HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2017-09-05 MINUTES OF THE 1,110th PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
On Tuesday, September 5, 2017, the City Planning Commission of the City of
Livonia held its 1,110th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting in the Livonia City
Hall, 33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan.
Mr. Ian Wilshaw, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Members present: Sam Caramagno Glen Long Betsy McCue
Carol Smiley Kevin Priddy Peter Ventura
Ian Wilshaw
Members absent: None
Mr. Mark Taormina, Planning Director, was also present.
Chairman Wilshaw informed the audience that if a petition on tonight's agenda
involves a rezoning request, this Commission makes a recommendation to the City
Council who, in turn, will hold its own public hearing and make the final
determination as to whether a petition is approved or denied. The Planning
Commission holds the only public hearing on a request for preliminary plat and/or
vacating petition. The Commission's recommendation is forwarded to the City
Council for the final determination as to whether a plat is accepted or rejected. If a
petition requesting a waiver of use or site plan approval is denied tonight, the
petitioner has ten days in which to appeal the decision, in writing, to the City
Council. Resolutions adopted by the City Planning Commission become effective
seven (7) days after the date of adoption. The Planning Commission and the
professional staff have reviewed each of these petitions upon their filing. The staff
has furnished the Commission with both approving and denying resolutions, which
the Commission may, or may not, use depending on the outcome of the
proceedings tonight.
ITEM #1 PETITION 2017-08-02-09 S.Y.B. ENTERPRISES
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2017-
08-02-09 submitted by S.Y.B. Enterprises, Inc. requesting
approval of all plans required by Section 11.03(a) of the City of
Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with
a proposal to construct a gas station at 27430 Seven Mile Road,
located on the northwest corner of Seven Mile and Inkster Roads
in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 1.
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Mr. Taormina: This is a request to construct a new gas station at the northwest
corner of Seven Mile and Inkster Roads. This is a rectangular
parcel that measures about 16,790 square feet or .38 acres. It
includes 163 feet of frontage along Seven Mile Road and roughly
103 feet on Inkster Road. The site is currently in the process of
being reasoned from C-1, Local Business, to C-2, General
Business. City Council gave First Reading on the rezoning in
December, 2016. Final approval of the rezoning is on hold
pending the Planning Commission's review and recommendation
on the waiver use and site plan. Gas stations are not allowed in
C-1 zoning districts, but are allowed in C-2 zones subject to
waiver use approval. This site previously contained a Clark gas
station that was considered a nonconforming use. In 2009, the
gas station was demolished and the site has been vacant ever
since. To the north of this property are residential homes. To the
west are commercial businesses zoned C-1 and C-2, similar to
the property in question. To the south across Seven Mile Road is
a 7-11 store zoned commercial, and across Inkster Road is
Redford Township. The proposed gas station would be one story
in height and roughly 2,490 square feet in size. The building is
positioned near the property's rear or north lot line, about 60 feet
from Inkster Road and 63 feet from Seven Mile Road. The
setbacks would conform to the zoning ordinance as a minimum
of 60 feet is required from any right-of-way. From the west lot line,
the building would be about 20 feet away, which is also
conforming; however, along the north side of the property where
it abuts existing residential zoning, the plan shows a building
setback of only 10 feet, and the minimum here is 20 feet. So this
will require a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. One of
the special requirements of the zoning ordinance as it applies to
gas stations specifies that no gasoline station shall be erected
within 400 feet of any residential district unless waived by the
written consent of 65 percent or more of the owners of the
residential properties within such radius. So there are exactly 36
residential properties that lie within 400 feet of the subject gas
station, which requires the written consent of no less than 24 of
the owners of those properties. If the petitioner fails to get the
approvals, then the only way this petition can be approved is if
the City Council waives this special requirement, which it can do
by a supermajority vote pursuant to Section 19.06 of the Zoning
Ordinance. The floor plan of the proposed station shows how it
would be laid out. It includes a large retail display area, point of
sale or cashier counter, an office and storage room, and a unisex
bathroom. The building would be constructed primarily of brick as
well as smooth faced stone, and E.I.F.S. which is along the upper
part of the building. You may recall from the plans we viewed at
the study session that scored block was shown along the back of
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the building. The latest plans show that the block material has
been replaced with the same brick that will be on the sides and
along the front of the building. Overall the height would be 17.5
feet. The tower element, which is over the main entrance, would
extend to a height to roughly 21 feet. The fueling center would
have four covered pump islands. The overhead canopy would
measure roughly 24 feet by 92 feet and have a maximum height
of 18 feet. The proposed canopy would be about 20 feet from the
right-of-way of Seven Mile Road and 31 feet from the right-of-way
of Inkster Road, which conforms to the ordinance as well. In terms
of parking, one space is required for every 150 square feet of
useable retail space plus one space for each employee. This
station, based on those numbers, will require nine parking
spaces. The site plan shows eight; thus, it will require a variance
from the Zoning Board of Appeals for having a deficiency of one
parking space. A trash dumpster is located along the site's west
property line. This is adjacent to the southwest corner of the
building within the containment area that would consist of brick
patterned walls on three sides of the enclosure, and the gates
would face east toward Inkster Road. Access to the site would be
provided via three driveways, one on Inkster and two on Seven
Mile. They would remain generally as they are today; however,
there would be some slight geometric changes to those drive
approaches closest to the intersection in order to comply with the
minimum 25 foot separation requirement. The revised
landscaping plan shows that 18 percent of the total site would be
landscaped. This is an increase from the plan that was reviewed
at the study meeting. The west side of the building where asphalt
was originally shown will now be grass with plantings of four silver
fir evergreen trees. The plan shows a variety of other plant
materials and shrubs including some snowdrift crabapples along
the street frontages. It is our recommendation that those trees be
replaced with full-size deciduous trees. Along the north side of
the property, the ordinance will require a five to seven-foot high
masonry screen wall where the property abuts the two residential
homes. The plan does show a new six-foot high masonry screen
wall along the north property line which will be reviewed by our
Inspection Department for compliance with all codes and
ordinances. Lastly, with respect to signage, gas stations are
allowed one ground sign not to exceed 40 square feet in area, 12
feet in height, and at least five feet from any adjacent right-of-way
lines. Gas stations are also entitled to a certain amount of wall
signage in the form of either canopy signage or on the side of the
building totaling 100 square feet. The plans do not indicate any
type of wall signage; however, they are showing a 40 square foot
monument sign right at the intersection of Inkster and Seven Mile
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Roads. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental
correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please.
Mr. Taormina: There are six items of correspondence. The first item is from the
Engineering Division, dated August 17, 2017, which reads as
follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering
Division has reviewed the above referenced petition. The legal
description included with the petition appears to be correct and
should be used in association with this petition. The existing
property is assigned the address of 27430 Seven Mile Road. We
have no objections to the proposed project at this time, although
no engineering or utility information was included with the
submitted drawings, so we cannot comment on impacts to the
existing systems. The parcel is currently serviced by City of
Livonia water main and sanitary sewers. Existing services that
are to be used for the new construction will need to be televised
prior to any connections to ensure that they suitable for use.
Storm sewer is available to the parcel, but it is under the
jurisdiction of Wayne County. The owner will need to obtain
permits from the County for storm sewer connections and storm
water detention that will be required under the site development
guidelines. The owner will also need to obtain permits from
Wayne County for any work within the right-of-way, including the
removing and/or replacing of driveway approaches."The letter is
signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The
second letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated
August 22, 2017, which reads as follows: "This office has
reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request to
construct a gas station on property located at the above
referenced address. We have no objections to this proposal."The
letter is signed by Keith Bo, Fire Marshal. The third letter is from
the Division of Police, dated August 16, 2017, which reads as
follows: "I have reviewed the plans in connection with the
petitions. My only objection to the proposal is that there needs to
be a 'no left turn' sign at both entry/exits on Seven Mile." The
letter is signed by Brian Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The
fourth letter is from the Inspection Department, dated August 29,
2017, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the
above referenced Petition has been reviewed. (1) The proposed
number of parking spaces is deficient. A variance from the Zoning
Board of Appeals would be required to maintain this deficiency.
(2) Written consent from a minimum of sixty-five percent of the
residents within the 400 feet radius is required. (3) Free air shall
be provided at all times this station is open for business. The free
air shall be dispensed at the point of service without having to
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enter the station or the performance of any extra action in order
to obtain the air without charge. (4) The rear yard (north) has a
deficient setback of 10 feet. A variance from the Zoning Board of
Appeals would be required to maintain the deficient setback. (5)
This review was based on the property being rezoned from C-1
to C-2. This Department has no further objections to this petition."
The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of Inspection. The
fifth letter is from the Treasurer's Department, dated August 15,
2017, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request,
the Treasurer's Office has reviewed the address connected with
the above noted petition. At this time, there are no outstanding
amounts receivable for taxes. Therefore, I have no objections to
the proposal." The letter is signed by Lynda Scheel, Treasurer.
The sixth letter is from the Finance Department, dated August 17,
2017, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the addresses
connected with the above noted petition. As there are no
outstanding amounts receivable, general or water and sewer, I
have no objections to the proposal."The letter is signed by Coline
Coleman, Chief Accountant. That is the extent of the
correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director?
Mr. Priddy: Mark, the plans that were in our packet, they are dated August
and the news ones are dated September 3. Are the only changes
on these plans just the addition of the greenspace next to the
building?
Mr. Taormina: There is the addition of the greenspace and maybe some other
landscaping alterations. The change to the elevation that I
mentioned include the scored block being eliminated and
replaced with brick. Additional information in the form of the
previous plan where the old Clark gas station used to be located
on the property and that's the only thing that's coming to my mind.
The petitioner is here and he might be able to add some further
items when it's his turn to speak.
Mr. Priddy: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is the petitioner here this evening? We will need your name and
address for the record please.
Ziad El-Baba, S.Y.B. Enterprises, Inc., 674 Gauthier, Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada
N8N 3P8. I'm the engineer presenting the project. We did submit
new plans with some changes made from the preliminary meeting
that we had last week. And also we submitted additional
information. We are aware of the 65 percent required. We are
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working on it, and also as Mr. Mark mentioned, we may ask
Council to waive that, but we are working on this item. The plans
as submitted, there are some changes to them from the meeting.
We have raised the building a little bit higher so we can have
more protection for any rooftop unit. Also, at least 3.5 feet to
obstruct any units from viewing. We did also revise the back to
brick to match all four sides. We did increase landscaping.
Actually, we did send a little color showing all the landscaped
areas which is showing on the west side as being the green area.
I have some copies. We were close to 15 percent. Now we're
about 18.3 percent. In addition, as far as public utilities, we are
coming for a new 2-inch water line, 2-inch gas line. Sanitary, a
new one. If they can find the old ones, we'll put a camera through
and see if they are adequate for the sanitary. That would be great.
Otherwise, we are proposing, because the sanitary sewer is on
the north side along the property line, which is very close to our
proximity. We are aware of the Wayne County ordinance, the
underground storage, the treatment center, all that. We are aware
of all this and, of course, when we submit to Engineering, this is
part of the approval process, permitting process I should say. The
revised plan does show that we called for two, on both
approaches on Seven Mile, for no left turns. We did include that
on the revised plan. We do realize the concept. There's a double
yellow line along Seven Mile. Even if they make a left, they can't
make a left. We understand that concept so just to make
everybody aware, leaving the gas station, just to give them some
heads up, we did include the two "no left turns" on both
approaches. Actually, we did receive a comment that we have to
provide free air for the customers. We will do that. It will be on the
revised plans. I'm just going through the notes that we have
picked up from this meeting. And also, we are aware that we need
nine parking spaces. We have eight. If you look at the site plan,
the approach on Inkster, as you come into the right hand side, we
could fit a parking space and we thought, you know, let's leave it
out. Otherwise, we will include that or maybe we'll ask for a
variance. We did not want to congest the site. We don't want to
add just because we needed it, and actually, as mentioned, we
did provide landscaping and, as I mentioned, the owner and
ourselves are working on the 65 percent feedback from the
neighbors.
Mr. Wilshaw: All right. Thank you, Mr. El-Baba. Does anybody have any
questions for the petitioner?
Ms. Smiley: Did you say you were going to alter these approaches so that
they could not turn left?
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Mr. El-Baba: Whenever we do the approaches, we had to move the
approaches so we can be within the ordinance. They have to be
a certain distance from the intersection and also the one on the
west side is really right to the west side, so we are revising them,
but we still have in that note "no left turn," regardless.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Caramagno: When I was over there looking the other day, I noticed the bushes
and the chain link fence to the north, and then there seems to be
a piece of land there between that chain link fence and then the
residential fence. Is that the vacated alley?
Mr. El-Baba: That is the vacated alley.
Mr. Caramagno: And you own all the way to the brown fence of the residential
property?
Mr. El-Baba: Yes. We do.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Ventura: I note that on the plan it says a new six-foot high fence wall. Can
you give us details about how that will be built, what it will be
made out of, and the color it will be and so forth?
Mr. El-Baba: I work for a precast company too. I am their independent
engineer. What we do when we have a case like this, there is a
sanitary line running right in the center of the alley. When we put
this fence, the fence is going to be above it. But the sanitary is
about 17-18 feet, 11 feet deep. So what we do so we don't put
too much impact, we put posts every eight feet or so and there
are panels in between. So physically, if in the future they have to
come back and dig up this alley to fix . . .
Mr. Ventura: So you're building the fence on top of the easement?
Mr. El-Baba: Yes, at the property line. So it's a double brick, concrete, so it's
easy to take the panels off, they take the post off, and they can
replace the footing. So it's less damaging. If you put a continuous
footing, a continuous wall, the whole thing you have to replace.
So that's sometimes what we do. The line is actually, for the first
half coming from Seven Mile, is on an angle. So we're kind of
missing it a little bit and then we go into the line. The line is
running north also. Actually, about half way and we start catching
it and then two thirds of the manhole and the line also keeps going
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north. You can see it on the existing site plan on the left hand
side.
Mr. Ventura: I'm not clear on what the fence is made out of.
Mr. El-Baba: It's concrete, but there's a brick pattern. They made a brick
pattern.
Mr. Ventura: It's cast to look like brick.
Mr. El-Baba: Yes. Both sides look like a brick pattern.
Mr. Ventura: It is brick color or is it concrete color?
Mr. El-Baba: At your request, we can do that. We can color it because they mix
the colors within the concrete and it comes out that color.
Mr. Ventura: Thank you.
Mr. Long: So this is a rather small site, a tight site, and I understand that the
fuel will be delivered between midnight and 4:00 a.m. and the
trash will be picked up at that time as well. Is that standard
procedure and are there any noise concerns with that for the
neighbors?
Mr. El-Baba: Everybody is familiar with the garbage trucks that come in at 4,
5, 6 in the morning. They come it and they pick up and they leave.
They want to leave immediately. They don't want to stick around.
Same thing with the fuel trucks. Actually, lately, a lot of
companies, they don't send a big one anymore. They send a 45-
foot long truck. It's easier for them to maneuver. Actually, the
owner does own the fuel supply companies too. Like I mentioned
before, if it comes in the daytime, there's something wrong. So
they don't like to do that.
Mr. Long: Will they just pick up the trash once a week or is it more often that
that? How often is the pickup?
Mr. El-Baba: It is a retail but it's not, you know, like a liquor store. It's not a
Kroger. So there's a minimum trash pickup. Usually what they do,
the boxes and the cans they recycle them so you don't see this
stuff so it's very minimum, honestly, trash pickup. But they do
have it timely regardless because you don't want to keep odors
in dumpsters so they have to go every two, three days and pick it
up. Whatever their system is.
Mr. Long: Thank you.
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Ms. Smiley: I see your lights on there. They're 18 feet tall?
Mr. El-Baba: Well, we can go up to 20 feet, but we are under, like 18 feet.
Sometimes we do them 15. That's standard lights.
Ms. Smiley: Where are they on this picture?
Mr. El-Baba: The light pole or the canopy?
Ms. Smiley: The light pole.
Mr. El-Baba: Well, usually we have one on each entrance.
Ms. Smiley: One on each entrance.
Mr. El-Baba: Yeah, that's all we do because the rest of the property is occupied
by the lights from the canopy.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. El-Baba: But we don't want to shield lights into the neighbors. That's the
whole concept. We don't want to glare the area.
Ms. Smiley: Good. And do you know what your hours of operation will be?
Mr. El-Baba: I'm sorry. Is that 24 hours? 24 hours.
Ms. Smiley: And do you how many people are going to be working, just from
a safety factor. Is there just one person there? One or two? And
do you have that protective glass on the inside?
Ricky Hammoud, 850 North Denwood, Dearborn. I'm sorry. What was the
question, again?
Ms. Smiley: You were going to tell me how the security inside the building
works.
Mr. Hammoud: Oh, yeah. If the area requires it, we will have the glass. We have
another location in Flat Rock. We don't have glass because it's a
nicer area. So if the area requires it, I guess we could have it. I
mean, we'd like to not have it but if it needs it, it needs it.
Ms. Smiley: From a security point, you don't feel you need it?
Mr. Hammoud: I don't know. It depends on the area.
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Mr. El-Baba: Not at this point.
Mr. Hammoud: At this point, no.
Ms. Smiley: Well, you are in a nice area. You're in Livonia.
Mr. Hammoud: If it doesn't require it, we don't like having the thing because we
feel like it's more like a personal thing with the customer when
there's no glass there. I don't like going to gas stations that have
glass. So I don't like putting the glass for the same reason. I've
had customers tell me a lot of times they come to my other
location because of that reason and we like to keep it that way.
Ms. Smiley: Thank you. And could you write your name and address down?
Is there a paper there for you to write your name and address
down?
Mr. Hammoud: I just have this paper.
Ms. Smiley: Oh, no. I thought there was one at the podium for Margie.
Mr. Wilshaw: Ricky, can we just get your last name? We'll get it in the record.
What's your last name?
Mr. Hammoud: Hammoud.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Thank you. Are there any other questions?
Mr. Caramagno: Ricky, where is your other station at?
Mr. Hammoud: Flat Rock.
Mr. Caramagno: So quite a ways.
Mr. Hammoud: Yeah.
Mr. Caramagno: How long have you had that station?
Mr. Hammoud: It's my dad's. He built it in '97.
Mr. Caramagno: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Anything else for the petitioner? Is there anybody in the audience
that wishes to speak for or against this item? Ma'am, you can
come forward. Again, we'll ask for your name and address as well
for our records.
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Kimberlee Cwiek, 19137 Rensellor, Livonia, Michigan. I'm one of the 63 or 65
residents. My husband is with me also.
Mr. Wilshaw: And what's your address?
Ms. Cwiek: 19137 Rensellor.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Thank you.
Ms. Cwiek: And my first one is, I'd like to say, yes, I do believe that it should
not be waived. I think the homeowners should be involved in this
decision. So, I've a couple of things just to point out. First of all, I
just want to let you know, anything that's built in this spot is
favored in our community because it has been abandoned since
you guys took down the Clark station. So you know, we're seeing
positive changes. The new owner with the strip mall and him
making the changes. So, yes, you know, something there would
be better than continuing with a vacant lot. So I just want to let
you know a lot of the homeowners feel that same way. But okay,
so my first other thing is, what was wrong with Clark that is not
wrong with having this gas station here? You talked about a C-1,
a C-2 and a C-3. I have no clue what you're talking about. I'd like
to know what is the difference. What makes this gas station able
to be built there and Clark was taken out?
Mr. Wilshaw: To answer your question, I can't speak to the rationale as to why
the Clark station was closed down and subsequently removed by
that property owner. That's entirely their choice in their business
model as to do what they wanted to do. The current owner of the
property and their plans are before us today to build this new gas
station. So that's what we're concerned about and that's what
we're looking at. As far as the C-1, C-2, those are referencing
different types of zoning. They are all commercial zoning but C-1
gives certain restrictions as to what types of businesses can be
put on that type of property. C-2 allows less restrictions. In the
case of gas stations, they typically would go into a C-2. Is that
correct, Mr. Taormina?
Mr. Taormina: Correct.
Mr. Wilshaw: We have already rezoned the property. We have reviewed the
property for rezoning. We've recommended approval for that
rezoning. That's gone to City Council. The City Council has
started the process of approving the rezoning, but what they
typically like to do is they like to wait until they actually see a site
plan for what the property is going to be used for, which is what
we're doing today. If this goes to City Council, then the City
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Council will look at the site plan and probably move to approve
the rezoning and the site plan together.
Ms. Cwiek: Okay. So I'll be traveling that area every day. Sometimes more
than twice. You're going to be allowing a left turn onto Inkster
Road out of the gas station. You do realize it comes from five
lanes on Inkster up to Seven Mile and then once it crosses Seven
Mile, it comes to two lanes. So we already have a major backup
there. If you're going to allow people to turn left, it's going to be
near impossible. It's going to take us at least several lights to be
able to get out, for those people to come out of the gas station
and turn left into one lane coming south, one lane going north,
and then they're going to go and block traffic. There's a turning
lane actually, but I can just foresee that there's got to be some
give to opening possibly that up for these customers. I mean
when you start restricting where these customers are going to
turn and I'm going to tell you they're still going to turn left out of
that gas station whether you have a sign up there or not. It is
going to happen. I am concerned about the 24 hours being open.
I live there. I can honestly tell you we are an old city group there.
These sidewalks roll up. I'm probably telling you like 9:00 or 10:00
at night. I don't see a lot of traffic. I know the gas station that's
currently there, you don't see a lot of traffic. They close down. I
just don't really see a use for 24 hours. I'm all about the free air.
I walk my bike. I have to pay a dollar for air and I don't mind having
the free air. My other concern is, it really necessary to have that
much retail space when you have a gas station across the street?
Yeah, now it's Redford and we want to promote Livonia, but you
have 7-11 across there too. Is it really necessary to have that
much retail space. If you remember Clark, Clark was like a shed.
I can understand you want to do more because what you sell
inside is going to make you have a bigger profit margin than what
you sell on the outside. My concern is the lighting. Are these lights
going to be higher than Hungry Howie's because that means
those lights, the canopies or whatever, are going to be shining
right into my living room. Yeah, my utility bill, I'm sure, will go way
low because I won't have to turn lights on, but if I fall sleep on the
couch, I don't want to be thinking that its daylight when I'm waking
up in the middle of the night. So do you know how high this 18
foot canopy is compared to high how Hungry Howie's is?
Mr. Wilshaw: I'm not sure how high Hungry Howie's is, but what we do, ma'am,
is we always require that any lighting that's put in be shielded so
that it stays on the property and doesn't stray into the adjacent
property such as your property. And that's a very typical thing that
we have anytime that we approve lighting in resolutions. We want
the petitioners to make sure they keep the light on their own
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property. So they will be box lights with shields that direct that
light. And now with LED lighting, which they're probably going to
be using, that's even more directional and easier to control where
that light goes.
Ms. Cwiek: Okay. At this point, I would say that it's not necessary to have the
protective glass. 7-11 doesn't and, yeah, I just think that by
starting that way, it just gives the wrong impression that maybe
they're anticipating . . . . I understand what you were talking
about.
Ms. Smiley: I was just asking what he was doing for security reasons.
Ms. Cwiek: Yeah. Well, we have a strong presence of police officers so I think
it would be fine. Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anyone else in the audience wishing to speak for or
against? Sir, come on up. We'll also ask for your name and
address.
Charles Cwiek, 19137 Rensellor, Livonia, Michigan. I'm her husband. Just a couple
questions. Now with the old Clark, of course it was just a small
shed. There was plenty of room for maneuvering around the gas
pumps. The new plans call for a larger unit on the same property.
Is that typical of the size of that building typical for gas stations
on that size property to where it won't create a lot of traffic'?
Mr. Wilshaw: I would say, in general, yes. This building appears to be in
keeping with what we've seen on most gas station properties as
far as size. Of course, as you know, gas stations have changed
in later years from being service stations to retail stores. We hear
regularly from our petitioners that come before us that own gas
stations that really the money is made at the retail stores. The
selling of gas is basically at a neutral point. There is not a lot of
profit there. So it's important that they have at least adequate
retail to be profitable.
Mr. Cwiek: I understand that. I'm just looking at the size of the building
compared to what was there. I think Clark had more than four
} pumps. My next question, what my wife was saying about turning
left onto Inkster, I don't know what are the plans for being able to
turn left, because it is five lanes at that point, but it does go down
to two, Inkster Road.
Mr. Wilshaw: The recommendation that we received from our Traffic Bureau,
who looks at this, was to not allow left turns from the gas station
onto Seven Mile Road, so that would be eastbound onto Seven
September 5, 2017
28246
Mile, because they would have to cross over double yellow lines
right into a left turn lane at the intersection. Inkster Road, I
believe, does not have those restrictions. They didn't feel, based
on the design of the road, that there was a need to restrict left
turns there.
Mr. Cwiek: Okay, because in rush hour traffic, say 3:30 to maybe 6:00, traffic
is backed up probably three or four long blocks down Inkster
Road. It would be very difficult turning left out of there, but then
again, and I guess there is no way around this, but if you're no
left turn onto Seven Mile, you'll be turning right onto Seven Mile
and then everybody will be coming right down our street that
wants to go . . . and right now we have so much through traffic at
rush hour time. Because of Inkster being backed up, everybody
just cuts down our street going south. Now they're going to be
cutting down going north. So I call our street, Rensellor, Inkster
Road west. I mean it's to a point where if I get home at 4:00, I
have to wait to get out of my car door because there's so much
traffic coming down there. And that's my concern.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. do you have any other comments?
Mr. Cwiek: That's all.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir. I appreciate your comments. Sir, would you like
to come back up?
Mr. Hammoud: I just had a comment regarding this last thing about the left turn
onto Inkster. It would be smart for people to make that right or
how they want to make the left onto Seven Mile. Wouldn't it be
smart if they just made the right hand turn and took the turn lane
left? Because you said we're going to have the no left turn. He's
saying he doesn't want people to block his street. Wouldn't
people just do that?
Mr. Wilshaw: We can't control what drivers are going to do unfortunately, but
we can only do what we can for the driveways themselves to try
to discourage people from doing things that are illegal. Ultimately,
drivers are going to do what they choose to do and if it's
dangerous or illegal, that's going to be on them to deal with the
police.
Mr. El-Baba: I just wanted to add one observation.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, sir.
September 5, 2017
28247
Mr. El-Baba: The existing Clark station I think it was about 1,540 square feet.
We started with those drawings and we went to the site and we
called the owners and said, there is no building here. That's why
we're aware of that gas station.
Mr. Wilshaw: And the size of your current proposed store is 3,000 feet?
Mr. El-Baba: It's 2,490.
Mr. Wilshaw: It's 2,490. Okay. So you're going from 1,540 to 2,490.
Mr. El-Baba: It's close of 1,000 square feet more.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Is there any questions for the petitioner since he's back up
here? Okay. Thank you, sir. Anyone else in the audience wishing
to speak for or against? I don't see anyone else coming forward.
With that, I can safely close the public hearing and ask for a
motion.
On a motion by Smiley, seconded by Caramagno, and unanimously adopted, it
was
#09-48-2017 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on September 5, 2017, on
Petition 2017-08-02-09 submitted by S.Y.B. Enterprises, Inc.
requesting approval of all plans required by Section 11.03(a) of
the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in
connection with a proposal to construct a gas station at 27430
Seven Mile Road, located on the northwest corner of Seven Mile
and Inkster Roads in the Southeast '/4 of Section 1, which
property is in the process of being rezoned from C-1 to C-2, the
Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City
Council that Petition 2017-08-02-09 be approved, subject to the
following conditions:
1. That this approval is subject to the petitioner submitting
documentation to the Inspection Department indicating that
at least 65% of the residential neighbors within a 400-foot
radius of the subject property approve of the proposal,
unless this provision is waived by a supermajority vote of the
City Council pursuant to Section 19.06;
2. That the Site Plan marked Sheet SP-1, dated September 3,
2017, as revised, prepared by Ziad El-Baba Engineering, is
hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
September 5, 2017
28248
3. That all on-site parking shall be properly sized and marked,
including any barrier-free space(s) as may be required by
the State of Michigan;
4. That this approval is subject to the petitioner being granted
a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for deficient
parking and any conditions related thereto;
5. That this approval is subject to the petitioner being granted
a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for deficient
building setback and any conditions related thereto;
6. That the petition is subject to City Council waiving the
minimum lot size requirement;
7. For safety purposes, a "No Left Turn" sign shall be installed
at both of the site's driveways off Seven Mile Road, as
recommended in the Police Department's correspondence
dated August 16, 2017;
8. That the Landscape Plan marked Sheet SP-3, dated
September 3, 2017, as revised, prepared by Ziad El-Baba
Engineering., is hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
9. That all disturbed lawn areas, including road right-of-way,
shall be sodded in lieu of hydro-seeding;
10. That underground sprinklers are to be provided for all
landscaped and sodded areas, and all planted materials
shall be installed to the satisfaction of the Inspection
Department and thereafter permanently maintained in a
healthy condition;
11. That the Elevation Plan marked Sheets A-1, dated
September 3, 2017, as revised, prepared by Ziad El-Baba
Engineering, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to,
except that a burnished or smooth-faced block or brick shall
be substituted for any rough-faced or scored CMU shown on
the building;
{ 12. That the three walls of the trash dumpster area shall be
constructed out of the same brick used in the construction
of the building or in the event a poured wall is substituted,
the wall's design, texture and color shall match that of the
building. The enclosure gates shall be of solid panel steel
construction or durable, long-lasting solid panel fiberglass.
September 5, 2017
28249
The trash dumpster area shall be maintained and when not
in use closed always;
13. That all rooftop mechanical equipment shall be concealed
from public view on all sides by screening that shall be of a
compatible character, material and color to other exterior
materials on the building;
14. That the gas pump island canopy shall not exceed eighteen
feet (18') in height and its support columns shall be covered
with the same brick used in the construction of the building;
15. That any illumination of the pump island canopy shall be
restricted to the undercarriage, and all light fixtures shall be
recessed and made flush with the established ceiling;
provided, however, that this section shall not apply to those
specified signs which are expressly allowed by the district
regulations of the Zoning Ordinance;
16. That all light fixtures shall not exceed eighteen feet (18') in
height and shall be aimed and shielded to minimize stray
light trespassing across property lines and glaring into
adjacent roadway;
17. That the screen wall on the north side of the property be
colored the same as the brick on the building and all other
brick used around dumpster and the columns supporting the
canopy;
18. That this site shall meet either the City of Livonia or the
Wayne County Storm Water Management Ordinance,
whichever applies, and shall secure any required permits,
including soil erosion and sedimentation control permits
from either Wayne County or the City of Livonia;
19. No outside storage, placement or display of merchandise
shall be permitted at any time on this site; however, the
foregoing prohibition shall not apply to the display, on the
pump islands only, of oil based products as permitted in
Section 11.03(a)(12) of the Zoning Ordinance;
20. That free air shall be provided at times the station is open
for business. The free air shall be dispensed at the point of
service without having to enter the station or perform any
extra action to obtain the air without charge;
September 5, 2017
28250
21. That there shall be no vehicle vacuum equipment or outdoor
placement/storage of propane cylinder storage units on the
site;
22. That the sale of ice shall be restricted to the inside of the
building;
23. That only conforming signage is approved with this petition,
and any additional signage shall be separately submitted for
review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals;
24. That no part of the pump island canopy fascia, except for
signage, shall be illuminated;
25. That no LED lightband or exposed neon shall be permitted
on this site including, but not limited to, the pump island
canopy, building or around the windows;
26. That unless approved by the proper local authority, any type
of exterior advertising, such as promotional flags, streamers
or sponsor vehicles designed to attract the attention of
passing motorists, shall be prohibited;
27. That the specific plans referenced in this approving
resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department
at the time the building permits are applied for; and,
28. Pursuant to Section 19.10 of Ordinance #543, the Zoning
Ordinance of the City of Livonia, this approval is valid for a
period of ONE YEAR ONLY from the date of approval by
City Council, and unless a building permit is obtained, this
approval shall be null and void at the expiration of said
period.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 19.05 of
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Ventura: I'd like to ask Commissioner Smiley to amend her approving
resolution to include the specification that the screen wall on the
north side of the property be colored the same as the brick on the
building and all other brick used around dumpster and the
columns supporting the canopy.
Ms. Smiley: I so approve.
September 5, 2017
28251
Mr. Wilshaw: We'll make note of that change.
Mr. Taormina: A couple of suggestions. One was actually an omission on our
part included in the draft resolution and that is requiring that the
petition is subject to City Council waiving the minimum lot size
requirement. Secondly, limiting the light fixtures to a maximum
height of 18 feet. It is consistent with what he's showing on the
plan and there's no need to go to 20 feet as was indicated. He's
only illuminating the entranceways. The rest is going to be
handled by the flush-mounted canopy lights.
Ms. Smiley: That's fine with me. Sam?
Mr. Caramagno: Yes.
Mr. Wilshaw: The maker and the seconder support that. Are there any other
comments? Was there was desire to restrict when the dumpster
is serviced?
Ms. Smiley: When it's serviced?
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes. I don't know if there's any concern over early morning
dumpster service or not.
Ms. Smiley: You can add that on if you'd like to. What do you consider early
morning? The dumpster shall be emptied between the hours of .
Mr. Wilshaw: I would say 6:00 a.m. and later. I know in the past we've done this
for some.
Mr. Caramagno: We have an ordinance that doesn't allow before 7:00 a.m.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay.
Ms. Smiley: So it's already in there. Way to go.
Mr. Wilshaw: We won't have to worry about 4:00 a.m. dumpster service then.
Good. That covers everything I noted. Is there anything else?
Ms. Smiley: No. Only to add, I am a real fan of Livonia's finest and I wasn't in
any way trying to imply that he needed plexiglass or bullet-proof
glass or anything like that. I was just trying to see what kind of
safety precautions he's taking with the 24-hour service.
September 5, 2017
28252
Mr. Wilshaw: If there's no other comments on the motion, roll call would be in
order.
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
ITEM #2 PETITION 2017-07-01-04 ELIZABETH NACE
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2017-
07-01-04
submitted by Elizabeth Nace pursuant to Section 23.01
of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended,
requesting to rezone the property at 9039 Middlebelt Road,
located on the west side of Middlebelt Road between Joy Road
and Grandon Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 35, from OS
(Office Services)to R-1 (One Family Residential—60' x 120' lots).
Mr. Wilshaw: This item was tabled at our last regular meeting. Can I have a
motion to remove this item from the table?
On a motion by Smiley, seconded by Long, and unanimously adopted, it was
#09-49-2017 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on August 22, 2017, on Petition
2017-07-01-04 submitted by Elizabeth Nace pursuant to Section
23.01 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance#543, as amended,
requesting to rezone the property at 9039 Middlebelt Road,
located on the west side of Middlebelt Road between Joy Road
and Grandon Avenue in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 35, from OS
to R-1, the Planning Commission does hereby remove this item
from the table.
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
Mr. Wilshaw: We did already read out the description of the item at the public
hearing last week and correspondence. Is there anything new,
Mr. Taormina?
Mr. Taormina: There is nothing new to present at this time, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. With that, we will go the audience and see if the petitioner
is here or her representative.
Lina Sitto, 7925 Middlepointe St., Dearborn, Michigan 48126. I'm here on behalf
of Elizabeth Nace.
September 5, 2017
28253
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Is there anything that you would like to tell us at this
time?
Ms. Sitto: Yes. I have some notes here and I did not kill trees. So excuse
my device here.
Mr. Wilshaw: We try to do the same thing.
Ms. Sitto: Last week, obviously, Elizabeth nor myself were present because
there was a miscommunication and that's why I'm here now. Had
I known this would be televised, I would have cleaned up a little
bit. So, okay, do you already know what the plans are for the
property by the owner and her father? He specified here that you
would be asking questions as to whether they would be living in
it, selling it. She would be living in it. And then how bad the
damage might be. It is mostly isolated to smoke damage. And he
actually had the home inspected by an electrician. There's no
wiring damaged. The plumber also inspected, also said plumbing
looked to be in good condition but won't be able to pressure test
until the water is turned back on. There are several windows
broken but that was from the Fire Department making the
entrance into the home the night of the fire. Now I don't remember
the date. It was a very long time ago This has been vacant for
about eight, nine years now. So about approximately eight, nine
years ago when the fire happened, and they have an estimate of
$1,300 for the windows. All the windows need to be repaired.
We'll need some drywall work and utility room painting and then
some miscellaneous items. The total is going to be about $8,000
to $12,000 to pretty much make it look pretty again. So do you
have any questions for me or about the property? I mean, the
Rizzo's lived there. They raised their family there. It was a
beautiful home. They had even put a lot of money into a brand
new kitchen, and before they were able to enjoy their kitchen on
day one, there was a fire in the backroom only and so that's why
it's mostly smoke damage because it was just the backroom. It's
zoned office for office use only, I believe now, and somebody else
could live in this house one day and enjoy it and raise their family
there, as the Rizzo's did. So, you know, Elizabeth's father, Dan,
is actually a contractor. He's from Michigan but they live in
California and he'd like a house that they can came and stay in
when they're visiting in Michigan or where his other daughter,
who currently lives in Michigan, can also, you know, house sit
while they're in California or whatever, you know. Just a second
or third family home that in Michigan, and this one would make a
great house. It's just sitting there. If you've ever driven past it, it's
kind of an eyesore. It needs someone to give it some love
September 5, 2017
28254
obviously, and that's what they're prepared to do as long as it can
be zoned backed to residential.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Thank you. I'm sure we will have some questions for you.
Are there any questions for the petitioner?
Ms. Smiley: Could you please give your address for the record?
Ms. Sitto: Yeah. Is it okay to not say it like to whomever might be watching?
Can I write it down?
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes. That's fine.
Ms. Sitto: Here. Would you like it right now?
Ms. Smiley: Just before you leave.
Ms. Sitto: Okay. I would gladly do that for you. I'm from Royal Oak. I
currently live in Dearborn. I'm new there.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. You don't want them to know you're in Livonia? You're
fine. Obviously, you don't intend to live there.
Ms. Sitto: No.
Ms. Smiley: You just want to fix it up so that you can sell it?
Ms. Sitto: No, no. I'm actually here on behalf of Elizabeth who will be living
there when they're visiting Michigan, and when they're not, her
other sister might, like I said, stay there at times. I'm just here ...
I'm actually a creative real estate investor. I brought the Rizzo's
and the Nace's together. Okay? So that's where I was kind of
like the person that made this happen where the Rizzo's, they
were very busy people and they couldn't really do all this, right?
And they also wanted to be done with the property. It had been
vacant for eight years. Essentially, they were using it as their little
storage facility. It took them like two weeks to finally clean it out,
you know. I brought them together and they actually, via a quit
claim deed, is how the transaction was done. Because of the lack
of a Certificate of Occupancy, they couldn't do an actual closing
with a title company. So that's why the quit claim deed and luckily,
you know, Dan was open to that so he purchased it, and then you
know, he proceeded with trying to zone it back to residential.
Hence, my being here.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. So you're familiar with the property.
September 5, 2017
28255
Ms. Sitto: Very.
Ms. Smiley: And the neighborhood.
Ms. Sitto: Definitely. Yeah. Yep. It's just pretty much an eyesore right now.
I mean, they've done a little bit of work to it to clean it up, you
know, and you wouldn't believe just from cleaning it up how much
better it looks. I mean eight years of it just sitting there, no one
doing anything to it, you know. So he's already put some work
into it.
Ms. Smiley: And this drawing that's up there now/ That's the plan?
Ms. Sitto: Yeah. If that's what he presented to you, yep. Yeah. It looks about
right.
Ms. Smiley: You have to go back to the microphone. We can't hear you unless
you're at the microphone.
Ms. Sitto: Yeah, that looks like the place. I believe this side of it, if you're
like staring at the front door to the left of it, which would be south
of it, there's a little daycare. As a matter of fact, Derrick, the owner
of the daycare center, wanted to purchase the property at one
point and demolish the house and do something with it, he said.
He didn't know what, but he found out from Livonia that he could
not combine the two properties and make it one tax bill and if he
tried, it was not actually going to be guaranteed several months
later that it would be approved. So he decided it wasn't even
worth his time or money to purchase the property from the original
owners.
Ms. Smiley: Thank you.
Ms. Sitto: I know all kinds of things about this property.
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any other questions for the petitioner's representative?
Ms. McCue: I think you've clarified this already, but you said that they're
planning on living there when they're in town.
Ms. Sitto: Well, yeah, and then eventually Elizabeth is going to move to
Michigan.
Ms. McCue: They're not looking at renting the property?
Ms. Sitto: Oh no. Not at all. No, no. He's not into being an out-of-state
landlord.
September 5, 2017
28256
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any other questions?
Mr. Caramagno: The last time I was there, there looked to be an abandoned car in
the back on the south side of the property. Who owns that?
Ms. Sitto: That was one of the items that the Rizzo's were storing at the
house for the last eight years, and now everything is gone
because that was part of the agreement is that if Dan purchased
it from them, they take all of their stuff.\
Mr. Caramagno: So the car is gone now?
Ms. Sitto: Everything. It was a blue pickup. The light blue pickup?
Mr. Caramagno: No, red.
Ms. Sitto: Oh yeah. That wasn't even there the last time I went before they
had even removed the little light blue pickup. Everything is gone.
Mr. Caramagno: The vehicles are gone?
Ms. Sitto: Everything is The vehicles, all of the weird items that were
� 9 gone.
just, you know, all over the property.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. Good. Is there a plan to clean up the rest of the outside?
Ms. Sitto: Oh yeah.
Mr. Caramagno: The bushes. It looks a little crazy right now.
Ms. Sitto: Dan would like to spend a lot of money on this property. He's just
waiting to get the okays and proceed with the plans. I mean he
just wants to make it a nice property, and it would look really nice
and now it just doesn't. It looks better, but not, you know.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. Thanks.
Ms. Sitto: You're welcome.
Mr. Priddy: It sounds like you had estimates and everything from all the
different contractors. So once all these go through, are they ready
to proceed with work and what's the time frame on trying to get
in?
Ms. Sitto: Yeah. I mean, you know, I'm sure he won't spend too long on it.
It's just a matter of . . . because he has a couple people in
September 5, 2017
28257
Michigan that are waiting just for his okay to go on ahead with
some of the work and then he's a contractor himself, so he's not
going to have to pay any contractors, right? Which is why the
costs are under $17,000. And then not to mention, it really isn't
that bad. I mean if you went through it, you'd be like, wow. I mean
technically somebody could live in there right now if they had
some candles and you know an ice box.
Mr. Priddy: Well, hopefully, they won't need that in the future.
Mr. Wilshaw: Candles didn't work out so well last time. Okay. If there's no other
questions, there's no one else in the audience to speak on this
item. Thank you for coming and addressing this item for us.
Ms. Sitto: My pleasure.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there a motion?
On a motion by Ventura, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was
#09-50-2017 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on August 22, 2017, and
September 5, 2017, on Petition 2017-07-01-04 submitted by
Elizabeth Nace pursuant to Section 23.01 of the City of Livonia
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, requesting to rezone the
property at 9039 Middlebelt Road, located on the west side of
Middlebelt Road between Joy Road and Grandon Avenue in the
Southeast 1/4 of Section 35, from OS to R-1, the Planning
Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that
Petition 2017-07-01-04 be approved for the following reasons:
1. That the proposed change of zoning is compatible to and in
harmony with the surrounding land uses and zoning
districts in the area;
2. That the proposed change of zoning will provide for single
family residential development similar in density to what is
existing in the neighboring area; and
3. That the proposed change of zoning would provide for the
development of the subject property in a manner that is
appropriate with its size and location.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 23.05 of
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended.
September 5, 2017
28258
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
ITEM #3 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,109TH Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of
the Minutes of the 1,109th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting
held on August 22, 2017.
On a motion by Ventura, seconded by Long, and adopted, it was
#09-51-2017 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,109th Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on August 22,
2017, are hereby approved.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Ventura, Long, McCue, Smiley, Caramagno,
Wilshaw
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: Priddy
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously ado -., the 1,110th Public
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on September 5, 201 , as adjourned at 8:07
p.m.
CITY PL 'NING COMMISSION
Sam 11L magno, Secretary
ATTEST:
Ian Wilshaw, Chairman