HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2012-06-05MINUTES OF THE 1,025TH PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
On Tuesday, June 5, 2012, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia
held its 1,025th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting in the Livonia City Hall,
33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan.
Mr. Lee Morrow, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Members present: Scott P. Bahr Ashley V. Krueger R. Lee Morrow
Lynda L. Scheel Carol A. Smiley Gerald Taylor
Ian Wilshaw
Members absent: None
Mr. Mark Taormina, Planning Director, and Ms. Margie Watson, Program
Supervisor, were also present.
Chairman Morrow informed the audience that if a petition on lonighfs agenda
involves a rezoning request, this Commission makes a recommendation to the
City Council who, in tum, will hold its own public hearing and make the final
determination as to whether a pefifion 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 len 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 pefifions upon their fling.
The staff has furnished the Commission with both approving and denying
resolutions, which the Commission may, or may not, use depending on the
outcome of the proceedings tonight.
ITEM #1 PETITION 2012-05-02-12 ASIA PALACE
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Patton 2012-05-
02-12 submitted by Nicolas Lin requesting waiver use approval
pursuant to Section 11.03(c)(1) of the City of Livonia Zoning
Ordinance #543, as amended, to operate a full service
restaurant (Asia Palace) at 28455 Plymouth Road, located on
the south side of Plymouth Road between Harrison Road and
Middlebell Road in the Northwest 1/4 of Section 36.
June 5, 2012
25165
Mr. Taormina: This is a request to operate a full service restaurant. The
property is located on the south side of Plymouth Road between
Harrison and Middlebelt Roads. The site is zoned C-2, General
Business. This building was originally constructed as a bowling
alley and operated as Wonderland Lanes. It has been closed
for a couple of years now. In terms of the adjacent land uses
and zoning districts, immediately to the south of the subject
property are single family homes that are part of the Thomas
Elliot Subdivision, which is zoned R-1, one family residential.
Lying both to the east and west of the properly are various
commercial uses. Across Plymouth Road is the site of the
Plymouth Tech Center, which is zoned M-2, General
Manufacturing. The exisfing building on the property measures
about 16,000 square feel in total area. It sits only a few feet
from the right -0f --way of Plymouth Road. The majority of the
parking for the site is located in the rear. There is a one-way
traffic lane along the west side of the building that serves as the
main entrance. Some parking is provided along the west side of
the building. There is another drive aisle on the east side of the
building that serves as the primary exit to Plymouth Road. Also,
there is a small adjoining L-shaped parcel to the east that is
owned by the petitioner. That extends to the east and provides
access out to Harrison Road, which is on the right hand side of
the drawing. That includes some additional parking as well as a
secondary ingress and egress from Harrison Road to Plymouth
Road. The buildings immediately to the east have access to the
subject property. The site plan shows the adjacent building to
the east. The access to the parking area behind this adjacent
commercial building relies on access to the subject property.
Restaurants are treated as a waiver use under Section 11.03(c)
of the Zoning Ordinance. The old bowling alley would be
divided into two separate uses. The use that you're considering
this evening is an Asian style restaurant which would occupy the
northerly or the front part of the building. The remaining interior
space would be used primarily as a specially grocery store and
all of the other ancillary uses that come with it. The floor plan
shows various storage rooms, restrooms, an office, etc. The
grocery store, which is a separate use, would be located along
the back side of the store. There would be a main entrance
located from the parking lot at the back of the store and a
hallway that would lead to the restaurant use up front. The
restaurant would have 64 interior seats. There are no plans for
any outdoor seating. There are no plans for any on -premise
liquor license. It would be classified as a full service restaurant.
In terms of parking, what is required for the restaurant is one
space for every two seals plus one space for each employee.
With 64 customer seals, they are required to have 32 parking
spaces. They are projecting eight employees. So roughly 40
June 5, 2012
25166
spaces are required there. The grocery store requires another
39 or 40 spaces. Altogether, they are required to have about 83
parking spaces. The plan does show 83 parking spaces. The
rear parking lot would have to be reconfigured and restriped.
The ordinance requires 10 feel by 20 feel parking spaces. This
plan is showing spaces that are deficient in size. Many of them
are 9 feet in width and would only be 18 feel or 19 feel in depth.
In addition, the aisle ways are only shown at 20 feel. Typically,
we require 22 feel for the aisle ways. So variances would be
required unless the Planning Commission would rather see
fewer parking spaces in favor of having the spaces sized
correctly. In exchange, they would need a variance for deficient
number of parking spaces. I think that is something we should
discuss this evening. They are not proposing any exterior
changes or modifications to the building. They would be
allowed one wall sign equal to the width of the building which is
67 feel. They would be allowed a 67 square foot wall sign.
With that, Mr. Chairman, I'll read the correspondence.
Mr. Morrow: Yes. Let's do that, and then we'll see if there are any questions
Mr. Taormina: There are several items of correspondence. The first item is
from the Engineering Division, dated May 24, 2012, which reads
as follows: 9n accordance with your request, the Engineering
Division has reviewed the above -referenced waiver use
approval request. The written legal description provided is
correct. The address for this site is confirmed to be 28455
Plymouth Road. Via copy of this letter, we are notifying the
petitioner of the following: Should the project scrape expand to
include any work within the Plymouth Road right-of-way, a
permit will be required from the Michigan Department of
Transportation. Should the project scrape expand to include any
work involving a Livonia right-of-way, easement or utility, a
permit will be required from the Engineering Division of the
Department of Public Works. Approximately 5 years ago, the
City of Livonia did storm sewer work directly behind this
property. We determined at that time that the existing storm
conveyance system for the parking lot near the south end of the
property is an older system that is nearing the end of its useful
life. It is suggested that this system be video inspected so that
the property owner has a good understanding of any future work
that may be needed to ensure sufficient site drainage. This is
particularty important given the deteriorated condition of the
parking lot, and the anticipated reconstruction of same. We are
providing the petitioner, for informational purposes, a copy of
Section 13.42 of the City Ordinances. This Ordinance limits the
amount of Fats, Oils and Grease (F.O.G.) which can be
discharged to the City sanitary sewer system to 100 milligrams
June 5, 2012
25167
per liter by weight, and provides information on grease
interceptor requirements. The Ordinance can also be viewed
on our website at www.ci.11vonia.mi.us." The letter is signed by
Kevin G. Roney, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second
letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated May 10,
2012, which reads as follows: 9 have reviewed the site plans
for approving this petition for a waiver request to operate a full
service restaurant at 28455 Plymouth Road. 1 believe this
building has many inherent issues: (1) The type of construction.
(2) Too many one and two hour walls that must be maintained
throughout the life of the occupancy. (3) Not enough exits. (4)
Minimal fire lanes. My view based on compliance to the
National Fire Protection Association's rules is that the building
must have a monitored (fire alarm), fully automatic fire sprinkler
system. Therefore it is my opinion that this waiver request be
denied. 1 have no objections to this proposal." The letter is
signed by Earl W. Fesler, Fire Marshal. The third letter is from
the Division of Police, dated May 16, 2012, which reads as
follows: 9 have reviewed the plans in connection with the
petition. The entire asphalt parking lot is in poor condition. 1 am
recommending at least a resurfacing of asphalt. The plans
appear to show one-way entrance traffic on the west side of the
building and possibly a two-way entrance/exit on the east side.
Proper signage must be installed by the petitioner to advise
motorist's of this traffic pattern." The letter is signed by John
Gibbs, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The fourth letter is from the
Inspection Department, dated June 4, 2012, which reads as
follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above -referenced
petition has been reviewed. The following is noted. (1) The
parking lot is in disrepair and needs to be replaced. (2) The
number of parking spaces is deficient. A variance from the
Zoning Board of Appeals would be required to maintain the
deficient number of parking spaces. (3) The parking spaces
shall be 10' x 20' and double striped. (4) Barrier free spaces are
to be property sized, signed and striped. (5) This plan does not
make provision for a dumpster(s) or dumpster enclosure(s). The
Commission and/or Council may wish to determine how trash
disposal will be maintained at this site. (7) Any code issues will
be addressed at the time of our plan review if the project moves
forward. This Department has no further objections to this
petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Assistant
Director of Inspection. Lastly, we have a letter from Charles
Lechner, D.D.S., dated May 22, 2012, which reads as follows:
"We welcome our new neighbors! We approve you to move
forward with your zoning plans and wish you lots of success.
We hope Asia Palace restaurant brings in a lot of business, and
we look forward to having a new place to dine." The letter is
June 5, 2012
25168
signed by Dr. Charles Lechner, 28435 Plymouth Road, Livonia,
Michigan 48150. Thankyou.
Mr. Morrow: Are there any questions for the staff?
Ms. Krueger: I have a couple questions. Mark, the letter from the Fire
Marshal, are those items things that you think could be easily
remedied - the fire lanes and not enough exits?
Mr. Taormina: That letter was received fairly early in the review process. In
response to that, we did meet on site with the Inspection
Department, the petitioner and his architect to address a
number of those issues. The architect understands what needs
to be done in order to satisfy all of the fire code and building
code requirements, and that is something he is in the process of
addressing. I think he has a clear understanding of what needs
to be done in order to satisfy all those requirements.
Ms. Krueger: Okay. Do you know if the petitioner is currently leasing the
building or does he own it already?
Mr. Taormina: I will lel the petitioner answer that, but it is my understanding
that he is now the owner of the property.
Ms. Kruger: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Taylor: Through the Chair to Mark Taormina. Mark, obviously a lot of
this is coming on because of the restaurant.
Mr. Taormina: That is correct.
Mr. Taylor: He could put a store in there if he wanted to. The zoning is
right, other than the fact that he would have to update the
building and everything.
Mr. Taormina: That is correct. The only matter before you this evening in
terms of the use requirement is the restaurant. All other aspects
of the petition, the grocery store, the office, and all of the
associated uses that would occur within the building, would be
classified as permitted uses. And yes, prior to occupancy, he
would have to address a number of these concerns, but really
your main focus this evening is the restaurant.
Mr. Taylor: Thankyou.
Mr. Morrow: Anyone else before I go to the petitioner? I see no other
questions. Is the petitioner here this evening? Would you
June 5, 2012
25169
please come forward? We will need your name and address for
the record please.
Zack Ostroff,
Zack M. Ostroff & Associates, 2640 Water Oaks Drive, West
Bloomfield, Michigan 48324.
Mr. Morrow:
Thank you. You heard the comment Mr. Taylor made. One of
our missions here tonight is to make sure you have a clear
understanding of some of the things that were mentioned in the
correspondence relating to our Departments, some of the
repairs and upgrades that have to be made. So on that note,
would you like to add to anything you've heard so far?
Mr. Ostroff:
Yes. In terms of the letter from the Fire Marshall, I just wanted
to say that I worked closely with Scott Miller in the Planning
Department, and worked with him in terms of what level of detail
he needed for the submission for today. I was told just a floor
plan, not construction documents showing fire walls and fire
separation. All those issues will be addressed. Everything that
was in his letter is obviously valid. It will be addressed and
down the road, hopefully, we'll be able to go the Building
Department and submit for permits there. So that's that issue.
In terms of the parking, I was just talking to the owner. Its kind
of a catch 22. We needed about 83 parking spaces, so we fit
them in there. We're slightly deficient. Instead of 20 fool
depths, we've got 18 and 19 fool, but we do meet the 83. If that
isn't what the Board sees as acceptable, then we can of course
modify it. It looks like we're going to lose roughly 15 to 17
spaces if we conform to a standard 10 by 20 parking space.
Mr. Morrow:
We do have fairly firm rules that relate to 10 by 20 double
striped parking spaces. However, in the past, the Commission
has allowed 9 fool wide spaces for employees.
Mr. Ostroff:
Okay.
Mr. Morrow:
And the Commission may choose to go with that as we have
done that in the past. As far as the customers, we like to keep
the larger spaces.
Mr. Ostroff:
Sure. The only other thing I would mention is, we did provide
for a dumpster location. Its in the bottom quarter right there.
You can see it in the lower lett hand corner. That would be the
dumpster location. We would put an enclosure around it,
whatever is needed by ordinance.
Mr. Morrow:
It appears that everything you heard tonight hasn't ran you off,
so that's good to hear.
June 5, 2012
25170
Mr. Ostroff: Right
Mr. Morrow: We think it would be a good use for the building. It sounds like
he has a good marketing plan.
Mr. Ostroff: Yes, absolutely. I have the owners here as well if you have any
specific questions for the business. He seems to be able to do
whatever is required, especially the parking lot. We did have
the meeting on site. The parking lot is pretty chewed up. But
the issues with the signage and the one-way and two-way
entrances, that won't be an issue.
Ms. Smiley: My question is regarding the parking lot. I'm sure you received
the letter from May 24 regarding the parking and about the
drainage, and they want to do a video inspection so that you
don't gel in there and find out that the drainage is a real problem
before you fix the parking lot.
Mr. Ostroff. Right. Absolutely. When we mel on site, there is a depression
in the southeast comer of the lot where the grade slips down a
little bit. We'll gel it scoped and get a video and figure out what
we need to do.
Ms. Smiley: Because that could be a big project before you even ...
Mr. Ostroff. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
Ms. Smiley: So you totally agree.
Mr. Ostroff: The whole parking lot is quite a big project. It's in fairly bad
shape.
Ms. Smiley: Good. Thank you, Mr. Chair
Mr. Taylor: You're speaking kindly when you say the parking lot is in bad
shape. It's in horrible shape. The Chairman and I were over
there. Is there an option on the building or do they actually own
the building?
Mr. Ostroff. It is my understanding that they own the building.
Mr. Taylor: Okay. Are they planning on doing anything at all outside the
building like painting or whatever?
Mr. Ostroff. Based on where this has gone, it started out with they were just
going to do the interior and gel in, and now its kind of,
unbeknownst to them when they purchased the building that
June 5, 2012
25171
they would have to do the parking lot and those types of things.
Right now, they're not making any plans to do anything on the
exterior other than the rear entrance, which you can see on the
floor plan off the back. That's the only change. Signage will
meet the ordinance. Everything will meet the ordinance, but
we're not really going to change anything aesthetically just
because he has to absorb a lot of the cost for the parking lot
and the interior as well.
Mr. Taylor: I don't have a big problem with what you want to do there. I
think it's good, but the problem I've got is, we have to update
the building a little bit. The drainage from the roof is coming
apart. Obviously you've seen that.
Mr. Ostroff: Right. Right. In the back.
Mr. Taylor: The paint is actually peeling off the building. We'd like to have
some sort of cooperation to where you're going to update the
outside of the building so the people in Livonia also see that
building and how it looks. That's normally what our function is,
trying to update the building. I know inside there's an awful lot
of work you have to do.
Mr. Ostroff. Right. Right.
Mr. Taylor: And I give you a lot of credit if you have enough money to do
everything you have ahead of you. The use, as far as I'm
concerned, I have no problem with. I think it's fine, but you have
to kind of prove to me that you want to update the building a
little bit on the outside also.
Mr. Ostroff: Well, in terms of functional things like the drainage and things
like that, we did receive a list from the Building Department for
buildings that have been unoccupied or foreclosures, items that
have to be fixed. We're going beyond that in fixing everything
obviously to bring it up to ...
Mr. Taylor: Inside. I know.
Mr. Ostroff. And on the outside as well.
Mr. Taylor: The outside, it looks like there was a door taken out and cement
block put in there not painted.
Mr. Ostroff. Right. That will all be addressed.
Mr. Wilshaw: Its my understanding there are only a couple locations like this
in the area right now.
Mr. Lin: Yes, but not as big as this one.
Mr. Wilshaw: You're going to serve a pretty wide area, a lot of people who are
looking for these specialty Asian foods, right?
Mr. Lin: Yes. I'm going to try to include as big a selection as I can f: in
the store.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Great. And then your restaurant, what kind of restaurant
is that going to be?
Mr. Lin: Its going to be Asian, Chinese, Japanese, ethnic foods.
Mr. Wilshaw: So it's not a traditional Chinese restaurant. It's going to be a
little different.
June 5, 2012
25172
Mr. Taylor:
And it's a bright yellow color. Its actually fading. There's a lot
of things wrong with the exterior of the building. That's what I'm
getting at.
Mr. Ostroff.
Right. Yeah, I mean, painting and things like that, things that
are low cost, I don't think the owner has any problem doing,
other than when we gel into talking about changing the facade
on Plymouth Road, then that's ...
Mr. Taylor:
I don't have any problem with that. All I'm asking is put a little
paint on the building.
Mr. Ostroff:
Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
Mr. Taylor:
Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:
I guess we haven't talked loo much about the use of the
building. Can you explain to me exactly what sort of grocery
store this is going to be, what products will he carry, that type of
thing? Can you tell us about your business? What you're going
to do there and how you're going to serve the community?
Mr. Ostroff.
Actually, lel me gel the owner.
Nickolas Lin, Asia Palace, L.C., 873 Patricia Place Drive, Westland, Michigan
48185. I plan to open a specially Asian grocery store and Asian
restaurant. It's going to carry specialty Asian from China,
Korea, Japan. This kind offood.
Mr. Wilshaw: Its my understanding there are only a couple locations like this
in the area right now.
Mr. Lin: Yes, but not as big as this one.
Mr. Wilshaw: You're going to serve a pretty wide area, a lot of people who are
looking for these specialty Asian foods, right?
Mr. Lin: Yes. I'm going to try to include as big a selection as I can f: in
the store.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Great. And then your restaurant, what kind of restaurant
is that going to be?
Mr. Lin: Its going to be Asian, Chinese, Japanese, ethnic foods.
Mr. Wilshaw: So it's not a traditional Chinese restaurant. It's going to be a
little different.
June 5, 2012
25173
Mr. Lin: The same menu you see in others, but it will be more.
Mr. Wilshaw: The people who are going to go to this place, say they're going
just to use the restaurant. How are they going to gel into the
restaurant? Are they going to enter from the back typically, or
are they going to come to your front entrance?
Mr. Lin: I have two entrances for the restaurant. One is in the front by
Plymouth Road and the other is at the main entrance. The
majority of the parking is in the back so I try to accommodate
with the parking.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. That sounds good. You understand some of what's
been talked about already about the significant costs that are
involved with the sewer system, the parking, and all the other
elements. You're prepared to spend the money that's
necessary to get all those things up to dale, right?
Mr. Lin: Yeah. I'm planning on spending money. I'm also going to paint
the building outside, too.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Good. I have to agree with what Mr. Taylor said so far,
that this sounds like an amazing reuse of this building.
Obviously a bowling alley doesn't often gel reused for
something else, and you've come up with a pretty good concept
that I think will draw people from all over the area to come to
your location. So, definitely as this moves forward, I wish you
much success because you're really taking on a big challenge, I
think.
Mr. Lin: Yes. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: That's all I have for now. Thank you.
Ms. Scheel: Can you tell me what the hours of your store are going to be
and the restaurant?
Mr. Lin: They're going to be different hours. For the grocery store,
probably around 10:00 a.m. to about 10:00 p.m. For the
restaurant, Monday through Thursday, 11:00 a.m. to about
10:30 p.m.; Friday through Saturday, it would be 11:00 a.m. to
about 11:00 p.m. Sunday and holidays, to about 10:00 p.m.
Ms. Scheel: Is your restaurant dine -in and take-out?
Mr. Lin: Yes.
Ms. Scheel: Are you asking for any type of a license to serve alcohol?
June 5, 2012
25174
Mr. Lin:
No, I'm not planning to.
Ms. Scheel:
Okay. What about an outdoor patio for sealing?
Mr. Lin:
No, there will be no outside seating.
Ms. Scheel:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Bahr:
One question. I missed the study meeting on this and perhaps
this was discussed. The main seating on which the parking is
being based is 64 interior seals. I'm seeing 24 on the plan.
How many seats are you planning on having in this restaurant?
Mr. Lin:
Sixty.
Mr. Bahr:
So the 64 is what you're intending to have?
Mr. Lin:
Yes, 64. 1 have five booths over there.
Mr. Bahr:
That clarifies it for me. Thank you.
Ms. Krueger:
Do you plan on adding any lighting to the rear of the building
where your entrance will be?
Mr. Lin:
Yes, make sure there is sufficient lighting on the outside.
Ms. Krueger:
Will that be shielded from the residential area in the back?
Mr. Lin:
Yes. I'm going to try to keep low lighting in the building, the old
designs. I don't want to cause any trouble for neighbors.
Ms. Krueger:
What do you plan on doing for the handling of grease and that
kind of thing for the restaurant?
Mr. Lin:
I'm planning to put a grease interceptor inside the restaurant.
Ms. Krueger:
That's all I have. Thank you.
Mr. Ostroff.
We'll do a plan on site lighting in the back and in the parking lot
as well because there's virtually none back there now. We have
to put some in there.
Ms. Krueger:
Mark, is that something they should have brought for us to
review today?
Mr. Lin:
June 5, 2012
Mr. Wilshaw:
25175
Mr. Taormina:
We'll add that condition regarding the shielding of any lighting
Mr. Wilshaw:
from the residential area and limit the height to 20 feel for any
pole -mounted lighting and shoebox-type fixtures.
Ms. Krueger:
Okay. That sounds good. Thank you.
Mr. Ostroff:
We were told we didn't need any photometric print for today's
meeting.
Ms. Krueger:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. W lshaw:
How many employees are you going to have?
Mr. Lin:
About eight for the restaurant, two for the grocery store.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. As far as the number of customers that you expect to
have at any time, obviously we're requiring a fair number of
Mr. Lin:
parking spaces based on this plan. Do you really need all that
Mr. Morrow:
parking or can you do with less parking that has larger spaces
Mr. Lin:
for the customers? Would that be all right?
Mr. Lin:
Whatever I do, I'll meet the codes.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Do you anticipate needing all the parking spaces?
Mr. Lin:
No, not a full parking lot.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. 1, as one Commissioner, would rather see you have a
slight deficiency in your parking spaces but have the larger
parking spaces that make it easier for your customers to get in
and out, than have a bunch of parking spaces that you're not
using.
Mr. Lin:
Yes. That's a good idea. I don't have a problem with it.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow:
Do you plan on opening up the market portion and the
restaurant at the same time, or will they be opened up at
different times?
Mr. Lin:
I plan to open the restaurant first, then the grocery store.
Mr. Morrow:
You say at the same time?
Mr. Lin:
Not at the same time. The restaurant first, then the grocery
store.
June 5, 2012
25176
Mr. Morrow: Okay. That's what I wondered. If there are no more questions,
is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or
against the granting of this petition? Seeing no one coming
forward, I will close the public hearing and ask for a motion.
On a motion by Scheel, seconded by Taylor, and unanimously adopted, it was
#06-52-2012 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been
held by the City Planning Commission on June 5, 2012, on
Petition 2012-05-02-12 submitted by Nicolas Lin requesting
waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(c)(1) of the City
of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to operate a
full service restaurant (Asia Palace) at 28455 Plymouth Road,
located on the south side of Plymouth Road between Harrison
Road and Middlebell Road in the Northwest 1/4 of Section 36,
which property is zoned C-2, the Planning Commission does
hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2012-05-02-
12 be approved subject to the following conditions:
1. That the maximum customer seating count shall not
exceed sixty four (64) seats;
2. That the site's parking lot shall be restored to the
satisfaction of the Inspection and Engineering
Departments;
3. That the issues as outlined in the correspondence dated
May 10, 2012, from the Fire Marshal shall be resolved to
the satisfaction of the Inspection and Fire Departments;
4. That the three walls of the trash dumpster area shall be
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;
5. That all parking spaces shall be double striped, including
the provision of barrier free parking, and all regular parking
spaces shall be len feet (10') wide by twenty feel (20') in
length, as required;
6. That this approval is subject to the petitioner being granted
a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for deficient
parking and deficient width of aisleways and any conditions
related thereto;
June 5, 2012
25177
7. That the tenant(s) of this building shall not engage in any
form of solicitation for business within the public right-of-
ways of Plymouth or Harrison Roads;
8. 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;
9. That no LED lighthand or exposed neon shall be permitted
on the site including, but not limited to, the building or
around the windows;
10. That all pole mounted light fixtures shall not exceed a
height of 20 feel above grade and shall be shielded to
minimize glare trespassing on adjacent properties and
roadway;
11. That the exterior of the building will be painted with an
earth tone color; and
12. That appropriate recordable legal instrumentation, such as
a cross access agreement, that gives notice and outlines
the terms of how the subject properly would share parking
and access with abutting property(s), be supplied to the
Inspection Department at the time a building permit is
applied for.
Subject to the preceding conditions, this petition is approved for
the following reasons:
1. That the proposed use complies with all of the special and
general waiver use standards and requirements as set
forth in Sections 11.03 and 19.06 of the Zoning Ordinance
#543;
2. That the subject site has the capacity to accommodate the
proposed use; and
3. That the proposed use is compatible to and in harmony
with the surrounding uses in the area.
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. Morrow: Is there any discussion?
ITEM #2 PETITION 2012-05-02-13 TIM HORTONS
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2012-
05-02-13 submitted by Tim Donut U.S. Limited, Inc. requesting
waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(c)(4) of the City
of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to construct
and operate a limited service restaurant with drive -up window
facilities (Tim Hortons) at 31190 Five Mile Road, located on the
north side of Five Mile Road between Bainbridge Avenue and
Merriman Road (Merl -Five Shopping Center) in the Southwest
1/4 of Section 14.
Mr. Taormina: This is a request to construct and operate a limited service
restaurant with drive -up window facilities. This would be in the
forth of an out of that would be created in the parking lot of the
Meri-Five Shopping Center, which is on the north side of Five
Mile Road just east of Merriman Road. The out of that would be
created would be situated between a gas station, which is right
at the northeast corner of Merriman and Five Mile Road, and a
June 5, 2012
25178
Ms. Scheel:
I'm going to add #9, the lighting requirements for outside as Mr.
Taormina had mentioned.
Mr. Taylor:
With permission of the maker of the motion, I would like to add
that the exterior of the building will be painted with an earth tone
color.
Ms. Scheel:
You have mysupport.
Mr. Wilshaw:
If the maker of the motion and the second would be willing, a
couple additional items. Normally, we have standard verbiage
about the dumpster enclosure being made of the same building
material and color, gates closed when not in use, that type of
thing if we can get that. Then, the other thing is some sort of
verbiage that would indicate that the petitioner will comply with
the concerns of the Fire Department that were raised in that
letter because there are obviously very serious safely concerns.
I want to make sure those are taken care of.
Ms. Scheel:
I would agree with that also.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow,
Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an
approving resolution.
ITEM #2 PETITION 2012-05-02-13 TIM HORTONS
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2012-
05-02-13 submitted by Tim Donut U.S. Limited, Inc. requesting
waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(c)(4) of the City
of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to construct
and operate a limited service restaurant with drive -up window
facilities (Tim Hortons) at 31190 Five Mile Road, located on the
north side of Five Mile Road between Bainbridge Avenue and
Merriman Road (Merl -Five Shopping Center) in the Southwest
1/4 of Section 14.
Mr. Taormina: This is a request to construct and operate a limited service
restaurant with drive -up window facilities. This would be in the
forth of an out of that would be created in the parking lot of the
Meri-Five Shopping Center, which is on the north side of Five
Mile Road just east of Merriman Road. The out of that would be
created would be situated between a gas station, which is right
at the northeast corner of Merriman and Five Mile Road, and a
June 5, 2012
25179
Wendy's restaurant. This aerial photograph gives you a better
idea of where the proposed restaurant would be located. Just to
gel you oriented here, on the left hand side of this photograph is
Merriman Road. The bottom portion is Five Mile road. This is
the Marathon gas station right at the comer. This is the
Wendy's restaurant. Behind that, you can partially see the retail
shopping center known as Merri-Five, and the area depicted
here is the proposed Tim Hortons restaurant. The restaurant
would have a total of 26 interior seals. There are no plans for
any outdoor sealing. It would operate as a limited service
restaurant based on the number of seats. The distance that
exists between the gas station and Wendy's is about 180 feet
along Five Mile Road. As you can see from the photograph,
there are two existing curb cuts within the 180 foot span. The
boundaries of the Tim Hortons ground lease would occupy the
westerly 136 feet of this area. The remaining 44 feet to the east
would be outside of the ground lease area and would remain
part of the Merri-Five Plaza. The plans show the removal of the
westerly curb cut immediately in front of Tim Horlons. Then the
second drive approach to the east would remain open and serve
as the restaurant's main point of ingress and egress to Five Mile
Road. Vehicles can also enter and exit the site from the gas
station property to the west, as well as the shopping center
property to the north. So all of this would be interconnected,
including the areas to the north, the shopping center parking lot,
as well as the gas station to the west. Because the site will not
have direct access to Five Mile Road, a permanent and
unobstructed access easement from the adjoining property
owner is required. The dimensions of the site are about 136
feel along Five Mile Road by 125 feel. The restaurant would be
one story in height and measure roughly 1,950 square feet in
gross floor area. As you can see, it would occupy the westerly
portion of the site and parking would be located on the eastern
half of the property. The zoning, G2, requires a front setback of
60 feel. The proposed Tim Horton restaurant would have a
setback of 37.1 feet from Five Mile Road, so this will require a
variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The adjacent
Wendy's to the east is set back about 55 to 60 feel from the
right-of-way of Five Mile Road, so it's set back a Iitfle further
than the proposed Tim Horlons. The gas station too is set back
further. The structure located here, which appears to project in
front of the restaurant, is actually the canopy for the adjoining
gas station. The drive -up window service is planned along the
west side of the building. The traffic lane that would serve the
drive -up window would commence at the northwest corner of
the building and then continue around the north side of the
property. There is a requirement to have sufficient stacking in
the amount of four vehicle spaces. The plan shows sufficient
June 5, 2012
25180
stacking to meet this requirement. Cars would stack along the
west and north side, extending here where the site abuts the
shopping center parking lot to the north. There is a requirement
that the service lane for the drive -up window be at least 12 feet
in width. The proposed drive -up lane shown on the plan
appears to meet this requirement. There is also a requirement
that a bypass lane be provided in order to meet this
requirement. The petitioner is proposing a low profile rollover
curb along the north side of the property boundary. If vehicles
that are stacked here waiting to use the drive -up decide not to
use the drive -up, they'll actually be able to exit by driving over
this low curb and onto the adjacent drive aisle which is part of
the shopping center parking lot. The restaurant and drive -up
service requires one parking space for every two seats, plus
one space for each employee. The ordinance requires a total of
18 parking spaces and the site plan provides 19 parking spaces.
The ordinance also requires two spaces beyond the drive -up
window for use by drive -up window patrons whose orders are
delayed. The plans do not show two additional spaces beyond
the drive -up window for this purpose. So the approval would be
subject to the City Council waiving this requirement. All parking
spaces are shown to be 10 feet by 20 feet. Because Tim
Horton will use parking spaces that are currently part of the
Mem-Five Plaza, it will be necessary to re-evaluate the
shopping centers overall parking situation. Merri-Five was
granted a variance back in 2000 for deficient parking. At that
time, the shopping center was deficient 151 spaces based on
the requirement of one space for every 125 square feet of
useable floor area. Tim Horton would be occupying about 45
spaces currently used in the calculation of the shopping centers
required parking. We might be able to make some allowances
for the shopping center's current parking demand based on a
1:150 ratio as opposed to a 1:125 ratio depending on the
amount of restaurant usage that's taking place there. However,
they may be required to go back and get additional variances
from the Zoning Board of Appeals, but we're still evaluating
more specifically what those requirements would be. From a
practical standpoint, this is generally considered surplus parking
for the plaza. Its an area that is not used. To that extent, and
as long as Tim Hortons provides the required parking, really it
should not be an issue for this site or for the center. In terms of
site lighting, they are proposing 18 foot shielded light fixtures
that would be installed in the parking lot. Those would be
mounted. There would also be light fixtures mounted to the
building and adjacent to the drive -up facilities. The revised
elevation plans look very similar to the plans that you reviewed
at the study session. The primary building materials used are a
combination of cement fiber board, which is shown in dark
June 5, 2012
25181
brown on the plan. On the original plans, all of the light tan
areas were also the same fiber board material. However, the
plans have been modified and what they're showing now is a full
face brick being used in all of the lighter shaded colors on the
building. The gooseneck lights fixtures are on the front and side
of the building and red striped awnings. You have kind of an
asymmetrical perspective view of the restaurant that shows the
west elevation, which is also shown in greater detail here in the
bottom. That's the drive -up window side of the building, the side
facing the gas station. Then the rear of the building facing the
shopping center is shown on the lop left side of this overhead.
Again, all of the materials shown in the beige color would be a
full face brick. You can also see the additional while scones
being provided on the sides of the building and along the rear of
the building. With that, Mr. Chair, I can read out the
correspondence.
Mr. Morrow: If you would, please
Mr. Taormina: There are four items of correspondence. The first item is from
the Engineering Division, dated May 24, 2012, which reads as
follows: 9n accordance with your request, the Engineering
Division has reviewed the above -referenced waiver use
approval request. The written legal description is not in
agreement with the drawn boundaries. This discrepancy can be
comected during the design phase if the project proceeds. Our
records indicate that an address has not been assigned for this
particular project. The address shown on the plans is 31190
Five Mile Road for the future building, which is a logical address
which can be assigned to this building if the project proceeds.
Five Mile and Merriman Roads are under the junsdiction of
Wayne County and permits will be required for any work in the
county right-of-way. In addition, there is public sanitary sewer
and water main in the Five Mile Road right-of-way. Permits will
be required from the City of Livonia Engineering Division of
Public Works to utilize these utilities. The Engineering Division
has been in contact with the Architect regarding storm water
treatment requirements. We are providing the owner, for
informational purposes, a copy of Section 13.42 of the City
Ordinances. This Ordinance limits the amount of Fats, Oils and
Grease (F.O.G.) which can be discharged to the City sanitary
sewer system to 100 milligrams per liter by weight, and provides
information on grease trap/nterceptor requirements. The
Ordinance can also be viewed on our website at
wwwci.livonia.mi.us." The letter is signed by Kevin G. Roney,
P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second letter is from the
Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated May 18, 2012, which
reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan
June 5, 2012
25182
submitted in connection with a proposal to construct and
operate a limited service restaurant with drive -up window
facilities located at the above referenced address. 1 have no
objections to this proposal." The letter is signed by Ead W.
Fesler, Fire Marshal. The third letter is from the Division of
Police, dated May 29, which reads as follows: "1 have reviewed
the plans in connection with the petition. 1 have no objections to
the proposal." The letter is signed by John Gibbs, Sergeant,
Traffic Bureau. The fourth letter is from the Inspection
Department, dated June 4, 2012, which reads as follows:
"Pursuant to your request, the above -referenced petition has
been reviewed. The following is noted. (1) A minimum of a 12
foot width is required for the drive thru lane where only a 10 foot
width is proposed. This may be waived by a super majority of
Council. (2) Parking spaces designated for drive -up window
patrons are not provided. This may be waived by a super
majority of Council. (3) The existing site has a variance for
deficient number of parking spaces. The deficiency will be
increased by this petition and will need a new variance from the
Zoning Board of Appeals to maintain a deficient number of
parking spaces for Merri-Five Plaza. (4) The petitioner shows a
37 foot front yard setback where a 60 foot setback is required.
This will require a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals to
maintain this deficiency. This Department has no further
objections to this petition." The letter is signed by Jerome
Hanna, Assistant Director of Inspection. That is the extent of
the correspondence.
Mr. Morrow: Are there any questions for the staff?
Ms. Smiley: Is it a 12 foot or a 10 fool width?
Mr. Taormina: They are actually showing a 17 fool width. It's kind of a unique
set of circumstances. The area between the building and the
property line is shown as 17 feel. If we include this area to be
part of the bypass lane, then its deficient. If we don't include
this area to be part of the bypass lane, then it certainly meets
that requirement. There's an additional couple of feet that could
be used for drivers here. There's a guardrail that separates the
properties, but it's offset along the property line. Really, I think it
meets that requirement if we just rely on the bypass lane to the
north. Maybe what the Inspection Department is saying is that
this 10 foot lane here does not meet the requirement, but I'm not
so sure that would be the case since they have the adjacent
area. If you include the rollover curb and the adjacent drive
aisle, then it's really being satisfied. Either way, we can have
the Council consider that as part of a waiver to that requirement
if need be.
June 5, 2012
25183
Ms. Smiley:
Okay. And a rollover curb is really like a speed bump, right?
Mr. Taormina:
Its kind of like a speed bump, yes.
Ms. Smiley:
Do you know what percentage of the shopping center is
occupied?
Mr. Taormina:
No, but we have a representative from the shopping center here
this evening who can tell you.
Ms. Smiley:
Okay. Good. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Taylor:
Mark, in front of that site right now is huge shrubbery. Is that all
coming down? There are some very large bushes along that
area. I'm assuming that's all coming down. That's in the way.
Mr. Taormina:
I think the intention would be to re -landscape those areas. I'm
going to have the petitioner respond to that question. This
aerial photograph might help you get a better understanding.
The bushes are shown to be located just within the landscaped
area in the front of the properly. If those are removed, then they
would have to be replaced with new landscaping.
Mr. Taylor:
Are they in the right -0f --way? That's what I'm getting at.
Mr. Taormina:
They are right on the edge. The first fool is in the nghl-of-way
and a couple feel just beyond that are just outside of the right-
of-way.
Mr. Taylor:
You almost couldn't see the building if you kept them up.
They're very high.
Mr. Taormina:
I think you're talking about these shrubs here.
Mr. Taylor:
Thankyou.
Mr. Morrow:
Is the petitioner here this evening? We will need your name and
address for the record please.
Patrick Bell, Tim Donut U.S. Limited, Inc., 565 E. Grand River Avenue, Suite 101,
Brighton, Michigan 48116. Thank you. If I could just respond
immediately to some of the questions that came up regarding
the landscaping.
Mr. Morrow:
You have the floor.
June 5, 2012
25184
Mr. Bell:
We have spoken with the Engineering Department and with the
changes that are being made to the Five Mile and Merriman
intersection. There are plans. Anything that is taken out we will
replace that as part of not only that construction but our
redevelopment at a later date when those activities are
completed.
Mr. Taylor:
Right now, the site says it's one percent landscaping that you
show. We actually require 15 percent. That's why I wondered.
Mr. Bell
That is correct. Since the last time we spoke, we've gone back
and looked at the project. While we don't have anything to
provide tonight, we believe we can achieve approximately 6
percent of green space on the property by instituting some
changes in the site plan itself, and bringing those to sodded
materials and plantings.
Mr. Taylor:
That's a step in the right direction. Did you bring the building
materials with you tonight?
Mr. Bell
I did not bring the building materials because what we've really
done is, we changed from the cement fiber board that we were
talking about before and gone to the majority of the building
being full face brick.
Mr. Taylor:
But the building itself, is d yellow brick? Is that what it is? Is this
pretty much what it looks like?
Mr. Bell
It's relatively representative. Each printer is a Iittie bit different.
It's not a yellow. Its more of what we call a latte color. You'll
see the theme holds through all of our elevation color
descriptions there. Its related to coffee and earth tones, so a
mocha and a Iatte. It is not a yellow color at all. It's going to be
more of an earth tone. Let's call it a cream color.
Mr. Taylor:
Earth tone. I like to hear it. I would suggest, if this passes and
you go to the Council, that you have those pieces of material
with you.
Mr. Bell
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Wlshaw:
Mr. Bell, I want to thank you for bringing this updated elevation
to us. We talked at our study meeting about the building
materials, and while we didn't have any direct objections to the
materials you provided at the study meeting, because we really
hadn't had a chance to see them yet, and I think a lot of us did
get an opportunity to go see the building on Telegraph, which is
similar to the materials that you were proposing. You came to
June 5, 2012
25185
us on your own after hearing our concerns about the lack of
masonry and came to with I think a much nicer building overall
that still conveys the same image that you're looking for, but has
some of the elements that we are used to seeing, like brick. So
I really appreciate the fad that you look the inifiative on your
own to improve the elevations.
Mr.
Bell:
Thankyou.
Mr.
Wilshaw:
Thank you very much.
Ms.
Smiley:
Are you a 24-hour operation?
Mr.
Bell:
That is correct.
Ms.
Smiley:
How many employees would be in there?
Mr.
Bell:
Per shift, the maximum would be between four and five.
Ms.
Smiley:
Okay. And the minimum would be?
Mr.
Bell:
Probably four would be the minimum.
Ms.
Smiley:
Okay. Good. You probably don't know what the occupancy of
the shopping center is, do you?
Mr.
Bell:
No, I do not know.
Ms. Smiley: Is there anything else around there that's open 24 hours, like
gas stations or anything?
Mr. Taormina: There used to be, but that's no longer true.
Mr. Bell: I'm sorry. I dont know oft the top of my head.
Ms. Smiley: We'd also like to talk to the owner of the shopping center if he's
here.
Warren Terrence, 11275 Maple Ridge, Plymouth, Michigan. I do represent the
owners of the shopping center. I am a principal, but I do have
partners. The occupancy is about 70 percent. Auto Zone has
been very helpful. The activity levels for prospective tenants
has been very good, and we've seen a lot more calls and
interest in the shopping center since Auto Zone has opened.
Ms. Smiley: And you would own this property and be renting to Tim
Horton?
June 5, 2012
25186
Mr. Terrence: No. Tim Horton's is going to do a land lease with us. They are
basically going to control the pad that they have for an extended
period of time.
Ms. Smiley: That extension would be a minimum of?
Mr. Terrence: Its a ten year lease with options.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. And you're probably very excited about this.
Mr. Terrence: I think it works well for the center. Some of the issues regarding
the parking, we do have a tremendous amount of area in the
back of the shopping center that we could stripe and add
parking to that would help comply with the parking
requirements. Right now, it's just a very deep area that's not
used for much, but from a parking standpoint, there are areas
that are part of the shopping center that could be striped to
comply.
Ms. Smiley:
That was a concern, whether this parking will impact your
center, particularly if you're expecting more occupancy.
Mr. Terrence:
Well, this particular area never sees any parking, or very rarely.
Its being used right now by Wayne County in the decel lanes
and the renovation of that intersection.
Ms. Smiley:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Bahr:
Just for the record, as somebody that frequently drives by that
area almost on a daily basis, parking is not a concern for me at
all for the shopping center. I'm going to kind of blind side you
with a question here. If you don't know it, I understand, but the
Tim Horton' location over on Six Mile Road and Middlebell, do
you know how this building compares in size to that building,
and then also how this lot compares in size to that lot, because I
know that's another place where it's a relatively small lot but a
restaurant been jammed in there.
Mr. Bell
Unfortunately, I do not know that. It was constructed prior to me
joining Tim Hortons, and I don't know which model we have
there in the lot itself. I do know that there were some
discussions with folks in our organization that the lot is fairly
small also, and I think it also had some of the same concerns
regarding the green space or landscaping.
Mr. Bahr:
Mark, do you know by chance how they compare in size?
Mr. Taormina:
I can find out.
June 5, 2012
25187
Mr. Bahr:
I would be curious to know. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow:
It this goes forward, how many Tim Horlons sites would you
have in Livonia?
Mr. Bell
This would make our fourth site in Livonia, and probably not the
last.
Mr. Wilshaw:
That's positive thinking.
Mr. Morrow:
While we're waiting for Mr. Taormina to come up with an answer
for Mr. Bahr, does the rollover curb run the full width of the north
property line?
Mr. Bell
It runs the full length of the north property boundary until it
encounters the dumpsler enclosure island, and then the
adjoining
property to the west. It's not quite a speed bump. It's
a little
larger than that with a flat lop on it. It's meant to lel you
know that ifs there and that you shouldn't be going that way, but
if you want to, you're not going to damage your vehicle going
across it, unless you have one of those low riders that is two
inches off the ground.
Ms. Smiley:
That was actually my concern, that if you really wanted to gel
out, you could.
Mr. Bell
Its one of those that if you decided you're not going to gel your
morning coffee, which I cant imagine anybody would, you could
actually exit over the rollover curb.
Mr. Morrow:
So you feel that would satisfy the bypass lane?
Mr. Bell
Yes, I do. I think it fulfills the intent of the bypass lane where
folks make the decision that they're not going to order, that they
can leave that lane and not have to be stuck in there for an
extended period of time.
Mr. Morrow:
Once they turn the comer, they're pretty well committed
anyway.
Mr. Bell
Yeah. You could argue that 17 feet is usually ample room for
normal passenger cars to pass each other there. I've seen
quite a bit smaller lanes that have served as both drive-thm and
bypasslanes.
Mr. Morrow:
I'm sure we were pleased that you're trying to increase the
landscaping on the site.
June 5, 2012
25188
Mr. Bell:
Its something that working with Mr. Taormina and looking at
foundation plantings, we've been able to come up with
something that I think is going to gel us into probably the six
percent range.
Mr. Morrow:
How are we doing, Mr. Taormina?
Mr. Taormina:
The site is about 0.8 acres. This is the actual the plan for the
one on Six Mile and Middlebell. Its a 30 seat restaurant. I
believe it says 1,961 square feel. So that's about the same size
as this one.
Mr. Bahr:
You said 1,961 square feet?
Mr. Taormina:
Yes.
Mr. Bell :
This would be a model that predated the building you're looking
at for this site.
Mr. Bahr:
The reason I ask is, like I said, I know the other location was a
fairly small lot size and it was kind of crammed in there as well.
Its been there for several years and it seems to be operating
smoothly. That's a little bit of a concern here, just the small lot
size.
Mr. Bell :
Right.
Mr. Taormina:
Its actually 1,861, not 1,961 square feel. So it's a smaller
model.
Mr. Bahr:
Thanks.
Mr. Taylor:
Mark, isn't the one on Plymouth Road much smaller than this.
Mr. Taormina:
That one goes back further.
Mr. Taylor:
I've been there. I know it is. It's not an original one though. It
was another restaurant at one time. 1, for one, was a little
concerned about cramming this into this little space, but with the
fact that you are kind of working with the City as far as the
building materials and the brick, because your other three
buildings are brick. I like to see brick coming into Livonia. I
know this a new model, but you have a lot of deficiencies there.
There's no question about it. Its kind of what I call jamming it
into the site, but also that site hasn't been used for anything as
far as parking goes and everything. I'm going to support it, but I
Allison Link, 3526 Oakleaf Drive, West Bloomfield, Michigan. I'm the area
operator for the Wendy's restaurant at 31150 Five Mile Road. I
do believe this would be a cram in the lot. I have a couple
concerns. The first comment was made that there would be a
removal of the drive approach that was just remodeled by
Wayne County construction. My second concern is that the 10
fool bypass lane is actually the traffic lane for customers going
eastbound when they enter the parking lot. So if a guest were
June 5, 2012
25189
really appreciate the fact that you brought brick in and more
landscaping. That helps.
Mr. Bell:
Thankyou.
Mr. Morrow:
Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or
against the granting of this petition? I see movement. Please
come up to the podium and give us your name and address for
the record please.
Donna Spohn,
38654 Alma Lane, Westland, Michigan. Good evening. My
husband and I are the owners of the Wendy's located at 31150
Five Mile.
Mr. Morrow:
Well, congratulations.
Ms. Spohn:
Obviously, the competition is always a challenge, but we're
more concerned about the actual space. We do lease 10
parking spots along the border there. I was just wondering how
we would prevent Tim Horton' customers from using those if
there is some type of division there. Are you familiar with that,
that I would talk about the spaces right next to the landscaping.
We actually rent them from Merri-Five, and we pay a lease for
that. And when it comes to the number of Tim Horton, there's
already four in Livonia, and in a six mile radius, there's already
seven. The one closest is Six Mile and Middlebelt, which is only
two miles away from this current proposal. I'm not sure if they
did a traffic pattern or did any type of research as to the amount
of traffic and how it would go and increase the traffic pattern at
that intersection, which is already pretty congested. Those are
my main concerns.
Mr. Morrow:
We will ask the petitioner to respond to those questions.
Ms. Spohn:
Okay.
Mr. Morrow:
Is there anything else?
Ms. Spohn:
This is a District Manager.
Allison Link, 3526 Oakleaf Drive, West Bloomfield, Michigan. I'm the area
operator for the Wendy's restaurant at 31150 Five Mile Road. I
do believe this would be a cram in the lot. I have a couple
concerns. The first comment was made that there would be a
removal of the drive approach that was just remodeled by
Wayne County construction. My second concern is that the 10
fool bypass lane is actually the traffic lane for customers going
eastbound when they enter the parking lot. So if a guest were
June 5, 2012
25190
to be in the bypass lane decided that they would want to pull
out, they have the potential to cause a traffic accident or jam for
any of the guests using the Merri-Five shopping plaza or any of
the guests that are looking to approach the Wendy's parking lot.
That was a concern of mine. I'm also concerned that we are 60
feel back from the road, and they would be allowed to be 37 feet
back from the road. I too am concerned about the landscaping,
trying to really keep the lot well maintained, good beautification.
So to see that they would only be at six percent is a little
concerning. Those are my concerns.
Mr. Morrow:
Just so I'm clear, when you're talking about the bypass lane, are
you talking about the one on the west side or are you talking
about the ingress to the shopping center?
Ms. Link:
The northbound, that would actually be parallel to Five Mile.
Not the bypass lane that would be closest to the guard mil of the
gas station. I'm talking about the speed bump bypass lane.
Mr. Morrow:
Okay. Thank you. We'll see if the petitioner wants to respond
to any of your concerns and then we'll go from there. Is there
someone else coming down? Okay, sir. Go ahead. You can
respond if you care to.
Mr. Bell:
Thank you. I was taking some quick notes. In reference to the
parking that's leased by Wendys with Merri-Five Plaza,
unfortunately, we can't control it. That's an agreement between
Merri-Five Plaza and Wendy's. I imagine they have some
mechanisms to enforce their lease rights there. Again, that's
not part of our site plan.
Mr. Morrow:
So you're saying the relief would be between the shopping
center and Wendy's as far as signage and anything like that.
Mr. Bell:
Correct. Exactly. As far as the traffic, the question regarding
traffic on Merriman and Five Mile, Tim Hortons is not a
destination. What we look to do is pick up passerby traffic. I do
not believe, and I've never really seen any case where we have
increased traffic in an location. This, just like Wendy's itself, is
picking up passerby traffic as it goes. Yes, obviously there are
some businesses in the area that will patronize these locations,
but I do not believe there would be any significant increase in
the traffic on Five Mile or Merriman in regards to our use.
Mr. Morrow:
On that subject, what are your peak hours as far as the drive-
thm?
June 5, 2012
25191
Mr. Bell:
The peak hours of our drive-thru are between 700 a.m. and
10:00 a.m., which is probably in contrast to Wendy's, which is
probably a different time altogether.
Mr. Morrow:
A different peak period?
Mr. Bell:
That would be my guess. I'm not familiar with Wendy's
business. We are not making any revisions to the decel lane
that is currently being constructed. The closure of that curb cul
is part of the County's plan and the City's plan, and we have no
plans to change anything that's being proposed or under
construction there right now.
Mr. Morrow:
So Mark, on that curb cul, they're not allowed to have two curb
cuts on that site, right? Is that a City ordinance?
Mr. Taormina:
They would be allowed. It's just that, as part of our discussions
with Tim Horton, we've suggested the elimination of that curb
cul and that's something our Engineering Department talked to
them about and there's a willingness, both on the part of Tim
Horton and Merri-Five Plaza, to remove that drive approach. It
really doesn't serve any real purpose as the site has been laid
out here.
Mr. Morrow:
You don't have to consult with Wayne County to close @, right?
Mr. Taormina:
Well, Wayne County will have to issue permits for that closure.
Mr. Morrow:
That's what I wanted to know. Thank you. Go ahead, sir.
Mr. Bell
The travel and access, as discussed, as Mr. Taormina showed
earlier, we have a number of access points available to us at
this location, as Wendy's does also. They have two curb cuts
on Five Mile Road. They have access to the interior of the
shopping center themselves. I don't see that causing any
conflicts there. They seem to have ample access themselves,
arguably better access than we do to the major thoroughfares.
As far as causing accidents on that road, the access that comes
into Wendy's, I imagine that most of the customers for Wendy's
access their site off of Five Mile Road. I'm sure there are a
number who do come through there, but again, we're not putting
any visible obstacles in the way. Anyone that was looking to
escape that way, on the rare instance that they're going to do it,
has ample room to see what's coming and going from that
location. The setback, looking at the intersection itself, as Mr.
Taormina pointed out, you can see there are a number of
structures that are actually closer to the road in the right-of-way
than we are. I don't think, in my opinion, that we would be
June 5, 2012
25192
hindering Wendy's visibility because the canopy for the gas
station itself actually extends further down than our building
does. I don't think the visibility issue is really something they
will be affected by. Regarding landscaping, we've talked about
that in great detail. We're taking a site that has no landscaping,
no green on it, and increasing that to the best of our ability.
Mr. Morrow:
Anything before I close the public hearing?
Mr. Taylor:
Mr. Chair, can we put up that drive pattern and how they're
going?
Mr. Taormina:
Are you talking about this plan?
Mr. Taylor:
Yes. When they go into Wendy's, where are the two drives that
we're talking about?
Mr. Taormina:
I'm not sure they are shown on this plan, but there is one here
and one here.
Mr. Taylor:
But the parking for Wendy's on the side?
Mr. Taormina:
I'm sorry. The spaces aren't striped on this plan, but they are
right here. They are adjacent to the west side of the Wendy's
property. So there's parking along the east side of this drive
aisle that connects to Five Mile Road. Those are leased by
Wendy's from the Mem -Five Plaza.
Mr. Taylor:
Are they on an angle to where you have to come in from the
north?
Mr. Taormina:
No. They are 90 degree spaces.
Mr. Taylor:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:
The one concern the representatives from Wendy's brought up
that has some validity is the concern that if a car pulls out of that
drive-lhm lane and goes over the rollover curb, they are
essentially driving into an oncoming lane of traffic within the
shopping center. So if a car was coming at them, as you say,
they do have ample opportunity to see that car coming at them.
The cars aren't coming down there 40 miles an hour or anything
crazy, at least they shouldn't be. But there is a conflict of traffic
that happens. The only way I could consider resolving that, if I
was to try to think of a solution to that, would be to put in a full
curb that doesn't allow anybody to bypass your drive-thm lane,
basically lock them in, which would solve that concern, but then
poses the other issue of what happens if a car does want to
June 5, 2012
25193
leave the lane. As you said, it's probably fairly rare that would
ever happen anyway. Is that a safe assumption to say that
most people dont bypass your drive-thm?
Mr. Bell :
Yes. I think you'll find that our speed of service is one thing that
we're very proud of. We look at serving our drive-lhru guests
between 20 and 30 seconds. It's one of those things, again, like
I said earlier, when people are committed to getting their coffee,
they're relatively committed to gelling it, and it's a rare occasion
that we see people actually jumping out of the drive-lhru lane.
Mr. Wilshaw:
I do think it's an interesting concern, but I just don't know the
odds of that happening on a regular basis are that high. I
obviously sympathize with their concern over the parking
spaces that they lease being used by Tim Hortons' patrons. If
that's the case, I would definitely suggest that they go to the
shopping center owner or consider putting up signs that would
say "Wendy's parking only" so that would hopefully alleviate that
problem. What percentage of your business is walk-in business
versus drive -up? Do you know?
Mr. Bell :
Every location is different. I can say, in general, probably 65 to
70 percent of our business is through the drive-thru window.
Mr. Wilshaw:
So its not likely that your parking lot will be filled up with all the
spaces that you have there on site. Right?
Mr. Bell :
It would be a rare occasion that that would happen.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Bell :
Just to point out, obviously there is parking to the center itself,
and under our agreement, they would be non-exclusive rights,
but those are common areas that our guests or our employees
would be able to use for parking.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow:
Is there anything else? I'm going to close the public hearing
and ask for a motion.
On a motion by Bahr, seconded by Krueger, and unanimously adopted, it was
#06-53-2012
RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been
held by the City Planning Commission on June 5, 2012, on
Petition 2012-05-02-13 submitted by Tim Donut U.S. Limited,
Inc. requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section
11.03(c)(4) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as
June 5, 2012
25194
amended, to construct and operate a limited service restaurant
with drive -up window facilifies (Tim Hortons) at 31190 Five Mile
Road, located on the north side of Five Mile Road between
Bainbridge Avenue and Merriman Road (Merri-Five Shopping
Center) in the Southwest 1/4 of Section 14, which property is
zoned G2, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend
to the City Council that Petition 2012-05-02-13 be approved
subject to the following conditions:
1. That the Site Plan marked Sheet C4 prepared by Metro
Consulting Associates, dated May 10, 2012, is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to;
2. That the two spaces designated for drive -up window
customers may be omitted only if this requirement is
waived by the City Council by means of a separate
resolution by which two-thirds of the members of the City
Council concur;
3. That this approval is subject to the petitioner being granted
a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for deficient
building setback and any conditions related thereto;
4. That the maximum customer seating count shall not
exceed twenty six (26) seats;
5. That the Exterior Elevations Plans submitted by Tim
Hortons, as received by the Planning Commission on June
1, 2012, are hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
6. That all rooftop mechanical equipment shall be concealed
from public view on all sides by screening that shall be of a
compatible character material and color to other exterior
materials on the building;
7. That the three walls of the trash dumpster area shall be
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;
8. That all pole mounted light fixtures shall not exceed a
height of 20 feet above grade and shall be shielded to
minimize glare trespassing on adjacent properties and
roadway;
June 5, 2012
25195
9. That both the drive -up and bypass traffic lanes for the
drive -up window facility shall be at least twelve (12) feet in
width for a combined total of at least twenty-four (24) feet
in width unless this requirement is waived by the City
Council by means of a separate resolution by which two-
thirds of the members of the City Council concur;
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 no LED lighthand or exposed neon shall be permitted
on this site including, but not limited to, the building or
around the windows;
12. That a fully detailed landscape plan shall be submitted for
review and approval to the Planning Director within sixty
(60) days following approval of this petition by the City
Council; and
13. That the specific plans referenced in this approving
resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department
at the time of application for building permits.
Subject to the preceding conditions, this petition is approved for
the following reasons:
1. That the proposed use complies with all of the general
waiver use standards and requirements as set forth in
Section 19.06 of the Zoning Ordinance #543;
2. That the subject site has the capacity to accommodate the
proposed use; and
3. That the proposed use is compatible to and in harmony
with the surrounding uses in the area.
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. Morrow: Is there any discussion?
Ms. Smiley: That drive -up and passby lane, they're showing it at 17 right
now. So we're saying that we need the 24?
Mr. Morrow: The City Council will have to waive that.
June 5, 2012
25196
Ms. Smiley: That's fine. Okay.
Ms. Scheel: Mark, do we need to put anything in here regarding the
landscaping?
Mr. Taormina: What is your concern?
Ms. Scheel: As far as going back to what Mr. Taylor mentioned.
Mr. Taormina: You could treat that as a callback item or you could have them
submit a plan to the Planning Department for approval.
Mr. Morrow: Going to the Planning Department I think would do it.
Mr. Bahr: Which one?
Ms. Scheel: For landscaping, have them submit something to the Planning
Department for the Planning Department to approve, not having
to have it come back to us, but the Planning Department.
Mr. Bahr: Ican support that.
Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an
approving resolution. Good luck. To the owner of Wendy's and
the Wendy's representative, the City Council will make the final
determination as to whether this will be approved or rejected, so
you will have an opportunity at that level to express any of your
concerns if they weren't allayed here tonight. We thank you for
coming.
ITEM #3 PETMON 2011-10-08-10 MANOOGIAN MANOR
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2011-
10-08-10 submitted by Edmund London & Associates, Inc.
requesting approval of fully detailed landscape plans as
required by Council Resolution #400-11 for the existing elderly
housing facility (Manoogian Manor) at 15775 Middlebelt Road,
located on the west side of Middlebell Road between Five Mile
Road and Puritan Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 14.
Mr. Taormina: On November 30, 2011, Manoogian Manor received site plan
approval to expand the nursing center and housing for the
elderly. As part of the approval, it was conditioned that fully
detailed landscape plans be submitted to the Planning
Commission and Council for their review and approval. That's
June 5, 2012
25197
what we have this evening. This plan shows you the overall site
plan. All of the areas shown in the darker shaded color or gray
indicate the area of expansion to the existing nursing center.
This plan shows you the details the landscape. This is really the
area that is visible from Middlebelt Road. As you can see, they
are providing a large variety of plant materials in the form of
trees and shrubs and flowers, both in front of the building as
foundation plantings, as well as around the constructed pond
area and around the existing monument sign. We find no
problems with the plan as presented. Mr. Chairman, with that, I
can read out the one letter of correspondence, and that's from
our Inspection Department, dated June 4, 2012, which reads as
follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above- eferenced
petition has been reviewed. This Department has no objections
to this petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna,
Assistant Director of Inspection. That is the extent of the
correspondence.
Mr. Morrow: Are there any questions from the Commissioners? Seeing
none, is the petitioner here this evening? We will need your
name and address for the record please.
Terry Clark, AIA, Edmund London & Associates, 20750 Civic Center Drive,
Southfield, Michigan 48076. 1 want to thank the Planning
Commission for allowing us to delay the landscape plans that
we've now submitted to you. This has been an ongoing
process. We spent a lot of time reviewing the landscape needs
of the owners. That's why is has taken us so long to get here,
but we are now here. If you have any questions, please let us
know. This is our landscape consultant. He is well versed on
all of the materials that he has shown on the site.
Mr. Morrow: Are there any questions from the Commissioners regarding the
landscape plan?
Ms. Smiley: Not a question. I have a black thumb, so I'm sure anything you
do is better than what I would have done. But I just wanted to
tell you that it looks absolutely beautiful.
Mr. Clark: Thank you. We can do it for you loo.
Ms. Smiley: Thanks. That would be great. It looks very attractive, and I
want to thank you for your efforts.
Mr. Clark: Thankyou.
June 5, 2012
25198
Ms. Krueger:
I just have a quick question. How long does it lake to care for
something like that and maintain an elaborate landscaping plan
like that?
Mr. Morrow:
We will need your name and address for the record please.
Richard Miller,
10603 Livingston, Hamburg, Michigan. It doesn't take much time
to maintain this because these are mostly low maintenance
plantings. There's nothing exotic here. These are conventional
things. The perennials are easily maintained, and I have a crew
of horticulturists; we maintain it ourselves. For perpetuity
purposes, this is going to be like whatever you see. This is our
goal.
Ms. Kruger:
Okay. Very good. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow:
Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or
against the granting of this petition? Seeing no one coming
forward, a motion would be in order.
On a motion by Wilshaw, seconded by Taylor, and unanimously adopted, it was
#06-54-2012
RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2011-10-08-10
submitted by Edmund London & Associates, Inc. requesting
approval of fully detailed landscape plans as required by
Council Resolution #400-11 for the existing elderly housing
facility (Manoogian Manor) at 15775 Middlebelt Road, located
on the west side of Middlebelt Road between Five Mile Road
and Puritan Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 14, be
approved subject tothe following conditions:
1. That the Landscape Plans marked Sheets L-1 & L-2 both
dated April 25, 2012, as revised, prepared by R. Miller Inc.,
are hereby approved and shall be adhered to; and
2. That all other conditions imposed by Council Resolution
#400-11, which granted approval to expand the Manoogian
Manor retirement home, shall remain in effect to the extent
that they are not in conflict with the foregoing condition.
Mr. Morrow,
Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an
approving resolution. I think I can speak for the whole
commission that anything we receive that is exceedingly well
done, we want to comment on that. I guess we would say we
expect nothing less from Manoogian than this. Thank you very
much for coming tonight.
June 5, 2012
25199
It I :1 k5 FE, ! :2 =k 1 It I [H i! 1 4 VLH i! I Evel 391-39 397_19i-'?
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Pefifion 2012-
05-08-03 submitted by John Lewis Enterprises, Inc. requesting
approval of all plans required by Section 18.47 of the Zoning
Ordinance in connection with a proposal to remodel the exterior
of the commercial center (Livonia Crossroads) at 11500-11516
Middlebelt Road, located on the southeast comer of Plymouth
Road and Middlebelt Road in the Northwest 114 of Section 36.
Mr. Taormina: This is a request to remodel the exterior of the Livonia
Crossroads commercial building located at the intersection of
Plymouth and Middlebelt Roads. It's at the southeast corner.
The zoning of the properly is C-2, General Business. The
shopping center is about 23,000 square feet in size. The
Planning Commission is familiar with this site because we
recently reviewed the waiver use petition by Style Trader to
occupy a portion of this center. This is a perspective view of the
improvements. This dark band along the building is actually the
existing standing seam metal mansard roof. The petitioner
would like to mise the height of the 'parapet wall along the side
facing Plymouth Road as well as the side facing Middlebelt
Road. You can see it would have a variety of offsets that would
have a decorative type of comice or crown molding along the
lop edge. Its a straight line for the most part, but you can see
these lower elements also provide opportunities for signage on
the building. The primary building material would be Dryvil or
an exterior insulated finish system (E.I.F.S.). With that, I'll
answer any questions. We do have some items of
correspondence. The first item is from the Engineering Division,
dated May 24, 2012, which reads as follows: 7n accordance
with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the
above -referenced plan approval request. The written legal
descnpffon provided is correct. This parcel contains a building
which includes 29223 Plymouth Road and units with addresses
ranging from 11500 through 11516 Middlebelt Road. This
project is an exterior building renovation project. Therefore no
work is anticipatedin right-of-ways or easements. Therefore, no
permits will need to be obtained from the Engineering Division
of the Department of Public Works. The petitioner is hereby
notified (via copy of this comespondence) that any future site
changes which would impact public utilities, road right-of-way,
easements, or changes in storm or sanitary sewer volumes
must be approved by the Engineering Division of Public Works.
It is important that the developer's architect/engineer address
storm water drainage changes as a result of these site changes,
June 5, 2012
25200
to ensure that then= is no negative drainage impact to any
property. Note that Plymouth Road is under the jurisdiction of
the State of Michigan, and Middlebelt Road is under the
jurisdiction of Wayne County." The letter is signed by Kevin G.
Roney, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second letter is from
the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated May 15, 2012, which
reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan
submitted in connection with a proposal to remodel the exterior
of the commercial center located at the above -reference
addresses. 1 have no objections to this proposal." The letter is
signed by Earl W. Fesler, Fire Marshal. The third letter is from
the Division of Police, dated May 16, 2012, which reads as
follows: "1 have reviewed the plans in connection with the
petition. 1 have no objections to the proposal" The letter is
signed by John Gibbs, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The fourth
letter is from the Inspection Department, dated June 4, 2012,
which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above -
referenced petition has been reviewed. This Department has no
objections to this petition." The letter is signed by Jerome
Hanna, Assistant Director of Inspection. The fifth letter is from
the Plymouth Road Development Authority, dated May 18,
2012, which reads as follows: "At the 23r General Meeting of
the Plymouth Road Development Authority of the City of Livonia
held on May 17, 2012, the proposal submitted by John Lewis
Enterprises, Inc. to remodel the exterior of Livonia Crossroads
retail center located on the southeast comer of Plymouth Road
and Middlebe/t Road was reviewed. It was consensus of the
Board members present to support the proposed improvement
inasmuch as it would be an aesthetic enhancement to the
Plymouth Road corridor, subject to compliance with all City
codes and ordinances, as such may be modified by the action of
the Planning Commission and/or City Council." The letter is
signed by Mark Taormina, Economic Development & Planning
Director. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow: Are there any questions? Seeing none, is the petitioner here
this evening? We will need your name and address for the
record please.
Mr. John E. Winkler, John Lewis Enterprises, 22383 Lancaster Court, Novi,
Michigan 48374.
Leonard Else, Leonard Else Design Associates, 2760 Dixie Highway, Waterford,
Michigan 48328.
Mr. Morrow: Is there anything you would like to add to the presentation by
Mr. Taormina?
June 5, 2012
25201
Mr. Winkler: This is what we're proposing. We think that the improvement
would enhance the building and give us more of a street
presence. Basically, all we're doing is going from the mansard
roof up with a few towers and adding a little bit of the detailing,
sort of reflecting a little bit that's across the street at
Wonderland. This is the design we have come up with and we
like it.
Mr. Morrow: That's a step in the right direction. Are there any questions from
the Commissioners?
Mr. Taylor: You did a very nice job. It's going to be a very good looking
building, I think. My question is, are you going to do anything on
the south side of the building at all?
Mr. Winkler: You mean the alley?
Mr. Taylor: Yes, but it faces the neighbors there on the south side.
Mr. Winkler: I have no intentions. I dont know what you're looking for
Mr. Taylor:
I didn't know whether you were going to paint @ or what you
were going to do with it.
Mr. Winkler:
The brick that's on there is the reclaimed brick, and I believe
to be in good shape. I don't see any problem with the brick.
Mr. Taylor:
Okay. I wasn't aware. I didn't get down there to see what it
looks like.
Mr. Winkler:
Its pretty much in good shape. I have graffiti problems from time
to time, but when I bought this 30 years ago, they did paint it
brown trying to cover it up. It's been nothing but a confinuous
maintenance problem. We finally pressure washed it and pretty
much brought it back to its original condition. It is rough looking.
I mean it's reclaimed brick.
Mr. Taylor:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:
The existing mansard roof, is that going to be painted in any
way?
Mr. Else:
It will stay the same bronze color that it is because that's a
factory finish.
Mr. Wlshaw:
Okay. That's a nice color. I assume the color that's on this
representation is fairly close to what we're actually going to see.
Its a brownish beige.
June 5, 2012
25202
Mr. Else:
Yes.
Mr. Wilshaw:
I think that will be very complementary, as you said, to the
Wonderland development across the street. Mr. Taylor brought
up the south elevation, which does have some visibility from
Middlebelt as you drive up Middlebelt. That's the first piece of
your building that you see, is that comer right there, the
southwest corner of your building. It looks like the treatment
wraps around slightly right at the comer. Is that going to extend
5 or 10 feel back on the south elevation, or how far is it going to
extend?
Mr. Else:
Just enough to create that feeling of continuity. We hadn't really
determined exactly what it was. I think if you're looking at that
elevation, wherever you slop it, at some point its going to have
to stop, and then you'll continue with the existing brick finish
that's there.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. It's difficult to see from this rendering how far its going to
extend, but obviously as you go forward, just consider making
sure that the element wraps around a Iiflle bit. Just as you said,
to sort of finish it off and lie it into the rest of your building. You
don't want it to look awkward where it's just terminaling right at
that south wall. It has a nice finish look to it.
Mr. Winkler:
Once again, its about 25 years ago. Originally, the mansard on
both of the comers did wrap around, probably about a good 10
feel or so. The garbage trucks came and removed them. It's a
narrow alley there. putting a wrap around and going out six feet
around, it will not stay.
Mr. Wilshaw:
No. I dont think the mansard roof needs to extend. Its just the
decorative piece above it.
Mr. Else:
An extended parapet is what you're talking about.
Mr. Wlshaw:
Exactly.
Mr. Morrow:
We justwant a finished look.
Mr. Else:
There's a little corned beef restaurant there that kind of screens
that from any visibility from Middlebelt. So we didn't feel like it
was real important. Like we said earlier, you have to slop it at
some point, but I agree with you that it's nice to be able to wrap
R a little biljusl to kind of finish it.
June 5, 2012
25203
Mr. W lshaw: Exactly. To give you the corner element. Just like a corner cap
there to kind of finish it. That's all I'm asking for. Thank you.
Ms. Smiley: You mentioned the deli. Do you own that too?
Mr. Winkler: No. That's Ventura's.
Ms. Smiley: And they haven't been inspired by you?
Mr.
Winkler
Have they been inspired by me?
Ms.
Smiley:
Yes, by your updating.
Mr.
Else:
I don't think they've seen it.
Mr.
Winkler:
They remodeled about a year or two ago.
Mr.
Taormina:
They completely remodeled that store.
Ms.
Smiley:
Oh. Good.
Mr.
Winkler:
Yes. They have a beautiful front.
Ms.
Smiley:
I guess I haven't seen it in a while. Okay.
Ms.
Krueger:
For the benefit of the neighbors to the rear of the building, the
raised portions, are they going to be finished in the back? What
will they look like?
Mr. Winkler: Its what's there now, and the reclaimed brick that goes all the
way up to the copings, which is the top of the building.
Ms. Kruger: Okay. So those raised elements that extend beyond the main
portion of the building ...
Mr. Winkler: That's not the elevation. I think that's looking toward the house
right there. It's straight brick.
Mr. Taormina: I think her question really is, correct me if I'm wrong, will the
residents be looking at the backside of these mised parapets,
and if so, if those are visible, will those be finished in any way?
Is it just open framing or is there some kind of finish material on
the back of those?
Mr. Else: The detail has not been worked out, but one of the ways that's
done is that you brace the extended parapet wall with a brace
that goes back to the roof deck, and then sometimes that's
covered with plywood and then the single ply roofing would
June 5, 2012
25204
come on lop of that and then you'd flash to that. That's not a
bad look. We haven't got to that detail yet. We're still working
with the concept and waiting for your approval on this. Then we
will gel into those levels of details.
Ms. Kruger: Okay, because I'm sure the residents would appreciate a more
finished look.
Mr. Else: I'm not sure how the houses are located. If they would look out
their back door and on the angle that goes up there, because
the south side is raised a bit already. Its just not flat there. It
steps down. So with the angle there, that would be something
you'd have to stand out there to see it. It might be possible to
see it but I dont think so. It's a good point, and we will lake that
into consideration. I hadn't given it a whole lot of thought.
Usually there's a lot of trees and greenery that the people that
have the houses there use as screening for commercial
properties. To be honest, I haven't spent a lot of time looking at
that. I was mostly concerned with the elevations on Plymouth
and Middlebelt. It's heavily treed.
Ms. Smiley: Aren't there also a lot of electrical wires and stuff back there?
Mr. Winkler. Yes.
Ms.
Smiley:
I'm trying to remember.
Ms.
Smiley:
Mr.
Winkler:
The electrical lines fall
right over the
property line, just above
the properly line. It goes all the way down.
Ms.
Smiley:
So there are big trees and poles, electrical.
Mr.
Winkler:
The trees that are there, Edison comes through and cuts them
every so often. They're up in the lines up there. They're higher
than my building.
Ms.
Smiley:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr.
Morrow:
Mrs. Krueger?
Ms.
Kruger:
I'm all set.
Mr.
Morrow:
If I heard him correctly, you're going to take it under advisement.
If it could be enhanced, that's fine, but it will be based on what
you folks see.
Mr.
Winkler:
Yes.
June 5, 2012
25205
Mr. Morrow: In other words, it may not be a factor. It may be a minor factor
but you'll address it after you've had a chance to look at it.
Mr. Winkler: Absolutely.
Mr. Morrow: Anything else? Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to
speak for or against the granting of this petition? Seeing no one
coming forward, a motion would be in order.
On a motion by Wilshaw, seconded by Scheel, and unanimously adopted, it was
#06-55-2012 RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2012 -O5 -O8-03
submitted by John Lewis Enterprises, Inc. requesting approval
of all plans required by Section 18.47 of the Zoning Ordinance
in connection with a proposal to remodel the exterior of the
commercial center (Livonia Crossroads) at 11 50 0-11 51 6
Middlebell Road, located on the southeast comer of Plymouth
Road and Middlebelt Road in the Northwest 1/4 of Section 36,
be approved subject to the following conditions:
1. That the Exterior Elevation Plan marked 0.2.0 dated May
11, 2012, as revised, prepared by RM Bernhard +
Architects, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
2. That all rooftop mechanical equipment shall be concealed
from public view on all sides by screening that shall be of a
compatible character, material and color to other exterior
materials on the building;
3. 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;
4. That no LED Iighthand or exposed neon shall be permitted
on this site including, but not limited to, the building or
around the windows;
5. 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,
6. 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 only from the date of approval by City
Council, and unless a building permit is obtained, this
approval shall be null and void at the expiration of said
period.
June 5, 2012
25206
Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carded and the foregoing
resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an
approving resolution.
ITEM #5 PETITION 2012-05-08-04 BIG BOY RESTAURANTS
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Pefifion 2012-
05-08-04 submitted by Big Boy Restaurants International,
L.L.C., requesting approval of all plans required by Section
18.47 of the Zoning Ordinance in connection with a proposal to
remodel the exterior of the restaurant (Big Boy) at 37123 Six
Mile Road, located on the south side of Six Mile Road between
Levan Road and Newburgh Road in the Northwest 1/4 of
Section 17.
Mr. Taormina: This proposal involves changes to the exterior finishes and
colors of the Big Boy Restaurant located on Six Mile Road just
east of Newburgh Road. Portions of the metal standing seam
mansard roof that would be removed. The structural canopy,
the arch roof ine, would be removed in order to straighten the
parapet. The facade of the canopy, which is currently finished
in a combination of brick, E.I.F.S. and red and white checkered
aluminum accent bands, would be changed. So the arch roof
would be eliminated and the patterned E.I.F.S. material on the
face where the sign is located would become a smooth faced
E.I.F.S. finish. The red and while checkered banding across the
front would be eliminated in favor of an E.I.F.S. covering. The
brick material that is presently on the building would remain and
then the base of these columns would all be finished in a stone.
Looking at the other elevations, this is the east elevation of the
building. Again, this is where most of the mansard roof would
be removed, and much of the existing brick would be covered
with an E.I.F.S. or dryvil material. As you can see, a stone
accent would be used along the base of the building. That
would extend from the existing ground up about three feel. The
E.I.F.S. wall sections above the stone would be painted a
combination of a light colored beige that would be in lower and
upper portions of the wall, and then this middle banding of
E.I.F.S. would be a darker brown color. Decorative scones or
wall lights would be installed on the building. Also, the crown
molding along the lop edge of the building would be painted the
prototypical red for the Big Boy stores. Also, the green colored
metal -framed dining area that projects off the north side of the
building would be replaced with a red colored metal material,
and it would include covering up or removing and replacing the
June 5, 2012
25207
brick that currently runs along there, although you really don't
see that because this area is heavily landscaped. What this
rendering doesn't really depict is the amount of landscaping that
exists along the Six Mile Road frontage. This is a visualization
of the rear of the building. This gives you a perspective view
looking at the front entrance and the changes that would occur
there. Again, you'll notice the red and white stripes are gone,
and the cornice molding is now going to be a red treatment. All
of the metal that is currently green metal that is used to clad
around that dining area would be changed out and shown red.
They are not proposing any removal or alterations to the
existing landscaping. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow: Is there any correspondence?
Mr. Taormina: There are four items of correspondence. The first item is from
the Engineering Division, dated May 24, 2012, which reads as
follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering
Division has reviewed the above -referenced plan approval
request. The written legal description provided is comect. The
address for this site is confirmed to be 37123 Six Mile Road.
This project is an exterior building renovation pmject. Therefore
no work is anticipatedin right-of-ways or easements. Therefore,
no permits will need to be obtained from the Engineering
Division of the Department of Public Works. The petitioner is
hereby notified (via copy of this comespondence) that any future
site changes which would impact public utilities, mad right-of-
way, easements, or changes in storm or sanitary sewer volumes
must be approved by the Engineering Division of Public Works.
Should this pmject proceed, it is important that the developer's
architect/engineer address storm water drainage changes as a
result of these site changes, to ensure that them is no negative
drainage impact to any property." The letter is signed by Kevin
G. Roney, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second letter is
from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated May 30, 2012,
which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the plans for
approving this petition to remodel the exterior at the above
referenced address. 1 have no objections to this proposal." The
letter is signed by Earl W. Fesler, Fire Marshal. The third letter
is from the Division of Police, dated May 29, 2012, which reads
as follows: "1 have reviewed the plans in connection with the
petition. 1 have no objections to the proposaL" The letter is
signed by John Gibbs, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The fourth
letter is from the Inspection Department, dated June 4, 2012,
which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above -
referenced petition has been reviewed. The following is noted.
The abandoned light pole base on the east side shall be
removed. This Department has no further objections to this
June 5, 2012
25208
petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Assistant
Director of Inspection. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow:
Are there any questions from the Commissioners? You did a
fine job. No questions. Is the petitioner here this evening? We
will need your name and address for the record please.
Steve Facione, Vice President, Big Boy Restaurants International, L.L.C., 4199
Marcy Street, Warren, MI 48091. Thank you, Mr. Chairman
and Commissioners. Thank you very much for your time this
evening. These are the material boards. The Big Boy system
has a number of stores that were built prior to 1990. Almost 70
percent of our stores were built prior to 1990, most of them in
the 70's and 80's. This particular store, 1973. It's approaching
its 40th anniversary. In the interim of those decades, various
remodels have occurred. What we're proposing for this store is
the exterior renovation remodel that Mr. Taormina so eloquently
summarized. We also intend to do a remodel of the interior as
well and that would be a new work package to deal with a lot of
the old finishes that we have on the inside. We have
undertaken two of these remodels already, exterior and interior.
One look place last summer in Sterling Heights out on Hall
Road and Garfield. Another one occurred just about a month
ago in Owosso Michigan. This will be our third remodel, with
your approval obviously. We look forward to it. We have a few
issues that are occurring simultaneously at this location. We
have a lot of water leaks so there will be an investment of
dollars in the roof work. In addition, that's also why we're
dealing with the mansard because there is a lot of water
infiltration. We have to make those repairs around the building.
The red, just to address it, you can see from the colors in the
lower lett, you have the red metal, the regal red as its called,
and the other three colors on the right hand side of the board
are the colors of the E.I.F.S. from top to bottom from the comice
on down. Then we have our General Contractor with us, Randy
Couture here, as well as the Director of Construction and
Facilities, Tom Jablonski, if you have any questions.
Mr. Morrow:
Its a very nice presentation as it relates to the materials and the
colors.
Mr. Facione:
Thankyou.
Mr. Morrow:
Are there any questions from the Commissioners?
Ms. Smiley:
How about on Novi Road north of Grand River, is that the same
colors.
June 5, 2012
25209
Mr.
Facione:
Novi and Eight Mile?
Ms.
Smiley:
Out by Twelve Oaks on Novi Road.
Mr.
Facione:
No. That's a franchise location that is not up for a remodel at
this point in time.
Ms.
Smiley:
Its red and tan.
Randy
Couture, Restaurant Commercial Builders, 8157 Grays Drive, Grosse III,
Michigan. The store up in Novi is what this store looks like
now. It does have the red standing seam over the greenhouse.
Otherwise, it has brown brick. That's all panel brick. Otherwise,
it looks just like this store does now. Not like this, like it is
existing.
Ms.
Smiley:
But that red is not this red?
Mr.
Couture:
It is that red.
Ms.
Smiley:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr.
Taylor:
Is this a corporate store, now? Mr. Ansara doesn't own this
store any more?
Mr.
Facione:
Just yesterday, this became a company location, still under
lease under with Mr. Frankel.
Mr.
Taylor:
You have a store on Plymouth Road.
Mr.
Facione:
That's a franchise location.
Mr.
Taylor:
Are they planning on some day changing that garish looking
building?
Mr.
Facione:
We have not talked to them about that but we are making
requirements now when franchise agreements come to the end
of their term, that a remodel be part of that criteria.
Mr.
Taylor:
I think it looks very nice. It's a much brighter red than what I
was hoping to see. When you brought this up, this looks much
better. It's not so bright.
Mr.
Facione:
Yes. Its more of a regal red, toned down.
Ms.
Scheel:
Do you plan on slaying open during remodeling?
June 5, 2012
25210
Mr. Facione:
With the store we did in Clinton Township, we did slay open
during the exterior remodel. Once we get to the inside, that
obviously would require a closure to do the inside.
Ms. Scheel:
Thankyou.
Mr. Bahr:
As a condition of this, can you bang back your weekday
breakfast buffet? I'm just kidding. I mean I'm not kidding, but
as far as official business goes ....
Mr. Facione:
It is duly noted and I will lel our team know.
Ms. Kruger:
Mr. Chair, I was wondering how long the remodel is going to
lake?
Mr. Facione:
The exterior should take about three to four weeks.
Ms. Kruger:
And will there be a lot of construction equipment outside?
Mr. Facione:
No. Actually, there's not a lot. It's predominately just
scaffolding that wraps around. They do it in sections.
Ms. Kruger:
Okay.
Mr. Facione:
Randy is quite aware of our criteria to make sure that the site is
always cleaned on a regular basis.
Ms. Kruger:
Okay. And will there be a lot of noise associated with the
remodel?
Mr. Facione:
I don't think so. We did not get any noise complaints from
Owosso, and there was a neighbor right on the adjoining
property. I never heard of a complaint there at all.
Ms. Kruger:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:
The metal awning that you're going to replace, is that a full
replacement orjusl a painting of the awning?
Mr. Facione:
That's a full replacement.
Mr. W Ishaw:
That will also be a standing seam metal with the same sort of
basic texture that the current one has?
Mr. Facione:
Yes.
Mr. Wilshaw:
The rendering doesn't really indicate if there is going to be any
relief to that. I agree with the previous Commissioners that
June 5, 2012
25211
indicated that the material board is very helpful because it gives
us a much clearer idea of the color that we're going to see on
that awning. The cultured stone is one thing we haven't
mentioned yet, but I think the cultured stone is a really nice
element that we've seen on some other buildings in the area. I
think it gives it a little more upscale look to the building. My only
question for you is, what is the durability of that color on the
standing seam metal? Is it going to fade with the sun?
Mr. Facione: I will let Randy and Tom answer that question
Mr.
Wilshaw:
Obviously we dont want it to turn pink.
Mr.
Couture:
It has a 20 year guarantee against fading, rusting or chipping.
Mr.
Wilshaw:
Okay. Color change as well?
Mr.
Couture:
I'm sorry?
Mr.
Wilshaw:
Color change as well?
Mr.
Couture:
No, it will not fade.
Mr.
Wilshaw:
Okay. Good. Because any time you deal with red, due to
fading and it ends upturning pink.
Mr.
Couture:
It is the hardest color.
Mr.
Wilshaw:
Okay. Thank you.
Ms.
Scheel:
When was the last remodel done on this building?
Mr.
Facione:
The front entrance with the brick was put on, I believe, in the
late 90's, 1998.
Ms.
Scheel:
Thankyou.
Mr.
Morrow:
Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or
against the granting of this petition? Seeing no one coming
forward, a motion would be in order.
On
a motion by Taylor, seconded by Bahr, and unanimously adopted, it was
#06-56-2012
RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2012-0508-04
submitted by Big Boy Restaurants International, L.L.C.,
requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.47 of the
Zoning Ordinance in connection with a proposal to remodel the
June 5, 2012
25212
exterior of the restaurant (Big Boy) at 37123 Six Mile Road,
located on the south side of Six Mile Road between Levan Road
and Newburgh Road in the Northwest 1/4 of Section 17, be
approved subject to the following condifions:
1. That the Exterior Elevation Plans marked A-1 and A-2 both
dated May 21, 2012, prepared by Foresta Architects Inc.,
are hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
2. That all rooftop mechanical equipment shall be concealed
from public view on all sides by screening that shall be of a
compatible character, material and color to other exterior
materials on the building;
3. That no existing landscaping shall be removed or altered
as part of the facade improvement project, and any future
plans to remove or alter the landscaping which results in a
diminution of those areas, the Petitioner shall be required
to submit such changes to the Planning Commission for its
consideration;
4. 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;
5. That no LED lighthand or exposed neon shall be permitted
on this site including, but not limited to, the building or
around the windows;
6. 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,
7. 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 only from the date of approval by City
Council, and unless a building permit is obtained, this
approval shall be null and void at the expiration of said
period.
Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an
approving resolution.
June 5, 2012
25213
ITEM #6 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,024" Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the
Minutes of the 1,020 Public Hearings and Regular Meeting
held on May 8, 2012.
On a motion by Scheel, seconded by Smiley, and unanimously adopted, it was
#06-57-2012 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,024th Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on May 8,
2012, are hereby approved.
A roll call vole on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following
AYES:
Scheel, Smiley, Bahr, Wilshaw, Taylor, Morrow
NAYS:
None
ABSENT:
None
ABSTAIN:
Krueger
Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,025h Public
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on June 5, 2012, was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
Lynda L. Scheel, Secretary
ATTEST:
R. Lee Morrow, Chairman