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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 1992-09-15 12272 MINUTES OF THE 649th REGULAR MEETING HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA Nifty On Tuesday, September 15, 1992, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia held its 649th 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: Gniewek, LaPine, Alanskas, Fandrei, Engebretson, McCann, Morrow Members absent: Tent Messrs. John J. Nagy, Planning Director; Ralph H. Bakewell, Planner IV, and Scott Miller, Planning Technician, 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 *tin. Commission may use them or not use them depending upon the outcome of the hearing tonight. There was a moment of silence in memory of Robert Nash, former City Clerk of the City of Livonia. Mr. McCann, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda is Six Year Capital Improvement Program 1993-1998. Mr. Engebretson: Mr. Nagy, could you share with the television audience and our audience present here tonight what this process is all about. Mr. Nagy: I will be happy to. The Capital Improvement Program is a program of capital expenditures for the City of Livonia as developed by the City Planning Commission. It is a six-year program that is developed around principally the Master Plan and it is one of the tools the Commission uses to implement recommendations of the Future Land Use Plan. They do it by making sure the right amount of money is set aside for the right project at the right time it is needed in concert with the Future Land Use Plan. It is one of the Commission's annual responsibility and they do it each year. Each year it is updated and extended for another year. In an examination of the plan you will see that all of the projects of the City, such as roads, utilities, parks, fire stations, just to name a few of the items that you will find in that program, are all identified and you will see where they are planned, how much money will be involved, etc. 12273 Mr. Engebretson: Thank you Mr. Nagy. This is a very extensive, detailed, program that involves some 40 to 50 pages of line items. Is there any discussion? If not, I look for a motion to send this on to the Mayor and City Council. Nom. There was no one present wishing to be heard regarding this item. On a motion duly made by Mr. Gniewek and seconded by Mr. Morrow, #9-455-92 RESOLVED that, the City of Livonia Planning Commission hereby authorizes the Planning Department to transmit the document titled "Capital Improvement Program, City of Livonia, 1993-1998" to the Mayor and Council as a realistic program to aid in the determination of a complete fiscal planning strategy for the City of Livonia, and FURTHER RESOLVED that, the City Planning Commission stands ready to do all things necessary to cooperate with the Mayor and Council in making a functioning Program of Capital Improvements and Capital Budgeting a reality for the City of Livonia. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Gniewek, LaPine, Morrow, Alanskas, McCann, Engebretson NAYS: None ABSTAIN: Fandrei ABSENT: Tent Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Mr. McCann, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is approval of the minutes of the 648th Regular Meeting & Public Hearings held on August 25, 1992. Mr. Gniewek: Prior to the making of the motion, in regard to the items on the Thomas' Family Dining, there is nothing mentioned in the minutes about the fact that the waiver use for the liquor license that was approved was for a service bar with no seats. I think that should be a part of the condition of the motion that the waiver use be only for a service bar with no seats at that particular location. Mr. Engebretson: I don't remember that issue being discussed. Are you saying it was an oversight in the preparation of the minutes or the resolution? Mr. Gniewek: We discussed it. It was a matter of discussion at the meeting. However, there was nothing mentioned as part of the resolution. The only thing that was mentioned as part of the resolution was time, from 10:00 in the morning until 10:00 at night and there was nothing mentioned as far as it being a service bar with no seats as far as the resolution was concerned. It was discussed and that was the agreement by the petitioner. However, I felt it should be a part of the resolution so that goes along with the waiver if that waiver is ever transferred. 12274 Mr. Engebretson: Since the minutes haven't been approved, it would certainly be appropriate to make that motion to amend the minutes. Do you have any particular verbage in mind? Mr. Gniewek: I would leave that up to the staff. Mr. Nagy: We will make that correction. Mr. Engebretson: Without objection we will make that amendment to the minutes to reflect that thought into the resolution. Now I will look for a motion to approve the minutes as amended. On a motion duly made by Mr. Gniewek and seconded by Mrs. Fandrei, it was #9-456-92 RESOLVED that, the minutes of the 648th Regular Meeting & Public Hearings held on August 25, 1992 are hereby approved, as amended. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Gniewek, Fandrei, LaPine, Alanskas, McCann, Engebretson NAYS: None ABSTAIN: Morrow ABSENT: Tent Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Mr. McCann, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is Petition 92-8-8-13 by Polaris Communications & Engineering, Inc. requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.42b of Zoning Ordinance #543 in connection with a proposal to install a satellite disc antenna on the side of a building located on the west side of Globe Road just north of Plymouth Road in Section 29. Mr. Miller: This petition is located on Globe close to Newburgh Road and Plymouth Road to the south. The firm that is in there now is Truesdell Truck, Inc. They are proposing to locate a satellite disc antenna for communication purposes on the north side of their building. It will be a 6 foot diameter satellite disc. Mr. Morrow: I assume that they followed the same procedure as requested. They checked with their neighbors and completed the specifications to the satisfaction of everyone. Mr. Nagy: That is correct. On a motion duly made by Mr. LaPine, seconded by Mr. Alanskas and unanimously approved, it was #9-457-92 RESOLVED that, the City Planning Commission does hereby approve Petition 92-8-8-13 by Polaris Communications & Engineering, Inc. requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.42b of Zoning Ordinance #543 in connection with a proposal to install a satellite disc antenna on the side of a building located on the west side of Globe Road just north of Plymouth Road in Section 29 subject to the following condition: 12275 1) That all plans dated 8/26/92 by Polaris Communications & Engineering Inc. , submitted on behalf of Truesdell Truck, Inc. at 11757 Globe Road, are hereby approved and shall be adhered to. Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Mr. McCann, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is Letter from George LaForest requesting a one-year extension of Petition 91-4-8-6 by Medora Building Co. requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.58 of Zoning Ordinance #543 in connection with a proposal to construct a warehouse addition to an existing commercial building on the south side of Plymouth Road just west of Wayne Road in Section 33. Mr. Miller: This proposal is on the south side of Plymouth Road at Wayne Road. This is the Commercial Lawnmower retail shop. They want a year extension on their proposal to construct a warehouse addition to the back of their building. In the letter they submitted they are requesting an extension because they cannot fulfill one of the conditions of providing a parking lot to the rear of the transmission building to the west. Mr. Engebretson: Mr. Nagy, at our study meeting the property owner indicated that it was his intent to comply with all of the other conditions that had been agreed to and specified for him in the original site plan approval. There was one minor one that was outstanding as of a week ago. Would it be your understanding that all of that has been complied with? Mr. Nagy: That is exactly correct. Mr. Alanskas: Didn't he say he was going to buy that property on the east of the property behind the optical building? Mr. Miller: I remember it but I don't remember the details. Mr. Alanskas: I was hoping he would be here, but I guess no one knows. Mr. Engebretson: I guess not but the issue here is whether or not to grant this petitioner a one-year extension of the site plan approval which was given approximately a year ago, much of which has been completed, a small part of which has not been. On a motion duly made by Mr. Alanskas, seconded by Mr. Gniewek and unanimously approved, it was #9-458-92 RESOLVED that, pursuant to a letter dated August 10, 1992 from George LaForest requesting a one-year extension of approval of Petition 91-4-8-6 submitted by Medora Building Co. requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.58 of Zoning Ordinance #543 in connection with a proposal to construct a warehouse addition to an existing commercial building on the south side of Plymouth Road just west of Wayne Road in Section 33, the City Planning Commission does hereby 12276 approve an extension for a period of one year from the date of this resolution subject to the following condition: 1) That the request by George LaForest, in a letter addressed to the `r.• Livonia Planning Commission dated 8/10/92, for a one-year extension of Petition 91-4-8-6, is hereby approved. Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Mr. McCann, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is Revised Building Elevations in connection with Petition 91-1-2-2 by Richard George in regard to an existing retail building located on the south side of Plymouth Road between Middlebelt Road and Milburn Avenue in the Northeast 1/4 of Section 35. Mr. Miller: This building is located right in front of the K-Mart Center on Plymouth Road between New York Carpet World and the Ramada Inn. (Mr. Miller presented the old building elevation plan plus the new elevation plan pointing out the changes) Mr. Engebretson: Mr. Nagy, do you have any knowledge of why Mr. George would not be here this evening? Mr. Nagy: I have no knowledge of his absence. I know he was advised to be here following your study meeting. Mrs. Fandrei: Scott, do we know what color he is going to paint the building? Mr. Miller: He had the color rendition at the study meeting but he took it with him. Mrs. Fandrei: What color was it? Mr. Engebretson: I don't recall the specific color Mrs. Fandrei but I am going to suggest that we not spend a lot of time on this tonight and that we look for a motion to table it. On a motion duly made by Mr. Morrow, seconded by Mrs. Fandrei and unanimously approved, it was #9-459-92 RESOLVED that, the City Planning Commission does hereby determine to table Revised Building Elevations in connection with Petition 91-1-2-2 by Richard George in regard to an existing retail building located on the south side of Plymouth Road between Middlebelt Road and Milburn Avenue in the Northeast 1/4 of Section 35 until the study meeting of September 22, 1992. Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Mr. McCann, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is Sign Permit Application by Walker & Co. , on behalf of the Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA), requesting approval to erect a new ground sign on the property at 32744 Five Mile Road. 12277 Mr. Miller: This is for the Professional Golfers Association, Michigan Section. It is located on Five Mile Road and Brookfield Avenue on the corner. They are proposing to put a ground sign ten feet from the right-of-way of Five Mile Road and four feet from the right-of-way of Brookfield Avenue. It will be 34 square feet in area and ten feet six inches high. Because it is non-conforming, they will have to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals to get a variance. Mr. Engebretson: At our study meeting we learned from the petitioner that this sign is simply to replace a sign that existed there prior to their acquisition of this property. May I ask Mr. Devine to come to the podium and for the record please give us your name and address and perhaps you can fill us in on what some of the history of this sign would be. Ken Devine: I am the Executive Director of the Michigan Section, PGA, and as you can see on the petition I am at 32744 Five Mile Road. In reality this is a replacement for a sign that was vandalized. We purchased the property in May of 1991 and had to undergo extensive remodeling and redesign and we, in fact, didn't take occupancy until, I believe, the 12th of July of the same year. Somewhere between the time of purchasing the property and actually relocating into it, a disgruntled partner of the gentleman that sold us the building actually came and had a sign cutter cut the sign in half. So the sign was vandalized and removed and my petition is really to allow me to improve upon the appearance of the sign that was there and just put the sign back up. That is a summary of what has happened. Mr. McCann: I apologize. I was at a City Council meeting last week representing the Planning Commission and wasn't able to hear this. The old sign is completely removed, correct? Mr. Devine: Yes. If you look at the post, he cut it about four feet off the ground. He just sawed it off and took the sign away. Mr. McCann: Have you discussed at all the possibility of putting up a monument sign? Mr. Devine: I don't know what you are referring to. Mr. McCann: A monument sign, instead of being a pole mounted sign, the sign itself is either on brick or something. The City is moving generally towards low profile monument signs instead of having pole mounted signs. Mr. Devine: I didn't know that. It has not been discussed. Mr. McCann: Have you ordered the sign yet? Mr. Devine: It is ready to be put back in its position. Actually the gentleman who had it removed, the disgruntled partner, contracted Walker Sign. They have the sign. So I have had them go ahead and make the new facia. The sign was terribly, terribly disfigured and rusted and they have cleaned up the box where it is far more attractive than the one that was destroyed. 12278 Mr. McCann: So you are using the same materials so it is going right back the way it was? Mr. Devine: Exactly. Mr. Engebretson: Mr. Nagy, had that vandalism not occurred, and all they had wanted to do was replace the interior part of that sign, would they have been granted that right without going through all this process? Mr. Nagy: They can change the sign face but can't increase the sign area or move it but they can take one sign face out and put another one in. Mr. Engebretson: So they were victimized to the extent that they are being forced to go through this whole process now because the sign was vandalized. Mr. Nagy: It was vandalized, removed and it is non-conforming so, therefore, they had to come back. On a motion duly made by Mr. Gniewek, seconded by Mr. Alanskas and unanimously approved, it was #9-460-92 RESOLVED that, the City Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Sign Permit Application by Walker & Co. , on behalf of the Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA), requesting approval to erect a new ground sign on the property at 32744 Five Mile Road, be approved subject to the following conditions: 1) That the Sign Plan dated 8/26/92 by Walker & Company, submitted on ,, behalf of the Michigan Section of the Professional Golfers Association at 32744 Five Mile Road, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to; 2) That this approval is subject to the petitioner being granted a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for all deficiencies defined in Section 18.50F of the Zoning Ordinance #543. Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Mr. McCann, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda is Permit Application by Timothy S. Williams for a Satellite Disc Antenna on property located at 8949 Laurel Avenue in Section 33. Mr. Miller: This lot is located in the Arbor Park View Subdivision south of Ann Arbor Trail, east of Wayne Road. The petitioner is requesting to put a 7 foot diameter disc in his backyard approximately 4 feet 5 inches from the northwest side of his house and about 13 feet from his northern lot line. He plans to put in some kind of screening so no one can see it. Mr. Engebretson: Can you define those plans Mr. Miller? 12279 Mr. Miller: He submitted a plan where he had shrubbery or some kind of vegetation. He didn't say what he was going to use but he did say shrubbery. At the study meeting, he suggested he might use some kind of lattice type of fencing to screen it. Maybe he could define it. Mr. Engebreton: Would you please come up sir and give us your name and address for the record and maybe you can clarify that position. Timothy Williams, 8949 Laurel: At the study meeting I brought up that I may put the lattice on the west side of the building to block the view of the people traveling up and down Wayne Road. I also brought to your attention the umbrella that covers the dishes. I am going to go ahead and put one of those on the satellite dish if I do get approval. I do have the paper work on the umbrella satellite dishes if anyone would like to review that. Mr. Engebretson: Just to clarify, is this the umbrella like satellite dish that has the appearance of being a picnic table umbrella that you are referring to? Mr. Williams: Yes sir. Mr. Engebretson: You were kind enough to supply us with some information on that last week. Mr. Williams, you will be mounting this on the ground? Mr. Williams: That is correct. Mr. Morrow: The only problem I would have, again like Mrs. Fandrei I wasn't there, but certainly one of the concerns this Commission has always had was how it aesthetically affects your neighbors, and seeing Sft. these umbrella shapes masking these satellites is a giant step in that positive direction. I just wanted to add that comment. It might encourage other future petitioners to take a serious look at that as an option. On a motion duly made by Mrs. Fandrei, seconded by Mr. Alanskas and unanimously approved, it was #9-461-92 RESOLVED that, the City Planning Commission does hereby approve Permit Application by Timothy S. Williams for a Satellite Disc Antenna on property located at 8949 Laurel Avenue in Section 33 for the following reasons: 1) That the proposed Satellite Disc Antenna has no detrimental aesthetic impact on the neighborhood. subject to the following conditions: 1) That the Site Plan and Specifications submitted by Timothy S. Williams, dated 8/24/92, for a Satellite Disc Antenna at 8949 Laurel Avenue are hereby approved and shall be adhered to. 2) That the Satellite Disc Antenna shall be the new umbrella type disc. 12280 Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Mr. LaPine: Mr. Chairman, the item that we tabled, the gentleman is here. "%r. Mr. Engebretson: We need a motion to reconsider the tabling motion. On a motion duly made by Mr. Gniewek, seconded by Mr. LaPine and unanimously approved, it was #9-462-92 RESOLVED that, the Revised Building Elevations in connection with Petition 91-1-2-2 by Richard George in regard to an existing retail building located on the south side of Plymouth Road between Middlebelt Road and Milburn Avenue in the Northeast 1/4 of Section 35 be taken from the table. Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Mr. Engebretson: Now we will take up that item. Mr. Miller: During their waiver use approval they were approved for an elevation plan that encompassed an awning type of scheme for the existing building that they were proposing to use. Now they are coming before you with a revised elevation plan. (Mr. Miller pointed out the changes on the plan) Mr. Engebretson: Mr. George would you come down and for the record give us your name and address and add whatever comments you care to make and then we will deal with some questions. Richard George, 30303 Plymouth Road: I come before you for a revised elevation to that building. Actually we were just going to paint the front and put up a few awnings. Since then we have had a change of mind because of the expense over a five-year period to keep an awning lit and the problem that awnings have. We have had a whole awning blow down. We are here in hopes that you will approve these new elevations. Mrs. Fandrei: Mr. George, could you please go into more detail as to what these are? We can't tell from here. Mr. George: (Mr. George presented the new elevation plans. ) We would like to keep the existing windows facing Plymouth Road. We would like to keep them there for displays, not for signs, which I agreed to. Mrs. Fandrei: I am still not sure what we are doing here. The towers then are at the north end and the south end? What is the purpose of the towers? Mr. George: That is just to make the building look better than it actually is. We do not need any variance. They are not higher than your ordinance allows. Mrs. Fandrei: It just looks strange from here. It is hard to visualize. 12281 Mr. George: It looks strange from here because you have a side view. Mrs. Fandrei: Do you have any landscape plan for that front? Mr. George: The landscape has already been approved on our previous plan. Mrs. Fandrei: It has been a while and I was just wondering if you might have that with you. Mr. George: I don't have that with me but what has already been approved is landscaping in the front with some landscaping on the south side of the sidewalk. Mrs. Fandrei: So you are going to be removing some of the blacktop that is there now? Mr. George: We will be removing all of the blacktop. We will be putting a new parking lot all the way around the building. Mrs. Fandrei: If you are removing all the blacktop in the front, you are going to have parking in the front? Mr. George: No, not unless you allow me. Mrs. Fandrei: So you are going to have the whole front landscaped except for the sidewalk area? Mr. George: The entire front, that is ours, will be landscaped except for the ingress and egress. Mr. Gniewek: How does this change your sign plan. Where are your signs going to be located. Mr. George: We are going to open without signs. We will come back after we open and request signage. Mr. Morrow: Mr. George, assuming that you get the necessary approvals, I assume this will go on to City Council since this is in a control zone. When would you expect to complete the new addition? Mr. George: I didn't know it had to go to Council again. I guess it depends on Council. Mr. Morrow: If it were approved, what is your time schedule to implement this plan? Mr. George: It was October 1st but I can see now that is impossible. This can be done in four days as soon as we have all the approvals. Mrs. Fandrei: Mr. George, when I drove by there I saw a sign in front that said "Open For Business During Remodeling". I am getting two messages here. 12282 Mr. George: Let me make a long story short. We had a lottery license in our store down the street. The Lottery Commission does not allow you to put a lottery machine in escrow for any length of time. If you are moving, they tell you we will give you 60 days to move. It has ,` now been much over a year so we told the lottery we were going to open. We did open, and we put the sign in the window. A week after we opened, we got robbed and the whole store was cleaned out. There is a police report. From that time on we did not take it down because we didn't want the Lottery Commission to think we were closed, but it was too late. Since then they have taken the lottery machine away from us so I can take that sign down. Mrs. Fandrei: It will be definitely coming down? Mr. George: It sure will. Mr. Engebretson: Mr. George, did I understand you to say that all of this renovation could occur in four days? Mr. George: Four to five days. Mr. Morrow: I can see the elevations but I am just trying to get a sense of the colors. The painted brick, does that go along with the new brick? Mr. George: This color is called squash, which is a dull yellow. My architect put these colors together. Mrs. Fandrei: Mr. Nagy, would they get a Certificate of Occupancy if the landscaping isn't done and the debris isn't removed, etc.? ��.• Mr. Nagy: They would not get a Certificate of Occupancy. They may get a temporary Certificate of Occupancy. There may be a policy to that effect by the Building Department but they would not get a clean Certificate of Occupancy without fully complying with all of the requirements as set forth by the Planning Commission and City Council in connection with site plan approval. Mr. Engebretson: Mr. Nagy, just to follow up on that, whatever conditions were encompassed in the original site plan approval then are all still in force. Mr. Nagy: That is correct. On a motion duly made by Mr. Alanskas and seconded by Mrs. Fandrei, it was #9-463-92 RESOLVED that, the City Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that the Revised Building Elevations in connection with Petition 91-1-2-2 by Richard George in regard to an existing retail building located on the south side of Plymouth Road between Middlebelt Road and Milburn Avenue in the Northeast 1/4 of Section 35, be approved subject to the following conditions: 1) That the Building Elevations, Project #92-43, Sheet A-2 dated 8/12/92 by Ashor Associates Architects & Planners, submitted on behalf of Wine Barrel is hereby approved and shall be adhered to. 12283 2) That signage shall be restricted to 20% of the window area. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Fandrei, LaPine, Alanskas, McCann, Engebretson NAYS: Gniewek, Morrow ABSENT: Tent Mr. Engebretson, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 649th Regular Meeting held on September 15, 1992 was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. CITY PLANNING COMMISSION 1 James C. McCann, Secretary j, ATTEST: � W( lam► I- g/Vk Jack`Engebrelon, Chairman jg