HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2018-01-30 MINUTES OF THE 1,116th PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
On Tuesday, January 30, 2018, the City Planning Commission of the City of
Livonia held its 1,116th 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, and Ms. Margie Watson, Program
Supervisor, were 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 2017-12-02-16 HEALTH & FORTUNE
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2017-
12-02-16 submitted by The Health & Fortune, L.L.C. requesting
waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(u) of the City of
Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to operate a
massage establishment (Wu Xing Acupressure Massage) within
the Laurel Park Place Mall at 37700 Six Mile Road, Suite H640,
located on the northwest corner of Six Mile and Newburgh Roads
in the Southeast % of Section 7.
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Mr. Taormina: This is a request for a massage establishment within the Laurel
Park Place mall, located at the northwest corner of Six Mile and
Newburgh Roads. The zoning of the property is C-2, General
Business. Massage establishments are treated as a waiver use
pursuant to Section 11.03(u) of the Zoning Ordinance. It was in
2012 when the same petitioner received waiver use approval to
operate a massage establishment within Laurel Park Place. The
store was located at the north end of the main concourse near
Carson's Department Store. In 2015, the same petitioner, Wu
Xing, received approval to relocate its business to a different unit
inside the mall, and that location, which is where they are
currently operating, is near the Phoenix Theaters situated
between the parking structure and the office complex. Wu Xing,
the petitioner, is now requesting waiver use approval to operate
a second store within the mall. The new unit is in one of the side
corridors that is located off the main concourse between Carson's
and Von Mauer. The new tenant space, which is identified on the
plans as Unit H640, measures about 1,000 square feet and it
would be roughly 350 feet from the current massage
establishment. There is a special provision in the Zoning
Ordinance that requires no massage establishment to be located
within 400 feet of any other property which is either occupied or
approved for use as a massage establishment. As I indicated, the
current store is roughly 350 feet from the proposed location, so
this provision would be violated. However, this can be waived by
the City Council by means of a separate resolution in which two-
thirds of the members concur. Another requirement of the
ordinance is that no massage establishment be located within
400 feet of a school, church, state-licensed day care facility,
public library, playground, or public park. The new store would
not be located within 400 feet of any of these uses and therefore
complies with the special provision. Lastly, I'll just mention that to
limit the number of massage establishments in Laurel Park Place,
both resolutions approving the previous two locations, the one in
2012 and the one in 2015, specified that the petitioner enter into
a conditional agreement limiting the waiver use to Wu Xing only,
with the provision to extend the waiver use to a new user only
upon the approval by the City Council. By approving Wu Xing at
this location, we would offer a similar restriction that would limit
the use to Wu Xing only and could not be transferred to any other
party. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the
correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please.
Mr. Taormina: There are six items of correspondence. The first item is from the
Engineering Division, dated December 27, 2016, which reads as
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follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering
Division has reviewed the above referenced waiver use petition.
We have no objections to the proposed waiver use at this time.
The existing parcel is assigned an address of 37700 Six Mile
Road. All businesses within the mall property should use this
address along with the appropriate suite number. The legal
description provided with the petition appears to be correct and is
acceptable to this office. The existing building is currently
serviced by public utilities which should not be impacted by the
proposed waiver use, so no Engineering Department permits will
be required." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E.,
Assistant City Engineer. The second letter is from the Livonia Fire
& Rescue Division, dated January 11, 2018, which reads as
follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in
connection with a request to operate a massage establishment
within the Laurel Park Place Mall 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 January 12, 2018, which
reads as follows: I have reviewed the plans in connection with the
petition. I have no objections to the proposal."The letter is signed
by Brian Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The fourth letter is from
the Inspection Department, dated January 15, 2018, which reads
as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above-referenced
petition has been reviewed. 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 January 5, 2018, 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 December 28, 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. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Seeing none,
the petitioner, I believe, is out of town right now. Are you
representing the petitioner?
Dan Irvin, General Manager, CBL &Associates, 37700 W. Six Mile Road, Livonia,
Michigan 48152. Correct. Rick Wang sends his apologies but he
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28408
had a trip scheduled to China. So I'm happy to answer any
questions that you may have.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Irvin. Is there anything else that you wanted to
add to the presentation you've heard so far?
Mr. Irvin: This is a tenant that I started working with in 2008. Their lease
lapsed while I was managing Midland Mall. I was unable to
interfere with Leasing's decision to replace them with someone
else. As most of the City knows, that other replacement that we
brought in didn't work out well. This is a good tenant for Laurel
Park Place. Everything is on the up and up. We had very little
problem whatsoever overall as far as management. It's a blessing
that we got them to come back, and with your permission, we'd
like to keep them and retain them.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Thank you, sir. Is there any questions for the
representative of the petitioner?
Mr. Ventura: We understood at the study session when we talked to the
petitioner that that he's going to, if approved tonight, operate two
massage locations and now he's going to have a third location.
He's putting a food operation in. Is that true?
Mr. Irvin: That's correct. The d/b/a is Ah Ha Noodles. That's why he's in
China right now. He's finalizing the menu.
Mr. Ventura: Thank you.
Mr. Irvin: You're very welcome.
Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions? Seeing none, thank you, sir.
Mr. Irvin: Thank you for your consideration.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or
against this petition? No one else is coming forward. With that, a
motion would be in order.
On a motion by Smiley, seconded by Ventura, and unanimously adopted, it was
#01-01-2018 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on January 30, 2018, on
Petition 2017-12-02-16 submitted by The Health & Fortune,
L.L.C. requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section
11.03(u) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as
amended, to operate a massage establishment (Wu Xing
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Acupressure Massage) within the Laurel Park Place Mall at
37700 Six Mile Road, Suite H640, located on the northwest
corner of Six Mile and Newburgh Roads in the Southeast 1/4 of
Section 7, which property is zoned C-2, the Planning Commission
does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2017-
12-02-16 be approved subject to the following conditions:
1. That the use of a massage establishment at this location
shall be permitted only under the circumstances that the
Zoning Ordinance standard set forth in Section 11.03(u)(2)
requiring that no massage establishment shall be located
within four hundred feet (400') of any other property which
is either occupied or approved for a massage establishment
be waived by the City Council;
2. That this facility shall comply with all other special waiver
use standards and requirements pertaining to massage
establishments as set forth in Section 11.03(u) of the Zoning
Ordinance #543;
3. That this facility shall conform to the provisions set forth in
Chapter 5.49 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances pertaining
to massage establishments; and
4. The Petitioner shall not engage in any form of solicitation for
business within the public rights-of-way of Six Mile or
Newburgh Roads.
FURTHER, the Planning Commission recommends the approval
of a Conditional Agreement limiting this waiver use to this user
only, with the provision to extend this waiver use approval to a
new user only upon approval of the new user by the City Council.
FURTHER, the waiver use shall not take effect until the petitioner
and the owner of the underlying real estate surrender the waiver
use approval granted pursuant to Council Resolution #108-12 to
operate a massage establishment within Suite 385 of the Laurel
Park Place shopping and entertainment complex.
Subject to the preceding conditions, this petition is approved for
the following reasons:
1. That the subject site has the capacity to accommodate the
proposed use; and
2. That the proposed use is compatible to and in harmony with
the surrounding uses in the area.
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28410
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, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving
recommendation.
ITEM #2 PETITION 2017-12-02-17 UNITED MOTOR LINES
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2017-
12-02-17 submitted by United Motor Lines requesting waiver use
approval pursuant to Section 16.11(b) of the City of Livonia
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to develop and operate an
outdoor storage yard for semi-trucks and semi-trailers at 11777
Globe Road, located on the west side of Globe Road between
Plymouth and Amrhein Roads in the Southwest % of Section 29.
Mr. Taormina: This is a request to develop and operate an outdoor storage yard
for semi-trucks and semi-trailers. This property is on the west side
of Globe Road just north of Plymouth Road. The property is
roughly 0.8 of an acre in size. It includes 100 feet of frontage
along Globe Road by an average depth of 345 feet. There are no
buildings or structures currently located on this property. It
basically contains an asphalt or concrete parking lot. The zoning
is M-1, Light Manufacturing. The subject property is bordered by
developed industrial properties to the north, south and east. To
the west, the site lies adjacent to both commercial and office, as
well as residential properties. From the tax records on file with the
City, it would appear that the subject property was previously
owned in common with the parcel immediately to the south, which
contains a 10,000 square foot industrial building. However, our
records show that the parcels are now owned separately. Truck
and trailer facilities within the M-1 zoning district where the
vehicles, trailers, equipment and materials are not wholly
enclosed within a building require waiver use approval under the
provisions set forth in Section 16.11 of the Zoning Ordinance.
This proposal shows that the paved area is where the semi-trucks
and semi-trailers would be parked. It's about 29,000 square feet
overall or 100 feet by 290 feet. The front portion of the yard is
grassed. According to the site plan, this site would be able to
accommodate roughly 16 vehicles with space in the middle for
maneuvering. An aerial photograph of the site dates back to 1997
and it shows the use of the property for truck and vehicle parking,
presumably in connection with the business to the south. The
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28411
plan shows how the site would be used for the storage of semi-
trailers and semi-trucks. Each vehicle space is about 8.5 feet in
width by 60 feet in depth. There is a single 25 foot wide driveway
that provides access to the site off of Globe Road. A special
requirement pertaining to this type of use is that the entire truck
storage area must be enclosed with a fence. Currently, most of
the proposed storage yard is enclosed with a 6 foot high chain
link fence, but there are sections that are missing and will need
to be fixed in order to fully enclose the storage yard and comply
with this provision. There is a gate as well available to provide
restricted access to the property off Globe. 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 January 8, 2018, which reads as
follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering
Division has reviewed the above referenced waiver use petition.
We have no objections to the proposed waiver use at this time.
The existing parcel is assigned an address of #11777 Globe
Road. The legal description provided with the petition appears to
be correct and is acceptable to this office. The existing parcel is
currently serviced by public utilities which should not be impacted
by the proposed waiver use, so no Engineering Department
permits will be required. Should the owner remove and
reconstruct the existing parking area, plans will be required to be
submitted to this department for permitting."The letter is signed
by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second
letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated January
18, 2018, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the
site plan submitted in connection with a request to develop and
operate an outdoor storage yard for semi-trucks on property
located at the above-reference 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 January 12,
2018, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the plans in
connection with the petition. I have no objections to the proposal."
The letter is signed by Brian Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau.
The fourth letter is from the Inspection Department, dated
January 29, 2018, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your
request, the above-referenced petition has been reviewed. The
parking lot shall be repaired or replaced as necessary. 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 January 9, 2018, which
reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the
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28412
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 January
10, 2018, 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?
Ms. Smiley: Mr. Taormina, these are 8.5 feet wide for a semi?
Mr. Taormina: That is what the plan is showing.
Ms. Smiley: That would be very impressive. I don't think I could park in it.
Mr. Taormina: I think they would be very close together, but I'll allow the
petitioner to respond to exactly what that leaves. I will note that
when you look at the width of the property, there would appear to
be ample area in between, so maybe a little more than 8.5 feet is
needed to park them side by side along both the north and south
sides of the property, but there should be adequate space in the
middle to maneuver back and forth between Globe Road.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is the petitioner here this evening? We will need your name and
address for the record please.
Kreshnik Pjeshkazini, United Motor Lines, 5830 Newberry Estates, Westland,
Michigan 48185.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anything else you would like to add to the presentation
you've heard so far?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: I heard everything that was said. You might be right. There might
be a little bit more of room in there. We'll fit whatever we fit without
hitting anybody or anything. I mean, we'll look at it and if we have
to revise anything that needs to be revised, we'll do it. Might not
be fitting 10 trucks in the back, but we'll do nine or eight or
whatever it takes.
Ms. Smiley: So that they can all fit.
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Mr. Pjeshkazini: Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Smiley: Thank you. I couldn't put my Edge into it. I hate it when I leave
Livonia because the spots are so narrow for regular parking.
Mr. Pjeshkazini: The idea is they're going to make the turn and they're going to
back up.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. Great. Thank you.
Mr. Caramagno: I've got a couple questions. Are you going to own this property or
are you just leasing it?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: Yes, I'm going to own it.
Mr. Caramagno: Have you bought it yet?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: No.
Mr. Caramagno: Pending the outcome of tonight?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: Yes, sir.
Mr. Caramagno: United Motor Lines, what do you haul?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: I've been in the business, in transportation business, for about 20
years now. I've been working for others. I want to see if I can do
something on my own. This would probably be home to start
something. It would be something that I've been dreaming about
doing myself for about 18 years now.
Shawna Salazar, 5830 Newberry Estates, Westland, Michigan 48185. And you
haul general commodities like lumber and racks and aluminum
sheets. Things like that.
Mr. Caramagno: Are these open trucks or closed truck?
Ms. Salazar: They are not. No. We had a picture of the trucks. They're
enclosed. They're Conestoga trailers so they're actually
enclosed. They're slider kits.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. Now the trucks that you're going to park here, do you own
them or are these brokers of yours that do this work?
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28414
Mr. Pjeshkazini: A few of them we do own. We're hoping in the future we might be
able to lease a few more, but the ones that are going to park right
now, are the ones that we own, which is about four so far.
Mr. Caramagno: So I understand you'll park trucks there, but if they're parked,
you're not making any money obviously.
Mr. Pjeshkazini: No, no.
Mr. Caramagno: So you want to keep them on the road quite often.
Mr. Pjeshkazini: That would be home for them to park on a Saturday or Sunday.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. That leads into my next question. If they're parked on the
weekends, a truck driver comes in, parks, provided he lives here,
he goes home. What if he doesn't live here? Is he going to sleep
in the cab over the weekend?
Ms. Salazar: All of our drivers, they are not, we're not out of state. So we're all
Michigan routes right now.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. So just within the State of Michigan.
Ms. Salazar: Correct.
Mr. Pjeshkazini: Locally. Yeah, I mean, they all live in Westland, Livonia, and
Canton.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. Because I would have a concern about anybody staying
the night on the property. I'd have a concern with that even if
they've got a sleeper cab. Where are these trucks dispatched out
of?
Ms. Salazar: They are dispatched right now out of the 5830 Newberry. That's
our dispatch office. We have a home office set up together so
that's where the dispatch is happening.
Mr. Caramagno: Do you envision trailers sitting, dropping and hooking trailers, and
just leaving trailers sit here?
Ms. Salazar: No. They never drop. They never-drop trailers.
Mr. Pjeshkazini: It's not drop and hook. The units stay together, unless it's a break
down and we have to drop something and go on the road to pick
up another trailer because a truck broke down. It might happen
but, I mean, our vision is to where every truck and trailer stays
together. It's not drop and hook.
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Mr. Pjeshkazini: Vans usually are, which you mentioned, but flood beds are a little
different.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Long: I know it's a big open lot at this point. Is there any plans to do any
maintenance on the vehicles while they're on-site there?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: No.
Mr. Long: Do you have a different place?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: Again, for the last 18 years, we have ventured to shops that do
oil changes and preventative maintenance. Hopefully, in the
future, we might be able to build something in the property where
there's a driveway, an enclosed driveway, to where we can do it
there, but I don't know.
Mr. Long: Thank you.
Mr. Priddy: It doesn't look like there's any lighting on the property itself. Do
you plan on using it at night or do you need to add lights? Do you
have any plans to do anything like that?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: We noticed that there were a couple of lights on the poles that
could shine towards . . .
Ms. Salazar: But they're turned off.
Mr. Pjeshkazini: Yeah, towards the property, but they are turned off.
Ms. Salazar: There were on when we initially looked at the property because
we looked at it during the day and at night, but now we notice that
the lights are off there. So that's something we're going to have
to . . . .
Mr. Priddy: To examine?
Ms. Salazar: Yeah, exactly. Because they were shining directly on the lot and
they were large lights.
Mr. Priddy: Right. So if you look at lighting . . . .
Ms. Salazar: We definitely need lighting for the parking. Yes.
January 30, 2018
28416
Mr. Priddy: There are some residential areas there close to that, so you want
to be concerned about the lighting.
Ms. Salazar: Like I said, the two poles that are there, I believe belong next door
because they own that lot and they were on initially in the
beginning, so it might be something that we would be able to work
out with them.
Mr. Priddy: That's what I was wondering if it's the building's lights or if they're
yours.
Ms. Salazar: Yeah, I believe so because they were the ones that owned that
property so that might have been why they shut them off. We are
unsure of that.
Mr. Priddy: So you still need to work out any lighting.
Ms. Salazar: Yeah.
Mr. Priddy: And then, if employees come, are they leaving their cars there to
get their trucks or how do employees get their trucks.
Mr. Pjeshkazini: That would be the idea.
Mr. Priddy: So there would be cars there left while trucks aren't there?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: On the same spot where the truck and trailer will be parked. I
mean, they will park their vehicles so nobody else will take their
spots pretty much. That's the idea. Yeah.
Mr. Priddy: Thank you.
Ms. Smiley: Are you comfortable with the security around there?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: It's a very quiet area. Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Salazar: We've driven that at night and during the day probably at least 25
times in the last couple months.
Mr. Pjeshkazini: There's other trucks in the area pretty much too. There's a
business right in front of the property that does the exact same
thing. They have semi-trucks parked around their yard, but they
also have the capability of doing repairs because they have the
shop. But, I mean, there's trucks in and out all the time at that
same area.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you.
January 30, 2018
28417
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any other questions for our petitioner? Seeing none,
thank you. Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak
for or against this item? We do have a couple people in the
audience. Thank you. We'll let you have a seat for now, and we'll
hear from these other folks.
Matt Carr, Storch Magnetics, 11827 Globe, Livonia, Michigan 48150. This is the
property to the north. I appreciate you having me tonight and
letting us know about it. I don't know how many of you all have
been down Globe Street in the last five to seven years. I joined
Storch Magnetics about eight years ago. I feel like we kind of
started something. About five years ago we started to re-do the
property. We re-did the façade of the building, did a tremendous
amount to the infrastructure. Storch Magnetics celebrated a 65th
year last year and we've been in Livonia for about 45 years in that
location. We actually originally owned this property. What I want
to say is that I've watched all of the other businesses move in.
Roush has come in. Cooper Standard moved in right across from
us. They've made tremendous investments on that street. The
one thing that's frustrating is I've got clients that I pick up from the
airport constantly. I bring them back to our facility. We've got to
come down Amrhein. We're coming down Globe. And it's better.
It's better than it's ever been and we've become more of a
technological company. I'm trying to hire engineers, trying to pull
people out of companies like GM, large tech savvy companies to
come work at that building, and I don't like the idea of a storage
yard. I was hoping that when this sold, it would be built out. The
tenants that had the building prior to the gentleman that
reconditioned it, his building completely, originally owned this
property previous to us. He's made a tremendous investment
there and prior to that, you had three different limousine
companies that were operating out of that building. And any
square foot that could be sold or rented out, that's what they were
doing with it. So that's what that photo from 1997 was. Just
expecting more from the City to help us see that park built out.
Please. And make sure that we can stay competitive and that it
looks and appears well. I did research. United Motor Lines out of
the address that they said. There's no website for the company
that we could find to try and get a little bit more info on it. They've
got listed, though, on a "you ship" that there's three trucks, three
drivers, trailers types, drive and flatbed, lowboy, step deck, air
ride van, auto carrier, double flat beds, stretch beds, trailers.
There's a lot of open trailers. I can't keep that stuff without a
waiver. And all of a sudden it's okay? Forty-five years later. I'd
rather this property get built out. I know people that are starting
out need something like this, but we need that to be a better area.
January 30, 2018
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Amazon's competing. I'm losing people. It's hard and we need to
fight and it's got to look good. I hope that street gets built back
out soon too. It's important to us. Thank you for having me. I
appreciate it. The lighting too. There was one last thing. We've
shut our lights off. You've got residents in the back there. They
complained. I had to shut the lights off on the west side of the
building. I'm concerned you're going to have trucks coming in.
This purchase goes through. This gentleman comes in. He's
probably a wonderful man. I'm sure. But they come through at
night. They shine them in the lights. Diesels are running. Those
residents, the three houses, to the west are going to get upset
and they're going to be right in their rear windows. So thank you
for your time.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir. There's one other gentlemen in the audience that
wishes to address this item.
Simon Arslayin, Garco Gaskets, 11865 Globe, Livonia, Michigan. I own Garco
Gaskets. That's actually just north of that gentleman's property. I
actually used to be in Wayne, Michigan, and I moved there about
a year and half ago. We've been upgrading our property and
trying to get it better and better. My biggest concern right now is,
I don't know if you guys have actually been down Globe Street or
Amrhein. It's really bad over there with the trucks going up and
down, up and down. It's a nightmare. That's one of my first
concerns. My other concern is, I'm all about the American dream.
We started out from working out of the garage 30 years ago with
my dad. And my dad's retired and I'm trying to make the place a
better place. I've actually upgraded the place. I've painted it, tried
to do the maintenance on it. And he is right. There is no way we
can put the lights up. We've got residents right behind us and
they've actually complained about lights being on. My other
concern is, it's a narrow street. I don't care what they say or
anybody says. We've got trucks going in and out of that place,
and having a storage area like that being there is a major concern
of ours because right now we can't even get dump trucks to
actually dump trucks because bringing dumpsters in and out,
there's trucks waiting outside to actually pull in and pull out. We're
holding up traffic left and right. And that's a residential area
behind us, and I've seen trucks going all the way out to Plymouth,
going out to that side. That's going to be a major concern. There's
not going to be trucks going in and out. Cooper Standard moved
in across the street from us and they've actually redone the whole
front end because of the fact that they can actually have trucks
come in and out and turn around. My big concern is, how are their
trucks going to be in and out and not holding up traffic in our
businesses in that area? It's a big major concern of mine and I
January 30, 2018
28419
want to hold our property values up over there and that's one of
the big things for me. I love Livonia. I moved from Wayne and it's
trying to keep our place updated. My big concern is the street
being held up with the trucks. That's all I have to say. I'm sorry.
I'm all about the American dream but it's a big concern of ours.
Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: We heard your comments. Thank you very much. Is there anyone
else in the audience wishing to speak for or against this item?
Seeing no one else come forward, the petitioners are welcome to
come forward and address anything that they've heard tonight if
they wish. We always like to give the petitioner one last chance.
You've heard a couple comments regarding lighting and the types
of trailers if you'd like to address any of those things.
Mr. Pjeshkazini: The lights are already there. The lights have been there. There's
nothing that we want to add. We're not aware that people were
complaining, but I mean if we can maybe perhaps put the lighting
a different way, one thing. The other is that both gentlemen
mentioned that there are trucks in and out there already. So
mean there are businesses that are operating with trucks. I don't
know if having more trucks in there is going to do anything or not,
but that's all I have to say. I wasn't aware that there were so many
trucks already there, other businesses like they mentioned.
That's all I have to say.
Mr. Wilshaw: Do we have any other questions for the petitioner?
Mr. Caramagno: I didn't ask you earlier, but why this location?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: Safety. Convenience. I mean 96 is a mile and half away I believe.
It's a great location for trucking. It is industrial. It's M-1. We
already verified that.
Mr. Caramagno: Did you look at other properties, and if so, where?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: We have looked in Detroit, looked in Westland, Canton. They
almost needed rezoning or they also needed . . . locations that
we looked at needed a lot more work put into it, paving, concrete,
septic systems and whatnot. I mean this is already all in there and
that's why we're looking at it.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. And the last question I've got is, do you happen to know
how long this property has been vacant?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: No, sir.
January 30, 2018
28420
Mr. Caramagno: Thank you.
Mr. Pjeshkazini: You're welcome.
Mr. Priddy: Just a follow-up to some of the concerns. Do you have hours?
Will they be coming all hours of the day? For residents, like if
they're concerned about residences or possibly during business
hours with other businesses next to it, how would that affect your
neighbors with the traffic, and like they pointed out, with
residences behind it? Do you see any impact with your
neighbors?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: I don't, but again, I mean, the main concern is that there is not
going to be any trucks running there. I mean, I can see that being
a nuisance, but there's not going to be any trucks running
throughout the night. Hours, I mean, there's 14 hours per day that
a driver goes by lawbook. I mean, so it all depends what time they
start. They've got to be compliant with the DLT regulations and
then they got to park by the time it's done and over with.
Mr. Priddy: Could be 11:00 at night?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: Possibly.
Mr. Priddy: Thank you.
Mr. Ventura: Approximately how many trips in and out of this lot on a daily
basis do you anticipate you'd make?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: Per truck that is?
Mr. Ventura: Just total. I mean, would there be 10 trucks going in and out of
there in a day, or 5 or 20? I understand that you don't really know
the answer to this question, but approximately.
Mr. Pjeshkazini: Currently, like the gentlemen stated, we have three trucks,
working on buying a fourth one. Probably about six to seven trips.
Mr. Ventura: You mentioned that you might be flexible with regard to the
lighting. If we were to approve this and put something in the
approval that required you to install lighting that didn't impinge on
the adjacent residential area, would you be comfortable with that?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: I would consider it. Yes, sir. I mean I don't know where the
lighting, the power, the way it runs. I'm not sure. We never looked
at it.
January 30, 2018
28421
Mr. Ventura: And finally, I noticed in the drawing of the layout of the parking
spaces that's colored, it shows a green area adjacent to the
driveway. It's not this particular slide. Is there grass there?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: Yes, sir. You can see it on that very same picture. That's where
the grass is at.
Mr. Ventura: Is it irrigated and cut?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: It's cut. It's green But I don't think it's irrigated, no. Maybe the
gentleman that was here can better answer that. I mean, I'm not
sure. I don't think so.
Mr. Ventura: Are you planning on doing any landscaping or any addition to that
area?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: We could. I mean if we had to, but we also wanted to ask the City
if in the future if we were to put a building in there, if there was a
way to move that fence with the City limits and whatever. Maybe
it could be paved. The business right beside us almost have no
grass in there, and they got pavement to where their personal
vehicles are parked. Maybe we want to do the same thing and
use those spaces for only trucks and park cars. Follow directions,
just like everybody else around us pretty much.
Mr. Ventura: So you envision expanding on this site?
Mr. Pjeshkazini: Yes, sir. That's the idea. Yeah, I would like to have a building
there. I would like to do maintenance, but I mean, there has to be
a building in there in order for us to do that. Yes.
Mr. Ventura: Thank you.
Ms. Smiley: I have a question for Mark. Do we send letters to all those
residents that would be on Newburgh Road that would back into
that?
Mr. Taormina: Anyone within 300 feet of the property would have received a
notice.
Ms. Smiley: Have we heard from anybody?
Mr. Taormina: Not that I'm aware of. I don't have any additional correspondence
other than what I read out.
Mr. Wilshaw: Ms. Smiley, in our packet, there is a notification map and it does
show that the residences were in that circle of notification.
January 30, 2018
28422
Ms. Smiley: I see the circle. I just wondered if we heard anything. I guess
was trying to say we do send letters out to everybody within 300
feet. I wanted Mark to repeat that. But I was not aware that we
heard anything negative from them regarding that. Okay. Thank
you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any other questions? I think we're all set. Thank you,
sir. If there's no other business, I think a motion would be in order
at this point.
On a motion by Ventura, seconded by Smiley, and adopted, it was
#01-02-2018 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on January 30, 2018, on
Petition 2017-12-02-17 submitted by United Motor Lines
requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 16.11(b) of
the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to
develop and operate an outdoor storage yard for semi-trucks and
semi-trailers at 11777 Globe Road, located on the west side of
Globe Road between Plymouth and Amrhein Roads in the
Southwest 1/4 of Section 29, which property is zoned M-1, the
Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City
Council that Petition 2017-12-02-17 be approved subject to the
following conditions:
1. That the plan labeled Proposed Asphalt Parking, marked
Sheet 1, prepared by Basney & Smith, Inc., as received by
the Planning Commission on December 28, 2017, is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to;
2. That the maximum number of semi-trucks and semi-trailers
parked on the site shall not exceed sixteen (16);
3. That all semi-truck and semi-trailer storage shall be
restricted to the confined area of the property as shown on
the approved plan;
4. Storage within the storage area shall be limited to semi-
trucks and semi-trailers, as shown on the approved plan.
Any other special trade contractor or business wishing to
occupy or lease space on the property for the outside
storage of equipment, vehicles or materials that differ from
what is shown on the plan shall first obtain approval of the
Planning Commission before obtaining a zoning compliance
permit and certificate of occupancy from the City of Livonia
Inspection Department and Fire Marshal;
January 30, 2018
28423
5. That the parking spaces for the semi-trucks and semi-
trailers shall be a minimum ten feet (10') wide;
6. That there shall be no outdoor storage of disabled or
inoperative equipment and vehicles, scrap material, debris
or other similar items;
7. There shall be no storage of flammable, explosive,
radioactive, hazardous, toxic, or volatile substances upon
the premises;
8. That no minor repairs or maintenance work on vehicles or
trailers shall be conducted on this site;
9. That only conforming signage is approved with this petition,
and any additional signage shall be separately submitted for
review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals;
10. That a lighting plan be submitted to the Inspection
Department for approval that ensures that all exterior
lighting does not impinge on the adjacent residential area;
11. That a landscape plan be submitted to the Planning and
Inspection Departments for approval;
12. That there shall be no overnight operation of trucks or
sleeping in trucks;
13. 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;
14. That the petitioner shall submit a Letter of Understanding
signed by the petitioner and the owner of the underlying real
estate indicating that this waiver use will be voluntarily
abandoned in the case the petitioner moves from the
premises;
15. That the specific plan referenced in this approving resolution
shall be submitted to the Inspection Department at the time
permits are applied for; and
16. 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
January 30, 2018
28424
City Council, and unless a 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. Ventura: Mr. Chairman, I'd like to add two things to this petition. Condition
14 would address a lighting plan to be submitted to the Inspection
Department for approval that ensured that the lot lighting did not
impinge on the adjacent residential area. And Condition 15 would
be that a landscape plan be submitted to the Inspection
Department for approval.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Do we have support for that motion? Support by Ms.
Smiley.
Mr. Caramagno: To the maker of the motion, would you consider adding "no
overnight sleeping on the premises or excessive idling of trucks?"
Mr. Ventura: Absolutely.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. So we're going to add another item that there be no
overnight operating of trucks or sleeping on the premises. And
the maker is okay with that and the second?
Ms. Smiley: Absolutely
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any other comments on the motion which is an approval
subject to a number of conditions, including some additions? No
comments. Please call the roll.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Ventura, Smiley, Long, McCue, Caramagno,
Wilshaw
NAYS: Priddy
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
Mr.Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
January 30, 2018
28425
ITEM #3 PETITION 2018-01-08-01 LIVONIA CENTERS
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2018-
01-08-01 submitted by Livonia Centers, L.L.C. requesting
approval of all plans required by Section 18.47 and 18.58 of the
City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in
connection with a proposal to renovate and expand the existing
commercial shopping center, including an addition to the existing
building, modifying the exterior facade of the existing shopping
center building, and constructing a new freestanding commercial
building in the front parking lot at 30000 thru 30070 Plymouth
Road, located on the north side of Plymouth Road between
Middlebelt Road and Tech Center Drive in the Southeast 1/4 of
Section 26.
Mr. Taormina: This is a request to renovate and expand and existing retail center
located on the north side of Plymouth Road just east of Tech
Center Drive. The parcel is roughly 8.8 acres in size. It includes
400 feet of frontage on Plymouth Road and approximately 850
feet of frontage on Tech Center Drive. The zoning is C-2, General
Business. This site was originally developed in 1986. It was built
as a Builders Square home improvement store, which measures
about 81,000 square feet in gross floor area. In the mid-90's,
Builders Square left and the building was remodeled for two
tenants. The current tenants are Big Lots and Dunham Sporting
Goods. Adjoining the shopping center to the east is a Red Lobster
restaurant. This restaurant is located on a separate parcel but
shares access and parking with the shopping center. This petition
includes four major components. The first would be the
expansion of the existing retail center. The second would be the
construction of a new free-standing multi-tenant retail building in
the front parking lot of the shopping center. The third is
renovations to the existing facade. The fourth would be new
monument signs. The addition would be at the west end of the
shopping center. It measures roughly 29,320 square feet of gross
floor area with dimensions of 118 feet by 242 feet. The area
where the addition is shown was originally used by the Building
Square as an outdoor sales area for plants and other garden
supplies. This area is currently paved and is partially covered by
an overhead canopy. With the additional retail space, the gross
floor area of the shopping center would increase to about 110,000
square feet. The new addition could accommodate two tenants.
Along the front, the addition would match the setback and form a
continuation of the façade of the existing building Commercial
buildings that are on corner lots where the side yards abut
thoroughfares with right-of-ways less than 86 feet are required to
have a setback of at least 25 feet. The 25-foot setback applies in
January 30, 2018
28426
the case of the side yard adjacent to Tech Center Drive, which
has a right-of-way of 60 feet. The addition would only be set back
22 feet 1 inch from Tech Center. So there is a slight deficiency as
it relates to the west side yard street setback adjacent to Tech
Center Drive that would have to be addressed by the Zoning
Board of Appeals. The proposed new free-standing multi-tenant
building would be in the front of the shopping center closer to
Plymouth Road. This would be a one-story building of about
5,808 square feet. It would be divided into three tenant spaces.
The plan shows a drive-thru window operation on the west end
cap unit. Drive-up operations are treated as a waiver use in any
C-2 zoning district. This aspect of the proposal is only conceptual
and will require a separate waiver petition once a user is
identified. The new free-standing commercial building would not
have direct access from Plymouth Road. Ingress and egress
would be available from all of the existing driveways and
maneuvering isles within the shopping center. This commercial
building would have a similar architectural look. It would be
constructed out of the same building materials as the upgraded
shopping center. The shopping center south elevation, which is
the front of the building facing Plymouth Road, would be
completely transformed and modernized. The design includes
symmetrical combination of parapet walls that are along the
upper half of the structure. These vertical wall sections vary in
height and shape and are shown projecting above the existing
roofline. The primary exterior finishes include brick, burnished
block, cast stone, E.I.F.S., and metal panels. There would be a
decorative cornice along the top of the parapet. The new free-
standing building would contain similar treatments. It would
include building materials that would match the upgraded
shopping center. The highest point on the shopping center is
roughly 45 feet. The ordinance does allow certain extensions of
parapet above the height restriction in the C-2 District and I'm not
sure that this meets it. There may even be some adjustments
needed on the overall of the main shopping center building or
variances granted. In terms of parking, presently the site has 434
parking spaces. The existing shopping center only requires 405
spaces. However, there would be 52 spaces removed to
accommodate the new free-standing building. The enlarged
shopping center, when you include the expanded space, requires
147 additional spaces. That brings the total up to 552. Including
the additional spaces needed for the free-standing multi-tenant
building, which is 31, brings the overall parking requirement up to
583 parking spaces. To help offset the loss of parking, there
would be 51 new parking spaces added behind the building along
the north property line and adjacent to the rear wall. The new
striping would be located behind the building primarily. This
January 30, 2018
28427
brings the total number of parking spaces available on-site to 433,
but there are 584 spaces required overall when we add the
additional retail space. This results in a deficiency of 150 parking
spaces. This obviously will need approval by the Zoning Board of
Appeals. Dumpster enclosure details are shown behind the
building as well as to the rear of the new retail building. The one
deficiency there is that wood gates are shown. Either metal gates
or composite material gates would have to be substituted for the
wood. Then as the site plan relates to signage, they are entitled
to two monument signs. Each would be limited to a height of 8
feet and an area of 40 square feet. One of those two proposed
signs meets the ordinance. The other, however, closest to the
main entrance drive, would measure 20 feet in height and would
have three tenant panels. That will also require a approval by the
Zoning Board of Appeals. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out
the correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Please.
Mr. Taormina: There are five items of correspondence. The first item is from the
Engineering Division, dated January 17, 2018, which reads as
follows: "In accordance with your request, the Engineering
Division has reviewed the above-referenced petition. We have no
objections to the proposed project at this time. The existing parcel
is assigned a range of addresses from 30000 to 30070 Plymouth
Road, the address of 30000 Plymouth Road assigned to the
overall parcel. The legal description provided with the petition
appears to be correct and is acceptable to this office. The existing
parcel is currently serviced by public utilities, but the but the
submitted drawings do not show proposed connections or
calculations, so we cannot determine impacts to the existing
systems at this time. It should be noted that per the site plan
design standards, any new impervious surfaces (building roofs,
parking lot, etc.) require storm detention per the Wayne County
Storm Water Ordinance. The existing shopping center did not
provide any detention at the time it was constructed, so any new
(or reconstructed) impervious surfaces will require detention."
The letter is signed by David Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer.
The second letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division,
dated January 18, 2018, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed
the site plan submitted in connection with a request to renovate
and expand the existing commercial shopping center on property
located at the above-reference address. We no objections to this
proposal."The letter is signed by Keith Bo, Fire Marshal. The third
letter is from the Division of Police, dated January 12, 2018, which
reads as follows: "I have reviewed the plans in connection with
the petition. I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is
January 30, 2018
28428
signed by Brian Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The fourth letter
is from the Inspection Department, dated January 15, 2018,
which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above-
referenced petition has been reviewed. (1) The proposed building
addition is deficient in setback on the west side. A variance from
the Zoning Board of Appeals would be required to maintain the
deficient setback. (2) The proposed number of parking spaces is
deficient. A variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals would be
required to maintain the parking deficiency. (3) The gates on the
dumpster enclosure shall be steel or may be as approved. (4) No
signage has been reviewed at this time. This Department has no
further objections to this Petition. 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 January 17, 2018, 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. That is the extent of the
correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions for our Planning staff? Seeing none, the
petitioner is here. We will need your name and address for the
record please.
Ghassan Abdelnour, Architect, GAV & Associates, Inc., 24001 Orchard Lake
Road, Suite 180A, Farmington, Michigan 48336. I am
representing the owner today for this project. We thank
everybody with the Planning Department and the Building
Department that helped us with this project and trying to put all
these drawings together. What we are proposing, like Mark said,
we're just doing a facelift for the existing shopping center. We're
adding the 29,000 square feet addition to the same building, and
we're adding that outlot that is around 5,000 plus or minus square
feet. There is an issue for the setback, usually for that new
addition, the only two feet is going through because we created
these monuments to match the front of the building so we only
have two columns going out in that area. That's what's in the
setback. Hopefully, kind of that's why just to make the building
look altogether, especially from the street on the side, and give
character instead of just putting a straight wall and make it a little
bit more attractive for the eyes. And the second issue, with the
433 cars we have, I think now if you go through that shopping
center with the two existing stores, the parking is always empty.
A lot of these cars actually park in the area where the restaurant
is because the restaurant has 150 cars and most of the time
January 30, 2018
28429
there's not much cars in the back area. So we're hoping between
the two situations, the existing parking, the 433 and a lot of these
actually they use now existing the parking in the back area where
the restaurant is, there's almost like 50 parking that is never used
for the restaurant. So we're hoping that the people still park there
because it's next to the store. In general, we kind of looking
forward to do this project. We're trying to renovate the building,
make it look more attractive. It looks a little bit older right now.
And also, there is the item for the signage. The signage we do
have one small sign that meets the requirements, but the second
sign we propose after talking with the owner, because of the
depth of the existing shopping center in the back. Our tenant, they
are kind of asking if we can put like a big sign for them so people
know that these two or three or four retailers or something in the
back area have at vision so people passing by the street so they
know that they exist. That's actually very important. I mean
usually for retail and for renewing leases and stuff like that. We're
hoping the height is 20 feet and we're trying to kind of match it,
make it look nice, because we have a big sign on the other side
of the street trying to make the area kind of more attractive at both
of them. We're hoping to use the same material we're using for
the new renovation, using the stone, metal, dryvit and all these
requirements just from the existing building. You did ask me last
time at the meeting about some of the materials we're using for
the building. We're using brick and we're using the burnished
block. We're using a little dryvit and we're using metal panels and
we're using stone veneer on the columns just to give it a little bit
of texture on all of it. And we're adding some lighting in some
situations just to shine some of the lighting that goes up and down
on the building, just to give it some character at night so people
can see and feel safer in the project. The existing lighting on the
whole site, we're keeping it all the same. We're not touching the
lighting. The existing lighting works. We don't have a problem with
that. The only thing maybe we may change it to a better lighting
or LED. I'll answer any questions or if the owner has anything to
say.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for your presentation. I appreciate that. Do we have
any questions for our petitioner?
Ms. Smiley: Is this your landscape plan?
Mr. Abdelnour: These are existing trees.
Ms. Smiley: And it looks like this?
January 30, 2018
28430
Mr. Abdelnour: A lot of the existing trees, yeah. Most of the existing trees we
showed them on the plan. So hopefully if anything needs to be
fixed after we do the renovations, we're going to go back and we
talked with the Planning Department to, if there's any of the
existing landscaping that's not good, we're going to take it out and
put another one to match it to try and keep the landscaping good.
Ms. Smiley: Are they going to have the same tenants that are in there now?
Mr. Abdelnour: The two existing tenants are staying. Yes.
Ms. Smiley: In that 2,900 square feet, you're going to have a new tenant.
Mr. Abdelnour: We might have two different tenants.
Ms. Smiley: You might have two. Okay.
Mr. Abdelnour: It's designed for both, either two tenants or one tenant. It depends
who comes into the picture.
Ms. Smiley: And then the building out in front, you're going to have three
tenants.
Mr. Abdelnour: Three tenants. We have one drive-thru and two retail next to it.
Ms. Smiley: And the restaurant would probably be on the west side.
Mr. Abdelnour: Where the drive-thru is because the cars come so it makes it
easier for the stacking lane for the cars.
Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Long: You're adding parking spaces behind the building. Correct?
Mr. Abdelnour: We're adding in the back. We adding another 50 cars just to kind
of create the parking area better, but we're still kind of short what
Mark was saying. We're still 150 cars short but we're hoping to
use some of the restaurant because it's been used anyway.
Mr. Long: I understand that. My question is, is there existing parking back
there already? You're just adding to it?
Mr. Abdelnour: No, there's no existing. We're adding it.
Mr. Long: So right now it's just used for trucks.
January 30, 2018
28431
Mr. Abdelnour: Yes, but we have a big space so we thought let's put the parking.
Because of the big parking in the front, people never want to put
in the back, but now, we're going to maybe be asking the
employees to park in the back areas.
Mr. Long: Okay. So mostly employees back there. So if the employees are
parking back there, this isn't such a big deal. But if this is general
customers parking back there . . .
Mr. Abdelnour: No, I don't think you're going to have customer parking there.
Mr. Long: Is there an entrance? Would there be a public entrance to the
buildings in the back?
Mr. Abdelnour: No. It's mainly going to be for the employees. They come from
the back. But I think people coming to the store, I don't think for
safety they won't park in the back.
Mr. Long: That's where I was going.
Mr. Abdelnour: It's mainly for employees. We're going to ask most of these stores
to have all their employees in the back area.
Mr. Long. Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Caramagno: So the existing west side of the building where the overhang is,
that all comes down as part of the addition?
Mr. Abdelnour: Yes.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay. I notice you have some RVs in there and some trailers.
Mr. Abdelnour: They're all going to be cleaned. This whole area will be taken out.
Mr. Caramagno: That goes away. It comes right off the property. Does it stay
there?
Mr. Abdelnour: One hundred percent, yes.
Mr. Caramagno: What happens with the rear of the building? Now that you're going
to park employees back there, what happens? You're going to
refurbish the front and the side of the building. Does anything
happen to the rear of the building?
Mr. Abdelnour: The rest of the back is all block. So it's going to be all painted and
fixed wherever it's needed.
January 30, 2018
28432
Mr. Caramagno: So the rear of the building gets all painted as well?
Mr. Abdelnour: It will be painted to match the new proposal. Yes. I mean, we're
going to have to kind of do some grayish or lighter color to match
what we're doing in the front, because now the colors are more
yellowish so we're changing that, all this color.
Mr. Caramagno: That's good to hear. So the whole building will be similar in color?
Mr. Abdelnour: Absolutely.
Mr. Caramagno: All the way around.
Mr. Abdelnour: Absolutely.
Mr. Caramagno: Nice. Is this a shared property with the Red Lobster restaurant or
does Red Lobster own their piece of property?
Frank Dabaja, Livonia Centers, L.L.C., 8351 N. Wayne Road, Westland, Michigan
48185. I believe we do have a cross-easement with Red Lobster.
I thought I had the copy but I'm in the process of getting a copy
done.
Mr. Caramagno: So you think you've got that so the parking that you're sharing is
not a huge issue.
Mr. Dabaja: The back parking of the Reb Lobster very rarely gets used. It's
always been empty. As a matter of fact, some of Big Lots find it
easier, customers, to park right there and just walk to Big Lots.
And there's never been any interference with Red Lobster. Keep
in mind, the hours of Red Lobster, peak times, are different from
the hours of the peak times of the shopping center.
Mr. Caramagno: Sure. I've got a couple more questions or comments maybe.
notice your garbage enclosure for your stores in the back, I think
it's your Big Lots side, the gates are off and down and there's
garbage on the floor. What's the plan with that?
Mr. Dabaja: There has to be an upgrade to those dumpsters. I realize there's
an issue with them, especially with the doors. They keep
breaking. We need to construct it differently.
Mr. Caramagno: Is that part of the plan here, to do that at the same time?
Mr. Dabaja: It has to be. When we're doing all that work, that stuff is pretty
minor. We have to make sure that stuff is updated.
January 30, 2018
28433
Mr. Caramagno: I think so. There's a lot of garbage on the ground there. It looks
terrible.
Mr. Dabaja: Absolutely.
Mr. Caramagno: I drove around it.
Mr. Dabaja: There is some work that needs to be done in the back. We're
aware of that. It's part of the project. It needs to be done at the
same time.
Mr. Caramagno: The other thing that Carol talked about is your landscaping. It
looks terrible. I'll need to see some sort of a landscape upgrade
here too. You're spending a lot of money here and that landscape
looks terrible.
Mr. Dabaja: We will work with the Plymouth Road Redevelopment Authority
in terms of bringing the landscaping to match what we have
across the street. The railing that you have all the way across,
that's pretty much going to match what's across the street.
Mr. Caramagno: I didn't mean towards your building. What you're showing here
looks fair to me on your drawing, but it doesn't look anything close
to this in reality.
Mr. Dabaja: Again, if we're doing that type of work on the property, we need
to make sure it's going to be up to speed. If we're spending all
that money and we're actually going through the whole process,
we're going to have to do it right. And again, if there's landscaping
that needs to be done, it's got to be done.
Mr. Caramagno: I agree.
Mr. Dabaja: We're not going to just do a half . . . just do the building, do the
facade and just the leave the landscaping. That's the most
appealing part of the project, especially when you're looking
across the street with all the lilies around. Because you've got all
these tall trees in the front. Really, they don't serve a lot of
purpose other than the fact that they just shade what's in the
back. So personally, I've always been against the fact what you
have up in the front, you have that huge hump and it just kind of
. . . it just doesn't . . . there's no visuals to the new building that's
going to be back there.
Mr. Caramagno: Sure. I think a plan that's submitted and approved by this Board
or by the Planning Department would look good, but I think it's
got to be part of what's being approved here tonight.
January 30, 2018
28434
Mr. Dabaja: I'm sure there's a landscape plan, but I'm sure you know that we
can visit that and make sure it's brought up to speed.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any other questions for our petitioner?
Mr. Priddy: Kind of a follow-up to the landscaping. About parking lot
improvements. Anything like that? That's going to go along with
it?
Mr. Dabaja: Absolutely.
Mr. Priddy: Striping and things like that?
Mr. Dabaja: It has to be re-striped and it has to be re-sealed and make sure
there's any repairs that need to be done, that has to be a part of
it.
Mr. Priddy: So basically, you're going through the whole thing then?
Mr. Dabaja: Absolutely. Whatever repairs need to be done, it's got to be done.
Mr. Priddy: Okay. very good.
Mr. Dabaja: We're doing all that work. It's the right thing to do.
Mr. Priddy: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions? I don't see anything else. With that, thank
you for your time tonight. Is there anybody in the audience that
wishes to speak for or against this item?
Ms. Smiley: I do have one question. You seem to have actual bricks and stuff.
Are these pictures pretty accurate?
Mr. Dabaja: A little darker on this one, but pretty accurate, yes.
Ms. Smiley: When you go to the Council, you might want to have an actual
material board so they can see the actual colors. I love pictures,
but I do better with the actual samples. I would like to see a brick
veneer, what it looks like, rather than this picture of a brick
veneer. A sample board would serve you well. Thank you.
Mr. Dabaja: Okay.
January 30, 2018
28435
Mr. Wilshaw: We're not very imaginative here. We like to see the real deal. Is
there anything else? Thank you, Ms. Smiley. Seeing no one else
coming forward, a motion would be in order.
On a motion by Caramagno, seconded by Long, and unanimously adopted, it was
#01-03-2018 RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2018-01-08-01
submitted by Livonia Centers, L.L.C. requesting approval of all
plans required by Section 18.47 and 18.58 of the City of Livonia
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with a
proposal to renovate and expand the existing commercial
shopping center, including an addition to the existing building,
modifying the exterior facade of the existing shopping center
building, and constructing a new freestanding commercial
building in the front parking lot at 30000 thru 30070 Plymouth
Road, located on the north side of Plymouth Road between
Middlebelt Road and Tech Center Drive in the Southeast '/4 of
Section 26, be approved subject to the following conditions:
1. That the Site Plan marked Sheet SP.101 dated June 23,
2017, as revised, prepared by GAV Associates, is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to;
2. That the site's landscaping shall be restored and/or
enhanced to the satisfaction of the Planning and Inspection
Departments and thereafter permanently maintained in a
healthy condition;
3. That the Elevation Plans marked Sheets A.201 and A.202
both dated June 23, 2017, as revised, prepared by GAV
Associates, are hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
4. 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 buildings;
5. That this approval is subject to the petitioner being granted
variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals for
encroachment into the side yard setback along Tech Center
Drive and deficient parking, subject to any conditions related
thereto;
6. That all of the site's trash dumpsters shall contain
enclosures with three (3) walls constructed out of building
materials that shall complement that of the building. The
January 30, 2018
28436
enclosure gates shall be of solid panel steel construction or
durable, long-lasting solid panel fiberglass. The trash
dumpster area shall be maintained and when not in use
closed at all times;
7. 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;
8. That only conforming wall signage is approved with this
petition, and any additional signage shall be separately
submitted for review and approval by the Zoning Board of
Appeals;
9. That no LED lightband or exposed neon shall be permitted
on this site including, but not limited to, the buildings or
around the windows;
10. 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;
11. 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
12. 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.
Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Caramagno, Condition #6 referring to the dumpster area for
the new building, did you want that to also apply to the existing?
Mr. Caramagno: Yes. Absolutely. The old enclosure is behind the existing building.
Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Taormina can adjust that slightly. Mr. Long is okay with that.
Is there any comments on our motion to approve by Mr.
Caramagno, supported by Mr. Long?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
g 9
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
January 30, 2018
28437
ITEM #4 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,115TH Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of
the Minutes of the 1,115th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting
held on December 12, 2017.
On a motion by Smiley, seconded by Ventura, and unanimously adopted, it was
#01-04-2018 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,115th Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on December
12, 2017, are hereby approved.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Smiley, Ventura, Long, McCue, Priddy,
Caramagno, Wilshaw
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None I
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,116th Public
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on January 30, 2was adjourned at 8:15
p.m.
CITY742NG COMMISSION
Sam C rramagno Secreta
ATTEST:
Ian Wilshaw, airman
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