Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2018-08-21 MINUTES OF THE 1,128th PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA On Tuesday, August 21, 2018, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia held its 1,128th 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 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 2018-07-02-16 PLAYERS GOLF Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2018- 07-02-16 submitted by Players Golf & Event Center requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(h) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance#543, as amended, to utilize a Class C liquor license (sale of beer, wine and spirits for consumption on the premises) in connection with the operation of an indoor golf facility at 33463 Eight Mile Road, located on the south side of Eight Mile Road between Farmington and Gill Roads in the Northeast 1/4 of Section 4. August 21, 2018 28701 Mr. Taormina: This is a request to utilize a Class C liquor license in connection with the operation of an indoor recreational facility called Players Golf& Event Center. The site is located on the south side of Eight Mile Road west of Farmington Road within an existing multi- tenant retail building that includes several businesses including Lim Star restaurant, Kramer Chiropractic, Elite Sweets, among others. The zoning of the property is C-2, General Business. The primary use would involve golf simulators as an indoor recreational use, which is treated as a permitted use under Section 11.02 of the C-2 District regulations. The waiver in this case applies strictly to the utilization of the Class C liquor license. Players Golf& Event Center would occupy an interior unit that is located nearer to the east end of the shopping complex. All the units in the building face north toward Eight Mile Road. This space is about 3,000 square feet or 40 feet by 75 feet. For those of you familiar with this shopping center, this space was formerly occupied by Village Green Florist. Initially, Players Golf & Event Center would operate two golf simulator bays. Additionally, the conceptual floor plan that was submitted with the application shows a large open area that would be utilized for gatherings such as parties and fundraising events as well as a small lounge area and restroom facilities. In the future, a portion of the open area could be used to support additional golf simulators, but initially the plan shows that there would only be two. The simulators would be rented on an hourly basis, typically two to five-hour increments depending on the number of holes played. In addition, Players Golf & Event Center would host millionaire parties as sanctioned and licensed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board. The license supplier in this case would be Aim High Proceeds which currently operates in two other Livonia locations: Doc's Sport Retreat and Wintergarden Tavern. This is something that has been reviewed by the Livonia Police Department, so they have confirmed the approval as well as the new location with the Michigan Gaming Control Board. Per the ordinance, any new Class C licensed business must be established no closer than 1,000 feet from any existing licensed business. In this case, located on the east side of Farmington Road, about 500 feet from the subject property, is G Subu's Leather Bottle restaurant, which operates a Class C liquor license. So the 1,000 foot separation provision must be waived by City Council, and because Players Golf& Event Center will not be used primarily as a dining and restaurant facility, this approval will require a separate resolution in which two-thirds of the Councilmembers concur. There are no plans to change the exterior of the building. They would be entitled to a sign on the building limited to 40 square feet. Parking is based on the overall requirement for the center and is adequate to support the August 21, 2018 28702 proposed use. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please. Mr. Taormina: There are several items of correspondence. The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated August 2, 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 waiver use at this time. The existing parcel is assigned a range of addresses from #33459 to #33485 Eight Mile Road, with the address of #33463 Eight Mile Road being assigned to the overall parcel. The submitted legal description appears to be correct and should be used in conjunction with this petition. The existing building is currently serviced by public water main, sanitary sewer and storm sewer. Should renovations to the building require alterations to the existing services, drawings will need to be submitted to this department to determine if permits will be required. Also, should any work be required within the Eight Mile Road right-of-way, permits from Wayne County will need to be obtained."The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second letter is from the Division of Police, dated August 8, 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 next letter is also from the Division of Police, dated August 1, 2018, which reads as follows: "We reviewed the plans submitted by Players Golf& Event Center, requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03 (h) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, to utilize a Class C liquor license (sale of beer, wine & spirits for consumption on the premises) in connection with the operation of an indoor golf facility located at 33463 Eight Mile Road, on the south side of Eight Mile Road between Farmington and Gill Roads in the northeast quarter of Section 4. After reviewing the plans with the Chief of Police, we have no objections to the waiver being granted, contingent that the petitioner complies with: All State Laws, City Ordinances, Stipulations and conditions set by the Livonia Police Department, Liquor Investigation Unit, as approved by the Chief of Police, and Stipulations and conditions set by the Traffic Bureau of the Livonia Police Department."The letter is signed by Jeff Ronayne, Special Services Bureau. The next letter is from the Treasurer's Department, dated July 30, 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. August 21, 2018 28703 Therefore, I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Lynda Scheel, Treasurer. The last letter is from the Finance Department, dated July 30, 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? Seeing none, the petitioner is here. We will need your name and address for the record please, and is there anything that you would like to add to the presentation? Mr. and Mrs. Mark Skreija, Players Golf & Event Center, 33463 Eight Mile Road, Livonia, Michigan 48152. No. I think you guys covered everything. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions for our petitioner? Ms. Smiley: Can you tell me a little bit more about what your business is going to be exactly? I'm not familiar with golf simulators. Mr. Skreija: It's a golf simulator where you can go and practice or you can play up to 80 different courses that are throughout the world. It's almost like playing a video game. You practice your swing and it detects whether the ball is going to slice or if it's going to hook or how far it goes. It's just like playing a round of golf but inside. Ms. Smiley: And does one person play? Mr. Skreija: You can play up to six people per simulator or you can play one person at a time if you wish. Ms. Smiley: So you could have four people do an actual round of golf in a little room? Mr. Skreija: Yes. Ms. Smiley: Okay. Good. Thank you. Mr. Ventura: Are you going to offer any instruction? Mr. Skreija: Yes. As of right now, we have two golf professionals that are going to be doing lessons in the wintertime. They obviously do them at the golf course that they work at during the summertime. August 21, 2018 28704 So in the wintertime, we'll have two golf professionals—one male, one female —that will offer lessons. Mr. Ventura: Is this anything like bowling where you have leagues?Would you establish leagues and people would come and play? Mr. Skreija: Yes. We plan to have leagues. It probably will be bigger through the wintertime than it will during the summertime, obviously. We're going to try to do a couple different types of tournaments. A lot of people say, well, how can you have a league if you only have simulators, but the way it works is, if you have 20 guys on a league, if your league is on Tuesday, you can come in anytime on Tuesday and play your round. So four guys can come in and play their rounds. Anytime you can come in and play your rounds and register your scores. Mr. Ventura: So the liquor license is really to support the activity of the people that come and use the simulator and then you're going to have millionaire parties there as well and I suppose the liquor would come in then. Mr. Skreija: The liquor will be for anybody that's coming there as a patron. Golf simulators or if we do millionaire parties or if we do office parties or birthday parties or any sort of team building events and stuff like that. Mr. Ventura: I see from your floor plan that you're really not planning on putting much of a bar in there. So you're not really planning on attracting the person that's looking for a place to go and have a drink. Mr. Skreija: No. It will not be geared towards anybody wanting to just come up there and have a drink like a bar. It's more for four or five guys that want to play the simulator and have maybe a pitcher of beer between the four or five of them. The main reason why we're trying to get the license is because looking at the competitors, like X-Golf and On the Dunes, both of them serve alcohol. So that was one of the main reasons. Mr. Ventura: Thank you very much and good luck with your venture. Ms. Smiley: What's your age group that you're targeting? Mr. Skreija: I don't think we really have a target range. I'm assuming it will probably be from 18 to however old you want to be to play. Ms. Smiley Do you have to be at least 18 to go in there? August 21, 2018 28705 Mrs. Skreija: No. Our eight year old has been to birthday parties. Ms. Smiley: That's what I was wondering. I have two granddaughters that are taking golf lessons right now. Mr. Skreija: At X-Golf, they do birthday parties and they do all kinds of events, even for 12-year olds, 13-year olds. So obviously, those bays will be occupied by younger kids. They won't be subject to the bar or anything like that. Ms. Smiley: Good. Thank you. Ms. McCue: Can you just restate again, price points that you have at the location and for how many people? Mr. Skreija: The price is done by the hour. So you come in and you rent the bay by the hour and there is a range from $25 to $30 a hour. If you have four people that want to play, you can play four people for $25 to $30 an hour, keeping in mind that if you have four people, you're probably going to play less holes. Ms. McCue: You'd need a longer block of time. Mr. Skreija: You might need two hours, say if you have four people to try to finish nine holes. Ms. McCue: And there's going to be clubs for them? Mr. Skreija: Yes. If somebody doesn't have clubs, they can rent clubs from us - youth clubs, women's clubs, men's clubs. Ms. McCue: Thank you. Mr. Long: I have a practicality question. How do you putt in a golf simulator? Mr. Skreija: It's done with the computer. You actually do putt. Mr. Long: Because your normal shots are hit into the screen, correct? Mr. Skreija: Yes. It's all picked up by a laser. It picks up your club and it picks up your putter motion and everything. Mr. Long: I'm looking forward to trying it out. Mr. Ventura: During the study session, we asked if you were going to have a kitchen, which you said you were not. How exactly are you going to handle food there or will you have food? August 21, 2018 28706 Mr. Skreija: We've reached out to a few of the local businesses. Lim Star, being next door, being one of them. Papa Romano's, one of the pizza places. Jimmy Johns. And then if anybody has the space rented out for a birthday party or an office event, then they can cater their food in themselves or we can have pizza delivered. For most of the kids' birthday parties, it's a big hit. You order pizzas for everybody. And then we're going to have snack food like nachos and chips and candy bars and energy bars and stuff like that. Mr. Ventura: Thank you very much. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this item? I don't see anybody coming down. Just one question for you. As far as business in the summertime when the golf courses are open, how do you expect to attract people during that time? Mr. Skreija: We're going to try to gear more towards the evening hours. Obviously, our hours will fluctuate a little bit, but staying open later in case people want to play at night so they have that option. A lot of our competitors close at 7:00. So our plan is to stay open a little bit later and offer golf a little bit later in the evening. Mr. Wilshaw: That makes sense Thank you. If there is nothing else, I think a motion would be in order. On a motion by Long, seconded by Smiley, and unanimously adopted, it was #08-58-2018 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on August 21, 2018, on Petition 2018-07-02-16 submitted by Players Golf & Event Center requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 11.03(h) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance#543, as amended, to utilize a Class C liquor license (sale of beer, wine and spirits for consumption on the premises) in connection with the operation of an indoor golf facility at 33463 Eight Mile Road, located on the south side of Eight Mile Road between Farmington and Gill Roads in the Northeast '/4 of Section 4, which property is zoned C-2, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2018-07-02-16 be approved with the following condition and reasons: 1. That the use of a Class C liquor license at this location shall be permitted only under the circumstances that the standard set forth in Section 11.03(h) of the Zoning Ordinance, which specifies any new Class C-licensed establishment not be August 21, 2018 28707 located within 1,000 feet of any other such licensed business is waived by the City Council; 2. That the subject site has the capacity to accommodate the proposed Class C license; 3. That the proposed use of a Class C license is compatible to and in harmony with the surrounding uses in the area; and 4. 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 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, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving recommendation. We wish you very good luck with your new business venture. ITEM #2 PETITION 2018-06-08-07 BRASHEAR TOWER Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2018- 06-08-07 submitted by Brashear Tower Limited Development Housing Association, L.L.C. requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.47 of the Zoning Ordinance in connection with a proposal to remodel the exterior of the nine-story independent senior housing facility, known as William W. Brashear Tower, at 17841 N. Laurel Park Drive, located on the west side of N. Laurel Park Drive between Six Mile Road and University Drive in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 7. Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Taormina, we've already seen this item once. Is there any new information? Mr. Taormina: There is some new information, and I will allow the architect and other representatives for this item to present. The new information in terms of the plan is presented here, and again, we'll let the architect describe any changes from our previous discussions on this matter. August 21, 2018 28708 Mr. Wilshaw: Great. And there is no new correspondence, correct? Mr. Taormina: There is one email correspondence from Mr. Kritzman. I can read that out if you'd like. Mr. Wilshaw: I don't know that we need to have the whole thing read out. We can just acknowledge that we receive it. It is in our packet. Mr. Taormina: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any questions for our Planning staff? Seeing none, our petitioner is here. Please come forward and we will start with your name and address for the record please. Martin J. Smith, Siegal/Tuomaala Associates, 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 160, Southfield, Michigan 48034. Good evening. I'm an architect with Siegal/Tuomaala Associates. I have with me Keith Acton, who is a principle at Silver Tree and the ownership for the project; Jess Saylor, Saylor Inc., who will be the contractor; and John Powers is the National Technical Director for Dryvit E.I.F.S. products. Mr. Wilshaw: Excellent. Thank you. We'll give you an opportunity to add to what you've already heard and make your presentation as to what we're going to do with this property. Mr. Smith: Okay. We have met several times. I'll go into a short history. Our firm is not strangers to Livonia. We're involved in the Laurel Park, now Power Court, office building, which is just south of this particular project, Delta Gear renovations several years ago, and Newburgh Plaza and Busch's. I may have mentioned earlier that we believe Busch's has a major renovation. We're kind of waiting for them to alert us within the next year or so. So that's good news. Brashear Towers was built in 1989, a nine-story subsidized HUD senior housing project. It's about 195 or 196 apartments. Large structure, 168,000 square feet. The structure existing is a proprietary composite cement asbestos light gauge framing system. Behind that structure is concrete filled tubes that span between the precast concrete floor beams. There are three buildings constructed like this in the metropolitan area and, unfortunately, the company that supplied them went out of business shortly after they were constructed. It's been there almost 40 years. The skin over that time, 40 years old, has developed some cracks along with water penetration. We had a testing engineer firm examine the building, a structural engineer firm examine the building, the panels even though they're cracking, they're not friable; it's not a danger as asbestos turning August 21, 2018 28709 into powder and getting into the atmosphere. Four years ago we were here with an owner with a previous fix. It was proposed at that time, insulated metal panel skin on a steel frame on a new perimeter foundation. We had gone through, as you are all well aware, and we received site plan approval and a building permit for that project. It never went anywhere, and here we are four years later with new ownership that asked us to take another look at the façade. Something a little warmer, a little earth toned. The other solution was grayish and green, very slick, and that's what the previous owner wanted. That's fine, but the new ownership is looking for something a little different. We decided to pursue an E.I.F.S. system, a light gauge framing attached to the existing structure. It's really hung off the existing structure, lightweight system and it's something we cannot achieve with the metal panels. It was an intriguing project. We've looked into it and we've done a lot of studies on it, and it's something that we can't hang off the existing structure. We had a couple meetings with the Planning and Building staff, work sessions and we discussed some technical issues and opportunities that this system provides. Number one, it's an opportunity to vastly improve the aesthetics. The building has been around a while. It's kind of old looking, but it will vastly improve the aesthetics of the building and its neighborhood. The most important thing is, it's an opportunity to seal a leaking building to stop any degradation that is occurring now and start again with a fresh long-term solution. The system provides an air, water, vapor and thermal fix to what we have going on out there, a long-term fix. We have long term ownership. He will be happy to speak if you have any questions. Long term warranties with the dryvit system. We also have a single source contractor. Typically, on a construction job, you have a general contractor and a lot of subs and they're all low bidders. In this situation, we have one organization. They are going to supply the framing; they're going to install the framing; they're going to put up the sheathing, the insulation, the panels, the finishes, the windows, any metal flashing between dissimilar materials, and they're going to do all the caulking and sealing. That's an architect's dream. I may have said that before. It's an owner's dream. It's one source. And likewise, we'd like to believe that it's a scheme that the community should be satisfied with. It's an opportunity, as I mentioned earlier, to hang something off the existing structure of the building. The previous assembly, we were required, due to its weight, to come in and dig along the existing perimeter of the building and install a brand new foundation. Since we are not doing that, we don't need to do that. We're not disturbing the existing foundation of the lower portion of the existing wall and, of course, we're enhancing the thermal forms of the building's skin with a continuous insulation system August 21, 2018 28710 and new windows. If there are any questions, myself, or the gentlemen with me, will be more than willing to answer anything you would have. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Smith. I know you did bring samples. I'm sure our viewing audience would appreciate a chance to see those. Mr. Smith: Is the big panel here? Mr. Taormina: I did not bring the big panel. Mr. Wilshaw: That's the NewBrick product? Mr. Smith: Here are the colors for the panels. What we're proposing is on the first floor, the brown color that's on the panel, that's what's called NewBrick. The other two pieces are actual samples of that. You can see that it's a very thick synthetic stucco skin on the insulation. That's down about nine feet high where people can get to it, lawnmowers, weed wackers, whatever, pedestrians. That's a very solid material. That's something that Tuomaala hasn't had in the past. Above it, we'll be using some material very similar, a brick pattern material that will match the pattern of the New Brick. That will be a more traditional E.I.F.S. material system. Part of the project, we will also be installing, if you can see on the panel and if you can zoom in on the site plan, and even the elevation, a new entryway at the south. This building has never really had a covered entry. So we're looking at a covered entry. In inclement weather where the seniors can be dropped off or can be waiting for their ride and that will be a vast improvement. Also, we're going to take a new look at the landscaping of the project. We have a couple landscape architects, talking to them. We don't have them under contract, but we will be having that shortly. We'll submit that to you when we have all that. If there's any other questions, I'll be happy to answer them. Mr. Wilshaw: Let's just start with a little bit more description about the NewBrick material versus the dryvit that's on the upper portion. I think that's probably the key element of this project, and the thing that is most important to get in the record. Mr. Smith: We'll let Mr. John Powers, the technical rep for Dryvit respond to that. John Powers, National Technical Director, Dryvit Systems, Inc., 3393 West 700 South, Rushville, Indiana 46173. Thanks for inviting us here tonight. The NewBrick is a light weight insulated veneer with new technology that combines the air, water, vapor and thermal August 21, 2018 28711 barrier to incorporate the final skin. It incorporates an inner type mortar which would be indicative of a conventional clay brick, and ultimately it is very impact durable. As we discussed previously, there is the impact test where they compare the NewBrick versus conventional clay materials, and it outperforms those products. So that's pretty much what it is. Any questions in that regard? Ms. McCue: Can you talk about the warranty of the product? Mr. Powers: For this project specifically, there is a three-fold warranty component to it. The first is the system warranty which incorporates both the performance as well as the material related warranty and that is for 12 years. The second part of that combines the sealant. By combining a dryvit product with a Trimcoat product, it's all inclusive that includes that warranty. The third part of that warranty would be for NewBrick, which is for 25 years and those warranties have been submitted to the City for previous viewing, but ultimately, that's the warranties that would be available for the project. Ms. McCue: Thank you. Mr. Ventura: I understand that the substrate, the material that's on the building now, is cement and asbestos product that's cracking. Mr. Powers: Yes. Mr. Ventura: And what kind of a framework is that attached to? There's a cement structure underneath it, but what exactly are the panels attached to? Mr. Powers: I wouldn't know that one, Peter. I think maybe Marty could address that for you. Mr. Smith: The cement asbestos panels are about a half inch thick and they are attached to a small light gauge framing, which are basically studs, but out of metal — not the wood that you may be familiar with in your homes. It's a light gauge framing system that was built in a factory and shipped to the site. There's actually tubes behind it that are filled with concrete and this was with plates welded in or cast in, and this panel was welded onto those vertical tubes. There are large concrete beams on every floor. Those tubes span from floor to floor vertically. Mr. Ventura: Good answer. So what stops the substrate that you're going to be putting this new material on from further cracking and deteriorating? I understood you to say that you're going to be August 21, 2018 28712 hanging the dryvit material, which I understand is foam so it's not very heavy. But you're going to put some kind of a framework on the concrete that's there and then attach this to the new framework. Mr. Smith: Yes, sir. Mr. Ventura: If the underlying concrete is already cracking, how do you stop it from further cracking? Mr. Smith: The system that is being proposed is, we will build another light gauge frame around the building. Mr. Ventura: More metal studs? Mr. Smith: More metal studs on the outside. That will be attached back with clips to the horizontal concrete beams at certain intervals. We will be cutting some small holes through the panels. Mr. Ventura: Though it's not going to be attached . . . . Mr. Smith: It's not going to be attached to the panels at all. That will be held off the building an inch, two inches, and then there will be a sheathing on that, and we start applying the E.I.F.S. system or the various systems. What's happening with the panels between ourselves, our structural engineer and our testing consultants, is being 85 feet high, it's getting the brunt, as any building would, of the wind loads of the horizontal wind, and it's acting like a drum. The building, in effect, vibrates, and over time, as it's vibrated, it's opened up and the caulk joints haven't been maintained probably as well as they should have been so water has gotten in between them. So when we build this new system an inch or so off, that's taking the wind pressure, the horizontal loads, and it's transferring it directly back to the concrete frame. So this system in here, there's no exposure to the weather. There's no exposure to the wind, no vibration, no sun, no rain, no freeze-thaw cycles. Mr. Ventura: That's a clear explanation. Thank you. Ms. Smiley: Do we have a new landscape plan? Mr. Wilshaw: No, not yet. Mr. Smith: Not yet. I mentioned we have two landscape architects we're talking to right now. We don't have one of them under contract yet, but we will submit one at some point. I can discuss a date August 21, 2018 28713 with the Planning Staff, but we don't have that yet. There is going to be new plantings around the building. Ms. Smiley: Okay. Do they have any covered parking? Mr. Smith: I don't believe there's covered parking. No. Ms. Smiley: How far is the parking lot from the front doors of the building? Keith Acton, President, Silver Tree Residential, 6060 Poplar Avenue, Suite 425, Memphis, Tennessee 38119. Representing the Owner. Oh, it varies. Ms. Smiley: We have a new covered entrance. Mr. Acton: Right. It varies. Along the back, as you can see on the top half of the picture, they are right up against the building. On the west end, there's no entry on the west end and on the south. There's some spaces very close to the building, but some are farther away. We're not changing any of the parking that's existed for almost 40 years. Ms. Smiley: Okay. But you can enter through the north or the south but not through the west. Is that correct? Mr. Acton: There's a building entrance south and north. The south one will have the new cover. There's a stairwell at the southwest corner where the "L" comes out. You see it on the east side. And then there's another one on the very northeast corner. Those are really not entries, but I believe the residents can get into those entries. They are for emergency egress, but they aren't really used. The elevators are in the center of the building, so most residents come in the middle of the building and exit north or south through the existing entries. Ms. Smiley: Okay. Thank you. Mr. Long: We have an existing building and it's got windows, and you're going to hang the new skin on it. The new skin is going to have a void of an inch. If you open the windows, can you see a void? Mr. Smith: No. Mr. Long: How do you dress that up? How do you trim that? August 21, 2018 28714 Mr. Smith: It looks like the system is now, if you take the flat face of the sod, it will turn back to the windows. So there's no void there. That void will be encapsulated and there's no daylight, no access to it. Mr. Long: You don't have to worry about bugs getting in there. You don't have to worry about moisture getting in there. Mr. Smith: No. The E.I.F.S. system is a moisture vapor weather barrier, much more than brick is. Much more than these panels are. Mr. Long: Thank you. Mr. Ventura: Are you re-roofing the building? Mr. Smith: No, the roof is in fairly good shape. Mr. Ventura: How are you going to handle the flashing when you bring the. . . Mr. Smith: If you go back to the elevation, there are some crowns up there. We will be popping the existing coping off at the crowns and also all the way around the building perimeter and this material comes over and we'll have a new flashing, or we'll have longer, wider metal copings up there. That hasn't been detailed yet but, in essence, that's how it will happen. Mr. Ventura: Thank you. Mr. Caramagno: Once you get started, how long will this refurb take? Mr. Smith: I'd like to ask the contractor that. Mr. Saylor: We anticipate about a 30 to 35 week project once we have all the approvals and the material on site. Mr. Caramagno: Will the wintertime hold you up? Is it something that can't be done in the winter? Mr. Saylor: We actually can perform our work in the winter. We'll use frame scaffold around the entire building. We won't probably scaffold the whole building at once. We'll do it in sections, but we've been pretty successful using reinforced Visqueen and putting temporary heat in there. It's kind of an owner's discretion there if the permits and everything is in place, and we need to start a project in November, we can and work through the winter months. August 21, 2018 28715 Mr. Caramagno: The windows are going to be replaced. I don't remember us talking about it at all in the study session, but do these windows open or are they non-opening windows? Mr. Saylor: Has that been determined, John? Mr. Acton: The plans are to have a fixed window in place. Mr. Caramagno: Fixed meaning they don't open at all? Mr. Acton: Correct. Mr. Caramagno: So there's no risk of anybody falling when tinkering with the window sills. It looked like some of them were split. Is that just the type of window? Mr. Acton: That's the design that's in there right now, but the plan is to go back with a fixed window. Mr. Caramagno: So they currently do open now? Mr. Acton: Correct. Mr. Caramagno: Okay. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against the granting of this petition? Seeing no one coming forward, a motion would be in order. On a motion by McCue, seconded by Caramagno, and unanimously adopted, it was #08-59-2018 RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2018-06-08-07 submitted by Brashear Tower Limited Development Housing Association, L.L.C. requesting approval of all plans required by Section 18.47 of the Zoning Ordinance in connection with a proposal to remodel the exterior of the nine-story independent senior housing facility, known as William W. Brashear Tower, at 17841 N. Laurel Park Drive, located on the west side of N. Laurel Park Drive between Six Mile Road and University Drive in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 7, be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. That the Elevation Plans identified as sheet number SP-1 and sheet number SP-2, both dated August 14, 2018, August 21, 2018 28716 prepared by Siegal/Tuomaala Associates, are hereby approved and shall be adhered to; 2. 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; 3. That a landscape plan for upgrading the site landscaping be submitted to the Planning Department for its approval prior to the issuance of a building permit from the Inspection Department; 4. 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, 5. 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, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving recommendation. I wish you good luck with your project. ITEM #3 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,127TH Public Hearings and Regular Meeting Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the Minutes of the 1,127th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on July 31, 2018. On a motion by Smiley, seconded by Ventura, and unanimously adopted, it was #08-60-2018 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,127th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on July 31, 2018, are hereby approved. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Smiley, Ventura, Long, McCue, Caramagno, Wilshaw NAYS: None August 21, 2018 28717 ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,128th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on August 21, 2018, was adjourned at 7:44 p.m. 7 CITY PLANNING COMMISSION s ii Sam aramagno, Secretary ATTEST: Ian Wilshaw, Chairman