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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA MINUTES 2016-08-16ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS CITY OF LIVONIA MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING HELD AUGUST 16, 2016 A Regular Meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Livonia was held in the Gallery of the Livonia City Hall on Tuesday, August 16, 2016. MEMBERS PRESENT: Matthew Henzi, Chairman James M. Baringhaus, Secretary Leo Neville Gregory G. Coppola Benjamin A. Schepis Timothy J. Klisz MEMBERS ABSENT: Craig Pastor OTHERS PRESENT: Mike Fisher, City Attorney Scott Kearfott, City Inspector Beth Niemczewski, CER -7224 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Chairman Henzi explained the Rules of Procedure to those interested parties. Each petitioner must give their name and address and declare hardship for appeal. Appeals of the Zoning Board's decisions are made to the Wayne County Circuit Court. The Chairman advised the audience that appeals can be filed within 21 days of the date tonight's minutes are approved. The decision of the Zoning Board shall become final within five (5) calendar days following the hearing and the applicant shall be mailed a copy of the decision. There are four decisions the Board can make: to deny, to grant, to grant as modified by the Board, or to table for further information. Each petitioner may ask to be heard by a full seven (7) member Board. Six (6) members were present this evening. The Chairman asked if anyone wished to be heard by a full Board and no one wished to do so. The Secretary then read the Agenda and Legal Notice to each appeal, and each petitioner indicated their presence. Appeals came up for hearing after due legal notice was given to all interested parties within 300 feet, petitioners and City Departments. There were 16 people present in the audience. (7:00) City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 1 of 47 August 16, 2016 APPEAL CASE NO. 2016-08-56: An appeal has been made to the Zoning Board of Appeals by Mark Williams, 19112 Shrewsbury, Livonia, MI 48152, seeking to erect a six (6) foot tall privacy fence upon a corner lot, resulting in the fence being excess in height and being placed in the side yard, which is not allowed. Privacy fences cannot extend beyond the rear line of the home toward the street. Privacy Fence Height: Allowed: 5 ft. Proposed: 6 ft. Excess: 1 ft. The property is located on the east side of Shrewsbury (19112), between Seven Mile and Bridge, Lot. No. 012-99-0007-001, R-1 Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under City of Livonia Fence Ordinance, Section 15.44.090A,4bii, and Section 15.44.090B, "Residential district regulations." Henzi: Mr. Kearfott, anything to add to this case? Kearfott: Not at this time. Henzi: Any questions for the Inspection Department. Hearing none, will the Petitioner please come to the table? Good evening. Can you tell us your name and address? Williams: Mark Williams, 19112 Shrewsbury. Henzi: Okay, Mr. Williams, go ahead and tell us about your request for the fence. Williams: There's two different reasons. First of all, I'm right on Seven Mile, on the corner. I'm asking to extend my fence by one foot, and that one foot is actually decorative. It's lattice. There's a four -and -a -half -foot berm on the left side of the sidewalk, which a five- foot fence would probably not do me a whole lot of good. Also, my neighbor, directly across the street, had the exact same variance awarded, actually, three weeks ago. We're going with the same contractor. The same exact fence. The same color. So it's aesthetic for the neighborhood. The reason why I'm doing it, as well as him, is for the safety of our children. I have 11 -year-old twins, and Seven Mile's a very busy road. There's been a couple of accidents already since I've lived there, with car debris and stuff that ended up in my yard. Hopefully the -- the fence would help that from happening again. Also, two weeks after I closed on the home, my home was broken into. They stole the contents of the house. And at that time, the lead detective of Livonia advised me that a fence would be an appropriate thing to do. That the percentages of break ins are much City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 2 of 47 August 16, 2016 less when you have a fence surrounding your property. The other variance that I'm requesting is not to go from the back of the house directly to the back of the yard, due to -- that would cut off about half of my property as well as -- that would make that part of the yard absolutely no good. We wouldn't be able to use it. So we're asking to put a gate across the front, approximately ten -foot from the back of the house across to the sidewalk. Henzi: Okay, to that point, why do you need to come the ten feet closer to the front of the house? Williams: I had pictures in your folders. I have some additional pictures. If you'll see, the driveway ends about ten -from from the back of the house, and the gate would rest right on the driveway. If I went across from the back of the house all the way to the back of the yard, we would cut off half of the yard. So there would be nowhere for the children to play because the very back of the house doesn't have much yard. Henzi: So I'm looking at a photograph -- I mean -- there's a downspout shown in front of a white car -- Williams: That's correct. I have some additional photos, as well, if that might help you -- some more recent. Henzi: Are you using the downspout as a guide? Is that about where the fence would come across, or to the left or right of that? Williams: It would be at the end of this driveway -- if you could pass that down, please. Henzi: Oh, okay. Williams: In this picture, as well, you can see the back of the house. If I was to take the fence from the back of the house to the backyard, which is the variance I'm asking for, you would see that half the lot would be gone. Henzi: Okay, now -- now I can see it. The only other question I had was, just to confirm that you're going to have the five-foot fence with one foot of lattice? You've picked out the model? It's the Rockport? Williams: Exactly. It's exactly like the neighbor across the street. So that the front of the sub would look exactly the same. Understand also, that when we -- my neighbor and I - - elected to get this corner lot, some might think, well you knew you were moving on a corner lot, and you knew that Seven Mile was there. Well the builder explained to us that this was the site plan, and I'm not sure if I put this in your packet. But there was a whole lot of arborvitaes, and shrubs, and pines, and stuff that was supposed to go on our berm City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 3 of 47 August 16, 2016 to protect our homes. That never happened. He put in seven pine trees and that was it. But this was -- what -- was he told us was going to be. Thank you. Henzi: Okay. That's all the questions I have. Anybody else? Coppola: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Coppola. Coppola: So on the east side of your property, which would be the back, there's an existing chain link fence, are you proposing to put a fence up against that chain link fence? Williams: No. I'm removing it, and the neighbor's very happy. It's -- it's trashed. If you can see in the pictures, it's broken, it's bent down. He was very happy that I was going to replace it with a vinyl six-foot fence. Coppola: Have you approached the developer in regards to his -- kind of -- I guess I'll use the, bait and switch, in regards to -- to -- Williams: Yes, sir, I have, and they said that -- I'm sorry that's what it's is. That's -- that's where it's going to be. And what he did in lieu of that was, he -- he gave me $1500.00 for my sprinkler system. And he said, I'm sorry that we -- you know -- we didn't give you what you were shown, but I'd be happy to give you $1500.00 towards your sprinkler system because of that. And I accepted that, but that was just like two weeks ago. Because I was raising -- I let him know my disappointment. Schepis: Mr. Chairman. Henzi: Mr. Schepis. Schepis: I want to make sure I understand this. You're not -- you're not enclosing the berm, are you? The fence is going to be on the inside of -- Williams: No. It's going to be exactly like my neighbor's, which is along the sidewalk. So yeah, the berm would be on the inside of the fence. Schepis: Okay. Williams: The reason why I'm doing is that is because that's exactly what my neighbor is doing as well. We want it to look exactly the same. So it really will dress the entrance of the sub, being that the developer didn't do that. So if we both match -- it would make sense for me to put my fence up on the berm, if his is on the sidewalk. And we agreed on color, fence, contractor, and again his variance was approved to do so. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 4 of 47 August 16, 2016 Baringhaus: Mr. Chairman. Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. Baringhaus: In the area where the berm is where you're going to be putting the fence on the inside of the berm -- Williams: Yes, sir. Baringhaus: I noticed other several houses in the area used like a black wrought iron fence or some type of black fencing that is placed more on the inside of the berm, and still allow the trees to be exposed to the roadside -- you know -- the Seven Mile side, which is sort of typical for the houses in that area, yet still afforded them the enclosure to the yard. Did you consider that approach? Williams: I did. The -- on the west side, which is my neighbor -- the west corner -- the house behind him, his fence is right along the sidewalk. So we didn't want to vary from that because it would like strange if you have one fence directly on the sidewalk and one back. You know what I'm saying? The other -- Livonia Manor I, which is the east manor, the first one before ours. The builder built it all up. There's a ton of trees, and arborvitaes, and shrubs. And there was no need for a fence because it was built up so much. I mean -- they didn't need a fence. But with us, it's -- it's set back and it's odd, and we need a fence to kind of block and to make look aesthetic and symmetrical. And being that my neighbor on the west side, behind him, his fence is also along the sidewalk. So that's why he asked for his variance to go along the sidewalk. So if I was to come up, it would look totally odd. You would have two -- two people along Seven Mile -- okay -- right -- just west of Shrewsbury with a fence along the sidewalk and the mine would be back up on the berm. So it wouldn't be aesthetic. It wouldn't be correct. Baringhaus: Driving through that area, I sort of recall the -- the complete opposite. It seemed like the trees were along the sidewalk areas, and the fences were either not used, or if they had a fence, it was very discretely located behind -- you know -- the berms and tress. And in fact, there's a pretty extensive use of berms and trees in that area. Williams: Right. I think you're -- you're -- you may be talking about the south side. And the south side -- yeah -- they have a lot of rocks and a lot of trees that are up, but on our side, no, Livonia Manor I have all those -- they got huge amounts of trees, and arborvitaes, and stuff. And then when you come down to ours, there's nothing. I'm the only one that actually has the berm. And then on the west side, my neighbor, he doesn't even have a berm. He's just flat. So if I was to do the opposite and bring the fence up on the other side of the berm, it would really look odd. But if we both do the same thing, it would make the entrance of the sub look very good. We're just trying to enhance the entrance of the City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 5 of 47 August 16, 2016 sub that our developer didn't do. And it's not like this is cheap. I mean -- I'm willing to pay ten thousand dollars to do this, and my neighbor's paying seven or eight thousand to do it. Baringhaus: Thank you Henzi: Any other questions? Hearing none, is there anyone in the audience wants to speak for or against the project? If so, come on up. Seeing no one come forward, can you read the letters? Baringhaus: Sure. We have three letters. First letter is a letter of approval from Robert and Sally DeKolk, 31670 Seven Mile Road, (letter read). Second letter is from Collen Tomchuck, 19116 Auburndale, just says approved. Another letter of approval from Terry Andrews, 31765 Seven Mile, and again just circled approval. Henzi: Mr. Williams, anything you want to say in closing? Williams: Nope. I think I've said it all. Thank you. Henzi: Thank you. I'll close the public portion of the case and begin the Board's comments with Mr. Coppola. Coppola: Yeah, I do recall the other neighbor -- first of all, I think some type of fence is in order. It's a busy street -- for safety and such. Some type of barrier along -- along that side would be appropriate. It's disappointing that the subdivision was approved based on certain landscaping, and then it wasn't fulfilled. Especially since, I would assume, that's what was presented to the City, and I would think the City would have some -- some vested interest in having something a little more -- not that the fence was not attractive, but actually a barrier would be much attractive than the fence. That being said, I do recall the -- I do recall the other Petitioner, across the street from you to -- to the west. What I don't recall is that he was going to put on the sidewalk. I had thought that that was going to go inside the landscaping, and the landscaping would be exposed to the street. So that's -- I'm a little confused about that. I would -- my preference would be for both of them to be inside -- inside the landscaping as it exists now, instead of enclosing that landscaping. But I'll -- 111 hear what my other Board Members have to say before making a final decision. I:Cai� LVA=:1M Klisz: I think, again, consistency is important, and since we did approve the other, to deny this one wouldn't be consistent. But I think, as Mr. Coppola said, it would be important to know, if that's true, if he's building the other one on the inside and this one's going to be City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 6 of 47 August 16, 2016 on the outside. Then that is inconsistent, and that's bad. I don't remember, myself, what the --what we did with that one other than --again, we want to be consistent. They picked the same type, the same contractor. It's going to look good because they match. So I would be in support with, obviously, as long as it's consistent, that they're either in or outside, but not one of each. Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. Baringhaus: I agree with the need that for fencing for your house, based on the location to Seven Mile. I do have some reservations about putting the fence on the outside of the berm along the sidewalk. I agree with Mr. Coppola. I do recall the one neighbor, but I don't recall the details on the fence location. I'm inclined to believe that the fence would have been placed behind -- have the berm on the fence than on the inside. This seems consistent with what I saw in the neighborhood. Based on that, I really am not in favor of seeing the fence on the outside on the berm. I would prefer to see it on the inside of the berm. If you come back with a plan where the fence is on the inside of the berm and not on the sidewalk -- like I noticed on some of the other homes in the area -- I would pick something like that. Henzi: Mr. Schepis. Kearfott: Well, I -- I appreciate that you -- you made the effort to match this to what was approved on -- on your neighbor's lot. I think the issues that we just don't recall -- I don't know if maybe there wasn't a berm on that side, and it just went to the sidewalk. LYWYAIFT0M110'T O"ITF3Ta'i'i1 Schepis: There is not a berm? Williams: Nope. That's why he went to the sidewalk to save a portion of his yard. Coppola: But there is landscaping. There are trees. Schepis: On the outside? Williams: There's trees just -- Coppola: Before -- before the sidewalk. Williams: Right. Schepis: Well I -- I mean -- you know -- you need a fence, and I'm inclined to support it, but maybe we should consider tabling this for a meeting to make sure that -- you know -- we're approving the same thing that we approved on the other lot. Those are my City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 7 of 47 August 16, 2016 thoughts, but I -- I -- you know -- you need a fence there, and I'm inclined to support a fence there. Henzi: Mr. Neville. Neville: Well I agree because the record from the previous hearing is silent relative to the issue about a berm. And the issue there was, obviously, bringing the -- the height of the fence and bringing it beyond the rear yard. The Petitioner's already stipulated or stated for the record that there isn't a berm, but he has some trees along the sidewalk, as well, or no? Williams: He does. Neville: Okay. And I agree with my colleagues. You established the hardship and the need for the -- for the fence. You've got a good design. It's going to be consistent. And the only thing that I would want some confirmation is -- is relative to making sure that the fence is same on your property as it is across -- across the street at 19113 Shrewsbury. Otherwise, I think it looks like kind of odd that the berm is on the inside and the trees are elevated. Henzi: Okay. I -- I agree with that. I guess I would suggest -- or I would go along with a resolution that requires it to be mirror image in terms of location of the other one. Because I agree with Mr. Neville. What we really need is the landscape site plan, and we don't have it here tonight. We would have been looking at that and not specifically mentioning it during the meeting minutes. You know -- on the outside of the berm -- I don't know if that's even favorable for the Petitioner because he's going to have to care for the berm on the downslope, but he's expressed that he wants it to look the same as to the west. Williams: He doesn't have a berm. Henzi: You do. Williams: No, I do, yes. Henzi: You've got to take care of the downslope of the berm and -- but you -- but the Petitioner's expressed an overwhelming concern that he wants it to look the same as the house to the west. So I'll go along with that. So floor's open for motion. Williams: Thank you. Neville: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Neville City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 8 of 47 August 16, 2016 Upon Motion by Neville and supported by Baringhaus, it was: RESOLVED: APPEAL CASE NO. 2016-08-56: An appeal has been made to the Zoning Board of Appeals by Mark Williams, 19112 Shrewsbury, Livonia, MI 48152, seeking to erect a six (6) foot tall privacy fence upon a corner lot, resulting in the fence being excess in height and being placed in the side yard, which is not allowed. Privacy fences cannot extend beyond the rear line of the home toward the street. Privacy Fence Height: Allowed: 5 ft. Proposed: 6 ft. Excess: 1 ft. The property is located on the east side of Shrewsbury (19112), between Seven Mile and Bridge, Lot. No. 012-99-0007-001, R-1 Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under City of Livonia Fence Ordinance, Section 15.44.090A,4bii, and Section 15.44.090B, "Residential district regulations," be granted for the following reasons and findings of fact: 1. The uniqueness requirement is met because of the location of the property relative to Seven Mile Road, and the need for safety of his family, and the protection of his property. 2. Denial of the variance would have severe consequences for the Petitioner because it would increase danger and reduce the safety to his family. 3. The variance is fair in light of its effect on neighboring properties and in the spirit of the Zoning Ordinance because it is consistent with the Petition and Variance that was granted relative to property 19113 Shrewsbury. 4. The Board received three letters of approval and zero objection letters from neighboring property owners. 5. The property is classified as "low density residential" in the Master Plan and the proposed variance is not inconsistent with that classification. FURTHER, This variance is granted with the following conditions: City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 9 of 47 August 16, 2016 1. That the fence be constructed as proposed, as planned, and that it also match the location and be consistent with the corresponding fence at 19113 Shrewsbury. AYES: Neville, Baringhaus, Schepis, Klisz, Coppola, Henzi NAYS: None ABSENT: Pastor Henzi: The variance is granted with two conditions. Good luck to you. Williams: Thank you, sir. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 10 of 47 August 16, 2016 APPEAL CASE NO. 2016-08-57: An appeal has been made to the Zoning Board of Appeals by AMBEC, LLC (David Mathieu), 41025 Ann Arbor Road, Plymouth, MI 48170, seeking a variance to sell this nonconforming vacant property to construct a future single family dwelling. Nonconformity is based on deficient lot width, lot area, and the lot width not being one-quarter of the lot depth. Lot Width: Lot Area: Required: 75 feet Required: 0.50 ac. (21,780 sq. ft.) Proposed/Existing: 60 feet Proposed/Existing: 0.40 ac. (17,424 sq. ft.) Deficient: 15 feet. Deficient: 0.10 ac. ( 4,356 sq. ft.) The property is located on the east side of Cardwell (9114), between Joy Road and West Chicago, Lot. No. 144-99-0107-000, RUF Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Ordinance 543, Section 5.04, "Minimum Lot Size." Henzi: Thank you. Mr. Kearfott, anything to add to this case? Kearfott: Not at this time. Henzi: Any questions for the Inspection Department? Coppola: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Coppola. Coppola: Mr. Kearfott, the -- we were given a plot for part -- for a subdivision. The plot was part of our package. I guess the question is -- is comparative to -- is -- is this -- I guess -- to scale? And if I look at some of these other lots that appear to be of similar size, would they be of similar size? If I were to take a ruler and measure. Kearfott: Yes. I checked that before the meeting tonight. There's several -- this is a 40 - foot lot and these adjacent to it are also 40 -foot lots. Coppola: Okay. Thank you. Henzi: Any other questions? I -- I had one. Scott so we don't have plans. So -- you know -- it's not like he's got a model that he's proposing. So we're only allowing him to sell the property, but do we reserve the right to limit what goes in there? Mr. Fisher, do you know? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 11 of 47 August 16, 2016 Fisher: Well, you're -- yes. All you're doing is permitting the sale. The property itself will have to conform with setbacks, and lot coverage, and so forth, or require a variance. Granted, it doesn't comply. Henzi: Could we make a condition that the, for example, the front yard setback has to be identical to the neighboring properties? Fisher: I don't know why not. Henzi: I just -- I couldn't tell if they lined up. And these properties are so deep. I mean - - it would look ridiculous, in my opinion, if he puts one 30 feet further deep. Neville: Shouldn't we reserve that for future meetings, relative to the -- Henzi: Oh, could you do that, Mr. Fisher? Could you make him come back with a plan? Fisher: Is it your -- you're trying to make him come back even if he's got a conforming plan? Neville: I guess right now, we're just doing a lot split, right? Fisher: Well, the split, apparently, happened a long time ago. The idea is that, yes, you're just approving the -- his ability to sell this lot, and it's current not conforming. Henzi: Okay. You answered my questions. Any other questions? Schepis: Mr. Chairman. Henzi: Mr. Schepis. Schepis: I'm -- I'm sorry. I'm not sure I understood that. We're approving selling the lot with a non-conformity of -- of the width and the area? Fisher: Right. Coppola: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Coppola. Coppola: We can't approve whether he can sell the thing or not. It's --it's --we're turning a non-conforming vacant lot into a conforming by our variance. Is that correct? Fisher: I guess that's one way of putting it. Henzi: Okay. Any other questions. Okay. Will the Petitioner please come to the table? Good evening. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 12 of 47 August 16, 2016 Mathieu: Dave Mathieu, 9114 Cardwell. Henzi: Due tell us a little about the history of the lot, and also what you plan to do with the lot. Mathieu: Well the history of the lot is such it's that, Mr. Fisher indicated, it had been split apparently quite some time ago. It had separate Sidwell numbers for 9104 and 9114 Cardwell. Both 60 -foot wide lots. Lots on that side of the street are considerably deeper than on the other side of the street, for the most part, and the majority of them are either 59 or 60 -foot wide. Henzi: Okay. And are you -- you're the representative of the current property owner? Mathieu: Correct. I am the current property owner. Henzi: Okay. Do you own one of the adjacent properties? Mathieu: 9104 Cardwell. Henzi: Okay. What is your plans for the vacant piece of property? Mathieu: To sell it to a gentleman that wants to build a house to live there. Henzi: Okay. Do you have plans? Mathieu: No. He -- I don't even know if he has plans yet. All I'm trying to do is get it into conforming with regards to what is in the surrounding area. Henzi: Fair to say that this is kind of step one of the process. Meaning your sale's contingent upon getting approval tonight? Mathieu: Getting approval of the zoning to make it in conforming with the other lots, correct. Henzi: Do you reside at 9114? Mathieu: No, I do not. Henzi: Do you rent it? Mathieu: No. It's actually be on the market in the next week or two. It was a house that was fairly dilapidated that I purchased at the beginning of the year, and I've put extensive resources and money into the property to -- you know -- bring it to an improvement to the neighborhood. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 13 of 47 August 16, 2016 Henzi: Okay. Anything else you want to say in support of your application? Mathieu: I don't think so. I mean -- other than that the surrounding lots -- none of them conform to the -- to the requirement for the RUF Zoning. I shouldn't none of them. I shouldn't say none of them. I don't know that none of them do, but there's a vast majority of them that do not. Henzi: Any idea of when 9104 was constructed? Mathieu: 1936. Henzi: Any idea about any of the other homes? Mathieu: There -- there's a vast array of them. I mean -- some as new as the last five, six, seven years, and some probably 1936. Henzi: Okay. Thank you. Any questions for the Petitioner? Baringhaus: Mr. Chairman. Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. Baringhaus: Has the -- the perspective buyer given you any idea the number of buildings he wants to construct on the property? Will it be a house with an attached garage? Mathieu: Yeah. That's what he's leading towards. A single family residential home with an attached garage, correct. As far as the setbacks on that street, there are houses that are -- are even with each other, with their setbacks. And there are houses that are set back further. So I don't know what his plan is to where his placement on the lot is going to be. Henzi: Any other questions? Neville: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Neville. Neville: I guess -- you may have already answered this, but is the plan to then demolish the house at 9104. Is that what you're saying? Mathieu: Oh, no. No, the property at 9104 has been a complete rehab. Neville: Okay. All right. Because you made a comment about it being dilapidated, and I drove by there. I thought, well it doesn't look like a piece of property. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 14 of 47 August 16, 2016 Mathieu: Yeah. No. It's not anymore. Neville: Okay. All right. Thank you. Henzi: Any other questions? Baringhaus: Mr. Chairman. Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. Baringhaus: On 9114 Cardwell piece of property itself. It seems like there's a grouping of trees and things like that towards the front of the property. Mathieu: Right. Baringhaus: Are there any -- you know -- drain pipes there? Mathieu: Not to my knowledge. No -- no. I mean -- other than what's -- there's no even sewer or water hook-up there. He's going to bring which ever one is on the west side of the property underneath the -- underneath Cardwell to -- to connect to supply water and sewer. Baringhaus: Did any home or any structure ever exist on this property? Mathieu: Not to my knowledge. Henzi: I think a couple more -- were you finished -- I'm sorry. Baringhaus: Yes. Henzi: When did you buy these properties? Mathieu: I closed on them December 26, 27th. Somewhere in there -- end of the year - - last year. Henzi: Are you a builder? Mathieu: No. Henzi: What's your relationship to the proposed or the potential buyer? Mathieu: Realtor -- buyer -- seller -- buyer. No -- no -- no relationship other than -- Henzi: Not partners? Mathieu: No. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 15 of 47 August 16, 2016 Henzi: Okay. Mathieu: No he's going to buy-- he's going to build for himself. He's not building it for a resale. His intent is to build it to -- to reside there. Henzi: Okay. Any other questions? Hearing none, is there anyone in the audience who wants to speak for or against the project. If so, come on up. R. Wild: Sit or stand? Does it matter? Henzi: Whatever. Mathieu: What's going on, Ryan? R. Wild: What's going on? Well I'm against it. Henzi: Can you tell us your names and address. R. Wild: I'm Ryan Wild. I'm at 9151 Cardwell. It's like across the street from it -- kitty corner. C. Wild: And I'm Chad Wild. My address is 9121 Cardwell. Henzi: Okay. One at a time. Go ahead. C. Wild: Okay. For me, it like -- my property is 120 feet wide -- you know -- it's like a one single residence there with one out garage -- you know. He's trying to jam a house in between the two there. The house he's talking about -- the ones like down the street -- you know -- you got some 50 -foot -- 60 foot lots -- R. Wild: Yeah. There's like five or six down the street C. Wild: The single lot driveways -- Henzi: You got to go one at a time. C. Wild: Yeah -- everybody -- everybody -- you know -- they park in the street -- you know -- the street's not even wide enough for -- you know -- for the people parking in the street there -- you know. So I just don't see a R. Wild: I felt better hearing that the guy is going to live at this house because we don't know what this guy -- what they're going to do. C. Wild: But still -- it's -- you know -- it's a low land lot. It's a -- you know it's part of the same home -- City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 16 of 47 August 16, 2016 R. Wild: You guys drove by it. You guys drove down the street. You know what's down there. You know -- you see big lots -- small -- you know -- they're all different all across the board. Mathieu: The lot to the east of 910-- Henzi: Wait -- hold on -- hold on -- I'll give you a chance at the end. Mathieu: Okay. Henzi: We're trying to make a clean record. We have two guys with the same name talking at the same time. R. Wild: We're both making the same point really so -- Henzi: Okay. Anything else? R. Wild: No, that's about it. Just there's not enough room. Henzi: Okay. Thanks. Anybody else that wants to speak for or against the project? Come on up. Jackson: Henry Jackson. I live at 9047 Cavell. I live right behind the said property, and I have absolutely no objection to him building a house there. Mathieu: Thanks, Mr. Jackson. Jackson: I'd rather see a house there than a vacant lot because it's not being taken care of. It's -- it's sort of run down. At least the back part of it is. So -- Mathieu: The very back fence line -- right. Henzi: Mr. Jackson, how long have you lived there? Jackson: I'm going to say about 18 years. I live at Pine Cove Estates, which is right off of Joy Road and Inkster, and my property backs up to the vacant lot. Henzi: Can you describe the basic up keep of the property over the last 10 years. Jackson: Well his lot is 60 feet and so is mine, and so I think it's adequate for a single family if it's done properly. The property -- it used to be -- the two lots used to be one lot. Then I think an elderly woman lived there. Mathieu: Yeah. It was and elderly gentleman and an elderly woman. Henzi: You got to -- hold it -- you got to wait. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 17 of 47 August 16, 2016 Jackson: It's a very deep lot, and the is problem is that they take care of the front of the lot and sort of let the back of the lot go -- you know -- trees, shrubs, so on and so forth. And when the lady -- I don't know how old she was -- I never talked to her, but she used to plant flowers back there. And since she passed away -- I guess she passed away -- and let the house go. Well the back of the property has grown -- you know -- so that it needs to be addressed a little bit. But I have no objection to him building a house there. Henzi: Thank you. Anybody else? All right, Mr. Mathieu, you have the opportunity -- I'm sorry -- hold on. We've got a couple of letters. Baringhaus: We have two letters. First letter is an objection from John S. Mieszczur, 9129 Inkster Road, (letter read). Second letter of objection if from Robert Folton, 9174 Cardwell, (letter read). Henzi: Mr. Mathieu, anything you want to say in closing? Mathieu: Well, the lots that they're in reference to closer to Joy Road are not as deep that the newer houses are constructed on. And yeah, I would agree that there is a parking issue there because their driveways are nowhere near as deep. The properties on either side of this property and a couple down -- either side of this property are the same size as what I'm requesting for the -- for the variance here. There have been some newer homes built on the north -- toward the north end of Cardwell, on both the east and west side. Henzi: Did you ever consider selling both lots to your buyer? Mathieu: What do you mean? One has the house. One has the vacant lot. He's only interested in the vacant lot. Henzi: Okay. Anything else you want to say? Mathieu: No. Thank you. Henzi: Okay. I'll close the public portion -- Jackson: Can I add something? Henzi: Yeah. Jackson: You know -- they talk about -- Henzi: Real quick -- City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 18 of 47 August 16, 2016 Jackson: I'm sorry -- not having enough parking. Well he would put a driveway into this lot and -- and that would accommodate the parking of the cars. C. Wild: That would be single wide -- not much room there. Jackson: I have 60 feet and I have a driveway -- Henzi: That's it. I'm going to close the public portion of the -- we got the point of about the driveway -- public portion of the case. Begin the Board's comments with Mr. Klisz. Klisz: Looking at this -- looking these lots. They're all consistent in width. Some -- some are slightly bigger, but for the most part, the neighboring properties are all 60 -foot width and they all have houses on them. So to me, again, looking at consistency, it would be consistent to allow a house to be built. Obviously we're not looking at a plan or looking at -- what the house is too big, or something like that. That would be left to decide in the future, but as just simply selling it -- when everything else on the block, and the same width lots all have houses, to say this one shouldn't have a house doesn't make sense to me. So I would be in support of the variance. Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. Baringhaus: I agree with Mr. Klisz. I think it's difficult to argue, not allowing a sale of the property, but to move forward, considering there are a number of identical lots in the neighborhood with a lot more than one structure on those properties. So I will support the variance. Henzi: Mr. Schepis Schepis: Yeah, I also agree. I understand -- you know -- the neighbor's concerns about parking, but I think those are all issues that would be addressed letter. I mean -- at this point all we're -- I think all we're saying is that -- you know -- this can be sold without any comment on what's to be on it, or what -- you know -- or parking -- or house or anything like that would be on it in the future. So I would be in support of it. Henzi: Mr. Neville. Neville: I agree with the comments voiced by my colleagues. And I think, personally, to deny the variance would be arbitrary and perhaps an abuse of discretion. So I -- I just think given the fact that there are several lots adjacent to this property that have the same dimensions that the variance would be granted. Henzi: Mr. Coppola. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 19 of 47 August 16, 2016 Coppola: Yeah, I'm too in support. If you look at the plot that was provided to us, on the east side of the Cavell Avenue, there are 33 lots -- 16 of those 33 lots are the same size as -- as the lot of the petitioner. I would think it would be extraordinary not to -- to provide him that variance based on how this particular property was -- was basically inside the subdivision was subdivided. So again, I'm in support. Henzi: Yeah, I have to agree with Mr. Coppola. If the City says it's a buildable lot, I don't know how we can deny the variance. I would like to make -- or I would suggest some kind of condition about the footprint of the house, or maybe just the front yard setback be generally similar to the surrounding properties. I know the lot's only so big. You can't build -- you know -- 3000 -square -foot ranch, obviously, but I certainly wouldn't want -- you know -- one that's is in somebody else's backyard, for lack of a better word. So floor's open for motion. Baringhaus: Mr. Chairman Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. Upon Motion by Baringhaus and supported by Neville, it was: RESOLVED: APPEAL CASE NO. 2016-08-57: An appeal has been made to the Zoning Board of Appeals by AMBEC, LLC (David Mathieu), 41025 Ann Arbor Road, Plymouth, MI 48170, seeking a variance to sell this nonconforming vacant property to construct a future single family dwelling. Nonconformity is based on deficient lot width, lot area, and the lot width not being one-quarter of the lot depth. Lot Width: Lot Area: Required: 75 feet Required: 0.50 ac. (21,780 sq. ft.) Proposed/Existing: 60 feet Proposed/Existing: 0.40 ac. (17,424 sq. ft.) Deficient: 15 feet. Deficient: 0.10 ac. ( 4,356 sq. ft.) The property is located on the east side of Cardwell (9114), between Joy Road and West Chicago, Lot. No. 144-99-0107-000, RUF Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Ordinance 543, Section 5.04, "Minimum Lot Size," be granted for the following reasons and findings of fact: 1. The uniqueness requirement is met due to the number of similar properties and the structures on them. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 20 of 47 August 16, 2016 2. Denial of the variance would have severe consequences for the Petitioner due to the ability not to sell and develop that property. 3. The variance is fair in light of its effect on neighboring properties and in the spirit of the Zoning Ordinance because of the existing properties in the neighborhood with a number of structures on them with similar dimensions. 4. The Board received zero letters of approval and three objection letters from neighboring property owners. 5. The property is classified as "low density residential" in the Master Plan and the proposed variance is not inconsistent with that classification. FURTHER, This variance is granted with the following conditions: 1. That the home to be built on that property have a similar footprint and similar setback to properties existing. AYES: Baringhaus, Neville, Schepis, Henzi, Coppola, Klisz NAYS: None ABSENT: Pastor Henzi: So the variance in granted with that one condition. Mathieu: Okay. Henzi: That footprint and setback similar to what exists. Good luck. Mathieu: Thank you. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 21 of 47 August 16, 2016 APPEAL CASE NO. 2016-08-58: An appeal has been made to the Zoning Board of Appeals by Ashley Livonia South, LLC, 2575 S. Haggerty, Ste. 500, Canton, MI 48188, on behalf of Lessee, Roush Industries, Inc., 28200 Plymouth, Livonia, MI 48150, seeking to erect a wall sign, resulting in excess wall sign area and maintaining a ground sign. For a single tenant industrial building, only a wall or ground sign is allowed. Wall Sign Area: Allowed: 0 sq. ft. Proposed: 49 sq. ft. Excess: 49 sq. ft. The property is located on the north side of Plymouth (28200), between Hartel and Deering, Lot. No. 099-99-0151-003, M-2 Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Ordinance 543, Section 18.501 (a),1,2, "Sign Regulations for R -E and Industrial Districts." Henzi: Mr. Kearfott, anything to add to this case? Kearfott: Not at this time. Henzi: Any questions for the Inspection Department? Coppola: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Coppola. Coppola: Mr. Kearfott, if -- if there was no ground sign, what size wall sign would be allowed for that building. I couldn't find it. Is it based on the frontage? Kearfott: I have to check for you. Would you know that, Mike? Fisher: Wall signs are one -square -foot for each two lineal feet of building frontage or 100 square feet, whichever is less. Coppola: So their linear -- their front lineage is 161 feet. So that would be half of that then? Would that be right? Fisher: Well but it -- Coppola: One -foot for every two feet. Fisher: -- it exceeds a hundred feet. So it would just be a hundred feet. Coppola: A hundred feet -- a hundred square feet? Fisher: Yeah. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 22 of 47 August 16, 2016 Henzi: Any other questions? Okay. Good evening. Funk: Good evening. My name is Sharane Funk, 647 Sandalwood Court, Canton. I am the property manage for Ashley Livonia South, and we're here in support of our tenant Roush Industries. So I'll let Michelle speak, unless you need to hear from directly or have questions Majetic: Hi, I'm Michelle Majetic. I live at 1134 Gentry Drive in South Lyon Michigan 48178. 1 represent Roush in this case, and I work in the Facilities Department and have been employed there for 17 years. Henzi: Go ahead and tell us about the sign request. Majetic: All right. Well thank you again for meeting with us tonight and reviewing the variance. Roush is proud to be in Livonia. We have 16 facilities in Livonia, and we have 1.2 million square feet within Livonia. Of that, we actually have almost this particular building, which is the Plymouth Road Technical Center. We are actually going through our 40th anniversary this year, and so we're excited about being able to expand into Livonia and show our technical prowess, and also expand your Plymouth Road corridor. The variance was submitted for a multi -tenant industrial facility, which when it came back to us and was sent out to all the adjacent property owners, it actually said a single -tenant facility, which was not the case. So I believe -- Funk: There's actually five tenants in the facility. Majetic: All right. And so I just want to clear that part up. We've been in the facility for 16 years, and we've actually leased the east side of the building. So we've really not had a presence in the front of the building at this part. We're extended the lease into the two story front administrative building, and we're planning to house up to 200 new employees in that area. The intent of this is that we are investing capital in the building, which it's been sitting vacant for -- Funk: Since we've owned it for 16 years. Majetic: Yeah, 16 years, and prior to that. And we're looking at putting funding into the facade vestibule and so forth for that front door presence at the property. Being that is the case, I created a plan just to show the -- the amount of scale. It's about one-third of a mile wide as far as the property size itself. It's overall 946 feet across the entire breadth of the building, and it's almost 2000 lineal feet across the whole front property line. So the elevation is actually just down below, and that's the full frontage of the building itself. We looked at the section 18.501 Sign Regulation for a single tenant and using the square footage that you talked about. The calculation, it's a one to two lineal feet, or 180 square City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 23 of 47 August 16, 2016 feet, but can't exceed the 100 -square -foot maximum. However, as a multi -tenant, based on the same ordinance, we're only allowed 10 square feet for frontage for a multi -tenant. So first thing, we've got a large building, right to left, and we're also set almost 2 -- 195 feet back from the actual street level itself. So 10 square feet, or even up to the 50 square feet is relatively small in the overall portion of the building. Just a real quick -- what we did is we showed -- we did a proposal showing the actual size of a ten square feet, which is what we have on the right hand side of the brick wall here, and what we're actually proposing, which is 48 square feet on the right hand side. So again, in -- in comparison to the overall size of where it's going to be placed, proportionally we feel it's aesthetically pleasing, but also provides that approach and also finding us. And in then this would be the two difference with the full-size of the front of the building. Again, you're 195 feet back from the street line. We're requesting 48 square feet. So it's half of that of a single tenant, but still over that of a multi -tenant, and the sign will be non -lit. We are directly across from all commercial properties that have signage. We are not facing any residential property, and I don't believe that there will be any impact to the residents themselves. One of the things we thought, the sign would reduce the traffic or seeking issues, is people are driving by and trying to find us because we're a popular place to be. And we're also concerned that we have new employees starting at this site and they won't be able to find us. We have visitors planning to come, and we're going to use this as a training center. And we're going to have our customers come as well as our vendors. Again, some level of visibility from the front streets would be helpful. Henzi: Can you describe what you mean by training center? Majetic: We have several weekly training centers for new employees at Roush. We are looking at using this as our core facility for allowing that training to happen. The 200 employees that we're looking at bringing here will be CAE CAD Engineering level type people. So we're looking at trying to bring in that tier one automotive and all the other diversifications that we offer. Henzi: Any idea how many new employees might be looking for this new spot on a week or a month? Majetic: I -- I couldn't venture to estimate. Henzi: What about vendors? Majetic: Oh, we have quite a bit of vendors. We, actually, a lot of times will end up having vendors come in and actually housed at the facility during a launch or a product design portion, and they'll be there for anywhere from a couple months to a couple years. And they'll rotate in and out as the programs change. Same and likewise as our customers. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 24 of 47 August 16, 2016 They'll end up sitting in and around us. So they'll end up needing to have some level of way of finding us. Right now, I usually field a lot of calls for people trying to find me. Henzi: Then I think my last question is really for the landlord. What do the other tenants say? Are they going to be asking for signs? Funk: No, I don't believe so. The only two that have frontage on Plymouth Road itself is Roush and Virginia Tile, and Virginia Tile already has an etched sign in the glass that is very tastefully done. And to Roush's credit, I've worked with them for the 16 years that they've been there. I've managed the property the whole time. They do everything very tastefully, and there is a lot of traffic -- this is closer to the east entrance of the property. The west side of the property, Mastronardi Produce is all the way to the back of that facility. Lots and lots of truck traffic for both Mastronardi and NYX that's in the back of the building. And we're also trying to keep the truck traffic over there and let people know more visibly that Roush is there and keep the car traffic more on the east side. So that they're not intermingling because there's a lot of semi traffic there. Henzi: Okay. Thank you. Any questions for the Petitioner's representatives? Coppola: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Coppola. Coppola: Can you tell me about the ground sign? What size it is. What -- what's on it. Is it -- just getting kind of a feel -- Funk: It's -- there's one on the west. One on the east. Both say Plymouth Road Technical Center with the address. The one on the west has an old Farmer Jack that we're working with Mastronardi trying to get them to actually upgrade the sign reflect Mastronardi needs to go down that west side, and then Roush's name is on the east side. The only thing I would mention, I believe that they are 10x6. I honestly don't know. A lot of what makes Plymouth Road so nice is the development authority that's there. And there's huge pine trees all along the front of the building as well. So that does impact if you're coming from the east side going west. You don't see that Roush sign. You go right past it and then turn in on the west side. So that's a little bit of -- of a handicap there. Coppola: Thank you. Henzi: Anything else? Baringhaus: Mr. Chairman. Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 25 of 47 August 16, 2016 Baringhaus: What would you estimate the setback of the building to be from Plymouth Road? Majetic: It's 195 feet. Baringhaus: You mentioned it's -- it's a training center. Majetic: No. Roush uses it to train their new employees at that location. So it's not -- we have enough hires coming in and through Roush that we're hoping to channel them through this particular complex, to again, bring in new jobs and new interests to the area. Baringhaus: Okay. Thank you. Henzi: Any other questions? Hearing none, is there anyone in the audience who wants to speak for or against the project. If so, come on up. Murphy: Could I sit down, or do I have to stand? Fisher: Go ahead. Murphy: Because I got -- it's going to take a minute. I live right across from Roush. I used to work in that building when it was Fisher Body years ago. And they like three exits on Deering Street. They had three fences to let all the traffic out. They're all closed now. There's still a light there with a left hand blinker -- you know -- it's lanes and all that that they mark new lanes every year. I don't know why. The traffic should have came out when they put the two lights down the street near the Roush entrance. Everybody thinks that the light there, it should be gone is where Roush is at, including semi -trucks. They go down the street because they don't see the sign for Roush. And there's a park at the end where kids play. And the semis can't make the turn at the park. So they back up people's driveways and bust up the cement. My driveway's all messed up. I've got photographs -- I didn't bring my phone unfortunately. I can't believe how they -- they back up the driveway -- you know -- with a big truck like that, but they do. And that traffic light at Deering and Plymouth, they've had a stop sign -- like a survey to see if you should take it out or not -- for over a year. And I don't know why it's still there. That light should be gone. It's a waste of money. It's causing people to -- they stop at the yellow light -- flasher, and they almost get rear-ended. Somebody's going to get hurt. Henzi: Can you say your name and address? Murphy: They need something bigger, if you could give it to them. That's all I have to say. Henzi: Can you say your name and address? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 26 of 47 August 16, 2016 Murphy: Daniel Murphy. I live at 11682 Deering. Henzi: Got it. Thank you. Murphy: And I've been there since a year before they moved in and fixed the whole building up. It was a busted windows and everything else. So I don't have anything bad to say. It's all good. Give them whatever they want. Henzi: Thank you. Anybody else who wants to speak for or against the project. I see no one else coming forward. Can you read the letters? Baringhaus: Sure. Letter of approval from Jeff Schembri, (letter read). Second letter of approval from Dr. Charles Lechner, (letter read). Henzi: Anything you want to say in closing? Majetic: No. Thank you for the consideration. Henzi: Okay. Thank you. I'll close the public portion of the case, and begin the Board's comments with Mr. Baringhaus. Baringhaus: Given the location of the building, the 190 feet setback from Plymouth Road -- my experience driving passed it, I knew it was there, but I still had a hard time finding it. I think both signs are -- the one sign on the wall -- very tastefully designed. I'll support the variance. Schepis: Yeah, I agree. I, too, will support the variance. I mean -- this is a commercial area, and there's a need for a sign, for both visibility purposes and -- and for the nature of the property, which -- which you've described as a training center. You know people are going to be coming and going -- you know -- sort of on a routine basis. You have the support of -- of the neighbors who have responded and -- this is a, I think, a pretty modest proposal. So I would support it. Henzi: Mr. Neville Neville: I agree a hundred percent. I think that the need has been established. I, too -- I've driven passed that location many -- many -- many times and I still couldn't even find the ground sign. And I know with all the trees, and the trucks going in and out of there, and a lot of confusion. And I agree with what Mr. Murphy had to state relative to the difficulty and just trying to access and the dangers that can be posed by the trucks missing the location. I'll be in support. I think the package is tastefully and very well done. So I'll be in support of the resolution. Henzi: Mr. Coppola. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 27 of 47 August 16, 2016 Coppola: I, too, am in support. First of all, thank Roush for your commitment to Livonia. It's nice to have a corporate partner like -- like Roush in Livonia. I think the sign's tastefully done. I think more of the issue is because it's 190 feet back, it's not being able to see it from the road, but once you're in there, where do you go? I think now people know exactly where -- where the building Roush is. I think that's extremely helpful. So from that perspective, I think it's needed and I'm in support. Henzi: Mr. Klisz. Klisz: Again, I would agree. Thanks for your commitment to -- to the city. Great partner with -- with the city. And again, the sign -- I think the key is looking at the graphic to see what would be allowed. It looks like a little toy sign compared to this giant building too. So I think it fits. It works, and it makes sense, and I'm in support. Henzi: I, too, will support it. I -- I agree with all the other comments. There's really nothing I can add. So floor's open for motion. Klisz: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Klisz. Upon Motion Klisz and supported by Coppola, it was: RESOLVED: APPEAL CASE NO. 2016-08-58: An appeal has been made to the Zoning Board of Appeals by Ashley Livonia South, LLC, 2575 S. Haggerty, Ste. 500, Canton, MI 48188, on behalf of Lessee, Roush Industries, Inc., 28200 Plymouth, Livonia, MI 48150, seeking to erect a wall sign, resulting in excess wall sign area and maintaining a ground sign. For a single tenant industrial building, only a wall or ground sign is allowed. Wall Sign Area: Allowed: 0 sq. ft. Proposed: 49 sq. ft. Excess: 49 sq. ft. The property is located on the north side of Plymouth (28200), between Hartel and Deering, City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 28 of 47 August 16, 2016 Lot. No. 099-99-0151-003, M-2 Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Ordinance 543, Section 18.501 (a),1,2, "Sign Regulations for R -E and Industrial Districts," be granted for the following reasons and findings of fact: 1. The uniqueness requirement is met because of the size of the building and the amount of people that are going to be coming there. 2. Denial of the variance would have severe consequences for the Petitioner for the reasons above. It would be difficult for hundreds of trainees to find. 3. The variance is fair in light of its effect on neighboring properties and in the spirit of the Zoning Ordinance because of support from two corporate neighbors and from a residential neighbor, and there are no objections. 4. The Board received two letters of approval and zero objection letters from neighboring property owners. 5. The property is classified as Industrial in the Master Plan and the proposed variance is not inconsistent with that classification. FURTHER, This variance is granted with the following conditions: 1. That it be constructed as presented. AYES: Klisz, Coppola, Neville, Schepis, Henzi, Baringhaus NAYS: None ABSENT: Pastor Henzi: Variance is granted with that one condition. You got to build it as presented, both in text and materials, location, and as you represented tonight. Majetic: Thank you. Funk: Thank you. Henzi: Good luck. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 29 of 47 August 16, 2016 APPEAL CASE NO. 2016-08-59: An appeal has been made to the Zoning Board of Appeals by Michelle (LeBlanc) Loftis, seeking to erect a covered rear porch, resulting in deficient rear yard setback. Rear Yard Setback: Required: 30 feet Proposed: 25 feet Deficient: 5 feet The property is located on the north side of Perth (29162), between Middlebelt and Garden, Lot. No. 095-08-0052-000, R -1A Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Ordinance 543, Section 4.05, "Schedule of Minimum Front and Rear Yard Requirements in R-1 through R-5 Districts." Henzi: Mr. Kearfott, anything to add to this case? Kearfott: Not at this time. Henzi: Any questions for the Inspection Department? Baringhaus: Mr. Chairman. Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. Baringhaus: There's two photos in the package -- or two diagrams. One shows a set of stairs projecting from the porch or patio. The other is just a picture of basically just a rectangular patio. Where is the deficit calculated from? Is it from the stairway or would it be from the side of actual deck itself? Kearfott: I'm not sure I understand your question. Coppola: Talking about -- does the deficit start here or here? The size of the deck, does it -- in other words, does the deficet include the stairs or stop here on the deck? Kearfott: It stops at the deck. Baringhaus: There's this one diagram that shows a set of stairs. Kearfott: Okay. Baringhaus: And then there's a second diagram that shows just the deck without the set of stairs. And my question is, what is the deficient calculated on? Is it from the side of the deck, or is it from the -- from the stairs? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 30 of 47 August 16, 2016 Kearfott: I believe it's from the side of the deck Baringhaus: Okay. Thank you. Henzi: Any other questions. Hearing none, will the Petitioner please come forward. Good evening. Loftis: Good evening. I'm Michelle Loftis. My maiden name's LeBlanc. Apparently, I need to change it on the zoning or something. That's why it says LeBlanc, but I'm Loftis. I live 29162 Perth Street. We're wanting to put a cover over -- I mean -- we have -- the patio is already there. It's a cement patio. It's cracking. We're not making it any bigger. We're just putting a deck over top of it, and putting a covering over it. Unfortunately, the outline of our yard -- our yard is long, but from where the end of the patio is to the neighbor behind us, there's not -- that's where the -- we're short. The -- the -- so we're wanting to put the covering to put the covering on. My husband is sensitive to the sun. We also have skin -- he has skin cancer, and his mother's had skin cancer, and we like to be able to have family and everybody be able to sit on the porch. We've bought the canopies, but every year we have to buy a new one because storms come. They blow over -- you know -- bend the metals, tear the canopies. So we thought, why don't we put on something permanent? There are other houses in our neighborhood that do have the coverings. It's just unfortunate the way our backyard is set up that there's not enough space. Sorry, I'm nervous. Henzi: It's okay. Do you have a contract with a builder? Loftis: Yes. Henzi: Can you tell us, generally, what the building materials are going to be like? Loftis: I'm sorry. Henzi: Like, are you going to have shingles on the roof? Loftis: Yeah, I brought -- I don't if this is the same pictures you have, but these are the ones he -- he printed up for us. It will be attached to the house with shingles, gutters. We're going with a trek deck underneath. There will be pillars. I can pass these. Henzi: Would it be shingles and pillars to match? Loftis: Yes. Henzi: Okay. Okay. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 31 of 47 August 16, 2016 Loftis: And I have had a few neighbors come over and -- because they got the letter -- we didn't realize that they were getting letters, but they came over and got -- told us they didn't understand why. They were for us having it. I know one of my neighbors said she sent a letter in saying they were for it. Henzi: Any other questions? Neville: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Neville. Neville: As I understand, what you're stating is that the deck is going to be erected on the same footprint as the existing patio? Loftis: Well I -- he's taking the -- they're taking the cement out. Neville: Right. But it's not going to -- Loftis: It's the same shape -- no. I'm not making it any bigger. Neville: Correct. It's not going to be any larger than the ground occupied by the soon to be ex -patio? Loftis: Correct. Neville: And the shingles -- I think this is what the Chairman is getting at. Are they going to be the same to match your home? Loftis: Absolutely. Neville: Okay. And then the pillars, are they going to tie in with the -- Loftis: They'll tie in -- I really wanted to do brick, but that's too expensive. So he's going to do -- the pillars will have the vinyl like as along the side -- the up -- I don't know terms, but the flap above the house. You know what I'm trying to say? From where the roof is to where the brick starts. It will match that. Neville: All right. Thank you. Henzi: Any other questions? Baringhaus: Mr. Chairman. Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. Baringhaus: How far will the deck be off the ground? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 32 of 47 August 16, 2016 Loftis: Not far. Probably like this -- Baringhaus: Okay. So there will be no need for a step or anything? Loftis: Not really, no. He was just -- I think he was just had put that out there because of the dogs -- so maybe for the dogs. I don't really require -- there really doesn't need to be a step. Baringhaus: Okay. Same plans for the recessed lighting and the ceiling and the fan. Will that be included as well, or is that -- it's part of the rendition. Loftis: No. We're adding that, yes. Baringhaus: Oh, you're going to add that as well? Loftis: Yes. I did bring the exact proposal, if you wanted to see what is included in it. Baringhaus: Sure. Thank you. Henzi: Any other questions? Hearing none, is there anybody in the audience who wants to speak for or against the project? If so, come on up. Seeing no one come forward, can you read the letters? Baringhaus: We have five letters. (Letter read), Mr. and Mr. C. Kirschner, 14221 Garden Ave. Second letter of approval from Maureen Worden, 29262 Perth, (letter read). Another letter of approval from Vicky and James Burton, 29142 Meadowlark, (letter read). Another letter of approval, Donald McDougall, 29148 Perth, (letter read). Another letter of approval from Dori Harris, 29130 Meadowlark, (letter read). That's it. Henzi: Anything you'd like to say in closing? Loftis: No. Henzi: Okay. I'll close the public portion of the case and begin the Board's comments with Mr. Schepis. Schepis: I would support this as presented. I think it's nice. I think it will look a lot better than the cement pad. And I think the plan you put together is going to look nice. Henzi: Mr. Neville. Neville: I agree, and also the deficiency is so minimal that it be relatively in consequential. And I think the Petitioner has presented a plan that's well thought out, and it will look nice. And I'll be in support of granting the variance. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 33 of 47 August 16, 2016 Henzi: Mr. Coppola. Coppola: Yeah, I too, am in support of it. It's a very nice design. I'm sure it will look really nice on the house. And with the support of the neighbors I don't see any issues. Henzi: Mr. Klisz. Klisz: I agree. Strong neighbor's support. It looks good. It's not bigger than the existing patio. It's a deck. I'm in support. Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. Baringhaus: I agree. Very well thought out. Very well planned design. Definitely going to be a very positive addition, not only to your home, but to the community as well. I'll support it. Henzi: I, too, will support it. I think there's a hardship due to the pie shape. The unique shape of the lot causes the deficiency. I agree with everyone else. I think it's going to look very nice. So floor's open for motion. Schepis: Mr. Chairman. Henzi: Mr. Schepis. Upon Motion by Schepis and supported by Neville, it was: APPEAL CASE NO. 2016-08-59: An appeal has been made to the Zoning Board of Appeals by Michelle (LeBlanc) Loftis, seeking to erect a covered rear porch, resulting in deficient rear yard setback. Rear Yard Setback: Required: 30 feet Proposed: 25 feet Deficient: 5 feet The property is located on the north side of Perth (29162), between Middlebelt and Garden, Lot. No. 095-08-0052-000, R -1A Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Ordinance 543, Section 4.05, "Schedule of Minimum Front and Rear Yard Requirements in R-1 through R-5 Districts," be granted for the following reasons and findings of fact: City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 34 of 47 August 16, 2016 1. The uniqueness requirement is met because of the shape of the lot is abnormal and is what is causing this problem. 2. Denial of the variance would have severe consequences for the Petitioner because they wouldn't be able to put a covered porch on their lot. 3. The variance is fair in light of its effect on neighboring properties and in the spirit of the Zoning Ordinance because the neighbors support the proposed change and the deficiency is fairly small. 4. The Board received five letters of approval and zero objection letters from neighboring property owners. 5. The property is classified as "low density residential" in the Master Plan and the proposed variance is not inconsistent with that classification. FURTHER, This variance is granted with the following conditions: 1. That it be constructed as presented with the size, location and materials used. 2. That the structure not to be enclosed. 3. That the five day waiting period to obtain the permit is waived. AYES: Schepis, Neville, Klisz, Coppola, Baringhaus, Henzi NAYS: None ABSENT: Pastor Henzi: Variance is granted. You've got build it as you presented. You can't enclose it. And we waived the five day waiting period. You could get a building permit, if you would like, tomorrow. Loftis: Okay. Henzi: Just go to the Building Department. Loftis: Was there anything about steps? Are we able to? Are we not able to -- I mean? Henzi: There's no prohibition. Loftis: Okay. Thank you. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 35 of 47 August 16, 2016 APPEAL CASE NO. 2016-08-60: An appeal has been made to the Zoning Board of Appeals by Gold Family Limited Partnership, 30774 Woodstream Court, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, on behalf of Lessee Summit Auto Sales, 7047 East Eight Mile, Warren, MI 48091, seeking to operate wholesale used car sales from a building zoned Industrial, which is not allowed. All proposed vehicles on this property will be stored within the building. The property is located on the west side of Levan (12119), between Plymouth and Commerce,Lot. No. 115-03-0016-000, M-1 Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Ordinance 543, Section 16.03(a),(b), "Uses Prohibited." Henzi: Any questions for -- oh, Mr. Kearfott, I'm sorry. Anything to add to this case? Kearfott: Not at this time. Henzi: Any questions for the Inspection Department? Hearing none, will the Petitioner please come to the table. Pearson: Good evening. Henzi: Good evening. Can you tell us your name and address? Pearson: Rodney Pearson, 7047 East Eight Mile, Warren, Michigan, 48091. Henzi: Go ahead and tell us about this proposal. Pearson: Well, what we would like to do -- currently our business is located at the Eight Mile address. And we do retail auto sales. We're converting our business from retail auto sales to wholesale auto sales. So we will no longer be selling to the public. We will be selling directly to the different auto dealers at the different auctions. We go to about four to five different auctions around this area. The building here -- we want to move to the west because that's where my partner and I live. This building is actually perfect for what we're trying to do. First off, we do not want to do any selling of cars in this location. There will be no lot with cars outside, no signs, no flags, and all that good stuff. All we want to is to be able to -- when we buy the cars at our auctions, when we buy them from other dealers, we bring them to this location and we stage them. And by that, what I mean is we get them ready to be sent out. If they need to be reconditioned to like -- you know -- get breaks or -- you know -- transmissions, or whatever the case may be for that particular vehicle. We determine which repair shop we'll send them to from that location. We'll send to that location. Get whatever repairs done. Bring them back, and then from there it will go to whatever auction we're going to sell those cars. So there will be no customers City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 36 of 47 August 16, 2016 coming in back and forth trying to buy vehicles in that location. And if you look in the proposal -- well, I'll let you look through your thing, and then we'll get to the proposal part. Henzi: Go ahead. Pearson: Oh, okay. If you look at the proposal, the inside pictures of the warehouse, there's about 7000 square feet of space. And again, all we will be doing is bringing in cars -- you know -- from there, we'll determine where they go, and then bring it right back here, and then send them off to the different auctions. That's pretty much all we're doing. The front part of this building, there's an office space. There's like two offices. There's a break area, restrooms, and there's like one -- one area that separates the warehouse from the front office part. That's where -- there's only three of us. There's my partner, myself, and our receptionist person that -- well, office manager. She takes care of everything, takes our paperwork and all of our stuff. Those are the only three people that will be here at this location. And the other picture, there's a picture of the door on the same page of the inside of the warehouse, there's two doors. One in the front of the building. One in the back of the building. And already had the different -- I had a car hauler come to -- you know -- go around the building to see if they can turn around in the back or whatever. So there's no issues turning --turning the vehicles around in the back. But the use of the two -- the two doors -- they can come straight in, unload the cars inside, and then continue out -- do the turn and then go out. So there's very limited traffic or whatever. We're not having that many trucks coming in and out like that. And that's pretty much all we're trying to do. The main thing, we want to make sure that you guys understand is that there's no retail sales of autos in this location. Henzi: I --I --couple of questions. I just want to make sure I understand how the business works. Pearson: Okay. Henzi: So where do you find your inventory? Pearson: We have several sources. We buy from other dealers. For instances -- say for instance, you were going to a car lot to buy a new car. You would trade the one you have in. We buy those cars. We recondition them, and then we sell them to other dealers. Because most dealers want to receive cars that they can just put on the front line and go ahead and sell them. So we just get them, fix them, give them to them -- or sell it to them so they can sell and make their profits. We're just the middle man, basically in that whole process. We're doing the --doing the grunt work that most dealers don't want to do. They don't want to recondition the car. They want a car that's available to sell right there. They don't want to waste their time. Waste their money conditioning. So that's what we do. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 37 of 47 August 16, 2016 Henzi: So then if I understand you right, you just -- you want a holding area for when you first get a new inventory? Pearson: Correct. Henzi: That's it, right? Pearson: It's pretty much just a holding area, period. They come in --they come in twice, basically. Once when we first buy them, and the second time when they come back in from where ever reconditioning place we have to send them to. And then from there, we just send them off to where every we're going to sell them at for that particular week. Henzi: Do you have a car hauler coming once a week, or once a day? Pearson: Usually once a week to pick up the cars to take them to the auctions, but then we have -- when we actually buy them. Usually we -- maybe three or four times a week we'll have a load of cars come in. It just depends on how many cars we buy that particular week. Henzi: How many cars do you think you might store at any one time in a week? Pearson: At any one time, we don't buy more than ten cars in a week. So at any one time, the most vehicles that will be in here is maybe 25. Henzi: Okay. Thank you. Any questions for the Petitioner? Klisz: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Klisz. Klisz: Is -- is the only way the cars are going to come in and go out is through a car hauler, or do you drive them out and drive them in? Pearson: Well, when the cars are going to be reconditioned, 95 percent of the time the cars are operable. So we don't have to worry about towing them somewhere, but there were a few that come in that there was some conditions that we didn't know about prior to purchasing that car. For instance, I bought a 2014 Kia Optima from Alabama, that once we got it, we found out the motor wasn't working. So we had to ship it off to have a new engine put in it before we can get it ready to send off to the auction to be sold. So it just depends. Once we get the car, we send it to our mechanic so he can tell us what needs to be done to it, and then we just take care of it from there. Klisz: So it could be driven. It could be towed, and it could car hauled? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 38 of 47 August 16, 2016 Pearson: Correct. Klisz: Thank you. Henzi: Do you have a lease for this property, or is it conditioned on approval. Pearson: We have a pending lease based on being able to receive this variance. And the reason we need a variance is because of the license that we have is a retail license. It's a Class B license, which allows us to sell, both, to the public and the wholesale cars. And we're trying not to eliminate the -- well trying not to switch the license because with a Class B license, I'm able to title a vehicle. With a wholesale license, I can't title it. Henzi: Mr. Fisher, do you agree with that? Fisher: I honestly don't the know the rules for titling vehicles. Henzi: Well do you agree that because he has a retail license, he needs a variance? Fisher: Well, retail sales certainly would require a variance. I'm not sure we knew at this level how detailed about his business. Henzi: Is it your opinion he still needs a variance even if he only were to wholesale? Fisher: Well I guess there would be additional questions I'd want to ask, but -- I don't know. I'd have to look into this a little bit more to see if we have anything about wholesale. Henzi: Okay. Just a couple more, Mr. Pearson. Pearson: Go ahead. Henzi: Do you know what this particular suite was used for in the last few years? Pearson: I do not have the -- the correct answer to that question, but I do have some here that does. What was the building used for prior to us wanting to lease it? What was the business in there before? Gold: Boat rebuilding. Pearson: Oh they rebuild boats. That's right. Henzi: Can you say your name for our record. Gold: Jerry Gold. Gold Family Limited Partnership. Henzi: Got it. Thank you. Any other questions? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 39 of 47 August 16, 2016 Baringhaus: Mr. Chairman. Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. Baringhaus: How many vehicles do you plan to wholesale out of that facility within a year? Pearson: Within a year? Well, according to our business plan of what we want to do, we send ten cars to the auctions every other week. So you're looking at what 10 times 26 or whatever -- 260. Baringhaus: Okay. You mentioned you have a Class B license? Pearson: Correct. Baringhaus: Okay. Have you considered looking into a Class W license, which is the wholesale license? Pearson: Correct. We have, but the reason we don't want to go with that is because we won't be able to title vehicles if we get the wholesale license. Baringhaus: Okay. Yeah, because it's my understanding with the Class W license that a wholesaler, you can't really buy, sell, or deal to a person, but you can with a licensed dealer, which sort of implies that there's some type of transfer title involved Pearson: Let me go back. For instance, if I wanted to buy a vehicle myself, I can't do that with that license because I can't title that vehicle over to an individual person. So that's the reason -- that's the main reason why we wanted to keep the retail. Well actually that's really the biggest reason why we want to keep the retail license. Hopefully, you guys don't require us to go with a W. You'll allow us to keep the B. Baringhaus: Do you also operate Summit Auto Sales out of Pontiac? Pearson: No. That's not us. Baringhaus: That's not you? Okay. Pearson: We get that question all the time. Baringhaus: You're not associated with any kind of new vehicle franchise? Pearson: No, not at all. Baringhaus: Okay. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 40 of 47 August 16, 2016 Pearson: Would love to be, but no not at all. Baringhaus: We talked about carrier already, things like that. There will be no reconditioning work done at the facility? Pearson: No. Baringhaus: It's strictly like a marshalling yard and then -- Pearson: Correct. Baringhaus: The auctions you deal with. What areas? Are they more local? Are they out of state? Pearson: Actually we purchase -- I stay within 600 miles of our location. And the reason for the that is the cost -- the transportation costs a lot less. So -- I mean -- I can go down to Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, whatever. It just depends on what the vehicle -- as long as the numbers are correct, then we'll purchase that vehicle. Baringhaus: And there will be no auction activity done at this location? Pearson: No. Baringhaus: Okay. Pearson: Ninety percent of our auctions -- the sales are done at the Manheim and Carlton. Baringhaus: Okay. I'm familiar with it. There's no test drive activity done at the facility? Pearson: No. Baringhaus: Okay. Thank you. Henzi: Any other questions? Coppola: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Mr. Coppola. Coppola: Why --why indoor storage? Why not just --you know --get a lot somewhere? Pearson: We've learned from the location on Eight Mile that we have right now, it's an indoor location also, the -- our -- our risk of parts being missing on vehicles is a lot less when the vehicles are inside versus outside. So for security purposes, it' s a lot better for us to have the vehicles inside. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 41 of 47 August 16, 2016 Henzi: Any other questions? Baringhaus: Mr. Chairman. Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. Baringhaus: Will the facility be redesigned to accommodate your business. Will you be installing lifts, repair equipment, things like that? Pearson: No. No. Actually the building is absolutely perfect for what we're trying to do. There's no redesign. The only thing -- the only requirement that we'll have is to be able to one little sign that's on -- like the third page -- whatever -- there's a sign -- there was a sign there where it says Summit Auto Sale. Now there is one change on this. We're going to eliminate the sale part from our name, and just keep Summit Auto and my mountain because I like my mountain. So we're going to eliminate the sale part. So the sign will just say Summit Auto. It won't say Summit Auto Sale. Baringhaus: There will be no vehicle consignments from this location? Pearson: No. Baringhaus: Okay. The types of vehicles that you plan on wholesaling, are they just more traditional used vehicles? They're not specialty vehicles, exotics, things like that? Pearson: No. They're just regular domestic Ford -- Baringhaus: Run of the mill used vehicles? Pearson: Exactly. Baringhaus: Okay. Great. Thank you. Henzi: Any other questions? Fisher: Mr. Chair, can I ask one? Henzi: Mr. Fisher. Fisher: Are wrecked or damaged cars involved in this at all? Pearson: Are wrecked or damaged cars involved? Fisher: Right? Pearson: You mean salvage cars? City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 42 of 47 August 16, 2016 Fisher: Yeah. Pearson: No. We don't deal with any salvage cars. Fisher: Do cars coming onto your property come on looking wrecked or damaged? Pearson: The vehicle -- well -- the vehicles that we buy -- now let me go back. There are a couple of vehicles that we buy that have damage to them, unbeknownst to us because they don't show those particular pictures when we're buying these cars online. So I can't sit here and tell you no, there's not going to be a car that comes in that doesn't have a busted fender or something like that. But the vehicles that we buy, no, we don't buy vehicles that are busted. The ones that we usually buy, again, are the ones we buy directly from -- from trades. The ones that we buy are that are either repossessed vehicles or leased turn ins. Those are the ones we usually buy. Fisher: Okay. And you're not going to store any of these outdoors, if I understand you correctly? Pearson: No. There will be no vehicles stored outdoors Fisher: Your picture shows this window outlining. You realize that's not permitted here, right? Pearson: Where you at? Oh, no -- no -- no. This was just to show you our current location. When I talked to the gentleman, he said show pictures of the current location. So no, we're not going to have any lights. Those are going to stay with the building that's there right now. Fisher: Okay. Thank you. Henzi: Mr. Pearson, maybe one more. If we made a condition that you can't have retail sales, does that impinge on your license? Pearson: Not at all. Not at all. We can still keep the -- having the retail license doesn't mean I actually have to sell retail. So I can never sell another retail car. So you put that on as a condition, no that wouldn't impede us at all. Henzi: Okay. Any other questions? Hearing none, is there anyone in the audience who wants to speak for or against the project. If so, come on up. Seeing no one come forward, can you read the letters? Stevens: Keith -- Henzi: I'm sorry. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 43 of 47 August 16, 2016 Stevens: That's all right. I was here because I thought they were going to sell to the public. I own a business next to him, but if they don't -- I don't have a problem. Henzi: Your name and address please. Stevens: Keith Stevens. I own the building at 12193 Levan. I was just worried about retail sales to the public. And if that's not the case, then I don't have a problem with what he wants to do. Henzi: Thank you. Freund: The name is Sherman Freund. I represent the Gold Family as the realtor involved. This is the third building that we have put in this type of facility. One in Wixom. There's another one we did in Redford. Nothing outside. Everything inside. And I just want to point out that the lease -- that you asked whether he had a lease. It is pending subject to this, but the lease specifically says only wholesale, only inside storage. And if you know the property, there is a big yard in the back. There's nothing that is going to be out there that's related to this business at all. Henzi: Mr. Freund, can you tell us a little bit about how long the property's been vacant, whether you've had trouble trying to lease it to other users? Freund: I can tell you that right now two-thirds of the building is currently under a lease to yard steel. They have a lease that is coming up, whether they're going to stay or not, I can't answer that. We just took on the listing probably two and a half months ago. Prior to that, I believe the building was vacant for maybe another four months prior to that. So relatively speaking, I'd like to say that we do a better job than the other guy. Henzi: Thanks. Okay, and there's no letters. So, Mr. Pearson, anything you want to say in closing? Pearson: No. Just thank you guys for allowing us to come out here and state our case, and hopefully you agree with us, and allow to come to the wonderful city of Livonia. Henzi: Thank you. Pearson: And make my commute 15 minutes. Henzi: I'll close the public portion of the case and begin the Board's comment with Mr. Neville. Neville: I believe that the Petition was very explained, very well presented. He answered all the questions that Mr. Baringhaus and Mr. Fisher had get answers to. I see no reason -- I can think of no reason to deny the petition not being supported. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 44 of 47 August 16, 2016 Henzi: Mr. Coppola. Coppola: I, too, am in support. I think there's no issues with the business. I think, generally, without the issue of the license, he probably could have gone in there. Anyway, again, any approval though I would want it to be stipulated on no outside storage, and no retail sales, and no repairs. Henzi: Mr. Klisz. Klisz: Those were my exact points. So you stole my thunder. But beyond that, I agree. I'm glad you guys have chosen the city. We welcome you. I think the concept's good. You explained every -- every worry we may have had, including someone that comes in and was worried about retail sales. That's not what you do. I'm in support. Henzi: Mr. Baringhaus. Baringhaus: I agree. I think the plan was very, both, well thought out and very explained. I think the Petitioner did a very good job of answering our questions. Regarding the variance itself, I have no objections to it. I'll support. Henzi: Mr. Schepis. Schepis: Yeah, I agree. I don't have any objection, and I'll support this. Henzi: 1, too, will support it. I mean -- in my opinion, you are using the space for exactly what's intended to do. It is a blank canvas as it were, and you're going to marshal vehicles for a short period of time. To deny it would be unfair. I think you did a great job. I like the conditions. Basically, I would like to rely on all of the representations that were made tonight as being binding. So floor's open for motion. Coppola: I guess it's my turn. Upon Motion by Coppola and supported by Klisz, it was RESOLVED: APPEAL CASE NO. 2016-08-60: An appeal has been made to the Zoning Board of Appeals by Gold Family Limited Partnership, 30774 Woodstream Court, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, on behalf of Lessee Summit Auto Sales, 7047 East Eight Mile, Warren, MI 48091, seeking to operate wholesale used car sales from a building zoned Industrial, which is not allowed. All proposed vehicles on this property will be stored within the building. City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 45 of 47 August 16, 2016 The property is located on the west side of Levan (12119), between Plymouth and Commerce, Lot. No. 115-03-0016-000, M-1 Zoning District. Rejected by the Inspection Department under Ordinance 543, Section 16.03(a),(b), "Uses Prohibited," be granted for the following reasons and findings of fact: 1. The uniqueness requirement is met because the only issue is the license of the lessee and based on their business plan, that would not be an issue. 2. Denial of the variance would have severe consequences for the Petitioner because they wouldn't be able to execute their business plan as presented in the city of Livonia. 3. The variance is fair in light of its effect on neighboring properties and in the spirit of the Zoning Ordinance because it is a commercial business and this is commercial property. 4. The Board received zero letters of approval and zero objection letters from neighboring property owners. 5. The property is classified as " Industrial" in the Master Plan and the proposed variance is not inconsistent with that classification. FURTHER, This variance is granted with the following conditions: 1. No outside storage on the property. 2. No retail sales on the property. 3. No repairs to occur at the facility. 4. The Petitioner is bound by the other representations made to the Board about the nature of the business. AYES: Coppola, Klisz, Neville, Schepis, Henzi, Baringhaus NAYS: None ABSENT: Pastor City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 46 of 47 August 16, 2016 Henzi: Variance is granted with those four conditions. No outdoor storage, no repairs, no retail sales, i.e. only wholesale activity, and then we -- you are bound about the other representations made tonight about the nature of the business. Pearson: Okay. Henzi: Good luck. Pearson: Thank you very much. Neville: Mr. Chair. Henzi: Yeah. Is there a motion for the June 28th? Neville: I make a motion to approve the Minutes from June 28th. Henzi: Motion by Mr. Neville. Supported my Mr. Schepis. All in favor say aye. Board Members: Aye. Coppola: Mr. Chair, I move to adjourn. Neville: Second. Henzi: Moved and supported by Mr. Neville. All in favor say aye. Board Members: Aye. Henzi: We're adjourned. There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:43 p.m. Matt Henzi, Chairman James M. Baringhaus, Secretary /ban City of Livonia, Zoning Board of Appeals Page 47 of 47 August 16, 2016