HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 1993-02-23 12703
MINUTES OF THE 659th REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
LIVONIA
Nair
On Tuesday, February 23, 1993, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia
held its 659th Regular Meeting in the Livonia City Hall, 33000 Civic Center Drive,
Livonia, Michigan.
Mr. Jack Engebretson, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Members present: Jack Engebretson James C. McCann Robert Alanskas
William LaPine Raymond W. Tent R. Lee Morrow
Members absent: Brenda Lee Fandrei Conrad Gniewek
Messrs. John J. Nagy, Planning Director and Scott Miller, Planning I, were also
present.
Mr. Engebretson informed the audience that if a petition on tonight's agenda
involves a rezoning request, this Commission only makes a recommendation to the
City Council who, in turn, will hold its own public hearing and decide the
question. If a petition involves a waiver of use request and the request is
denied, the petitioner has ten days in which to appeal the decision to the City
Council; otherwise the petition is terminated. The Planning Commission holds the
only public hearing on a preliminary plat and/or a vacating petition. Planning
Commission resolutions become effective seven days after the resolutions are
adopted. The Planning Commission has reviewed the petitions upon their filing and
have been furnished by the staff with approving and denying resolutions. The
Commission may use them or not use them depending upon the outcome of the hearing
tonight.
Mr. Tent, Acting Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda is Petition
92-12-2-52 by Pro-Motion Marine, Inc. requesting waiver use approval for
outdoor display and storage of boats on property located on the north
side of Plymouth Road between Farmington and Stark Roads in the
Southeast 1/4 of Section 28.
Mr. Engebretson: This item was tabled at a public hearing in mid-January due to
some misunderstanding as to exactly what the lease arrangements
were. We need a motion to remove that from the table even though
we may not be doing anything with it.
On a motion duly made by Mr. LaPine, seconded by Mr. Alanskas and unanimously
approved, it was
1#2-43-93 RESOLVED that, Petition 92-12-2-52 by Pro-Motion Marine, Inc. requesting
waiver use approval for outdoor display and storage of boats on property
located on the north side of Plymouth Road between Farmington and Stark
Roads in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 28, be taken from the table.
Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
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Mr. Engebretson: Mr. Nagy, I would ask you to bring us up to speed as to what is
going on. I notice that the petitioner has requested that we leave
this on the table for further refinement of the proposal.
Mr. Nagy: That is correct and I notice that the petitioner has come up to the
'Nor podium so rather than me trying to put words in his mouth it may he
better that you hear directly from him so I don't miss any of his
intent in my interpretation of it.
David Ratcliffe, 1138 Livingston Road, Highland: At this point in time I guess
what is going to be needed by my company and what has been agreed
to by the owner of the building is to have an appropriate amount of
space in the back of the building. At this point I agreed to about
50 feet of width from the back of the building to the back fence
line and at that point right now that is what I agreed to go with
and I think that is part of my original request.
Mr. Engebretson: Sir, are you referring to the area directly behind your space but
not extending down to the westerly property line that you are
presently using?
Mr. Ratcliffe: No I think that is going to be a whole different subject. At this
point we are just. going to forego that. I have something else in
mind. We will have to bring that up at a later date on a different
application.
Mr. Engebretson: Mr. Nagy, is the way we serve this petitioner best to retable the
item and then do we come back with a redefinition of the proposal
and a new public hearing or do we withdraw this petition and start
from scratch? Which is the best procedural way to handle this?
Mr. Nagy: The answer to your question is really going to come down to what
the applicant works out with his landlord. If the subject area
remains the same, and that is as he described the 50 feet directly
behind the portion of the actual building that he is leasing, if
that is all it contains, then you can remove it from the table and
deal with it as is. If he should expand an area either to the east
or west, then we will have to readvertise to incorporate an
expanded area so as to give proper. notice. So it is really going
to come down to what the applicant actually comes back to us with
and then we will in turn advise the Commission and we will let you
know what the appropriate course of action is at that time.
Mr. Engebretson: So for tonight, if. I understand you correctly, we should leave it
on the table.
Mr. Nagy: Correct.
Mr. Tent: To the petitioner, the original petition was to store your boats in
the front. Have you decided not to do that?
Mr. Ratcliffe: I would still like to do that but that is not going to work out so
I guess that part of the request we are just going to forego. I am
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still requesting the right of usage for the back portion of the
building for use of storage of the boats for repair and new
product.
fir- Mr. Tent: My second question would he if you were successful in getting the
back section there for storage, would that prevent the adjacent
building from driving trucks around there to get to their location
or would you lock them up? In other words, if you had the back
section of the area for parking boats, there is no more
accessibility then to the adjacent property on the west?
Mr. Ratcliffe: Yes there is access during my open hours but the hours that my
company is closed the gates would be locked for security reasons.
But yes for trucks to come around for deliveries, there is going to
be an in gate and an out gate, which generally would be clear for
that access. With the way the yard is laid out, a truck could get
through there with no problem to make deliveries with either
tenant. The yard is plenty big enough.
Mr. Alanskas: What kind of lease do you have with the owner there right now?
Mr. Ratcliffe: Pending what we work out, right now it is month-to-month.
Mr. Alanskas: You say the gates would be locked when you close? What time do you
close?
Mr. Ratcliffe: The general hours of business right now are 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
weekdays and on Saturdays and Sundays in the on season I am open
from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
Mr. Alanskas: Other firms there that are open until nine or ten o'clock at night
and had to have those back gates open, if you had them locked this
would be a difficult situation.
Mr. Ratcliffe: Generally most deliveries, as far as I know, are made during
daylight hours.
Mr. Alanskas: You said you wanted to have storage of boats and repair of boats in
the back. Is that true?
Mr. Ratcliffe: The yard is intended for use when someone brings their boat in for
service. I have to have a place to put it. I may not he able to
get to it right away and when my new boats come in, of course, I
have to have a place to put them too.
Mr. Alanskas: You wouldn't he doing anything like sanding back there?
Mr. Ratcliffe: No all the work I do is inside the building.
Mr. Alanskas: it is mainly just for the storage of boats?
Mr. Ratcliffe: Yes, no work is done in the yard.
Mr. Engebretson: If there is no further discussion, then I think we need a motion
to table this until we receive additional information.
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Mr. Tent: I have just one question. Do you think the landlord here could add
anything to it? He seems to be the key point here. They are
negotiating a lease. Is he willing to come forth and say he is
going to work something out?
'411161.. Mr. Engebretson: I think that is going to take care of itself Mr. Tent when we
deal with the next item. I think what is left to work out legally
in terms of any kind of a lease with this tenant, I suspect all of
those things have been worked out between them but I don't think we
need to get into that.
On a motion duly made by Mr. Morrow, seconded by Mr. LaPine and unanimously
approved, it was
#i2-44-93 RESOLVED that, pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held on January
12, 1993 on Petition 92-12-2-52 by Pro-Motion Marine, Inc. requesting
waiver use approval for outdoor display and storage of boats on
property located on the north side of Plymouth Road between Farmington
and Stark Roads in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 28, the City Planning
Commission does hereby determine to table Petition 92-12-2-52 to a date
uncertain.
Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
Mr. Tent, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is Petition
93-1-2-3 by Frank & Tony Chimento requesting waiver use approval for an
SDM license at a proposed market to be located on the north side of
Plymouth Road between Stark and Farmington Roads in the Southeast 1/4 of
Section 28.
Mr. Engebretson: This item was also tabled at a previous meeting. We need a
motion to remove it from the table.
On a motion duly made by Mr. Morrow, seconded by Mr. Tent and unanimously approved,
it was
#2-45-93 RESOLVED that, Petition 93-1-2-3 by Frank & Tony Chimento requesting
waiver use approval for an SDM license at a proposed market to be
located on the north side of Plymouth Road between Stark and Farmington
Roads in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 28, be taken from the table.
Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
Mr. Engebretson: Mr. Nagy, is there anything new on this petition?
Mr. Nagy: We do have some new correspondence that I would like to apprise the
Planning Commission of. It is addressed to myself although it is
referencing the Chimento waiver use petition. "This letter shall
hopefully alleviate any concerns that the Planning Commissioners
may have concerning the petitioners request for a Waiver Use for an
SDM License so that they can open their Italian specialty food
market." This is from the Plymouth Farms Associates, the landlords
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of the subject property. "We would agree, as Landlord of the
subject property, to insert a clause in our Lease that the Tenant,
the Chimentos, will be required, under the terms and conditions of
the Lease, not to allow any loading or unloading of trucks in the
front of the building. Plymouth Farms would agree to enter into an
irmy— agreement with the City of Livonia, to vacate the Waiver Use of the
SDM License upon the termination of the Lease or closing of the
business of the Chimento's at the subject premises. Upon the
approval of the Chimento's request for a Waiver Use approval for an
SDM License, Plymouth Farms Associates agrees to terminate the
month-to-month Lease with Promotion Marine if the City of Livonia
does not grant Promotion Marine a Special Use or Waiver Use for
their business satisfactory to the City. I sincerely hope that
this letter answers any questions you may have, which were brought
up at the study meeting. As you know, the space that the Chimentos
are leasing has been vacant for over two (2) years and with the
real estate and business climate being quite difficult, we really
need the City's help to make a lease on this facility. We look
forward to receiving a favorable approval from the Planning
Commission so that we will be able to lease our building to the
Chimentos who we feel would make a very good tenant for us and be
an asset to the City of Livonia." It is signed by David G. Miles,
the landlord.
Mr. Engebretson: Mr. Nagy, having had the opportunity to study that letter,
would it be your impression that those commitments are enforceable
from the standpoint of protecting the interest we have in making
safe turnarounds of various vehicles, particularly tractor trailers
that would be making deliveries there?
\ow Mr. Nagy: Entered into the record, I believe you could rely on it.
Mr. Engebretson: We also had asked Mr. Shane, in your absence, to inquire of our
Legal Department as to whether or not the waiver rather than
running with the land, is it possible that a waiver can run with a
tenant? I know I have heard that letter that they would abandon
the waiver use, does that amount to the same thing?
Mr. Nagy: Yes, you have to rely on the good faith of the petitioner, in this
case his letter of commitment to terminate it. Our ordinance is
specifically clear that the waiver use does run with the land and
not with the applicant.
Mr. Engebretson: We understood that. We were just wondering if there was some way
that there would be ways to gain some protection that if for
whatever reason this petition were successful and if for subsequent
reasons the Chimentos decided to give that space up, that there
would be some way to assure that we wouldn't have a waiver there
that would be undesirable under other circumstances that may be
desirable or acceptable with them.
Mr. Nagy: The answer is that a strict interpretation of our ordinance would
he that no, we cannot approve it exclusively for the Chimentos. It
is a land use decision and therefore it runs with the land. We
could rely, I think, on the good faith of the landlord's letter
entered into the record indicating that it is his intent to
terminate the use upon the tenant's agreement.
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Mr. Alanskas: Do you intend, Mr. Chimento, in regards to when you move into this
building, I believe it is bigger than what you have now?
Mr. Chimento: Correct.
Mr. Alanskas: Do you have any plans to increase the volume of your wine displays?
Mr. Chimento: Not really because what I will increase is displays that I have in
the store now like pasta, etc. There are so many things that I
can't handle. As far as the wines, I have the ones that I want
now. I can't say it will be any larger than what it is.
Mr. Alanskas: You are not putting in any larger inventories of wine. You want to
keep it at the percentage you have now. Mainly it will be selling
your products, your meat counter, your olive oils, etc. Wine will
he your smallest item?
Mr. Chimento: Wine would be my smallest. Olive oils and the pastas and all items
in my line of ethnic group, that will be expanded more.
Mr. Alanskas: Do you have hopes that if you could come out to Livonia that the
customers you have now would also come out here and visit your
store?
Mr. Chimento: Yes but I would also look for more. T don't want to be narrow
minded with just what I have now. I want more people.
Mr. Alanskas: You are changing the name of your company. How will they know that
you are out there if you change the name of the company?
Mr. Chimento: They will know by word of mouth. I have built a reputation over
many years.
Mr. Alanskas: At the present time there is a large side door on the west of the
building. Is that where you are going to have your deliveries and
not on the back of the building?
Mr. Chimento: As of now yes. There is a roll-up door on the side of the
building. I would have to use that now.
Mr. Alanskas: Do you have plans on putting a larger door on the back side of the
building?
Mr. Chimento: Tf I could.
Mr. Engebretson: Mr. Nagy, I would like to ask you if the current ordinance
dealing with the 500 foot separation between SDM licenses, if that
ordinance was developed on your watch here? Can you give us some
insight as to what the thinking was regarding that 500 foot
separation and the manner in which the 500 foot separation can be
waived and what the logic was behind all of that?
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Mr. Nagy: There is a little bit of history. The City first created the
separation requirement with respect to the SDD licenses, the
package liquor. That preceded the SDM regulation. Prior to the
mid 70's both SDD's and SDM's were permitted by right within the
`. Livonia Zoning Ordinance. When it was learned that the SDD was
allocated on the basis of population, in other words there was one
license issued for every 3,000 population, it became a concern of
the City to have those adequately located throughout the City of
Livonia, so the waiver use application of taking it out of the
permitted use and henceforth making it a waiver use subject to
adherence to certain special standards was first applied to the SDD
licenses. So the City learned and had experience with the
application of the SDD and those standards and felt comfortable
with that and then from there would extend it at a subsequent date,
some years thereafter. I think 1983 was the year the SDM's were
made subject to the waiver use. SDM's, unlike SDD's, are not
allocated by population. There is an unlimited number. Whatever
the City feels appropriate, is what is issued. So it was based
upon the experience the City first had with the SDD's and I think
therefore they extended it to the SDM's in terms of requiring
special care, special attention to see that it really promoted the
City's best interest and the public's best interest in the
application of the use of the property.
Mr. Engebretson: Thank you Mr. Nagy. I was wondering if in the process of
developing that ordinance was there something inherently
troublesome about the 500 foot separation regarding the SDM's from
any particular angle?
Mr. Nagy: I wish you would have given me a little forewarning, but I am
relying on my memory and I am pretty comfortable with saying that I
think if you actually looked, the Planning Department recommended
against the adoption of that ordinance. I think from a planning
standpoint the Planning Department opposed taking the SDM's and
making them subject to waiver use approval. I think the Commission
felt there wasn't that necessity for that special use. I think it
was at the City Council's request that this requirement came about.
Mr. Engebretson: Mr. Nagy, I certainly wasn't trying to ambush you. I depend on
your photgraphic memory, your total recall of everything that ever
happened in your 25 years here. Thank you very much for your
insight. Mr. Chimento, anything to add? If not, a motion would be
in order.
On a motion duly made by Mr. Tent and seconded by Mr. Alanskas, it was
#/2-46-93 RESOLVED that, pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held on February
9, 1993 on Petition 93-1-2-3 by Frank & Tony Chimento requesting waiver
use approval for an SDM license at a proposed market to be located on
the north side of Plymouth Road between Stark and Farmington Roads in
the Southeast 1/4 of Section 28, the City Planning Commission does
hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 93-1-2-3 be approved
subject to the waiving of the 500 foot separation requirement by the
City Council and to the following additional conditions:
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1) That the Building Elevation Plan marked Sheet P-2 dated 1-11-93
prepared by Guido Associates, Inc. , Architects, which is hereby
approved shall be adhered to.
2) That no loading or unloading of delivery vehicles shall take place
`" r in the front of the subject building and the area to the rear of
the building shall be open to access for service and delivery
vehicles at all times, as referenced in the letter dated February
17, 1993 from Plymouth Farms Associates and signed by David G.
Miles.
for the following reasons:
1 ) That the subject use is in compliance with all of the special and
general waiver use standards and requirements as set forth in
Section 11 .03 and 19.06 of the Zoning Ordinance as modified by the
City Council.
2) That the subject site has the capacity to accommodate the proposed
use.
3) That the proposed use is compatible to and in harmony with the
surrounding uses in the area.
FURTHER RESOLVED that, notice of the above hearing was given in
accordance with the provisions of Section 19.05 of Zoning Ordinance
//543, as amended.
Mr. Engebretson: I would like to make one comment. I opposed this petition last
time at the public hearing principally because of the concern I had
'44m. relative to the access to the rear and the side of the building,
all of which has been taken care of. I don't want to be
insensitive to the points that were made by the owners of the deli
next door. However, after studying all aspects and visiting your
existing store, it is my impression that this proposed use will be
an asset to the community and, in fact, be helpful to the neighbor
next door. I think you will be able to co-exist there very nicely
so I am going to support the proposal this time around.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Tent, Alanskas, McCann, Engebretson
NAYS: LaPine, Morrow
ABSENT: Fandrei, Gniewek
Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
Mr. Tent, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is Preliminary Plat
approval for Willow Creek Subdivision proposed to be located on the
south side of Six Mile Road between Merriman Road and Munger Avenue in
the Northwest 114 of Section 14.
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On a motion duly made by Mr. Morrow, seconded by Mr. Tent and unanimously approved,
it was
1,2-47-93 RESOLVED that, the Preliminary Plat approval for Willow Creek
Subdivision proposed to be located on the south side of Six Mile Road
between Merriman Road and Munger Avenue in the Northwest 1/4 of Section
14, be taken from the table.
Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
Mr. Engebretson: This was a public hearing item that was tabled because we
couldn't resolve it with a majority vote at our public hearing.
The staff notes indicate that there is no new information. I would
just like to verify that is still true at this point in time.
Mr. Nagy: That is true. We have nothing to add. There have been no
revisions made to the plat. All the circumstances and issues
remain the same as they were at your public hearing.
Mr. Morrow: It was brought up at the last meeting about part of the plat being
subject to possibly wetlands. Who makes that determination that if
the wetlands do exist, that they are honored?
Mr. Nagy: It is incumbent upon the proprietor to have their engineers check
their property for the determination of wetlands. If there are
wetlands on the property and they have investigated it and used
their own wetland expert to verify that then it is duly noted on
the plan that the area has some wetland area. To that extent they
either have to, if they are going to disturb it or alter that
wetland in any way, then they have to first get DNR approval for a
mitigation plan. In the instance case, while they recognize the
wetland area, they are not going to disturb it. They have duly
noted it and they intend to build outside the wetland areas.
Before they ever get that plat recorded, DNR will, in fact, be
involved in that review and confirmation.
Mr. Morrow: Then DNR will review that plat.
Mr. Nagy: As the plan is drawn they determine and we concur there is no
reason for them to alter the wetland areas.
Mr. Morrow: Even though they are part of the plat?
Mr. Nagy: Yes.
Mr. Engebretson: If there are no further comments or questions, then a motion will
he in order.
On a motion duly made by Mr. Tent and seconded by Mr. Morrow, it was
112-48-93 RESOLVED that, pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held on February
9, 1993 on the Preliminary Plat for Willow Creek Subdivision proposed to
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be located on the south side of Six Mile Road between Merriman Road and
Munger Avenue in the Northwest 1/4 of Section 14, the City Planning
Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that the
Preliminary Plat for Willow Creek Subdivision be approved subject to the
submittal of a landscape plan for the required greenbelt easement over
'outs.
the north 30 feet of Lot 14 and a plan for a subdivision entrance marker
to the Planning Commission for its approval prior to the approval of a
Final Plat for the following reasons:
1) That the Preliminary Plat is in compliance with all of the
standards and requirements of the Zoning Ordinance and the
Subdivision Rules and Regulations.
2) That no City department has objected to the approval of the
Preliminary Plat.
3) That the design of the Preliminary Plat represents a good land use
solution to the development of the subject land.
FURTHER RESOLVFT) that, notice of the above hearing was sent to the
abutting property owners, proprietor, City Departments as listed in the
Proof of Service, and copies of the plat together with the notices have
been sent to the Building Department, Superintendent of Schools, Fire
Department, Police Department, and the Parks and Recreation Department.
Mr. Tent: I support this petition. I think it is being done in good faith.
I liken this to our successful development of Nottingham Woods.
Nottingham Woods has no sidewalks. It has a 50 foot street. It
has been there since the 1960's. It has been a successful
subdivision. There are 93 homes in there. The people have been
'— happy. It has been a keystone for Livonia to show how we could
expand within our own community by having some bigger property
where people won't have to move out of our City in order to locate
here in Livonia. It has been a very successful development. Now
we have a developer who wants to come in and do the same thing
again in the general area, and for us to go ahead and deprive him
of developing that because we want sidewalks and things of that
kind. I can point to all kinds of subdivisions throughout the City
that have large size lots. They don't have sidewalks. I feel we
are doing something to enhance our City and continue on with the
finalizing of Livonia, and for this developer to come forth and
bring in this plan with 1/2 acre lots without the sidewalks and
with the 50 foot streets, I am real happy and if we don't accept it
here, I hope the wisdom of the Council will see this because I am
sure it should go on to them and they will probably approve it.
Mr. McCann: I have a problem because I really feel we need sidewalks. If you
have children, you have a dangerous area. This is an unique
situation. Number one, we are talking about rural urban farm,
large lots in an area that is unique. They tried to come in with
different types of zoning. It didn't work out so they are trying
to do it under the rural urban farm zoning. To do that they need a
50 foot easement, which does cut down the ability to put in
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sidewalks. I talked to one of the developers and they said they
were still going to try with the 50 foot easement to put in
sidewalks if they could. I have a problem not putting in sidewalks
but in this case there is only going to he 24 lots. There is going
to be only one entrance. There is not going to be any thru
`"' traffic. In this situation with such large lots, I think I will
vote for it but to me it is a unique situation. I think normally
we do need the sidewalks.
Mr. Alanskas: I don't want to belabor the point in regards to this petition but
the reason I cannot support it is because of the fact 30 years ago
when you didn't have sidewalks you had roller skates but now you
have skateboards, you have these rollerblades, and these kids
cannot use these things on the grass. Likewise, in this kind of
weather, they can't go down the sidewalk to get to their bus to go
to school. They have to walk in the street. You have the safety
factor and I think it is very dangerous and that is the only reason
I think there should be sidewalks in this subdivision.
Mr. Engebretson: Mr. Nagy, in the past four to five years, again looking at your
ability for total recall, that is about the amount of time I have
been here, about five years, and frankly I don't recall any
subdivisions being approved without sidewalks other than a condo
development that sidewalks were part of it and then they weren't
part of it. I just don't recall any subdivisions that we have
approved without sidewalks. Do you?
Mr. Nagy: Within your tenure I can't recall any, other than Camborne. Maybe
you weren't on the Commission then.
Soft. Mr. Engebretson: Say within the last five years. I am kind of looking at the
modern era. That is what I am trying to use as a point of
reference.
Mr. Nagy: Roskelly's two subdivisions on Hubbard Avenue between Five and Six
Mile Roads. There are two court-like subdivisions that, again, do
not have sidewalks. They are full 1/2 acre lots. Mrs. Veri's own
subdivision, I believe it might have been her first subdivision in
Livonia, Tiffany Square, does not have sidewalks. If this
subdivision had full 100 foot wide lots, by application of the
ordinance, it would not be required to have sidewalks. Where there
is a problem is that while the lots are full 1/2 acre, they are not
100 feet at the building line, hence there is a requirement for the
sidewalk but had they been 100 foot in width at the building line
and also the 1/2 acre, there would have been full exemption of
those sidewalks. So there are examples, and one of the inducements
the City had to encourage larger lot development was the omission
of sidewalks.
Mr. Engebretson: I happen to agree with Mr. Alanskas that putting children in the
streets to play is just a bad idea and I don't care if the lots are
100 feet wide or 200 feet wide.
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Mr. Tent: I would like to make a comment on what Mr. Nagy said, which is very
true, about the larger size lots. We haven't approved that many
1/2 acre developments within the City but those that we have, we
have taken that into consideration. I certainly hope that my
fellow Commissioners recognize that this is an exceptional deal.
It is not the rule of thumb and if this gentleman would have gone
ahead and had 100 foot frontage, this question wouldn't even have
come before us now. We are not talking about a lot of lots. We
are not talking about that much traffic in the area. I would
certainly hope, again, that my fellow Commissioners would support
this.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Tent, LaPine, Morrow, McCann
NAYS: Alanskas, Engebretson
ABSENT: Fandrei, Gniewek
Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
Mr. Tent, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is Motion by the
City Planning Commission, pursuant to Council Resolution 11810-92, to
hold a public hearing on the question of whether certain property
located on the south side of Ann Arbor Road between Patton Avenue and
Knolson Avenue in the Southwest 1/4 of Section 31, should be rezoned
from C-1 to OS.
Mr. Engebretson: This, as you heard, was a proposal to set a public hearing, which
Mr. Tent has described. I will look for a motion.
On a motion duly made by Mr. Alanskas, seconded by Mr. Morrow and unanimously
approved, it was
112-49-93 RESOLVED that, the City Planning Commission pursuant to Council
Resolution 11810-92, and pursuant to Section 23.01(a) of Ordinance 11543,
the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Livonia, as amended, does hereby
establish and order that a public hearing be held to determine whether
or not to rezone property located on the south side of Ann Arbor Road
between Patton Avenue and Knolson Avenue in the Southwest 1/4 of Section
31 from C-1 to OS; and
FURTHER RESOLVED that, notice of such hearing he given as provided in
Section 23.05 of Ordinance 11543, the Zoning Ordinance of the City of
Livonia, as amended, and that thereafter there shall be a report and
recommendation submitted to the City Council.
Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
Mr. Tent, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is Motion by the
City Planning Commission, pursuant to Council Resolution 11930-92, to
hold a public hearing on the question of whether certain property
located in the Dohany Subdivision, south of Seven Mile Road and west of
Inkster Road in the Northeast 1/4 of Section 12 should be rezoned from
RUF to R-l .
12715
Mr. Engebretson: Like the item before, we are looking to set a public hearing.
On a motion duly made by Mr. Morrow, seconded by Mr. Alanskas, and unanimously
approved, it was
`44m. 112-50-93 RESOLVED that, the City Planning Commission pursuant to Council
Resolution 11930-92, and pursuant to Section 23.01(a) of Ordinance 11543,
the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Livonia, as amended, does hereby
establish and order that a public hearing be held to determine whether
or not to rezone property located in the Dohany Subdivision, south of
Seven Mile Road and west of Inkster Road in the Northeast 1/4 of Section
12 from RUF to R-l;
FURTHER RESOLVED that, notice of such hearing be given as provided in
Section 23.05 of Ordinance 11543, the Zoning Ordinance of the City of
Livonia, as amended, and that thereafter there shall be a report and
recommendation submitted to the City Council.
Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
Mr. Tent, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is Motion by the
City Planning Commission, pursuant to Council Resolution 11970-92, to
hold a public hearing on the question of converting Fox Road, located
north of Six Mile Road, from a private road to a public street.
Mr. Engebretson: This is another proposal for a public hearing.
On a motion duly made by Mr. Morrow, seconded by Mr. McCann and unanimously
approved, it was
`r. 112-51-93 RESOLVED that, pursuant to Council Resolution 11970-92, and pursuant to
Act 285 of the Public Acts of Michigan, 1931, the City Planning
Commission does hereby establish and order that a Public Hearing be held
to determine whether or not to amend Part I of the Master Plan of the
City of Livonia, the Master Thoroughfare Plan, so as to designate Fox
Road (a private road), located north of Six Mile Road, as a Local
Street.
AND that, notice of the above hearing shall be given in accordance with
the provisions of Act 285 of the Public Acts of Michigan, 1931, as
amended.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Tent, LaPine, Morrow, Alanskas, McCann, Engebretson
NAYS: None
ABSENT: Fandrei, Gniewek
Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
Mr. Tent, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda was the approval
of the minutes of the 658th Regular Meeting & Public Hearings held on
February 9, 1993.
"1r0► On a motion duly made by Mr. LaPine and seconded by Mr. Tent, it was
12716
#2-52-93 RESOLVED that, the minutes of the 658th Regular Meeting & Public
Hearings held on February 9, 1993 are hereby approved.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
"ft. AYES: Tent, LaPine, Morrow, Alanskas, Engebretson
NAYS: None
ABSTAIN: McCann
ABSENT: Fandrei, Gniewek
Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
Mr. Tent, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is Sign Permit
Application by Metro-Detroit Signs, on behalf of Bakers Square
Restaurant & Pies, requesting approval for two wall signs on property
located on the north side of Seven Mile Road between Middlebelt and
Purlingbrook in Section 2.
Mr. Miller: This is the Bakers Square Restaurant that is located on the Livonia
Mall property. They were before you recently and were approved for
one wall sign on the south elevation, the one that faces Seven Mile
Road. At that time they told you they would like additional
signage but because they like to open with a sign and because of
the ZBA scheduling problems, they were going to go ahead with the
one sign and then come back later with additional signage. They
are back and they are requesting two additional wall signs. Both
are at 60 square feet. One would be located on the east elevation
and one would be located on the west elevation. Because they are
only allowed one wall sign and they need two additional signs, they
Nr will have to go to ZBA to be granted a variance.
On a motion duly made by Mr. Alanskas, seconded by Mr. LaPine and unanimously
approved, it was
;;2-53-93 RESOLVED that, the City Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the
City Council that Sign Permit Application by Metro-Detroit Signs, on
behalf of Bakers Square Restaurant & Pies, requesting approval for two
wall signs on property located on the north side of Seven Mile Road
between Middlebelt and Purlingbrook in Section 2, be approved subject to
the following conditions:
1) That sheet 2 and 3 of the Sign Plan dated 1/8/93, submitted by
Federal Sign, for the Bakers Square Restaurant at 29622 Seven Mile
Road, are hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
2) That this approval is subject to the applicant being granted a
variance by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
Mr. Tent, Acting Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is Sign Permit
Application by Apex Sign Group, on behalf of Sterling Bank & Trust,
requesting approval for one wall sign and to utilize an existing ground
sign on property located at 37124 Six Mile Road in Section 8.
12717
Mr. Miller: This is a request for one wall sign and the utilization of an
existing ground sign. Sterling Bank & Trust is located in Laurel
Commons Shopping Center. They would like to have a unit that is 20
feet long and they are allowed a 20 square foot wall sign, which
they are requesting, which is conforming with the sign ordinance.
`le . They are also requesting to use the Laurel Commons ground sign and
to put Sterling Commons with the logo of the bank, the eagle head,
on that. It is a non-conforming sign because it is 25 feet high
and 91 square feet. They are only allowed a 40 square foot sign.
A non-conforming sign, even though it is either grandfathered in or
at the time it was approved it was conforming, now it is
non-conforming and you can only do regular maintenance to the sign.
You cannot reface it. They are asking to reface it so they would
have to go to the ZBA to utilize the existing ground sign.
Ann Marie Redoutey: I am with Sterling Bank & Trust. Our site location is at
37124 Six Mile Road. What we are proposing, and again there are
two issues being presented before the committee. The first is the
sign that is over our suite, which I don't think is in question.
The changes we are proposing are to the pylon sign that identifies
the center. What we are proposing is a sign that is titled
Sterling Commons.
Mr. Alanskas: What colors are we going to have for the Sterling Commons as far as
that eagle?
Ms. Redoutey: They are being proposed as an all black sign and the lighting
affect will be a halo lighting, which is illuminated from behind so
that the letters will appear black at night as well.
fir. Mr. Alanskas: All black with a white background?
Ms. Redoutey: Right.
Mr. Alanskas: This will be illuminated what hours?
Mike Welsey: I represent Apex Signs. It will be illuminated the normal center
hours. In other words, on at dusk and off at probably 11:00 p.m.
Mr. Alanskas: Seven days a week?
Mr. Welsey: Yes because there are stores in the center that are open seven days
a week.
Mr. Morrow: I would assume that changing the pylon sign out there, you have the
full concurrence of the owners of the center?
Ms. Redoutey: Yes, as requested at the last meeting, we did submit the approval
within our lease that states that we have such approval from the
tenants.
Mr. Morrow: For the record that has been accomplished?
Ms. Redoutey: Yes.
12718
Mr. Tent: That was the question I had, Mr. Chairman, that we make that part
of the resolution that as far as the other tenants were concerned
because of the name Sterling they wouldn't all want to go in
piggyback on the sign. So this would suffice and Laurel Commons
would he no more. It will be strictly Sterling Commons and all the
rr`„ restaurants in there and the real estate people, hands off.
Mr. Engebretson: I guess I would like to pursue this lease addendum that agrees to
reimburse the landlord up to some amount of money to deal with new
stationery and advertising, etc. What relief do other tenants that
may refer to Laurel Commons on their letterhead and advertising, do
they share in this pool of money or is this strictly for the
landlord's benefit?
Ms. Redoutey: It is my understanding that amount of money was strictly for the
landlord. I don't know that there would be any reason for any
other tenant to have letterhead in any name other than their own
business. If that is the case, it hasn't been brought to our
attention. You will notice another item that is addressed within
that lease addendum is that we are providing a sum of money for
advertising and that is something we realize will affect the
tenant. That sum has not been delivered to the landlord simply
because we haven't changed the sign so there has been no need to do
any advertising. That point has not been brought to the landlord
by the other tenants nor has it been brought to our attention by
the landlord.
Mr. Welsey: The other tenants have been apprised of the name change and there
has been no negative reaction.
Mr. Engebretson: What evidence of that do you have sir that the other tenants have
been apprised of the change of the name of the shopping center from
Laurel Commons to Sterling Commons?
Mr. Welsey: It was verbally related to me by Mr. Ross and his associates that
they did go and talk to every tenant. If you would like a list of
the tenants they went to, that can be provided. I thought the
addendum issue would suffice.
Mr. Engebretson: You had made reference to the fact that the other tenants had
been apprised but I guess I would not want to hold this issue up on
that particular point but I guess before we approve our minutes I
would like some evidence in our file that the other tenants have
been apprised and that it doesn't work any particular hardship on
them. Madam, you may be correct that they may not include the use
of the terminology "Laurel Commons" in any of their letterhead or
other types of material but I guess if we were to understand that
they had been apprised of this name change, and that there was no
objection, then that would put my mind at rest that we would not be
working any hardship, nor would you be working any hardship on
these businesses. I don't think it is your intent to do that. I
think the way in which you have gone about this whole proposal is
completely professional and I think maybe I am being a little extra
cautious about this particular point but I think you can understand
where I am coming from too.
Ms. Redoutey: Sure.
P719
Mr. Engebretson: If you would supply that to the staff, we would approve these
minutes two weeks from tonight so we basically have that much time
to deal with that.
Mr. Tent: Mr. Nagy, on the same item because this is one of the notations I
`Ivry had because I certainly didn't want to have that sign piggyback
with a lot of tenant names. Could we make that as part of our
resolution that no tenant's name shall be added to the sign and
that would safely protect it.
Mr. Nagy: You can add it but as you know as a result of our recently adopted
sign ordinance, you can't put a tenant's name on a sign. You can
certainly add it to your resolution but our ordinance is so
designed to prevent that from happening.
Mr. Tent: As long as we have a stopgap and as the Chairman added we would
have that before the minutes are approved, we could go forth.
Mr. Alanskas: Ts the bank open at the present time?
Ms. Redoutey: Yes it is.
Mr. Alanskas: How long have you been open?
Ms. Redoutey: Since December 1st.
Mr. Engebretson: I would like to go back to the color for just a moment. I
understood that the background was white. It doesn't appear to me
to be white.
Mr. Welsey: The background color is sort of beige. It is not pure white. The
existing sign structure will be repainted so it will be exactly as
it is now so. It is a light creamy beige.
Mr. Engebretson: So when we finish it is going to look very much like your
rendering there and as a sign person you can give us the opinion
that it is going to look like it was designed from ground zero to
have that particular end result?
Mr. Welsey: Yes.
On a motion duly made by Mr. LaPine, seconded by Mr. Alanskas, and unanimously
approved, it was
#2-54-93 RESOLVED that, the City Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the
City Council that Sign Permit Application by Apex Sign Group, on behalf
of Sterling Bank & Trust, requesting approval for one wall sign and to
utilize an existing ground sign on property located at 37124 Six Mile
Road in Section 8, be approved subject to the following conditions:
1) That the Sign Plan received 2/23/93 submitted by Apex Sign Group,
for the Sterling Bank & Trust and the Business Center Sign at
37100-176 Six Mile Road, is hereby approved and shall be adhered
to;
1''720
2) That this approval is subject to the applicant being granted a
variance by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
3) That this approval is subject to the Planning Commission receiving
a letter from the shopping center stating the tenants located
within the center are aware of the change in the center's name.
4) That the sign shall only be illuminated during the time the
shopping center tenants are open for business.
Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing
resolution adopted.
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 659th Regular
Meeting held on February 23, 1993 was adjourned at 8:22 p.m.
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
AG: er-/WiL/: //
Raym W. Tent, Ac ing Secretary
ATTEST:14 4 4 4
T ck EngeVretson, Chairman
`or jg