HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2013-09-17MINUTES OF THE 1,043rtl PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
On Tuesday, September 17, 2013, the City Planning Commission of the City of
Livonia held its 1,04V 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 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 tonight's 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 of the proceedings tonight.
ITEM #1 PETITION 2013-07-01-04 SCHOOLCRAFT COLLEGE
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2013-07-
01-04 submitted by Schoolcreff College pursuant to Section
23.01 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as
amended, requesting to rezone the property at 39201 Seven
Mile Road, located on the southeast corner of Seven Mile Road
and Haggerty Road in the Northwest 1/4 of Section 7, from PO
(High Rise Professional Office) to PL (Public Land).
September 17, 2013
25942
Mr. Taormina: This is a rezoning petition submitted by SchoolcraR Community
College. The property that we're discussing this evening is
located at the southeast corner of Seven Mile and Haggerty
Roads. The petitioner's request is to rezone the property from
its current zoning classification of PO, Professional Office, to
PL, Public Lands. The property is about 9.40 acres in area. It
has 715 feel of frontage along Seven Mile Road and roughly
575 feet of frontage on Haggerty Road. In terms of the adjacent
land uses and zoning, immediately to the east of the subject
properly is an office complex that is known as Seven Mile
Crossing. It's under the PO, Professional Office, zoning
classification. There is also the Andiamo Restaurant zoned C-2,
General Business. Directly across Seven Mile on the north side
is the Macaroni Gnll as well as additional restaurants that are
part of the Pentagon Entertainment Campus, including an
Amensuites hotel and the AMC 20 theater complex. West,
across Haggerty Road, is Northville Township, and then lying
immediately adjacent to the property to the south is the campus
of SchoolcraR College. This is the site of the former Amencan
Community Mutual Insurance building that is a 120,000 square
fool, four-story structure that was built in the early 1980's.
Following closure of the building and placement of Amencan
Community Mutual Insurance Company's assets under
Rehabilitation by the Commissioner of the Office of Financial
and Insurance Regulation, Schoolcraft College acquired the
building and the property earlier this year. The proposed PL
zoning classification is consistent with SchoolcmR's efforts to re -
purpose the four-story building primarily for educational
purposes. The interior of the existing building will be remodeled
in phases to accommodate administrative offices as well as
classrooms. Due for opening in July, 2014 within the lowest
level of the structure will be the Emergency Operations Center
as well as the Security Offices and a student lounge. On the
first floor scheduled for opening in August, 2014, will be the
Commercial Co-Locafion Datacenter as well as several mixed-
use classrooms and computer labs. On the second floor will be
the President's Office, Human Resources, Public Relations,
Foundation and Continuing Education Professional
Development. The third floor will house the Business
Development Center as well as two university partners' offices.
The fourth floor would house the College's Finance and
Business Operations. The College is also planning on
expanding the southeast entrance. Schoolcmft has provided us
with some additional renderings, and this rendering is
something that was not previously available to you at the study
session. It illustrates some of the improvements that are
proposed in the southeast comer of the building including a new
September 17, 2013
25943
entranceway that will be oriented towards the college. Again,
this is going to lie -in to other parts of the campus directly across
from the Vista Tech center. It will feed right into the lower level
of the structure where the student lounge will be located. This is
a plaza that will be created as part of the improvements to the
buildings. So the features that you see, like this overhang,
really represenljust a new entryway into that part of the building
facing the campus. This is a plan that provides a bird's eye
view of what the plaza and entryway will look like with the
divergent sidewalks to the overhead canopy. With that, Mr.
Chairman, I will answer any questions or go right on to the
correspondence. We only have one item to read out.
Mr. Morrow: Let's do that
Mr. Taormina: There is one item of cortespondence from the Engineering
Division, dated August 13, 2013, which reads as follows: "In
accordance with your request, the Engineering Division has
reviewed the above -referenced rezoning petition. The legal
description provided appears to be is correct, and the address
for this site is confirmed to be 39201 Seven Mile Road. The site
is currently serviced by storm sewer, sanitary sewer and water
main, but any redevelopment to the site may require changes to
the existing easements and services depending on the
proposed layouts. There is an existing 24 -inch storm line along
the south side of Seven Mile Road heading east that flows to
the Denmar Drain. Any redevelopment to the site will require
storm water detention meeting the Wayne County Storm Water
Ordinance as well as the current City of Livonia design
standards. The owner will need to submit plans to the City of
Livonia's Engineering Department for approval. Should the
existing site be redeveloped, we would request that the owner
provide revised grading plans that remove the existing retaining
walls and improves the comer site distances along the
southeast comer of the Seven Mile Road and Haggerty Road
intersection. Any work within the mad right -0f --ways will be
under the junsdiction of Wayne County and would require a
permit. A soil erosion and sedimentation control (SESC) permit
will be required and involve separate plans to be submitted if the
proposed site is one acre or more or within 500 feet of a lake or
stream. This permit and associated fees will be handled by the
City of Livonia's Engineering Department before any work
commences." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Civil
Engineer II. That is the extent of the correspondence.
Mr. Morrow: Are there any questions of the Planning Director?
September 17, 2013
25944
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Taormina, just educate me a litlle bit as to the tax
implications of making the zoning PL. That's a lax-exempt
zoning. The buildings would be tax exempt based on their
usage.
Mr. Taormina:
That more than likely will be the case, and could very well be
the case today. There are certain elements to this building that
will involve some private enterprise and a lease agreement
between the college and private companies wherein the
personal property of those business operations within the center
may actually be taxable. There will probably be some taxable
element to the site, but it would be a small part involving
whatever parts are leased out for private for-profit business
purposes.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. Great. Thankyou.
Mr. Morrow:
Mr. Bahr, did you have a question?
Mr. Bahr:
I did but Mr. Wilshaw asked my question.
Mr. Morrow:
Okay. Is the petitioner here this evening? We will need your
name and address for the record please.
Glenn Cerny,
CFO and Vice President, Schoolcmft Community College, 18600
Haggerty Road, Livonia, Michigan 48152.
Mr. Morrow:
So you've heard the presentation. Is there anything you would
like to add to that?
Mr. Cerny:
I think to go onto the question that Mr. Wilshaw and Mr. Bahr
we're interested in. The college is very interested in making
sure that the lax base continues to thrive, so we're working with
a Commercial Co-Location Data Center to locale it into the
facility. It will be about 6,650 square feet in that facility. It will
house a tier three level data center which is a fairly
comprehensive data center that will have about 157 racks. It
will support the local business arena as well as the college's
needs for data. So that's a taxable enterprise, very similar to
what we did with College Park and Seven Mile Crossing where
those are entities wherethe college owns the land, but the lease
comes and there's tax. wanted to make surethat was there as
part of the deal. You'll see the picture that is from the southeast
entrance is a very important piece to the college because
obviously it is an office building that we are trying to rehabilitate
into an academic environment, and so we're pulling that front
entrance, essentially, which is the back entrance, so that it kind
September 17, 2013
25945
of moves toward Vista Tech. You'll see that is very flat. You'll
see that this person with a handicap does not need to be
wheeled in from the back. It's all in the front. The president
was very adamant, and our Board of Trustees were very
adamant about that. You'll see its a very academic -type of a
landscape. It was very important that we did that. The other
piece that's involved in this facility is that we're going to be
housing two universities. They will essentially be able to
provide, in Livonia now without having to leave Livonia, two
year, four year and masters degree programs, and potentially
PhD programs, right in that site right on our premises. That's a
big informational piece that our Board of Trustees and our
President are working on, and the announcement will be coming
in the next couple months about those two universities. Other
than that, I think it speaks for itself.
Mr. Morrow: Does the Commission have any questions of Mr. Cerny?
Mr. Wilshaw:
Thank you for the explanation of what the building is going to be
used for and the information about the Co -Location Data
Center. Is this going to provide additional job opportunities for
SchoolcraR College as part of this expansion to this building,
and also that Co -Location Data Center?
Mr. Cerny:
We think it will. We know that data centers are growing and
expanding. Our Schoolcraft Development Authority Board has
been working on this process to research data centers in the
area. The growth in the data center requirements are obviously
going to provide for new employment in that location, in that
colocalion area. It also aligns with our academic purpose of
leaching our students not just theory, but practice. Our students
are going to be able work in that data center as part of
internships and being able to get real experience, which is what
the universities are all trying to get to and what we in the
community college world have been doing for a long time, which
is applied hands -0n type work.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Right. So instead of having a theoretical computer program
where they have some servers in the classroom, they actually
will have live equipment that is being used in the field that
people are using that they can work on and see and understand
how it impacts business.
Mr. Cerny:
Yes.
Mr. Wilshaw:
That's excellent. That sounds really good. The entrance looks
very nice. I think its an attractive upgrade to the site. Are you
September 17, 2013
25946
going to make some other changes to the site in terms of traffic
management, entranceways, driveways, any of those types of
things?
Mr. Cerny:
That's a good question. Yes. You'll see right now the entrance
off of Seven Mile ... where it's located right now. We would like
to move that a little bit further to the east, which would line up
with the properly that is to the north, which are the theaters and
the Hyatt Hotel. We have a company called Opus which is now
doing a traffic study. They performed one for our campus
originally, and now they're looking at this as an opportunity for
us to move our driveway and to potentially then service Seven
Mile Crossing in a much more efficient manner. They are
recommending to Wayne County that there be a light placed
there. It would be sufficient and it would meet the requirements.
This is what they've been telling us. We are working right now
with Schostak's group, with Seven Mile Crossing, and Mark is
going to help me with some contacts across the street to try to
pull that together because it's obviously a faidy intensive
process to move that and the college's resources wont ... we
can't afford to do that right now, but we definitely in a
collaboration would be much more willing to talk about that. But
right now we're performing the study. Opus is doing the study
right now.
Mr. Wilshaw:
And there would also be access through this site onto the
college campus as well, because right now I dont believe there
is direct access.
Mr. Cerny:
Right. What's going to happen is we've worked with DTE.
Right now you'll see if you come across and you see the north
parking lot, those power lines and the AT&T lines are very low.
AT&T is going to have to raise those power lines up. We just
unfortunately had to pay them some money to do that. They're
going to raise the lines up which will then allow us to make the
connection from Seven Mile all the way to our north parking lot,
all the way into the Vista Tech. There will be curb cuts that will
be put in place and there's a ring road that is part of our project
too, that's winding around to the back of the parcel, back of our
properly, that eventually will connect Seven Mile to Six Mile, and
that's to give us access to our back properly for future
development for future taxable revenue for the City and for us.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Even though some of this may not be a taxable gain for the City,
it's certainly a gain to the community and the City in terms of
educational enhancement and also providing additional services
to the community in the data center and other services that
September 17, 2013
25947
you're going to provide to the university program. So I still
appreciate that very, very much.
Mr. Cerny:
Thankyou.
Ms. Scheel:
Do you have a proposed timeline that you can share with us this
evening?
Mr. Cerny:
Absolutely. Mark is going to help me make sure we gel in the
building in December. We have the fourth floor, which is the
Finance and Business area we'll be moving December 15 and
that's to make sure that all the bugs are worked out before we
get the rest of the group in. The rest of the group will be coming
in June. That will be the second floor and the third floor and the
first floor will be in the July -August timeframe. We plan on
opening the enfire facility in the Fall of 2014. The universities
that will be participating, we are planning to have those
programs and students enrolled in those classes Fall, 2014.
Ms. Scheel:
What about the outside changes that we just saw.
Mr. Cerny:
The first portion which you saw, there will be one walkway that
will be ready to go. The middle walkway will be ready to go for
December for egress for our individuals to gel in the building.
The rest of it will be done in the Spring of 2014. We're going to
be doing some plantings in the red over there. We're going to
be doing those this Fall. There's going to be low level growing
sumac that will be going over there to spruce it up over in that
area. And those are the two pieces we're going to do on the
outside.
Ms. Scheel:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow:
Mr. Cerny, do you have any concern about the target dale of
December 15?
Mr. Cerny:
Mark will help us.
Mr. Morrow:
The reason I ask is we can waive the seven days getting to the
Council if Mark feel that it will do any good. He's shaking his
head. Apparently the agenda is jammed up and he cant fit it in.
Our heart was in the right place.
Mr. Cerny:
Thanks. I appreciate that.
Mr. Morrow:
Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or
against the granting of this petition? Seeing no one coming
September 17, 2013
25948
forward, I'm going to close the public heading and ask for a
motion.
Mr. Taylor:
It looks like this has been well thought out, and although we're
looking at a lot of different plans and everything, actually all
we're talking about tonight is zoning. I'm assuming some of the
plans will come back to us, Mark, for all of the road work they're
going to do and rights-of-way and things like that. Actually,
we're changing the zoning but we're not changing the use much
because its going to be mostly office again. Although its going
to go from Professional High Rise to Public Land, it will basically
be used for office.
On a motion by Taylor, seconded by Scheel, and unanimously adopted, it was
#0931-2013
RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Heading having been
held by the City Planning Commission on September 17, 2013,
on Petition 2013-07-01-04 submitted by SchoolcraR College
pursuant to Section 23.01 of the City of Livonia Zoning
Ordinance #543, as amended, requesting to rezone the property
at 39201 Seven Mile Road, located on the southeast corner of
Seven Mile Road and Haggerty Road in the Northwest 1/4 of
Section 7, from PO (High Rise Professional Office) to PL (Public
Land), the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to
the City Council that Petition 2013-07-01-04 be approved for the
following reasons:
1. That PL zoning is compatible to and in harmony with the
surrounding zoning districts and land uses in the area;
2. That PL zoning would allow the redevelopment of the site
for educational purposes in connection with Schoolcraft
College; and
3. That PL zoning is consistent with the developing character
of the area.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that no0ce of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 23.05 of
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended.
Mr. Morow,
Chairman, declared the mo0on is carried and the foregoing
resolu0on adopted. It will go on to City Council with an
approving resolution. Thank you for coming tonight and for
augmenting our educational facility there.
September 17, 2013
25949
ITEM #2 PETMON 2013-08-02-20 CULVEWS
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2013-
08-02-20 submitted by S & Z Restaurants, L.L.C. requesting
waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(c) of the City of
Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to construct and
operate a full service restaurant including drive -up window
facilities (Culvers) within an outlot on the site of Meijer, 13000
Middlebelt Road, located on the east side of Middlebelt Road
between the CSX Railroad right-of-way and Schoolcraft Road in
the Northwest 114 of Section 25.
Mr. Taormina: The proposal is to construct a restaurant on one of three outlots
that were created at the time the Meijer store was developed.
The outlots are located on the east side of Middlebelt Road
between the CSX railroad and Schoolcraft. This aerial
photograph shows the location of the subject outlot. It is the
second outol east of Middlebelt Road located on the Meijer's
properly. The size of this particular oulparoel is about 1.51
acres. The zoning is C-2, General Business, which would allow
for the development of the restaurant subject to waiver use
approval. The Meijer store is part of the Millennium Park retail
center which is comprised of not only the Meijer, but also a
Home Depot, as well as several other shops and restaurants,
including Logan's Roadhouse, Petsmart, Leo's Coney Island,
Famous Footwear, Marshalls, and Panem Bread, juslto name a
few. Culvers would be located on the second outlot which is
centrally located with the Meijer property. The building that they
propose to construct is about 4,500 square feel in area. The
building would be positioned on the east side of the property.
Parking and storm water management would be located on the
west side of property. There is some parking as well located on
the east side. The drive -up window service would be along the
east side of the building and the traffic lane that would serve the
drive -up window would commence on the south side of the
building and then loop around to the east side of the building
where the pickup window would be located. Vehicles would
have the option of circling around and exiting back out to the
main road which connects directly with Middlebelt Road. Il does
have a median separating the eastbound from the westbound
traffic so vehicles would then have to tum right and then loop
around the median in order to head west towards the signalized
intersection at Industrial Road and Middlebelt. Optionally, they
could exit out of the south portion. There is a ring road that
circles around the actual Meijer store and connects with the
other parts of Millennium Park. On the west side of the
property, in the northwest comer of the property, is a planned
September 17, 2013
25950
slonmwater management pond that would have to be a part of
the development. In terms of the required number of parking
spaces, the required parking for restaurants is a function of the
number of customer seats as well as the number of employees.
In this particular case, Culver's is proposing 119 interior seats
plus 12 patio seats, for a total of 131 customer seals. They
estimate about 12 employees. The ordinance requires
approximately 76 parking spaces. What this plan shows is a
total of 78 parking spaces. However, as part of the first phase,
they would construct only 63 spaces and they would landbank
the remaining 15. While our ordinance requires a total of 76
spaces and they can provide 78, they are not initially proposing
to build all of those spaces feeling that the amount of parking
they're providing would be adequate to serve the restaurant, the
customers and all of the employees. They would reserve the
area in the southwest corner of the property for future parking
should it be needed. That represents about 15 parking spaces
that would be Iandbanked and represents about 20 percent of
the total number of required parking spaces. The Planning
Commission and the City Council can approve the banking of up
to 25 percent of the total number of required spaces, so they are
within compliance of that provision of the ordinance. About one-
fourth of the property is going to be green space. Additional
areas include the parking lot islands and along the perimeter of
the site to the north, south and to the east. I'll quickly go over
the floor plan. Just to get you familiar, when I pointed to where
the pickup window would be for the drive -up service, on this
particular plan it's located here at the lop. So the vehicles
would swing around the back of the building and then pick up
their food here. So this entire northerly half of the building
represents the customer seating area. The south half of the
building represents all of the service aspects of the operation.
This would representthe service counlerwhere people come up
and place their orders. There are public reslrooms located
here. These are the cooler, freezer and dry storage
components, and the prep area and kitchen and back office and
mechanical area are in the corner of the building. This is an
actual photograph of Culver's latest prototype and one which
they propose to build here. You can see that the building's
appearance is dominated by three different materials. There is
a beige or a brown cast stone, tan cement fiber board siding,
and then a lighter tan E.I.F.S. area. The building is highlighted
with the blue awnings and the blue trim and signage. The
height of the building is 23 feet, well within the C-2 distdct
regulations, which allows structures up to 35 feel in height.
Lastly, in terms of signage, Culver's is proposing additional wall
signage exceeding what the ordinance allows. The ordinance
September 17, 2013
25951
would only permit one wall sign not to exceed 99 square feet in
area and that's based on the overall length of the building. In
this particular case, they are proposing four wall signs, one on
each elevation of the building, totaling approximately 128
square feet. It's a little more in terms of area as well as the
number of signs as you can see from the plan. It gives a good
sense of what those signs would look like, small oval shaped
signs on each elevation. With respect to the monument sign,
this would be located in the northwest comer of the property to
capture the aflention of drivers coming in off of Middlebelt Road
along the extension of Industrial Road heading east towards the
Home Depot or south towards the Meijer store. The monument
sign complies with respect to the height requirements of six feel
in overall height. The other dimensions are fully conforming
with respect to the sign. The static part of the sign, which is the
lower part, will remain as you see it. However, the upper portion
represents a variable electronic message board and that is
something that would change. They would have control over
the various advertising. The ordinance does allow for the sign
to devote half of the area to an electronic message board, but
that is only if all other aspects of the site complies in terms of
signage, which it will not obviously. So this sign as well will
require Zoning Board of Appeals approval in order for it to be
installed. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the
departmental correspondence.
Mr. Morrow: Please
Mr. Taormina: There are three items of correspondence. The first item is from
the Engineering Division, dated September 4, 2013, which
reads as follows: 9n accordance with your request, the
Engineering Division has reviewed the above -referenced. The
legal description provided is missing one of the legs of the
boundary and does not close. (The drawing indicates what the
missing bearing and distance should be, but the description still
does not close when using the drawing information.) The
following legal description should be used until the owner's
surveyor is able to provide an acceptable survey. A part of the
North X of Section 25, T. 1 N., R. 9 E., City of Livonia, Wayne
County, Michigan being more particularly described as
commencing at the Northwest comer of said Section 25 and
proceeding thence S 0027'00" W, 1336.44 feet along the West
line of said Section 25 and following Middlebelt Road, thence S
8934'33" E, 60.00 feet to a point on the Easterly line of said
Middlebelt Road (120 foot wide right -0f --way) to a point on the
South line of a private drive, thence the following two courses
along the South line of said private drive, 1) S 8934'33" E,
September 17, 2013
25952
127.81 feet and 2) N 73"41'04"E, 261.60 feet to the POINT OF
BEGINNING, thence continuing along said private drive S
89"34'33" E, 303.81 feet, thence S 00"04'29" W, 191.31 feet,
thence S 45"48'10" W, 24.44 feet, thence N 89"3433" W,
299.31 feet, thence N 00"2527" E, 187.43 feet, thence N
29"33'27" E, 24.09 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING.
Containing 1.51 acres. Subject to any easement or restrictions
of record, if any. There currently is no address associated with
the proposed outiot. We proposed using an address of 13030
Middlebelt Road for all future matters regarding the proposed
project. We have no objections to the proposed layout of the
sight, although full engineering drawings will need to be
provided prior to determining if the site meets all of the current
standards. The outiot is currently serviced by storm sewer,
sanitary sewer and water main. We have no objections to the
layout of the proposed services, but would like to mention that
the locations may need to be adjusted based on existing
features such as trees or light posts. The proposed plan shows
the site draining to a detention basin and eventually outletting to
a private storm sewer. No drainage calculations have been
included, so we cannot determine if the system meets all current
requirements. Please be advised that the developer will need to
meet all Wayne County storm sewer requirements for the
proposed drainage in order to receive site plan approval. A soil
erosion and sedimentation control (SESC) permit will be
required and involve separate plans to be submitted if the
proposed site is one (1) acre or more or within 500 feet of a lake
or stream. This permit and associated fees will be handled by
the City of Livonia's Engineering Department before any work
commences." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Civil
Engineer II. The second letter is from the Division of Police,
dated September 4, 2013, which reads as follows: 9 have
reviewed the plans in connection with the petition. I have no
objections to the proposaL" The letter is signed by John Gibbs,
Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The third letter is from the Inspection
Department, dated September 10, 2013, which reads as follows:
"Pursuant to your request, the above -referenced petition has
been reviewed. The following is noted. (1) A variance from the
Zoning Board of Appeals would be required for the deficient
number of parking spaces. (2) A variance from the Zoning
Board of Appeals would be required for the excess number of
signs. (3) The gates on the dumpster enclosure shall be steel or
may be as approved. This Department has no further objections
to this petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna,
Assistant Director of Inspection. And just as a point of
correction with respect to Item 1 in that letter, in terns of the
parking requiring a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals,
Mr.
September 17, 2013
Let's see if there are any questions from the Commission.
25953
Ms.
as I indicated earlier, they do comply with the ordinance and
About the landbanking of parking, do you think you
would not require Zoning Board of Appeals approval.
Mr. Morrow:
As you explained.
Mr. Taormina:
Correct.
Mr. Morrow:
Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Seeing
none, is the petitioner here this evening? We will need your
Mr. Zielke:
name and address for the record please.
Andrew Zielke,
S & Z Restaurants, L.L.C., 4564 Oakhurst Ridge Road,
Ms. Smiley:
Clarkston, Michigan 48348.
Mr. Morrow:
Thank you very much. You've heard Mr. Taonmina's
presentation. Would you like to add to that?
Mr. Zielke:
I think a lot of you guys are pretty well versed in the Culver's
type of restaurant. It offers warm hospitality, has a nice lredilion
of a nice featured building, and has a quality food emphasis,
family values and different things in the community, large
community involvement. Culver's values are strong with a
family emphasis and a strong tradition of community support,
and a nice overall building facade that enhances the community
and the environment around it.
Mr.
Morrow:
Let's see if there are any questions from the Commission.
Yes. We've talked to Culvers and their planning department
Ms.
Smiley:
About the landbanking of parking, do you think you
have
sufficient parking for your restaurant?
Mr. Zielke:
Yes. We've talked to Culvers and their planning department
and they typically look for 5510 60 spaces.
Ms. Smiley:
For that size of restaurant?
Mr. Zielke:
Corect.
Ms. Smiley:
I just wanted to comment that this new prototype with the blue
and tan colored brick and stone is very allmctive. Culvers has
some big while buildings.
Mr. Zielke:
Exactly. I have the sample board here if you want me to bring it
out and show you.
Ms. Smiley:
I notice even your refuse containers are color coordinated.
That's very nice.
September 17, 2013
25954
Mr. Morrow:
Let's set up the easel for the benefit of the people in the
audience as well as at home.
Mamie Sunliller, 32629 Crystal Lake, Romulus, Michigan. I just want to bring this
up to you.
Ms. Smiley:
I do have one more question. Do you have experience with
restaurants or Culver's or is this your first one?
Mr. Zielke:
This is our first one, correct.
Mr. Morrow:
You did a very nice job for the presentation of the materials.
Mark, you did a good job too.
Mr. Zielke:
As you can see, these are the cultured stone or boulder creek
composite brick samples. This is our E.I.F.S. color. This is the
metal trim that's going up on lop of the roof as you can see
along the lop edge portion of the building. This is the color of
the awning sample. The awning will have stripes similar to this.
Thal will decorate the front and side of the building.
Mr. Morrow:
So there's three colors.
Mr. Zielke:
Correct. Yes. I'm not sure what the repeat pattern is, but it is
three colors, the light, the white and the dark blue.
Mr. Taylor:
Is there any E.I.F.S. on this at all?
Mr. Zielke:
Yes. On the corners of the building, off to the side right here is
where the E.I.F.S. is.
Mr. Taylor:
Its all above grade.
Mr. Zielke:
Correct. It is all stone along the bottom and on the sides,
correct.
Mr. Taylor:
Thankyou.
Ms. Scheel:
I have a quick question. Can you tell me what the hours of
operation will be?
Mr. Zielke:
Its from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Ms. Scheel:
Seven days a week?
Mr. Zielke:
Correct.
September 17, 2013
25955
Ms. Scheel:
Thankyou.
Mr. Bahr:
I'm just curious. With the three lots available over there, I was
surprised that you're going to this one versus the one that has
the frontage on Middlebell Road. Is there a strategy with that?
Mr. Zielke:
There's really no strategy except there is an offer on the
purchase on the first westerly portion right there. Meijer has an
offer on that parcel and looking to entertain that offer first. So
we had to go to the second parcel over to the east.
Mr. Bahr:
You may have touched on this a little bit, but Culvers is
primarily a sit-down restaurant. I mean I know you have the
drive-thru, but is that true?
Mr. Zielke:
Yes, it's a family-oriented sit-down restaurant but they do have
some drive-thru service that functions as well to serve the
people that want to drive-lhru instead of come in.
Mr. Bahr:
So you're comfortable with the slacking area for the drive-thru
on this. I just had a mild concern with the south side of the
property and cars coming in from the south versus cars coming
in from the north and whether that was going to be a congestion
issue.
Mr. Zielke:
I think we provide for stacking spaces. I believe it is more than
adequate to service our stacking needs for our restaurant.
Mr. Bahr:
Okay. Thanks.
Ms. Smiley:
With that slacking, those people that park on the right, where
would they enter the restaurant?
Mr. Zielke:
There is a side entry door just right next to the front of the
bumper of the car right there, where the people can come
through and walk through that area. Most of that parking on the
right hand side will be for employees only. I shouldn't say for
employees only, but we'll prefer to have the employees park on
that side of the building.
Ms. Smiley:
So that they're not crossing the path of traffic.
Mr. Zielke:
They will cross the path of traffic to enter into the building, yes.
Ms. Smiley:
But like once a day.
September 17, 2013
25956
Mr. Zielke:
Right, not as often as normal customers coming in and out.
Ms. Smiley:
And your normal person comes in and sits down, not normal.
People in the drive-thru can be normal loo, but you're regular
average client.
Mr. Zielke:
Families that come in there, correct. They'll come in and dine
and then you gel the people who come through for lunch or
whatever that are just in the area will drive lhru and proceed to
get their food there also.
Ms. Smiley:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Just a couple follow-up questions. Do you know what
percentage of your business will be drive-thru versus dine -in?
Mr. Zielke:
I think is around 30 percent drive-thru and 70 percent sit-down.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Do you find that the drive lhru business is at certain time
periods, such as lunch or Tale evening or that type of thing?
Mr. Zielke:
Its probably one of those things that varies, I would imagine.
You know what I mean depending on who comes in at what
time, but I think the lunch hour rush that comes through are the
people that are coming in to gel their food and go and gel out.
Probably the highest point during the day would be the lunch
hour.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. Good. That answers that question. The changeable
message sign that you have, what type of things are going to be
put on the changeable message sign?
Mr. Zielke:
The most important thing for Culver's is that they put on their
flavor of the day, whatever it is - brownie, caramel custard -
whatever it may be, a raspberry split. They announce that so
people have a fine liking to seeing that type of message driving
through and actually seeing what the flavor of the day is.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. Changeable message signs are fairly new for us in the
city. There are not a lot of them around, and we do have an
ordinance that specifies some requirements as far as how long
a message stays on the sign and things like that. Even though
this is not going to be considered a conforming sign and it will
have to go to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance
anyway, I would like to request that you at lead understand
what our ordinance is and try to conform to it as far as the
September 17, 2013
25957
length of the time the message should stay on there and so on.
We just dont want anything garish or flashy.
Mr. Zielke:
No, no, no. Its not like a colored message board where it
flashes and sparkles and does all that. It's just a very simple
message board that shows the flavor of the day and then it
announces to the people
that are cinving through, that, hey, you
know what, we're having
Browning Delight or whatever it might
be on their ice cream.
Mr. Wilshaw:
It sounds good.
Mr. Zielke:
So that they know what the flavor of the day is and they come in
and grab what they want.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. That sounds fine. The only other thing looking at the
plan that caught my attention is, Mr. Taormina pointed out the
fad that your patrons who are going to be leaving the lot
northbound will have to make a right hand turn and then make a
Michigan left to gel back toward Middlebell Road. So I would
definitely advise you to consider placing a "right turn only" sign
at that exit so that you don't have people trying to shoot across
the one way.
Mr. Zielke:
Cored. I would agree with you on that also.
Mr. Taylor:
Are you going to own and run the restaurant, sir?
Mr. Zielke:
Cored. Yes, I am.
Mr. Taylor:
So you're going to be there most of the lime?
Mr. Zielke:
Cored, and Mamie right here.
Mr. Taylor:
I wondered. I thought maybe she might be important in this.
Mr. Zielke:
Exactly. And her husband is taking a 16 week long training
class.
Mr. Taylor:
I think it's going to be a great addition. I think you're going to
have a little bit of a problem with the Zoning Board of Appeals
for setting a precedent for four signs on all sides of the building.
The one at the back, the south. I don't know why you would
need one back there because you're facing Meijer, but I guess
that's up to them. I don't have a big problem with it. So good
luck.
September 17, 2013
25958
Mr. Zielke:
Okay. Thank you very much.
Mr. Morrow:
Anyone else? Just one thing, the drive-thm. Is there occasion
when people have to wail for an order and have to pull forward?
Mr. Zielke:
Yes, that's why there's four slacking spaces. All of our food is
made to order, so its not like you go to a normal fast food
restaurant. We're the fast/casual type of concept where you
order the food, it's cooked to order so its hot when you gel it,
and it's fresh. Occasionally you will have to wail.
Mr. Morrow:
Now would they wail at the window or would they have to pull
aside?
Mr. Zielke:
There's four stacking spaces right up front on the site plan
there. Yes, they would have to pull up, depending how big the
order is. If there's no one behind you, obviously you can wait,
but as traffic comes behind you or additional customers come
up, we may ask you to pull forward and wail.
Mr. Morrow:
I assumed that's what those spaces were for. I just wanted to
gel it on the record.
Mr. Zielke:
Cored. Yes.
Mr. Morrow:
Did you have something to say, ma'am?
Ms. Suntiller:
I do. I have 10 years of customer service, and the food is made
to order for you. So you will pull over and we do have a time
limit for that food to be prepared especially for you. So if I'm
ordering my food and for whatever reason I change my mind or
change the order, you're not going to gel what's lett over in the
car behind me. You're going to gel what's cooked for you when
you order it, and there also is a time limit on that food that you're
waiting to receive. So we gel you in; we gel you safe; we get
you hot, fresh food; and it's made for you.
Mr. Morrow:
If you have a customer waiting for his food in one of those
parking places, how does the food gel to him?
Ms. Suntiller:
We have a number that is service for you, so you'll be number
32 and we'll have you get that number. You'll pull over to the
side and we'll have a gentleman or a young lady bring that food
made to order out to your car.
Mr. Morrow:
Okay. So he does not have to come back to gel it. Somebody
on your staff will make that delivery.
September 17, 2013
25959
Ms. Suntiller: That's correct. You do not exit your car
Mr. Morrow:
Okay, because when you're not quite a fast food place, I was
just concerned how you were going to handle the slacking of the
cars and servicing them.
Ms. Suntiller:
Correct.
Mr. Zielke:
Its done by basically a runner that comes out. If you're pulled
over to a slacking area, there's a runner that comes out and
delivers your food.
Mr. Morrow:
Okay. Very good. Are there any other 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'm
going to close the public hearing and ask for a motion.
Mr. Bahr:
I am excited about this. I do live nearby. I go into Millennium
Park a lot, probably more than I want to admit. There's a Home
Depot in there. So I'm anxious to see that filled, and as
somebody that takes his family out to Kansas several times a
year, we slop at Culvers a lot on the way. So I'm excited to
have one nearby and this looks like a great proposal. I think it
will be a great addition to that retail center.
On a motion by Bahr, seconded by Smiley, and unanimously adopted, it was
#0932-2013
RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been
held by the City Planning Commission on September 17, 2013,
on Petition 2013-08-02-20 submitted by S & Z Restaurants,
L.L.C. requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section
11.03(c) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as
amended, to construct and operate a full service restaumnl
including drive -up window facilities (Culver's) within an oullol on
the site of Meijer, 13000 Middlebelt Road, located on the east
side of Middlebell Road between the CSX Railroad right-of-way
and SchoolcraR Road in the Northwest 1/4 of Section 25, which
properly is zoned G2, the Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2013-08-02-20 be
approved subject to the following conditions:
1. That the Site Plan marked Sheet 1 prepared by Fairway
Engineenng, L.L.C., dated August, 2013 is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to;
September 17, 2013
25960
2. That pavement markings be provided across the drive aisle
and drive -up lane leading to the entrance on the east side
of the building for pedestrian safely purposes;
3. That the Landscape Plan marked LP -1 prepared by J.
Brian Devlin, R.L.A., dated August 28, 2013, as revised, is
hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
4. That all disturbed lawn areas shall be sodded in lieu of
hydro -seeding;
5. That underground sprinklers are to be provided for all
landscaped and sodded areas and all planted materials
shall be installed to the satisfaction of the Inspection
Department and thereafter permanently maintained in a
healthy condition;
6. That the maximum customer seating count shall not
exceed a total of one hundred thirty-one (131) seals,
including one hundred nineteen (119) interior seats and
twelve (12) outdoor patio seats;
7. That the Building Elevation Plan marked A-3 prepared by
Culver Franchising Systems, Inc., dated January 1, 2013,
is hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
8. 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;
9. 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;
10. 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;
11. That only conforming signage is approved with this petition,
and any additional signage shall be separately submitted
for review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals;
September 17, 2013
25961
12. That no LED lightband or exposed neon shall be permitted
on this site including, but not limited to, the building or
around the windows; and
13. That the specific plans referenced in this approving
resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department
al 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 surounding 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. Morow, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an
approving resolution.
ITEM #3 PETITION 2013 -08 -LS -12 PROPOSED SALE OF
CITY OWNED PROPERTY
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2013-
08 -LS -12 submitted by Ali Albo, pursuant to Council Resolution
#269-13, and Section 3.05.050 of the Livonia Code of
Ordinances, as amended, to determine whether or not to
dispose of City -owned vacant properly at 27560 Joy Road,
located on the north side of Joy Road between Inkster Road
and Cardwell Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 35.
Mr. Taormina: This petition is a referrel from City Council on the question of
whether or not to dispose of certain City -owned real properly.
This parcel is located on the north side of Joy Road. It's about a
quarter mile to the west of Inkster Road. The property is a
narrow parcel with limited frontage along Joy Road. It's about
September 17, 2013
25962
half an acre in total area. Its frontage is only 58 feet on Joy
Road but it has a depth of over 390 feel. The zoning of the
parcel is C-2, General Business, as are all of the surrounding
parcels, including Mr. Albo's lot, which is immediately to the
west of the subject property. The parcel is vacant as was
indicated, and pursuant to Section 3.05.050 of the Livonia Code
of Ordinances, before City -owned properly can be sold to a
private entity, the matter must first be referred to the Planning
Commission for recommendation on whether or not the City
should dispose of the subject properly and for its advice as to
any plausible alternative uses of the property. From what we
can tell, this parcel came to be owned by the City in 1989
through foreclosure proceedings. Again, if you look at the
surrounding area, it's under similar zoning classification. There
are residential lots both to the west and to the north. There are
some office uses to the east of the subject property, but
predominantly are residential in character. These are all non-
conforming residential properties since they are under the C-2
zoning. In terms of the reason for Mr. Albo wanting to purchase
the property, his residence is located immediately to the west,
and he would like to purchase the parcel in order to establish a
driveway and build a new garage. Currently, his property is not
sufficiently large enough to allow for the construction of a
garage. Should Mr. Albo be successful in purchasing the City -
owned parcel, it would have to be combined with his existing
parcel under one tax identification number. Mr. Albo's site is
similar in size in terms of width. His residence is located close
to Joy Road. His lot is 58 feel in width. It doesn't quite have the
same depth as the City -owned lot. His lot is about 232 feet, for
a total lot area of about three -tenths of an acre. The two
properties combined would form an "L" shaped parcel. They
would have 116 feel in frontage along Joy by a depth of 390
feel, with a total area of about 0.83 acre. Following the
Planning Commission's recommendation, the City Council will
determine whether or not to proceed with the sale of the
property. In the event that Council does proceed, the next step
would then be to obtain an appraisal of the property in order to
determine a fair market price. We have two items of
correspondence, Mr. Chairman. I can read those out now.
Mr. Morrow: Please.
Mr. Taormina: There are two items of correspondence. The first item is from
the Engineering Division, dated August 15, 2013, which reads
as follows: 9n accordance with your request, the Engineering
Division has reviewed the above -referenced petition to purchase
city -owned property. The address for this site is confirmed to be
September 17, 2013
25963
27560 Joy Road. We have no issues with the proposed sale,
although we would like to note that there is an existing
easement for an 18" diameter storm sewer along the rear
property line (CR 669-87) that would need to be retained.
Future development of the property would be prohibited from
placing any structure within the existing easement." The letter is
signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Civil Engineer II. The second
letter is from the Inspection Department, dated September 10,
2013, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the
above -referenced petition has been reviewed. The following is
noted. These properties will be required to be combined before
any structure can be built. 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 of the Planning Director?
Ms. Smiley:
That 18 inch drain, is that at the rear of the properly?
Mr. Taormina:
It is my understanding that it is all the way at the back of the
properly.
Ms. Smiley:
Then we donlwanllo redraw that, dowe?
Mr. Taormina:
No. We'll just make sure that he doesn't impact or build on the
easement.
Ms. Smiley:
He would want to put his garage and his driveway next to his
building, right?
Mr. Taormina:
The easement runs all the way to the back.
Ms. Smiley:
So that's no problem at all.
Mr. Taormina:
The driveway and the garage will only impact this portion of the
site. So really the easement is not an issue.
Ms. Smiley:
Thankyou.
Mr. Morrow:
Are there any other questions of the Planning Director?
Because we are reacting to a Council resolution, there is no
petitioner, but al this time, is there anybody in the audience that
wishes to speak for or against the granting of this petition?
Seeing no one coming forward, I'll ask for a motion.
On a motion by
Scheel, seconded by Wilshaw, and unanimously adopted, it was
September 17, 2013
25964
#0933-2013 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Heating having been
held by the City Planning Commission on September 17, 2013,
on Pefition 2013 -08 -LS -12 submitted by Ali Albo, pursuant to
Council Resolution #269-13, and Section 3.05.050 of the
Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended, to determine whether
or not to dispose of City -owned vacant properly at 27560 Joy
Road, located on the north side of Joy Road between Inkster
Road and Cardwell Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 35,
the Planning Commission has no objections to the sale of
vacant City -owned properly located at 27560 Joy Road for a
fair -market value, subject to the recording of the necessary
utility easement(s) as required by the Engineering Division, and
pursuant to adopted policies and ordinances involving such
transactions; further, this recommendation is based on a
determination that there are no current or anticipated City uses
for the property, and no compelling reason exists to delay the
sale of the property as requested.
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 #4 PETITION 2013-08-08-06 M.K.O. REAL ESTATE
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2013-
08-08-06 submitted by M.K.O. Real Estate, L.L.C. requesting
approval of all plans required by Section 18.58 of the City of
Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with
a proposal to demolish an existing building and construct a new
medical office building at 36622 Five Mile Road, located on the
north side of Five Mile Road between Levan Road and
Newburgh Road in the Southwest 1/4 of Section 17.
Mr. Taormina: This is a request to demolish an existing building and construct
a new medical office building. The property is located on the
north side of Five Mile between Levan Road and Newburgh
Road. This parcel is closer to the intersection of Five Mile and
Levan. The property altogether is just over four acres in area. It
has 347 feel of frontage on Five Mile and extends along Levan
for a distance about 250 feel. The zoning of the property is C-1,
Local Business. Professional offices, including medical, are
treated as a permitted use within the G7 zoning district
pursuant to Section 10.02(a) of the Zoning Ordinance. The
existing one-story building is about 39,900 square feel in total
September 17, 2013
25965
area. It was most recenfly subdivided into three units including
a Frank's Nursery, CVS Pharmacy and a Keller -Williams realty
office. Those uses are long gone and the building has remained
vacant for approximately the past five years. On the east side
of the property is the remnants of the old outdoor garden area
that used to be part of the Frank's Nursery. Under this
proposal, the building, including the old garden center, will be
completely tom down and removed to make room for the
proposed new medical office building. In terms of what is
adjacent to the property, right at the northwest corner of Five
Mile and Levan Road is a dental office under the same zoning
classification, C-1. To the north of the property are residential
homes that are part of Kingsbury Heights Subdivision. The
zoning there is R-2, Single Family Residential. Looking west is
a multi -tenant office building known as University Park Office
Center and then further to the west of that is a commercial bank.
Both properties are zoned OS, Office Services. East across
Levan Road are a variety of retail uses including a gas station
as well as an office building. To the south across Five Mile
Road is St. Mary Mercy Hospital, zoned PO, Professional
Office. The proposal is to construct a new two-story medical
office structure. It would be 44,488 square feel in gross floor
area. The proposed building would be positioned in the
northwest corner of the property in approximately the same
location as the existing building; however, its setback would be
increased from the north property line by about 15 feet. The
parking layout would be similar to the current parking
arrangement, but with additional parking provided on the east
side between the building and Levan, which is where the garden
center is currently located. Access to the site would be same as
it is today, via the existing drives located off Five Mile and Levan
Road, as well as connecting aisle ways from the abutting
property to the west. This is the actual footprint area of where
the new medical building will be constructed. If you look back at
the existing plan, you can gel a sense of how much smaller an
area on the site the building will occupy that what is there
currently. There will be expanded parking on the east side and
then a similar type of parking arrangement between the building
and Five Mile Road to what exists today. The first floor would
total about 20,000 square feel and would contain an orthopedic
clinic, a physical therapy room as well as an urgent care unit.
Located immediately behind the building on the north side would
be an area that would be dedicated for the parking of a
transportable medical unit or a Mobile MRI trailer. The MRI
trailer would be docked within a well that would be established
on the north side and immediately adjacent to the building,
between the building and the masonryscreen wall that presently
September 17, 2013
25966
exists along the north side of the property. The uses on the
second floor include medical offices totaling roughly 8,370
square feel and a surgical center totally roughly 10,000 square
feel. According to the site data and the parking analysis that
was provided by the pefitioner, they are going to need a total of
220 parking spaces to support all of the uses within the medical
office building. The site plan shows a total of 231 parking
spaces available. The plan also shows an additional 30 spaces
along the frontage on Five Mile, which would be landbanked
under this proposal. That would bring the total maximum
potential parking up to 261, some 40 spaces more than what is
projected to be needed to service the facility. In the event that
they need the additional parking, it could be provided along Five
Mile Road. The Planning Staff has stipulated in the resolution
for your consideration this evening that prior to any construction
of parking along this area that it first come back to the Planning
Commission for review. I'd like to touch on some of the
screening and privacy issues associated with the development.
As I indicated, there is a masonry screen wall that exists
adjacent to the north property line. The property line is about six
feel beyond this wall. Due to the presence of an overhead utility
easement, there are some overhead wires, it was necessary to
build that wall about six feet off the property line. That wall is a
minimum of five feet in height. The petitioner plans to re -patch,
repaint and put a new cap on the wall. In addition to the wall,
there would be screening for the service area at the rear of the
building. Where the MRI trailer would be docked, there would
be a 14 foot high wall that would enclose on two sides, actually
three sides when you consider the building. So it would not be
visible from the residential area or any area behind the building.
They also have a generator located here. There would be a 10
fool high screen wall provided around that emergency generator
and there is one trash dumpsler that would also be surrounded
by a 10 fool high screen wall. All the walls proposed here would
match the material that will be used for the building. In terms of
landscaping, this is a revised plan. It's a little different than the
plan you saw at the study session. Theyve made some
changes mostly with respect to the number of trees that are
proposed on the site. They had some concern relative to the
number of trees being planted in the greenbelt area along Five
Mile, wanting to keep instead this area visible to the front of the
building, but it is a fully detailed landscape plan providing the
types of species and their locations. In terms of the building
itself, the architects and the engineer are here this evening to
provide greater detail, but this gives you a sense of what the
building would look like. The exterior materials would be a
combination of brick, cultured stone and concrete block
September 17, 2013
25967
materials. Just to point out some of the different features, metal
panels would be used along the upper part of the building. Also,
along the canopy or the porte-cochere, this tan color is the brick
that would be used on the building. There is a lighter color at
the base which is the concrete block, a couple courses of block
along the base. The material here is the stone. So there are
four primary types of building materials that would be used for
the construction of the building. One of the things you'll note is
the rooftop screen that will provided on the building. This does
project another 10 feel above the height of the building;
however, its sole purpose is to screen the mechanical units that
will be centrally located on the rooftop ofthe building. With that,
Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence.
Mr. Morrow: Yes, please
Mr. Taormina: There are four items of correspondence. The first item is from
the Engineering Division, dated September 4, 2013, which
reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the
Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced
planning petition. We have no objections to the proposed site
development at this time, although the developer will need to
provide this office with detailed engineering plans for permit
approval prior to any construction activities. The legal
description provided appears to be correct and is acceptable to
this office. The address of 36622 Five Mile Road is connect for
the parcel and should be used for the proposed project. The
parcel is currently serviced by storm sewer, sanitary sewer and
water main. It should be noted that the developer may be
required to televise existing sanitary and storm sewer leads
before new connections can be made. The developer has
proposed underground detention for the storm drainage from
the re -developed portion of the site. The calculations provided
appear to meet the City's storm water requirements, but detailed
engineering plans will need to be submitted to this office prior to
obtaining building permits. It should be noted that if the southern
half of the site is replaced or redeveloped in the future,
additional detention will be required for the disturbed areas. A
soil erosion and sedimentation control (SESC) permit will be
required and involve separate plans to be submitted if the
proposed site is one acre or more or within 500 feet of a lake or
stream. This permit and associated fees will be handled by the
City of Livonia's Engineering Department before any work
commences." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Civil
Engineer 11. The second letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue
Division, dated September 6, 2013, which reads as follows: 7
have reviewed the site 1 have reviewed the petition for approval
September 17, 2013
25968
to demolish an existing building and construct a new medical
office building on the property at the above referenced address
and have noted the following. (1) In regards to NFPA 1, the
2009 Edition: (a) Chapters 12, 13, and 14 shall be followed. (b)
Chapter 20 shall be followed as it relates to 20.4, Health Care
Occupancies, and 20.6, Ambulatory Health Care Centers. (c)
Fire Department Access shall be maintained in accordance to
18.2.2.1, 18.2.3.1.2, 18.2.3.4.1, and 18.2.3.4.3. (d) Chapter 18
shall be followed for required Fire Hydrant and Water Supply.
(2) In regards to NFPA 101, the 2009 Edition: (a) Chapter 20
shall be followed for New Ambulatory Health Care Occupancies.
(b) Chapters 8 and 9 shall be followed as they relate to Fire
Protection features and Alarm Systems. These issues and other
code requirements will be addressed during the formal plan
review process. Providing that all details in regards to Health
Care Occupancies and New Ambulatory Health Care
Occupancies are followed and inspected prior to tenant use, this
department has no objections to this petition." The letter is
signed by Daniel Lee, Fire Marshal. The third letter is from the
Division of Police, dated September 4, 2013, which reads as
follows: 7 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 September 10,
2013, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the
above -referenced petition has been reviewed. The following is
noted. (1) The gate on the dumpster enclosure shall be steel or
may be as approved. (2) Signage has not been reviewed. 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 of the Planning Director? Seeing none,
I'll ask the petitioner to come forward. We will need your name
and address for the record please.
Ed Pocock, Project Manager, Hobbs+Black Associates, Inc., 100 N. State Street,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104.
Mr. Morrow: You've heard the presentation. Is there anything you'd like to it?
Mr. Pocock: We have samples with for the materials and we have our Civil
Engineer with us. We have another Associate Architect with us
and the contractor, Casco Construction. Hopefully we can
answer your questions and concems tonight. I think that this is
a pretty exciting project and I know that removing the existing
September 17, 2013
25969
building is a high pnorily for the community. Hopefully we can
answer all your concems tonight and move forward.
Mr. Morrow:
Does the Commission have any questions?
Mr. Wilshaw:
I think it would be appropriate to see the material samples that
have been provided.
Mr. Morrow:
Mark, if you put the building back up on the screen that would
be helpful.
Charles Huber,
Hobbs+Black Associates, Inc., 100 N. State Street, Ann Arbor,
Michigan 48104. These are the materials that you saw on the
renderings. The materials that are here show the stone, the
brick, the cast stone, metal for both the canopies and the
windows, and then the lint that would be on the windows that
would be provided. There is a mixture of those that are shown
on the materials here within an arrangement just to create a
pleasing facade that fits both into the neighborhood behind with
the breakdown of the materials and with the business pieces
that are around it. We didn't want to create anything loo
corporate or anything too residenfial, but a mix that blended
between the two.
Mr. Taylor:
That's full face four inch brick, right?
Mr. Huber:
Yes. Full standard brick, and then the stone would be the
same.
Mr. Taylor:
Thankyou.
Mr. Wilshaw:
These materials are going to carry around to the back of the
building as well, right?
Mr. Huber:
Yes. The elevation on the bottom is the north side that faces
the residents with the brick coming across and you can see
some of the stone in some of the accent areas. The lop is the
west side facing the businesses to the west. Again, bringing
some of those materials around the comer from the front, but
then on the backside using more of the residential brick
material.
Mr. Wilshaw:
It appears as if you're using a variety of window sizes as well,
some transom windows and then full size windows.
Mr. Huber:
Correct. On the second floor and on the first floor on the north
elevation you can see there's a variety of windows shown. The
September 17, 2013
25970
tenant layouts for the interior are not fully determined at this
point, so the vanety of windows represents what would be used
in those areas as those pieces get placed in.
Mr. Wilshaw: It looks good. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow: I think you had indicated at the study session that on the north
side, the windows are raised up and they're not for looking out.
Theym just to lel the light in.
Mr. Huber: Correct. Mark, do you have that sight section? Atter our
discussions at the study session, we created a sign section
that's along the bottom here so you can see there's some
pictures that are in the middle. The one right in the center of the
drawing that's up here is the one two-story house that is directly
behind the building. So we used that in the sight section so we
could see all the view angles from the various buildings. On the
right side of the picture is the office building for the sight section,
and you can see the people standing in the windows. You can
see the view lines coming through that are obscured not just by
the sight wall but also the walls that are going to be around the
mobile port, the dumpsler and the generator. So from the first
floor, there really isn't any view over into this area except for a
couple windows that are in this corner. You can see how the
sight walls that are dashed in here would block a lot of that, and
these windows are up high so that you would be looking up, out
and away from the residential area. You can see in the
pictures, there's a lot of trees that are along the backside. So
we just represented some of those here to show that all those
sight views would be through those trees that exist there along
with the walls. From the second floor, you can see the upper
transom windows which would be a lot of that back wall, can
only view out into the sky and not into the residential area. We
created that based on those questions that came up to try and
illustrate that better.
Mr. Morrow: Excellent
Mr. Bahr: This is excellent. This is fascinating frankly. Help me
understand the little figure on the second floor. What does the
hash line mean?
Mr. Huber: The dotted lines are really sight views that don't exist. If I was
standing on the second floor trying to look down through a
window into this area, most of those views will be taken away, if
not from the transom window, from the trees that are al the back
of the sight or from the trees that are towards the front of the
September 17, 2013
25971
sight. The same thing if you were on the second floor of the
house and tried to look up at the screen wall. That was one of
the questions that came up. You can't really see through those
trees towards that screen wall. So the dash lines are really
some of those sight lines that are completely eliminated by
various elements on the site.
Mr. Bahr:
As far as I'm concerned, you know how to put a question to rest.
Thanks.
Mr. Taylor:
Obviously along the back of the property, you're going to clean
the wall up. Are you going to trim a lot of those trees that are
hanging over the side? Is that the plan, to clean it up?
Mr. Huber:
As far as the trees that are along the back here, most of those
are in the residential property, and our plan is to clean up the
wall itself and put a cap on it, but not necessarily to touch any of
those trees. They are on the other side of the wall.
Mr. Taylor:
You've got a generator back there. Is that an emergency
generator?
Mr. Huber:
Yes, it's an emergency generator. It would only function during
testing cycles once a month or potentially slightly more frequent
than that only for 20 minutes to an hour, depending on what the
cycle is that they're testing or if the power were to go out.
Otherwise it would sit there not making any sound.
Mr. Pocock:
The generator can be scheduled so if the residents would like
the testing to be done at a certain time of the day on a regular
basis, we could schedule it to be that time.
Ms. Scheel:
I have a building question. Do you want me to start with that
instead of the outside of the building? I just had a question
about the hours of the building. What hours will the building be
open?
Mr. Popock:
The hours will be 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The urgent care might
go a little bit later which is on the front half of the building. I
think 10:00 p.m. is suggested.
Ms. Scheel:
And this is seven days a week?
Mr. Pocock:
No. It would be Monday through Friday. Is Saturday an option?
Does anybody know?
September 17, 2013
25972
Mr. Huber:
The hours for the building that the owner last staled to us would
be the hours that were mentioned, five days a week. If they
operated on the weekend, they wouldn't go as Tale. There
wasn't a specific determination but those were the weekday
hours that were stated, and anything else on the weekend
would be earlier in the day.
Mr. Pocock:
Usually Saturday morning if they had a weekend hour, it would
be Saturday morning.
Ms. Scheel:
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Taylor:
Are the doctors moving completely out of the hospital into the
building?
Mr. Huber:
Completely is hard to say because they share some services.
They are moving their office portion from the medical office
building in the hospital over across the street into this building.
Mr. Taylor:
Obviously they're going to operate at the hospital. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:
One question that came up at our study meeting was the MRI
machine and what sort of noise that would generate. Some of
us had an opportunity to go see one of these MRI trailers and
they don't make a tremendous amount of noise when they're
idle. I think they make some noise when they're actually doing
a test, but that would only be during the day.
Mr. Pocock:
Correct.
Mr. Wilshaw:
What other controls are in place? I know we talked about a
truck well that was going to be recessed, a 14 foot wall. What
controls are in place to try to direct that noise away from the
residential area?
Mr. Pocock:
The MRI trailer itself is designed to contain as much noise as
possible within the trailer. They work very hard to keep the
noise from leaving the trailer itself. Beyond that, the 14 foot wall
is going to be concrete block and that is a good sound absorber.
With it being directly adjacent to the trailer, that material, if it's
porous, will absorb noise and is a buffer to the residential area.
So the noise coming off the trailer would mostly be going up
because it's blocked by the wall. I think the level of the noise
would be comparable to a residential air conditioning machine.
So given the distance that it is from the residential area, it
shouldn't be a problem at all.
September 17, 2013
25973
Mr. Wilshaw:
It sounds good. And one of the things that I believe Mr.
Taormina mentioned in his initial presentation was that the
setback of your building is actually not as close to the rear lot
line as the existing building. Is that correct? So you actually
have a little bit more space there.
Mr. Pocock:
I believe its 15 feel further back.
Mr. Wilshaw:
That's also an enhancement. I will say at this point it looks like
an excellently architected building. It has a really attractive
appearance to it, and I think given what's at the site right now,
this is a marked improvement and really a nice success story for
that area. Thank you.
Ms. Smiley:
My question is about your parking. It says that you're going to
landbank about 30 spots. Is that right? Do you think you'll have
sufficient parking?
Mr. Pocock:
We feel we have sufficient parking without the banked parking,
but we do have 30 spots available if additional parking is
warranted.
Ms. Smiley:
Okay. I notice that you have surgery. You're probably talking
ambulatory surgery?
Mr. Pocock:
Correct.
Ms. Smiley:
In in the morning and out before evening.
Mr. Pocock:
Yes. Same day.
Ms. Smiley:
So there would be no overnight or any kind of extended stay.
The urgent care would be ...
Mr. Pocock:
Until 10:00 p.m.
Ms. Smiley:
And that's for any kind of patient?
Mr. Pocock:
Its orthopedic based.
Ms. Smiley:
Okay. That was my question. I wanted to compliment you.
There's a lot more landscaping than when there was a nursery
there. It's very, very attractive. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow:
Going back to the testing of the generator. I'd like to just have it
done during normal business hours.
September 17, 2013
25974
Mr. Pocock:
Absolutely.
Mr. Morrow:
And also, as far as the dumpster pickup, if you could schedule
those during business hours because of the proximity to the
neighbors to the north. And the other thing that came up too
was when we were talking about the trees. Now, when we were
out there site checking it, I could not tell where the base of the
tree was because I think there's six feel on the other side of the
wall that is part of your properly, and I just wanted to be sure
you were aware that those trees were off your property line.
Mr. Huber:
Yes, we're aware that the property line extends on the other
side of the wall.
Mr. Morrow:
The trees are definitely in the neighbors yard.
Mr. Huber:
That is correct.
Mr. Morrow:
Okay. I wasn't sure. I couldn't tell see over the wall to see
exactly where the tree was planted. I just wanted to clear that
up. Is there anything else? Is there anybody in the audience
that wishes to speak for or against the granting of this petition?
Chnstopher Martin,
12275 Inkster, Livonia, Michigan 48150. I'm in favor of this
development. I used to shop there when it was Frank's
Nursery. I spoke on behalf of the owner petitioner when there
was a public hearing in front of City Council for a slight tax break
on this. I think that's important to help redevelopment within the
City, although it was mel was a little opposition by one member.
Five years is a long time for a building to sit. Any concems that
the neighbors to the north might have by the imaginary peeping
Tom have been talked about and that won't lake place. So
looking forward to this. I hope that as they move on along the
path here that they have nothing but positive feedback from the
other members of the City who are in charged. Thank you.
Mr. Morrow:
Thank you. We concur. We think the developers have touched
about all the bases that we could come up with. Seeing no one
else coming forward, a motion would be in order.
Mr. Wilshaw:
We've now seen two proposals here today that are essentially
obsolete buildings that are getting redeveloped into very nice
uses, and it's exciting to see these types of projects in the city.
With that, I'm going to offer an approving resolution.
On a motion by Wilshaw, seconded by Scheel, and unanimously adopted, it was
September 17, 2013
25975
#0934-2013 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Heating having been
held by the City Planning Commission on September 17, 2013,
on Petition 2013-08-08-06 submitted by M.K.O. Real Estate,
L.L.C. requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.58
of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in
connection with a proposal to demolish an existing building and
construct a new medical office building at 36622 Five Mile
Road, located on the north side of Five Mile Road between
Levan Road and Newburgh Road in the Southwest 114 of
Section 1, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend
to the City Council that Petition 2013-08-08-06 be approved
subject to the following conditions:
1. That the Dimensioned Site Plan marked Sheet SE -1 dated
August 23, 2013, prepared by Zeimet Wozniak &
Associates, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
2. That the Landscape Plan marked Sheet L101 dated
September 16, 2013, prepared by Deak Planning &
Design, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
except that the Petitioner shall be required to come back to
the Planning Commission for approval prior to constructing
the 30 "banked" parking spaces shown along the front of
the property;
3. That all disturbed lawn areas shall be sodded in lieu of
hydro -seeding;
4. That the Exterior Building Elevation Plans marked Sheets
A-4 & A-5 dated August 23, 2013, prepared by
Hobbs+Black Architects, are hereby approved and shall be
adhered to, with the proviso that the architect shall
investigate lowering the height of the rooftop mechanical
screen;
5. That the btick used in the construction shall be full face
four (4") inch brick;
6. That the three walls of the trash dumpster area shall be
constructed out of the same brick used in the construction
of the building or in the event a poured wall is substituted,
the wall's design, texture and color shall match that of the
building 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;
September 17, 2013
25976
7. That the servicing of the trash dumpster and the testing of
the generator be conducted during normal business hours
so as not to disturb the adjacent residential property
owners;
8. That this site shall meet the City of Livonia Storm Water
Management Ordinance, and the Petitioner shall secure a
soil erosion and sedimentation control permit from the City
of Livonia;
9. 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. A
second monument sign not to exceed six (6) feet in height
and 30 square feel. in area shall be permitted adjacent to
the entrance drive off Levan Road, subject to Zoning Board
of Appeals approval;
10. That no LED lighthand or exposed neon shall be permitted
on this site including, but not limited to, the building or
around the windows;
11. That all light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in
height and shall be aimed and shielded so as to minimize
stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring
into adjacent roadways;
12. 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
13. Pursuant to Section 19.10 of Ordinance No. 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 the City Council, and unless a building permit is
obtained and construction is commenced, this approval
shall be null and void at the expiration of said period.
Mr. Morrow: Is there any discussion?
Ms. Scheel: I have a question but Mr. Taormina, you go first.
Mr. Taormina: A couple things. If the maker of the motion would accept a
change of date for the landscape plan. September 16
references the latest plan.
Mr. Wilshaw: That's fine.
September 17, 2013
25977
Mr. Taormina:
Secondly, that we insert our standard language with respect to
the lighting. We limit the total height of the poles to 20 feel
maximum from grade. And then limit the time the dumpsters
are serviced and the generator is tested to normal business
hours. We need to add that language.
Mr. Morrow:
I think that will work.
Mr. Wilshaw:
I think those are all appropriate additions.
Ms. Scheel:
And I have one additional. Commissioner Taylor brought up the
four inch brick to make sure it's four inch full face brick. Can we
add that in there loo?
Mr. Wilshaw:
I think we should, yes.
Mr. Morrow:
And now the maker and the supporter, we have full approval?
Ms. Scheel:
Yes.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Yes.
Mr. Mon -ow,
Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an
approving resolution. Thank you, gentlemen for coming out. I
think, speaking for the whole Commission, we're well pleased
with the detail which you presented us with tonight and the
actual looks of the building. Thank you very much.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Best of Luck.
Mr. Morrow:
Thank you very much.
ITEM #4 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,042n" Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting
Ms. Scheel, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the
Minutes of the 1,042otl Public Hearings and Regular Meeting
held on August 13, 2013.
On a motion by Bahr, seconded by Scheel, and unanimously adopted, it was
#0935-2013 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,042otl Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on August
13, 2013, are hereby approved.
September 17, 2013
25978
A roll call vole on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES:
Bahr, Scheel, Wilshaw, Taylor, Smiley, Morow
NAYS:
None
ABSENT:
None
ABSTAIN:
None
Mr. Morrow, Chairman, declared the motion is carded and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,04V Public
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on September 17, 2013, was adjourned at
8:40 p.m.
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
Lynda L. Scheel, Secretary
ATTEST:
R. Lee Morrow, Chairman