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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPUBLIC HEARING - 2019-07-15 - REZONING - A & H VENTURES LLC CITY OF LIVONIA PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES OF MEETING Held on Monday, July 15, 2019 A Public Hearing of the Council of the City of Livonia was held at the City Hall Auditorium on Monday, July 15, 2019. MEMBERS PRESENT: Laura Toy, President Scott Bahr Brandon Kritzman Brian Meakin Cathy White MEMBERS ABSENT: Jim Jolly, Vice-President Kathleen McIntyre OTHERS PRESENT: Mark Taormina, Director of Economic Development Paul Bernier, City Attorney Gretchen Guisbert, Recording Secretary The Public Hearing was called to order at 7:00 p.m. with President Laura Toy presiding. This is a Public Hearing on Petition 2019-05-01-03 submitted by A & H Ventures L.L.C., to rezone the property located on the southwest corner of Six Mile and Farmington Roads (33411 Six Mile Road) in the Northeast ¼ of Section 16, from C-1 (Local Business) to C-2 (General Business). The Public Hearing is now open. There were 12 people in the audience. Toy: Mr. Taormina? Taormina: Thank you. Again, this is a rezoning petition involving property that is located on the southwest corner of Six Mile and Farmington Roads. This is a site that is currently filled with a Shell gas station. The site measures 160’ of frontage along Farmington with 135’ along Six Mile Road for a total area of about ½ acre. There is a building on the property that measures about 1,900 square feet. The building sits at an angle facing the intersection. There are two groups of gasoline pumps, with overhead canopies. Four driveways provide ingress and egress to the site including two on Farmington Road and two on Six Mile Road. Gas stations are treated as a waiver use in the C-2 zone district; however, the current C-1 zoning does not allow gas stations. So, this site is considered valid non-conforming use. The use has been in existence since before the adoption of the ordinance which rendered it non-conforming. The gas station, therefore, is grandfathered. There are limitations and restrictions. Section 18.18 of the ordinance specifies that valid non-conforming use shall be automatically terminated if more than 50% of the building is destroyed. Moreover, section 18.21 specifies that the height, the area, or the bulk of the valid non-conforming building cannot be increased. So, there is little the petitioner can do with respect to modifying this site unless he goes to the Zoning Board of Appeals. This is the reason he is requesting the rezoning. To bring the site more into compliance with the ordinance. If successful, he is considering expanding and upgrading the property. The site is surrounded by commercial and office land uses to the south, north, east and west. Planning Commission reviewed this item at Public Hearing on June 11, 2019 and is recommending approval of the rezoning request. The Master Plan does show this site as Corridor Commercial, so it is in compliance with that. Thank you. Toy: Are there any questions? Councilman Bahr. Bahr: Actually, I just had another administrative question, Mark. Do we have a way to get this shown out on the screen for the audience tonight? Taormina: I will try. Bahr: In Mark’s defense, this is a change to how we do this, and I know we’ve done it in the past, but it’s, there is some tech issues with us having it televised tonight. Oh, there it is. Thank you, Mark. Toy: Thank you, Councilman. Any other questions before we go to the petitioner? No? Mr. Petitioner, are you all set? Please state your name and address for the record, sir. Hamouch: Good evening. My name is Ali Hamouch. I reside at 27008 Northmore, Dearborn Heights, Michigan 48127. I’m the property owner as well as the business for 33411 Six Mile Road, Livonia, Michigan. The Shell gas station on the corner. I have owned that station since three years ago. Since that time, I was studying the market to understand my neighborhood and to understand what’s needed. As you guys see that it does need some renovation. It’s been a Shell gas station for the last 60 years or so. Due to the fact that a recent ordinance was changed from being a C-2 to a C-1, so this is now non-conforming use. I would like to bring it to a conforming. The reason being is I would need to do some renovation to it, as well as to get some financing and from a liability standpoint as well, I would have to have it as a conforming. Toy: Councilman Meakin? Meakin: What type of renovations are we looking at? Hamouch: Expansion and also facelift to the station as far as, to give it a more modern look. Not the particular shell old shell that it has. Just to clarify, expansion is not something over, it’s like almost 500-600 square foot to the, if I’m looking at the site, it will be to the northwest, which has some ability to get that. If agreed, I am not asking now for the expansion, but now what I am asking is for the rezoning, after it goes through the proper channels inside the city, if it’s accepted. Meakin: Through the Chair to Mark, I thought I heard it said if they weren’t changing more than 50%, that just means basically the foundation, isn’t it? They can change the walls all they want to. Taormina: Any expansion of this site would require a review by the Zoning Board of Appeals. Meakin: This is probably the third time it’s been remodeled in the 20 years that I’ve been around. Taormina: You know, most of those remodels since I’ve been around have just been cosmetic. Meakin: So, sir, are you planning on changing the use of the building? Hamouch: No. It’s going to be a gas station/convenience store, but I will offer more, bringing in, trying to get an acceptance from Circle K, a very smart concept of a 7-11. Meakin: Ok, that, now we’re getting into an area I am not comfortable with. So, you want to change the use of it too? Hamouch: I am not changing the use. It is a gas station and a convenience store. Meakin: But if you want to go to the Circle K/7-11 type model, you are going to need a liquor license and stuff like that. Hamouch: This is something that I already, because I knew from the City, there is no liquor license. I know. So based on my contingency, they accepted to have no liquor, no beer, no wine. Meakin: Ok, that makes me feel a little better. Thank you. Toy: Councilman Kritzman? Kritzman: Thank you madam Chair. This is a gas station I am overly familiar with considering how often I stop there. I live just right around the corner. He’s got a nice set of offerings inside the building, but certainly by standards in the city, I guess not standards, but what you see in some of the other competing locations, there is expanded offerings. If he’s got no intention for changing it from an offering to add beer, wine, and liquor, things of that sort, things we don’t typically do in Livonia, I see no reason to hold this up. I think it would be a nice opportunity for that corner, which frankly, a lot of the buildings in that corner need something. This would be a nice shot in the arm for that. Hamouch: Thank you. Toy: Ok. Kritzman: If there are no additional comments, I will offer an approving resolution. Toy: We do have an approving on the floor. Were there any other questions? Yes, Councilman Bahr? Bahr: I noticed, I don’t know how recently, but I noticed you put security bars on the doors there. If you don’t mind me asking, did you have an incident that prompted that? Or is that just precaution? Because that, I have to admit it was a little jarring to see. We’re not used to seeing that around here. Hamouch: Unfortunately, yes. And I did not want to see that. What happened is, yes, I did have two incidents where they were trying to break in. In one, they were successful, and the other one, I was lucky enough that the police stopped them. Because the police are one mile down there. He was able to stop him before he broke in. Because of the two incidents and they close at 12 midnight, I had to have some peace of mind to sleep at night. That’s what happened. If they force the door, an alarm will go off and they will call the police department and they will be able, and this is something that is only temporary. I don’t want to see it here. Bahr: I can appreciate your concern, but since you were here, I just wanted to ask. We don’t have to talk about that any further than that right now but thank you. Hamouch: Trust me, I have a lot of complaints about that, but my neighborhood understood where I am coming from and I am hoping to get rid of it. Toy: Councilman Kritzman? Kritzman: Thank you madam Chair. To the petitioner, I am not sure if you are planning on simply expanding the existing building or a lot of times what we see in this scenario, is the building gets knocked down and reconfigured on the site. What we see oftentimes, are these angled formats, which was a popular thing to do for a while. What you end up with is a lot of wasted property on there. Hamouch: Absolutely. Kritzman: Could you clarify your intention with the building? Are you expanding it or are you going to knock it down and rebuild it? Hamouch: No, as of now, now I’m not actually knocking it down. I am just trying to expand it and give it a facelift or a more modern look. Some change of outside and be able to have all the offers that are for Circle K that they come in to be able to offer different merchandise. As of now, I am not able because of the space. Kritzman: Ok, thank you. Toy: Thank you Councilman, and thank you, sir. Any others? Meakin: Through the Chair, back to Mark again. What other businesses do you run out of a C-2 zone building that would be allowed under that classification? Taormina: Well as you know, C-1 is a local business district, whereas, C-2 is our general commercial. More intensive use is permitted in a C-2 zoning, would be full-service restaurants, automotive repair facilities, uses like that typically, car dealerships, those are all uses. Most of those higher intensity uses are, can only be approved with, subject to waiver use approval. There is not a big difference between the uses that are permitted by right between the C-1 and C-2. Meakin: And this is just a zoning change at this time. You would have to come before Council or Planning Commission for the renovation? Taormina: Absolutely. Meakin: Ok, thank you. Toy: Sir, oh, go right ahead. Bahr: So, Mark, is the property at the northeast corner of that intersection C-2? Taormina: That is C-1 as well. Bahr: That is C-1. The one that was recently rebuilt. Taormina: Yea, so this is the zoning map. The Mobile gas station across the street is C-1, the site at the northeast corner, which is now a small retail center, was previously a gas station, that too is zoned C-1. Bahr: When it was previously a gas station, that was an auto repair place as well. Taormina: That’s correct. Bahr: And that was allowed under C-1? Taormina: That was also a non-conforming use. Bahr: It was, ok. Just trying to understand the history. Thanks. Taormina: All three of those corners would be considered valid non-conforming use. Toy: Sir, if I may ask you a quick question. You said you owned the gas station now for three years, is that correct? The Shell station? Hamouch: Yes, correct. Toy: Had you owned any gas stations prior to that, or do you own any other gas stations? Hamouch: Yes ma’am. Toy: Ok. Prior to owning that one? Hamouch: No, I have a gas station up in New Baltimore by the lake. Toy: Ok. Hamouch: A Mobile gas station. Toy: Kind of the same operation? Hamouch: Absolutely. I don’t offer beer or wine. It is only a store for the neighborhood. It’s a neighborhood store. I have great recommendations from the customers. I did a lot of changes and it did pay back. The neighborhood did like what I did, and I am more than welcome to show you some pictures of what I did because it is something unique what I did there. Toy: Oh, that’s great. Ok. What was unique? Hamouch: It’s, I gave it the image of the town because New Baltimore as you all know, is a lake. There is a lot of fishing so when I gave it a look of what’s inside the town. And everybody was so happy with that. There are a lot of pictures of back in history. I went to the library and took a lot of pictures of the old people, the old buildings and put them all the way inside the store. Toy: That’s great. That’s nice of you, so you kind of get really involved. Hamouch: I listen to the community. Toy: Well I am sorry you had your incident that happened to you. That’s rough when you are a small business owner, but I, hopefully you are just going to keep it within the bounds of what you are talking about and expand it and you will do a great business, like you are doing now. So, thank you very much. Hamouch: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Toy: Yes, you have an approving resolution thus far. I don’t see anyone else offering any other comments but now we are going to the audience and see if anyone else wants to speak. Ok. Hamouch: Absolutely. Thank you. Toy: Anyone in the audience wishing to speak to this petition at this point? Incidentally, this petition, as well as the second, will be heard on August 12, 2019, here in the auditorium, where we will be voting on those at the regular meeting. On August 12, 2019. White: Madam Chair? Toy: Yes? White: Assuming that this goes through, which is looks like it’s headed in that direction, this Council has a strong history of supporting small businesses and we wish you continued success at that location with your expansion. Hamouch: Thank you so much. I appreciate your feedback. White: Absolutely. Toy: Ok. I don’t see anyone coming up to the mike. So, you understand thth that it will be heard on the 12 of August, or voted on, on the 12. Hopefully Councilman/Vice-President Jolly will be here then and Councilwoman McIntyre. They are out of town. She is out of town on business for her job and Mr. Jolly as well. So hopefully they will th be back with us on the 12, I’m sure, so you will have a full Council, I guess, God willing. As there were no further questions or comments, the Public Hearing was declared closed at 7:16 p.m. SUSAN M. NASH, CITY CLERK