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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2009-07-28MINUTES OF THE 984TH REGULAR MEETING HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA On Tuesday, July 28, 2009, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia held its 9W 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: Deborah McDermott R. Lee Morrow Lynda Scheel Carol A. Smiley Joe Taylor Ian Wilshaw Members absent: Ashley Vartoogian Mr. Mark Taormina, Planning Director, was also present. Chairman Morrow informed the audience that if a petition on tonighfs 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 petition is approved or denied. The Planning Commission holds the only public hearing on a request for preliminary plat and/or vacating petition. The Commission's recommendation is forwarded to the City Council for the final determination as to whether a plat is accepted or rejected. If a petition requesting a waiver of use or site plan approval is denied tonight, the petitioner has ten days in which to appeal the decision, in writing, to the City Council. Resolutions adopted by the City Planning Commission become effective seven (7) days after the date of adoption. The Planning Commission and the professional staff have reviewed each of these petitions upon their 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 oflhe proceedings tonight. ITEM #1 PETITION 200840-0842 ST. MARY HOSPITAL Ms. Smiley, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2008-10- 08-12 submitted by the Sl. Mary Mercy Hospital requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.58 of the Zoning Ordinance in connection with a proposal to expand the parking lot of the hospital located at 38475 Five Mile Road, on the southwest corner of Five Mile Road and Levan Road in the Northwest %of Section 20. July 28, 2009 25328 Mr. Taormina: This item stems from a request by Sl. Mary Meroy Hospital to re -activate a petifion that was submitted last year, Petition 2008- 10-08-12, which originally involved renovafing and expanding the hospital. The original submission involved, in part, constructing a new emergency center, expanding the hospital's parking lots and converting patient rooms into private suites. To accommodate future needs of that expansion, the property just south of and adjacent to the hospital was requested to be rezoned and, in fad, is currently in the process of being rezoned. That is the area located here to the south of what is commonly referred to as the Marion Building parking lot. Sl. Mary Meroy eventually intends to proceed with the entire project, but at this time, is seeking approval to complete the following as part of Phase I. One would be to finalize the rezoning of the property. Two would be to install a sub -surface storm water detention system and completely reconstruct the existing parking lot that is located immediately south of and adjacent to the Marion Office Building. Three, receive approval to construct a new 223 -space parking lot on the property that is being rezoned, and four, provide landscape screening and sidewalks along the Levan Road frontage. The rezoning obtained First Reading by the City Council at their Regular Meeting on November 5, 2008. Second Reading is being held in abeyance until a site plan showing how the site would be developed is reviewed by both the Planning Commission and City Council. As part of this plan, the first phase, the existing parking lot that serves the Marion Building would be completely reconstructed. The asphalt would be removed, and the material would be used to construct a temporary construction lot on the property that is proposed to be rezoned. This is an enlargement of the area where the first phase improvements would take place. The reconstruction of this existing parking lot just south of the Marion Building and then the temporary construction parking area would be located just south of the existing driveway that provides access to the various parking lots to the south of the hospital. The new underground storm water detention system would be installed beneath the existing parking lot, and all the spaces that are proposed within this parking lot would measure 10 feet in width by 20 feel in length. The new striping would include a number of barrier free spaces located closest to the entryways. To help screen the parking lots from the residential homes which are located across Levan, there would be a landscaped strip created between the east edge of the parking lot and abutting sidewalk. While this plan may not shay it too well, this is Levan Road along the right hand side of the drawing and then directly across Levan Road from the parking lot are single family homes. What they propose to do is maintain this strip of landscaping. That July 28, 2009 25329 landscaping would extend from the north drive into the Marion Building parking lot all the way to the south edge of the newly created parking lot. You can see where the width of this landscape strip varies from about 347' at the north end to an estimated 15 feet at the south end. A landscape plan was submitted that includes a combination of both a hedgerow of Dwarf Burning Bushes as well as Bradford Pears. We made recommended changes to this plan that we will discuss in a few minutes. The plan also includes the construction of a new sidewalk. This is something that presently does not exist along this portion of Levan Road. As part of this initial phase, the sidewalk would extend from the southerly limits of the construction area north to the northerly driveway or entrance feeding into the existing Marion Building parking lot. Thank you. Mr. Morrow: Before we go to the correspondence, is there any question of Mr. Taormina? Hearing none, Mark, if you could read into the record the correspondence. Mr. Taormina: There are four items of correspondence. The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated July 22, 2009, which reads as follows: `The Engineering Division has reviewed your correspondence dated July 14, 2009, with related back-up material. By way of background, the Engineering Division reviewed plans for the building expansion and site work late last year. A letter dated December 23, 2008, was sent to Mr. Alan Schneider of Tucker, Young, Jackson and Tull, Inc. detailing required revisions. Shortly after the letter was sent, we were informed that the project was being put on hold. The new information shows the hospital wants to proceed with a reduced project at this time. This is indicated as Current Phase on plan sheet C100S. The Engineering Division will re -review the plans with this change in mind. Any future phases will be handled as a separate review/permit issuance matter at that time should the hospital decide to proceed. As regards confirming the address, the address of St. Mary Mercy Hospital is 36475 Five Mile Road. Attached to the hospital is the Cancer Center, which has the address of 14555 Levan Road. Because the current phase only involves parking lot and storm waterimprovements south of both buildings, there is no need to assign an address for the project." The letter is signed by Kevin G. Roney, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated July 22, 2009, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request to expand the parking lot of the St Mary Mercy Hospital building on property located at the above -referenced address. We have no objections to this proposal." The letter is signed by Ead Fester, Senior Fire Inspector. The third letter is July 28, 2009 25330 from the Division of Police, dated July 22, 2009, which reads as follows: "We have reviewed the plans in connection with St. Mary Mercy Hospital located at 36475 Five Mile. We have no objections or recommendations to the plans as submitted." The letter is signed by David W. Sludl, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The fourth letter is from the Inspection Department, dated July 24, 2009, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request of July 24, 2009, the above -referenced petition has been reviewed. The following is noted. (1) Parking spaces are required to be a minimum of 10 feet wide and 20 feet deep and double striped per City Ordinance. (2) Barrier free parking spaces are to be property located, sized, signed and striped. 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: Thank you. Any questions regarding the correspondence? Mr. Taylor: Mark, is there any larger requirement for the handicapped parking in a hospital? Mr. Taormina: I don't know the answer to that off hand. That's something that our Inspection Department would consider at the time of approving the permits. Those are based on formulas, and whether or not there's a difference for hospitals, I don't know. The architect is here this evening. He's very familiar with the State requirements so maybe he can answer your question specifically. Mr. Taylor: It seems as if there might be more. I'm assuming the new parking lot is only going to be for people coming to the hospital, visitors? Its not going to be for any of the people that work there? Mr. Taormina: Are you talking about the area to the south? Mr. Taylor: Yes, the south parking lot, the new one. Mr. Taormina: The temporary construction parking? Mr. Taylor: Right. Mr. Taormina: Well, again, the hospital administrator and the architect can identify which areas will be reserved for staff parking versus those areas that will be used for visitor or patient parking. I suspect that the majority of the parking closest to the building will be used for visitor parking, while the areas a little bit further away will be utilized for staff parking eventually. Bear in mind Richard Borrelli, Architect, Hobbs+Black Associates, 100 North State Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. 1 think Mr. Taormina did an excellent explanation of the project. There are a couple questions that were asked that I want to address. The quantity required for barrier free spaces is based on a percentage of all spaces on site. I believe we are, if I remember correctly, two spaces over what we would normally have in a parking lot of this capacity. We have assigned four van accessible spaces on the far west side, which allows barrier free vans a more preferred spot given the fact that they're probably even more disadvantaged in getting to the entrance door, and then the balance of them are grouped so that they can be as close as possible to that entrance door. July 28, 2009 25331 that what they're doing with this first phase is really setting aside this area for parking while they reconstruct this parking lot. Eventually they will repave this entire area and then reassign the parking when there's a demand for that area. I'm sure that will follow with some of the other planned expansions to the hospital. Mr. Taylor: Thank you. Ms. Smiley: I had one question, Mark. Aren't all of the parking spaces now 10 feet by 20 feet? Mr. Taormina: No. A significant percentage of the spaces are undersized. In fact, they were granted a number of variances over the years dealing both with the deficiency in the number of spaces as well as the size of the spaces. However, the plan, over time, is to convert most of the parking so that it complies with our ordinance standards of 10 feet by 20 feet, especially where they're going to be used for visitor parking. There may be some requests later on for some undersized parking where it's reserved strictly for staff, but right now, there's a variety of parking spaces that range anywhere from 8.5 feet in width to 10 feetin width. Ms. Smiley: How about on these plans? Are those all 10 feet by 20 feet? Mr. Taormina: These are all 10 feet by 20 feet. That is correct. Ms. Smiley: Great. Thank you. Mr. Morrow: Would the pefifioner like to come forward and add to the presentafion? We would like your name and address for the record please. Richard Borrelli, Architect, Hobbs+Black Associates, 100 North State Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. 1 think Mr. Taormina did an excellent explanation of the project. There are a couple questions that were asked that I want to address. The quantity required for barrier free spaces is based on a percentage of all spaces on site. I believe we are, if I remember correctly, two spaces over what we would normally have in a parking lot of this capacity. We have assigned four van accessible spaces on the far west side, which allows barrier free vans a more preferred spot given the fact that they're probably even more disadvantaged in getting to the entrance door, and then the balance of them are grouped so that they can be as close as possible to that entrance door. July 28, 2009 25332 Mr. Morrow: Thank you. Mr. Borrelli: In the further development of the project, you will be seeing eventually additional barrier free spaces at other main entrances as well. This is just part of it. Let's see. Yes, indeed, we do plan to convert the lion's share of the parking spaces that the visitors will be parking in the master plan to 10 by 20 to comply with ordinance but the staff spaces we would likely leave the 9 foot wide. Mr. Morrow: Are there any questions of the petitioner? Mr. Taylor: Do you know, sir, if the water is going to drain into the drainage ditch .. . or maybe Mark might know this ... the one we're having problems with along Levan Road. Is the water draining out of the parking lot in there? Mr. Taormina: There are a few sub -drainage districts in this area. I cannot say with certainty whether or not the storm water that finds its way into the parking lot south of the Marion Building drains or feeds into the storm system that discharges into the same creek. Mr. Taylor: I'm talking about Reynolds Ravine. Mr. Taormina: Yes, the drain that flows through Reynolds Ravine. I don't know if that's the case, but regardless, we are planning to add a system where one currently does not exist and detain the storm water pursuant to County standards. That's something that's currently being reviewed by the Engineering Department and by Sl. Mary Mercy's design engineer. So I don't know, Mr. Taylor, whether or not this water does, in fact, flow through Reynolds Ravine. Mr. Taylor: I know it's held in the pipes for an amount of time and then is slowly lel out into the, I guess, it's Reynolds Ravine, except we have an awful lot of water going into Reynolds Ravine right now. Mr. Borrelli : To add to that answer, I've got Mike Lawicki from Tucker, Young, Jackson, Tull here to provide a little bit more detail. Mr. Morrow: We will need your name and address. Mike Lawicki, Tucker, Young, Jackson, Tull, Inc., 565 East Lamed, Suite 300, Detroit, Michigan 48226. And yes, the parking lot currently drains to the north, to the culvert that runs underneath the parlang lot and eventually in the drain. Keep in mind now, with the retention going in for this parking lot, the hospital is actually reducing the peak flow during the rein event. This retention July 28, 2009 25333 system is designed to capture and retain it up to a 10 year event. The outlet is much slower, a much lower rale as well, so the peak discharge rate is reduced and the volume in the retention pipes may take three, four days to discharge, depending on what the level of the water is in the creek that it discharges to, but nothing from this parking lot will work it's way to Levan Road. Mr. Taylor: Thank you. Mr. Lawicki: My pleasure. Mr. Morrow: Any otherqueslions oflhe pelifioners? Mr. Wilshaw: During the construction, you're obviously going to close the Marion parking lot and you're going to have different limes where different entrances are going to be used by people who are coming to the hospital. Are you going to have proper and adequate signage to direct people to enter at various entrances during that time, because obviously people coming to a hospital are generally distraught in some way or it becomes difficult for them to find entrance doors. Mr. Borrelli: Definitely. We plan on having temporary signage that will be very visible and clear to hose using the hospital because, as you say, we're going to have one drive down at a time and, actually, we're having a meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the strategies that we could deploy in that respect. So that's a very good question. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Are any of these lots going to be gated that we're dealing with right now? Are they going to be reserved or gated? Mr. Borrelli: None oflhem. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. So they're going to be fully accessible for visitors and staff if you're going to use some of that for staff parking. Mr. Borrelli: The south lot will be all visitor. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. And you're going to have a temporary grass or dirt lot that you're going to use west of the building temporarily, right? Mr. Borrelli: West of the wa rehouse on site. I don't believe your slide shows it. There's a small grass area that will be used for staff parking only. You see it there on the slide on the upper left. And that will be simply for the period of time when we don't have the Mr. Borrelli: Sure. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you Mr. Taylor: One other question. Sir, maybe you cannot answer this question, but is there any plan of extending that sidewalk all the way down to the college? I know there's an awful lot of people that walk that area and you probably can't answer that question. Mr. Borrelli: I can't because my client does not control that portion of property. Mr. Taylor: So you are only going to go to the end of the parking lot with the sidewalk? Mr. Borrelli: That is correct. Mr. Taylor: The complete, temporary parking lot. Mr. Borrelli: Yes, that's correct. Mr. Taylor: Thank you. July 28, 2009 25334 temporary construction parking to the south most area up and running. Its kind of a shell game. Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. The other question that I had is, the landscaping buffer that you have between the sidewalk and the parking lot, on the Marion parking lot is 34 feet. The new parking lot, for temporary construction parking, is only 15 feet. Do you have any difficulty or problem with making the landscape barrier 36 feel on that new temporary construction parking lot as well so the landscaping barrier is consistent all the way down? Mr. Borrelli: Al the risk of sounding facetious when I say it, the only thing that would change is we would have more difficulty getting more parking spaces into that south lot. Mr. Wilshaw: Right. You would have to give up a few parking spaces. Mr. Borrelli: Or potentially reconfigure that southern most Iol to do that. Mr. Wilshaw: Right. Okay. That's something that I think we probably should consider because that's directly across the street from homes that have to look at this parking lot and the larger the landscape barrier and also the berm that's there, which is pretty nice, that can be retained, would be a welcome thing. Mr. Borrelli: Sure. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you Mr. Taylor: One other question. Sir, maybe you cannot answer this question, but is there any plan of extending that sidewalk all the way down to the college? I know there's an awful lot of people that walk that area and you probably can't answer that question. Mr. Borrelli: I can't because my client does not control that portion of property. Mr. Taylor: So you are only going to go to the end of the parking lot with the sidewalk? Mr. Borrelli: That is correct. Mr. Taylor: The complete, temporary parking lot. Mr. Borrelli: Yes, that's correct. Mr. Taylor: Thank you. July 28, 2009 25335 Mr. Taormina: I just had a question regarding the lighting. Could you describe what type of parking lot lighting will be provided? Mr. Borrelli : Yes. This would be very much in keeping with the fixtures that are out there. We're going to be taking some great precautions to have cutoff fixtures that don't allow light spillage off the property as we want to be a good neighbor. The height of the light poles, when you see them going up, it may cause some question because further to the east, we have 30 fool poles and then to the west, you're going to see a great concentration of 15 fool high poles. This is because we are planning ahead for the relocation of the helipad further to the west to get it away from Levan Road, and the 15 fool high poles will accommodate the takeoff flight patterns of the helicopter. Mr. Morrow: Seeing no further questions, we will go to the audience to see if there is anyone 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 Smiley, seconded by Taylor, and unanimously adopted, it was #07-47-2009 RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2008-10-08-12 submitted by the Sl. Mary Mercy Hospital requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.58 of the Zoning Ordinance in connection with a proposal to expand the parking lot of the hospital located at 36475 Five Mile Road, on the southwest corner of Five Mile Road and Levan Road in the Northwest %of Section 20, be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. That the General Site Plan — South marked Sheet No. C100S dated July 13, 2009, prepared by Hobbs + Black Architects, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to, except as modified below; 2. That the Landscape Plan marked Sheet No. L001 dated July 13, 2009, prepared by Hobbs + Black Architects, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to, except that there shall be a 34.7 fool wide landscape strip between the east edge of the parking lot and the new sidewalk along Levan Road located south of the existing South Access Drive, and which shall contain a berm and evergreen trees approved by the Planning and Engineering Departments, 3. That all light fixtures shall be aimed and shielded so as to minimize stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring into adjacent roadway; July 28, 2009 25336 4. That all disturbed lawn areas shall be sodded in lieu of hydroseeding; 5. That underground sprinklers are to be provided for all landscaped and sodded areas, and all planted materials shall be installed to the satisfaction of the Inspection Department and thereafter permanently maintained in a healthy condition; 6. That this site shall meet either the City of Livonia or the Wayne County Storm Water Management Ordinance, whichever applies, and shall secure any required permits, including storm water management permits, wetlands permits and soil erosion and sedimentation control permits, from Wayne County, the City of Livona, and/or the Stale of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; 7. That along Levan Road, from the north entrance drive of the south Marion Office Building panting lot to the southern edge of the hospital's property, sidewalks shall be installed to the satisfaction of the Engineering Department; 8. That the cross -walks shall conform to the Michigan Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Pavement markings and signage shall be to the Police Department's satisfaction as outlined in the correspondence dated November 6, 2008; 9. That the petitioner shall correct to the Fire Department's satisfaction the stipulations contained in the correspondence dated November 12, 2008; 10. That the specific plans referenced in this approving resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department al the time the building permits are applied for; and, 11. 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 dale 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. July 28, 2009 25337 ITEM #2 APPROVAL OF 2009 - 2014 CAPITAL IMRPOVEMENT PROGRAM Ms. Smiley, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Capital Improvement Program for the years 2009 - 2014. Mr. Morrow: Also on the agenda lonigN, we have the 2009 - 2014 Capital Improvement Program. Prior to the Commission's action, I would like to ask Mr. Taormina to give us some background relating to it. Mr. Taormina: Thank you. The Planning Commission is charged with the responsibility of preparing and adopting a Capital Improvement Plan. This document serves primarily as a financial planning tool. It provides a list of each City department's anticipated capital expenditures over a six year period and identifies the estimated cost, as well as the potential funding source or sources for each project. The Capital Improvement Program can be used to assist the Mayor and the City Council in the annual preparation and approval of the budget, and by projecting the City's capital expenditure needs for the ensuing six year period, it can serve as an effective tool to help prioritize and coordinate projects as well as determine future funding capacity and the likely impacts that will occur if critical projects continue to be put on hold. Preparation of the CIP is done under the authority of the Michigan Planning Enabling Actand serves as a tool for implementing the City's Master Plan. It is a mid-range planning document that outlines a schedule of public service expenditures through the year 2014. The Capital Improvement Plan identifies both small and recurring capital expenditures as well as large physical improvements that are more permanent in nature. We are requesting that the Planning Commission approve the Capital Improvement Plan so that it can be transmitted, in its final forth, to the Mayor and the City Council. Thank you. Mr. Morrow: Are there any questions of Mr. Taormina? Mr. Taormina: I'd just like to point out also, Mr. Chairman, that the dmf before you this evening does include all of the sections as identified in the Table of Contents. Al our study session, we provided only the breakdown of projects as itemized or as sorted by department. What we've included this evening is a breakdown of those same projects that are sorted by area of benefit as well as funding source and project type. So you have the complete document before you. July 28, 2009 25338 Mr. Morrow: Thankyou. With that, I'd askfor a resolution. On a motion by Scheel, seconded by Wilshaw, and unanimously adopted, it was resolved that #07-48-2009 WHEREAS, pursuant to state law, the City Planning Commission is responsible for the preparation of a Capital Improvements Program for the ensuing six years; and WHEREAS, the 2009 — 2014 Capital Improvements Program, prepared through a joint effort of several City departments, has been submitted to the City Planning Commission for consideration; and WHEREAS, a duly -noticed City Planning Commission public meeting was held on July 28, 2009; and WHEREAS, the Capital Improvements Program presents a realistic program to aid in the determination of a complete fiscal planning strategy for the City of Livonia; and WHEREAS, the City Planning Commission stands ready to do all things necessary to cooperate with the Mayor and City Council in maintaining a functioning program of capital improvements and capital budge0ng for the City of Livonia; therefore BE IT RESOLVED that the City Planning Commission hereby adopts the 2009 — 2014 Capital Improvements Program; and BE IT RESOLVED that the City Planning Commission recommends the City Council adopt this Capital Improvements Program and use it as a guide to funding priority capital projects with the program. Mr. Morrow: Is there any discussion? Just for the record, there is no one in the audience at this point in time so I didn't ask for any public input relating to this. If there is no further discussion, I'll ask for the roll call. Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. July 28, 2009 25339 ITEM#3 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 9W Public Hearings and Regular Meeting Ms. Smiley, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the Minutes of the 983`° Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on July 14, 2009. On a motion by Taylor, seconded by Wilshaw, and adopted, it was #07-49-2009 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 983d Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on July 14, 2009, are hereby approved. A roll call vole on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Taylor, Wilshaw, McDermott, Smiley NAYS: None ABSTAIN: Morrow, Scheel ABSENT: Vadoogian Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 978" Regular Meeting held on July 28, 2009, was adjourned at 7:32 p.m. ATTEST: R. Lee Morrow, Chairman CITY PLANNING COMMISSION Carol A. Smiley, Secretary