonia
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to operate a massage
establishment at 36155 Plymouth Road, located on the south
side of Plymouth Road between Yale Avenue and Levan Road in
the Northeast ¼ of Section 32, the Planning Commission does
hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2019-04-02-
06 be denied for the following reasons:
1.That the petitioner has failed to affirmatively show that the
proposed use is in compliance with all of the special and
general waiver use standards and requirements as set forth
in Sections 11.03 and 19.06 of the Zoning Ordinance #543;
2.That the proposed use fails to comply with the Zoning
Ordinance standard set forth in Section 11.03(u)(3), which
specifies that no massage establishment shall be located
within four hundred feet (400’) of a church;
3.That the petitioner has not adequately established that there
is a need for the proposed use in the shopping center;
4.That the petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated that the
proposed use would be compatible to and in harmony with
the surrounding uses in the area; and
May 14, 2019
29124
5.That the proposed use is contrary to the goals and
objectives of the Zoning Ordinance which, among other
things, are intended to ensure suitability and
appropriateness of uses.
FURTHER RESOLVED,that notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 19.05 of
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended.
Mr. Wilshaw::Is there any discussion:
Ms. Smiley:I am concerned about its proximity to the church and I am not
feeling comfortable with it yet I guess is what I am saying. I am
going to support the denial.
Mr. Wilshaw::Any other discussion? See no other discussion, if the Secretary
will call the roll.
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
Mr. Wilshaw::Mr. Taormina, this is a waiver use….
Mr. Taormina:10 days.
Mr. Wilshaw:The Petitioner will have 10 days in which to appeal this decision
in writing to City Council.
ITEM #4PETITION 2019-04-08-06Livonia Hotel Group L.L.C.
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2019-
04-08-06 submitted by Livonia Hotel Group, L.L.C.requesting
approval of all plans required by Sections 18.47 and 18.58 of the
City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in
connection with a proposal to construct a new six-story dual
brand hotel (Aloft & Element) at 19265 Victor Parkway, located
on the west side of Victor Parkway between Seven Mile Road and
Pembroke Avenue in the Southeast ¼ of Section 6.
Mr. Taormina:The property that is the subject of this petition is the site of the
former Doc’s Sport Retreat, which is on the west side of Victor
Parkway between Seven Mile and Pembroke. This property is
3.2 acres in size. It includes 193 feet of frontage on Victor
May 14, 2019
29125
Parkway and approximately 312 feet along the I-275 expressway.
This site is in the process of being rezoned from C-2 (General
Business) to C-4I (High Rise Commercial). The C-4I designation
allows buildings with a maximum of six stories. Council gave first
reading on the rezoning on January 16, 2019. The second
reading and roll call are on hold pendinga review of the site plan.
Immediately to the north of this site is the Los Amigos Don Juan
Restaurant, as well as Dave and Busters Arcade and Bar. Those
sites are zoned C-2 (General Business). Immediately to the
south is a pond that is used for storm water detention for portions
of Victor Corporate Park. East across Victor Parkway are
residential properties that front along Northland Road and then
as I indicated, adjacent to the site on the west border is the I-275
/I-96 expressway. The building thatis proposed on this site is
somewhat L-shaped. The hotel would be shifted a little bit to the
east on the site. Most of the parking would be located on the west
and north sides of the proposed building. There is an existing
drive approach off of VictorParkway, that would be shifted slightly
to the south. Anew 24-foot-wide main access drivewould be
created. Secondary access would be available to the site in the
northwest corner where it connects to the adjacent drive aisles
and parking areas that are available at the Dave and Busters
property. There is a shared access and parking agreement
between these properties. Overall, the height of the building
would be six stories. This would bring it to anoverall height of
roughly 75 feet to the top edge of the parapet. Within the C-4
zoning district there is a limitation of 20% ground coverage. This
site would have a ground coverage of about 22,644 square feet.
That equates to 16%, and therefore conformswith that
requirement. Overall, the building would be roughly 123,900
square feet. It would contain 218 guest rooms. This would
include 122 keys for the Aloft and 96 keys for the extended stay,
which is the Element on the east side of the hotel. The hotel is
basically split between the two different brands. The Aloft, which
is on the westerly half of the building, and the Element is on the
easterly half. Both are six stories in height. Both would have their
own distinct entrances and lobbies, as well as check-in areas.
Certain items would be shared between the two hotelsincluding
the pool, and some of the other common elements, such as
exercise room and guest services. Besides being linked between
a common hallway, they would operate as separate hotels. Each
having their own elevator shafts as well. Requirements, in terms
of setbacks in the C-4 zone for a six-story building, would be 49
feet for the front yard setback. In this case, they are showing 74.2
feet. The required setback along the highway would be 55 feet.
May 14, 2019
29126
In this case, they are showing almost 100 feet. Because of the
narrow width of the property, variances are needed for the north
and south side yard setbacks.With respect to parking, required
for hotels is one space per guest room plus one space per
employee. The proposed hotel requires roughly 233 total parking
spaces. This would include the 218 rooms and an estimated 15
employees. The siteplan shows 178 on site parking spaces,
however as I indicated,this property is subject to a cross access
parking agreements with the abutting properties to the north. The
plans indicate that there are an additional 71 shared spaces that
are available. So combined, on and off-siteavailable parking
would be a total of 249 spaces.Since Dave and Busters operates
with a deficiency,a variance will be needed for the shortfall of
parking for this hotel site. Trash is fully contained in the southern
portion of the parking lot. Storm water would be managed using
the existing detention basin on the property to the south. For
landscaping, a fully detailed plan is provided. It constitutes
roughly 21% of the site acreage, so it fully complies with the
ordinance in that respect. Looking at the design, this has been
probably the one issue that we have discussed the most leading
up to this meeting. The Petitioner is now indicating, instead of E.
I. F. S., a combination of cast stone along the portions of the lower
two floors and then metal panels for the upper four floors above
that. Allmaintenance free materials, relatively speaking. You
can see the design. It also contains composite panels with a
wood pattern or wood color on some of the corner elements of
the building, and a combination of greys, for the most part, on the
balance ofthe building. The blue feature that is on the top, that
is a mechanical penthousethat is covered with metal panels as
well. Light fixtures are shown at 30 feet. Typically, we require 20
feet. In this case, they are showing 30 feet. The hotel is allowed
one sign, not to exceed one square footfor each foot of building
frontage. We do not have details on the ground signage , but
they are showing multiple wall signs that will require approval by
the Zoning Board of Appeals. These mostly relate to the Aloft.
At least on these schemes, we are looking at three signs for the
Aloft on top of the mechanical penthouse and an additional sign
that would be located adjacent to their lobby on the north side of
the building. The Element also has a sign located on the upper
part of the building on what would be the north elevation, as well
as a sign on the south elevation. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can
read out the departmental correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw:Please.
May 14, 2019
29127
Mr. Taormina:The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated April24,
2019, 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 existing parcel is assigned the address of #19265 Victor
Parkway.The legal description provided with the petition appears
to be correct and should be used in conjunction with his petition.
The existing site is currently serviced by public sanitary and water
main that can be extended to the proposed building. Storm sewer
detention was previously provided with the original development,
so the new project will need to ensure that there is sufficient
capacity in the existing system for any additional impervious
areas. The submitted drawings do not indicate any proposed
utility extensions, so we will review those items when full
Engineering drawings are submitted to this department Any work
within the I-275 right-of-way may require permits from the
Michigan Department of Transportation depending on the access
and grading required to install any proposed improvements. ”The
letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer.
The next letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated
April30, 2019, which reads as follows: “This office has reviewed
the site plan submitted in connection with a request to construct
a new six-story dual brand hotel (Aloft & Element) on property
located at the above referenced address.We have no objections
to this proposal with the following stipulations:1. Subject
building(s) are to be provided with an automatic sprinkler system,
and on site hydrants shall be located between 50 feet and 100
feet from the Fire Department connection.2. Access around
building shall be provided for emergency vehicles with a minimum
vertical clearance of thirteen feet six inches, a turning radius of
fifty-three feet wall to wall and an inside turning radius of twenty-
nine feet six inches.3. A fire access road 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, 2015.4. In regard to
NFPA 13, 2013 edition, Fire Department Connections should be
of 2 ½ Detroit Standard Thread.5. Hydrant spacing shall be
consistent with City of Livonia Ordinances6. Fire Department
access roads shall be designed and maintained to support the
imposed loads of fire apparatus and shall provide with an all-
weather driving surface. Adequate. 7.This division requests that
the entrance drive be posted (on both sides) "Fire Lane -No
Parking".8.CO2 detection required for beverage distribution
systems and coolers. If tank/tanks are 100 lbs. or greater. (Per
2015 IFC 5307.1)9.Commercial kitchen Hood and Duct fire
May 14, 2019
29128
suppression shall be a UL 300 system and comply with NFPA 96.
10.Knox Box (Knox Locks on gated entries) must be installed for
Fire Department access.11.These issues and other code
requirements will be addressed during the plan review process.
We have no objections to this proposal.”The letter is signed by
Keith Bo, Fire Marshal. The nextletter is from the Division of
Police,dated May 1,2019, 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 Brian Leigh,
Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The nextletter is from the Inspection
Department, dated April 30,2019, which reads as follows: "
Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition has been
reviewed.1. The outdoor parking lights are detailed at 30 feet in
height. The Commission and/or Council may wish to review the
proposed height.2. A variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals
would be required for the deficient number of parking spaces.
This Department has no further objections to this Petition. I trust
this provides the requested information.” The letter is signed by
Jerome Hanna, Directorof Inspection. Thenextletter is from the
Treasurer’s Department, dated April16,2019, 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
sixth letter is from the Finance Department, dated April17,2019,
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 Coline
Coleman, Chief Accountant. That is the extent of the
correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw:Are there any questions of the Planning Director?
Mr. Caramagno:Maybe I didn’t hear, but why 30 feet on the light poles?
Mr. Taormina:I believe it mostly has to do with the scale of the development.
We do allow for exceptions. Most of our shopping centers and
large shopping complexes have the taller standards to get a
better light throw throughout the parking areas. I will let the site
engineer address that. Whether they can go to 20 feet, maybe
it isn’t a major issue. They may not have known about our 20
foot limitation. It is not uncommon that we allow the 30 feet on
some of our larger projects.
May 14, 2019
29129
Mr. Caramagno:Fair enough. Thank you.
th
Mr. Ventura:I may have misheardyou so….here in our write-up, May 14
Regular meeting, it talks about the only changes discussed at
the study meeting involved the exterior finishes of the building.
The original plan said E. I. F. S. was identified as primary finish
on the upper floors. An updated rendering provided for the study
meeting shows cast stone on floors one and two, and metal
panels on the floors above. This is what I thought I understood
you to say.
Mr. Taormina:Correct.
Mr. Ventura:The last sentence in this paragraph, however, says “Most recent
plans set provided by the architect shows the same exterior
design features but switches back to the E. I. F. S. panels”
Mr. Taormina:I did not have a chance to delete that sentence before it went
out to print. I think there was a miscommunication between my
office and the architect, where they did submit the ….or where I
did have a copy of the previous drawings. He clarified that by
submitting the most updated plan set that you have.
Mr. Ventura:A5.00R –at the back of thispacket?
Mr. Taormina:That is correct. If you look carefully at the exterior elevation
plans, hopefully you will see where it calls out metal panels
instead of E. I. F. S. on the side of the building.
Mr. Ventura:Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:Mr. Long, did you have a question?
Mr. Long:Asked and answered.
Mr. Wilshaw:Anyone have any questions for our Planning staff? I don’t see
anybody. We will go to our petitioner who is here.We will need
your name and address for the record please.
Mitchell Harvey, Stonefield Engineering, 607 Shelby St, Detroit, MI, I am here to
represent the applicant, Livonia Hotel Group . We are seeking
site plan approval for the proposed dual brand hotel located at
19265 Victor Parkway. I put together a little slide show. I will
take you through the site. The proposed site is on a 3.2 acre lot
May 14, 2019
29130
and it was recommended for approval for a C-4 zoning by the
City Council back in January. To the north we have Dave and
Busters, Embassy Suites, and 3M. To the south, Mark talked
about that regional basin. To the east we have Victor Parkway
and to the west we have I-96 and Seven Mile Road interchange
there. The site is currently the vacant Doc’s Sports Retreat and
its unused parking lot. That is a picture we took a couple weeks
ago out there. Hopefully you will get a good idea of what we are
proposing out there, which is a 218 room Aloft and Element
dual-brand hotel. The Aloft would be located to the west side
and the southern leg of the “L”. To the east we would have the
Element, which would be the extended stay option. We have
proposed 178 parking spaces on site. It was reviewed by
Marriot. They believe we are self sufficient in parking. We have
also proposed 30,000 square feet of landscaping, where 20,000
are required, and an additional 20 trees. As far as architectural
features go, the architect is here so I will leave any questions to
her.We propose significant architectural features across the
site to kind of distinguish the two brands that have been blended
into a six-story building. The building façade will be a mix of
various exterior finishes including Nicki Howe wood panels,
metal panels, stone veneer, and other modern finishes. It is our
belief that this project for the proposed Aloft / Element dual-
brand hotel will provide a destination hotel for professional
traveling through Livonia, and through the surrounding areas.
We have people from ownership and architectural team here, so
if you have any questions,we will be happy to answer.
Mr. Wilshaw:Thank you, Mr. Harvey. This is an exciting proposal, very
unique property. Do we have any questions for our petitioner at
this time?
Mr. Bongero:Mr. Harvey, maybe you can answer this. You are going to tear
down Doc’s obviously and the then the footprint of the building
is significantly bigger than Doc’s. Have you conducted soil
samples for ground suitability?
Mr. Harvey:We have them ordered. They may have come in, but I will have
to double check, but we had them ordered.
Mr. Bongero:Are you anticipating any hesitation?
Mr. Harvey:No. We are moving the building further north from that basin so
we shouldn’t have any issues.
May 14, 2019
29131
Mr. Bongero:Ok. Then, in regard toparking, you are saying you are self-
sufficient, but are you still going to cooperate with Dave and
Busters and Los Amigos for additional parking?
Mr. Harvey:The 178 on site is more than we need. It is plenty for us, but we
do have that 71 spacesin the shared parking agreement. We
don’t believe there would be any overlap. When Dave and
Busters is busiest is generally weekends, and when we
anticipate our peak hours would be weekdays. Those shared
parking spaces will generally not need to be used but in case
that they do…it is kind of flip flop hours, the parking generation.
Mr. Bongero:Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions?
Ms. Smiley:Do you anticipate a restaurant at either of these, or just a coffee
shop?
Mr. Harvey:It’s just a kind of small kind of bar area with just a few menu
items. Not a restaurant where people that wouldn’t be staying
at the hotel would come to.
Ms. Smiley:Ok, that was my question. So,you are not anticipating, other
than your guests/clients at the Aloft or the Element would be
using this?
Mr. Harvey:No.
Ms. Smiley:Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:Anyone else?
Mr. Long:Mr. Harvey, I am not sure if this is for you or someone else in
your entourage, but just a couple general questions about the
Element. First of all, on the upper floors there is a door ….you
can walk between the two hotelscorrect?
Mr. Harvey:On the first floor?
Mr. Long:On the above floors where there are rooms? Looking at the
floor plan, it looks like there is a door. Is that a fire door? Is that
a door that is locked separating the two? Can you speak to
that?
May 14, 2019
29132
Susan Bowers, Bowers & Associates, 2400 South Huron Parkway, Ann Arbor, MI
48104, the only connection between the two, a physical
connection where you would go from one hotel to the other will
be on the first floor. There is no connection on the upper floors
Mr. Long:Looking at the second level floor plan right by the stairway, it
looks like there is a door.
Ms. Bowers:There is supposed to be a wall there. There is a door there, but
it is not a guest used door. The cleaning staff has access to
both sides, but not guests.
Mr. Long:It will remain locked then except for emergencies.
Ms. Bowers:Yes.
Mr. Long:Are you able to speak….I am just curious in this case to the
concept of the commons. So,these are smaller rooms and they
have a shared area ismy understanding from what I have read.
Ms. Bowers:At the Element?
Mr. Long:Yeah, at the Element. Far east rooms.
Ms. Bowers:It is a different concept. Similar to …..instead of being stuck in
your room per se like a standard hotel room, you have a
common area that you can watch TV, hang out. You aren’t so
isolated in your extended stay.
Mr. Long:So basically, you have four small rooms that have access? The
studios common room, is that a keyed door also?
Ms. Bowers:That is a keyed door
Mr. Long:Only people that are staying there can get into that. Ok, that is
interesting. Thank you
Mr. Wilshaw:Any other questions for our Petitioner? I don’t see any.
Mr. Wilshaw:Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or
against this item?Sir, if you will come forward. You can use that
podium.
May 14, 2019
29133
Erik Kuszynski, 37734 Pickford, Livonia, MI, I live in the subdivision to the south
across Seven Mile. My apologies for not showing up to the study
session. I wasn’t aware of this until, frankly just the other day
when I received the email. Looking at the proposed hotel, my
concern really is the height of the hotel. Going down Victor
Parkway, the other large buildings, the Victor V office building,
the Embassy Suites they are five stories tall. So, the sixth story
sticks out. It is kind of an exposed area. Go down Victor Parkway
and most of the buildings are set off. Most of the buildings don’t
pop out at you. This one pops out at you. Little concerned if we
establish precedent here on this property for six stories, there are
proposed luxury apartments just across Victory Parkway. Are we
going to create a situation where…..we have six stories over
here, it is okay to have six stories over here, and now we are
building out of scale for the area. That is my major concern with
the proposal as it was given. It was obvious planning by previous
administrations in the area, that the five-storylimit was
purposeful. At least from how I am looking at it. I would like to
see something go in this spot. I think a hotel is appropriate, but
when you look at the size of the building and combine that with
the parking….Gee, if we went to five stories and that was doable
for these folks, we wouldn’t need the parking. Maybe that wasn’t
goingto be an issue. Maybe this solves a couple problems by
just scaling it back a bit. So, that is my major concern with this
proposal as it is. I don’t have a problem with a hotel, just a little
bit less.
Mr. Wilshaw:Thank you, we appreciate that Mr. Kuszynski. Is there anyone
else in the audience wishing to speak for or against this item? I
don’t seeing anyone coming forward. We always give the
petitioner an opportunity to come back up and address anything
you heard. The main point discussed was thesize of the building.
If you would like to speak to that, you are free to.
Mr. Harvey:Just real quickly, as you go from the Embassy Suites going south,
there is approximately an eight to thirteen foot grade change as
you go down. Standing back furtherfrom the building, it will
actually appear in line with the building to the north because they
are at a higher elevation. That is what we were thinking to not
make it so big.
Mr. Wilshaw:Is there anyone that would like to add to the petition so far forthis
presentation? I don’t see anyone else wishing to speak. Is there
any additional questions or comments from the Planning
May 14, 2019
29134
Commission? If not, I believe a motion would be in order at this
time.
On a motion by Ventura, seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it was
#05-42-2019RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on May 14,2019, on Petition
2019-04-08-06 submitted by Livonia Hotel Group, L.L.C.
requesting approval of all plans required by Sections 18.47 and
18.58 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended,
in connection with a proposal to construct a new six-story dual
brand hotel (Aloft & Element) at 19265 Victor Parkway, located
on the west side of Victor Parkway between Seven Mile Road and
Pembroke Avenue in the Southeast ¼ of Section 6., the Planning
Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that
Petition 2019-04-08-06be approved subject to the following
conditions:
1.That the Site Plan identified as Drawing C-2 dated April 11,
2019, as revised, prepared by Stonefield Engineering &
Design, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
2.That this approval is subject to the petitioner being granted
a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for deficient
parking and any conditions related thereto;
3.That the Landscape Plan identified as Drawing C-4 dated
April 11, 2019, as revised, prepared by Stonefield
Engineering & Design, is hereby approved and shall be
adhered to;
4.That all disturbed lawn areas shall be sodded in lieu of
hydroseeding;
5.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;
6.That the Exterior Elevations plan identified as Sheet Number
A5.00 prepared by Bowers & Associates,dated May 10,
2019, as revised, is hereby approved and shall be adhered
to;
May 14, 2019
29135
7.That the Rendered Exterior Elevations plan identified as
Sheet + Number A5.00R prepared by Bowers & Associates,
received by the Planning Commission on April 30, 2019, is
hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
8.That all rooftop mechanical equipment visibleto the public
shall be concealed on all sides by screening that shall be of
a compatible character, material and color to other exterior
materials on the building;
9.That the three walls of the trash dumpster area(s) shall be a
minimum seven feet (7’) in height, constructed out of
building materials that shall complement that of the building
and the enclosure gates shall be of solid panel steel
construction or durable, long-lasting solid panel fiberglass
and maintained and when not in use closed at all times;
10.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;
11.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
12.Pursuant to Section 19.10 of Ordinance #543, the Zoning
Ordinance of the City of Livonia, this approval is valid for a
period of ONE YEAR ONLYfrom 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.
st
ITEM #5APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,141Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting
Mr. Caramagno,Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of
st
the Minutes of the 1,141Public Hearings and Regular Meeting
held on April23,2019.
May 14, 2019
29136
On a motion byLong, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was
#05-44-2019RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,141stPublic Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on April23,
2019, are hereby approved.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES:Long, McCue, Smiley, Caramagno, Wilshaw,
Ventura, Bongero
NAYS:None
ABSENT:None
ABSTAIN:None
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
nd
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,142Public
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on May14,2019, was adjourned at 8:59p.m.
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
_____________________________
Sam Caramagno, Secretary
ATTEST: __________________________
Ian Wilshaw, Chairman