HomeMy WebLinkAboutSTUDY - 2018-07-09
CITY OF LIVONIA – CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD JULY 9, 2018
Meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. by President Toy. Present: Kathleen
McIntyre, Brian Meakin, Jim Jolly, Brandon Kritzman, Scott Bahr, Cathy White and Laura
Toy. Absent: None.
Elected and appointed officials present: Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and
Economic Development; Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Paul Bernier, City Attorney; Susan
M. Nash, City Clerk; James Inglis, Director of Housing; Denise Maier, Director of Human
Resources; Steve Banko, Director of Ordinance; Don Rohraff, Director of Public Works;
and Mayor Dennis Wright.
President Toy announced there is New Data on Item 16.
McIntyre stated that she would like the matter of the legalization of recreational marijuana
that will be on the November ballot referred to the Public Safety, Health and Environment
Committee.
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President Toy wished City Clerk Susie Nash a Happy Birthday coming up on July 14.
AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. BLOCK PARTY: Katie Taylor, re: to be held Saturday, August 4, 2018, from 4:30
p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Summers Street, between Mayfield and Westmore, with a
rain date of Saturday, August 11, 2018.
Audrey Huff, 33019 Summers, presented this item to Council on Ms. Taylor’s
behalf.
White offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
2. BLOCK PARTY: Mary Beth Morris, re: to be held Saturday, August 11, 2018, from
2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Woodring Street, between Oregon and Vermont, with
no rain date scheduled.
Ms. Morris was not in attendance at the meeting.
Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
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DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
3. BLOCK PARTY: Chris Nicholson, re: to be held Saturday, August 11, 2018, from
4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Fairfax Drive cul-de-sac in Bicentennial Estates, with a
rain date of Sunday, August 12, 2018.
Chris Nicholson, 34724 Fairfax, presented this item to Council.
Vice President Jolly stated this was funded by the Neighborhood Grant Program.
Bahr asked if this was a continuing even and Nicholson replied this is the first time
it is being held for the entire neighborhood.
Vice President Jolly offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
4. BLOCK PARTY: Caren Shatter, re: to be held Saturday, September 8, 2018, from
12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Sussex Street, between Fitzgerald and Sherwood,
with a rain date of Sunday, September 9, 2018.
Caren Shatter, 15642 Sussex, presented this request to Council stating it was their
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21 year of block parties. She also stated their Neighborhood Grant was used for
their subdivision sign and thanked Council for the funds.
Vice President Jolly offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
5. REQUEST TO WAIVE SIDEWALK REQUIREMENT: Piotr Jedrzejowski, re: for
single family home located at 16135 Henry Ruff.
Piotr Jedrzejowski, 15930 Oporto, presented this request to Council. He stated it
is a new construction house on Henry Ruff and that is why he is asking for the
waiver.
President Toy asked if this will be his house or is he building the house and the
Jedrzejowski responded he is the builder.
Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda based on the
Engineering Department’s recommendation.
Vice President Jolly asked through the Chair to Zilincik that his letter stated there
are no sidewalks and that he sees from the aerial photo immediately to the north
there is a sidewalk and Zilincik replied in the immediate vicinity itself, to the north
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that may be a private sidewalk on the west side but there’s no sidewalks in that
area.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
6. APPOINTMENT OF STEPHANIE V. ROEHL TO THE PLYMOUTH ROAD
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (PRDA): Office of the Mayor, re: to fill the
unexpired term of Greg Meyer for a term that will expire on May 16, 2021.
Mayor Wright presented this request to Council to fill the vacancy of Greg Meyer
after serving fourteen years. He spoke of Ms. Roehl’s qualifications to serve on
the PRDA.
Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
7. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO SELL CITY-OWNED PROPERTY
PURCHASED UTILIZING FUNDS FROM THE FEDERAL COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) PROGRAM: Livonia Housing
Commission, re: for the home located at 29149 Morlock to Nawal Saleem Aqoni
for a sale price of $100,000.00.
Jim Inglis, Director of Housing, presented this request to Council. He stated that
in 1986 the City of Livonia received a deed from the State of Michigan for the
property located at 29149 Morlock, it is a small two-bedroom home that backs up
to Clarenceville High School, 850 square feet. Over the years the City has rented
the property but currently they are looking to sell it after bringing it up to Code and
modernization improvements using Federal funds. The property appraised at
$95,000. They received three offers, the highest being for $100,000 from Nawal
Saleem Agoni and is income qualified under the Federal guidelines and is asking
Council to approve a Quit Claim Deed to sell the property for $100,000.00 to Ms.
Agoni, said funds to be returned to the Community Development Block Grant
Program which was the fund used to acquire the property and rehabilitate.
Vice-President Jolly asked why the City held on to the property for 32 years.
Inglis replied the City has a low income rental housing program that they maintain
and that was part of the action plan that affordable rental housing is available for
families as well as the elderly and they have met their minimum they need to
maintain and that was the reasoning.
Vice-President Jolly asked how many rentals the City maintains and Inglis replied
there are fifteen Federal and fourteen through the CDBG.
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White offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
8. PROPOSED INCREASE IN THE PAY SCHEDULE FOR SEASONAL
LABORERS: Civil Service Department, re: effective January 1, 2019.
Denise Maier, Human Resources Director, presented this request to Council.
She stated that in order for Livonia to remain competitive and to attract talent and
to make sure the City is competitive in its pay rates, the DPW came to Civil Service
seeking an increase in the seasonal laborer rates beginning January 1, 2019. At
the same time they approached her she came across an article that stated that
companies are raising summer wages to compete for seasonal workers.
Bahr asked for some clarification asking if there are openings that aren’t filled or
what is the nature of the difficulty.
McIntyre asked how the rates for the DPW seasonal workers compare with Parks
and Rec seasonal workers.
Maier responded the positions are very different and there are many pay rates at
Parks and Rec and they recently adjusted some of them.
Kritzman inquired about the age requirements for the job and Maier responded
that 15 is the minimum.
President Toy commended everyone for retaining the seasonals and Maier
stated that the DPW does a great job.
McIntyre offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
9. PROPOSED HOURLY RATE INCREASE FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
FOR ATTORNEY GREGORY T. SCHULTZ: Civil Service Department, re: for legal
services provided to the City of Livonia by the firm of Keller Thoma.
Denise Maier, Director of Human Resources, presented this request to Council
stating that it has been since 2007 that Attorney Gregory Schultz from the law firm
of Keller Thoma has had an increase in his hourly wage. She stated they are
requesting a modest increase to $140.00 per hour.
Vice President Jolly stated that an attorney of Mr. Schultz’s caliber and in the work
that he’s done for the City, it would command a much higher hourly rate.
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Meakin asked Schultz to elaborate on the recent merger of his law firm with Keller
Thoma and Schultz detailed the history of the merger.
Vice President Jolly offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
10. AWARD OF BID: Public Service Division, re: for consultant services for the
Bennett Library Fresh Air Intake Room Repairs, from budgeted funds.
Don Rohraff, Director of Public Works, presented this request to Council. He
stated that bids were taken for consultants for the Bennett Library Fresh Air Intake
Room Repairs. The services provided include plan review of specs, structural
engineering inspection, design issues, pre and post construction, along with
oversight as project management.
Due to the condition of the building it was talked about internally and we feel we
need a professional to come in and actually look at the needed repairs for that
facility. This is actually the second phase of the repair. If you remember we had
some louvers that came before you a few months back, we’ve got some
sealcoating that went on the outside of the walls so all of the repair work on the
outside is in progress or completed so this is kind of the second part of the fix at
the library for the internal part going into the basement and the inside of the
building.
The specs were prepared and the bid requests and placed in the Observer as well
as on MITN. A mandatory pre-bid meeting to discuss the project was also held.
Two companies submitted proposals which were opened by the bid committee on
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June 12, 2018. Low bidder was OHM Advisors. It is the recommendation of the
Department of Public Works that the Council proceeds as follows: Award the
Consultant Services Contract in an amount not to exceed $31,000.00 to the low
bidder, OHM Advisors, which meets the specifications for completing all of the
work associated with the project and the funding will be coming from the Capital
Improvement Account for this work.
Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
Vice-President Jolly stated that he noticed on the east side of the library next to
the library there seems to be significant pooling of water next to the structure, and
is the DPW actively doing something about that.
Rohraff responded that is part of the project we’re talking about and that they are
in the process of replacing the louvers and when those are completed, the leveling
and the site restoration will happen on the outside.
DIRECTION: 1) APPROVING CONSENT
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11. AWARD OF BID: Public Service Division, re: for replacement of Air Handling
Units #1 and #2 at City Hall, from budgeted funds.
Don Rohraff, Director of Public Works, presented this request to Council.
He stated that City Hall has the original air handling units from the 1970s. The
subject originally came up in 1995, again in 2007, with an approval to do a study
that became available in 2009 and then it is again before you today. The units are
becoming more and more difficult to keep running, with all the units originally being
a custom design and now obsolete. Parts for these units are very difficult to find
and the amount of time it takes to get the parts could take weeks if not months.
The cost has increased steadily over the last few years but more importantly our
staff manpower is being consumed and not allowing us to do need repairs in time
in other City buildings. We are one failure from most of this building essentially
being without air conditioning and heat for weeks if not months depending on the
breakdown. Recognizing that these units are responsible for maintaining and
regulating the temperature of five floors here in City Hall, as well as being an
integral part of the building’s atrium smoke evacuation system, the department has
put together a replacement plan for the three air handling units. Air handling Unit
#1 and #2 are proposed to be replaced this year and Air Handling Unit #3 to be
replaced next year.
The department has taken bids for the replacement of Air Handling Units #1 and
#2, these were placed in advertisement and on MITN, a mandatory pre-bid meeting
was also held to discuss the project and answer any questions. Three companies
submitted proposals which were opened by the bid committee. Per Council
Resolution No. 319-17, the City contracted with Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr and
Huber as our professional consultants on this project. After thorough review of the
bids, their determination was to award the replacement contract to the low bidder,
Professional Thermal Systems. It is therefore the recommendation of the Public
Service Division that Council proceed with the award, the replacement contract for
the replacement of Air Handling Unit #1 and #2 in an amount not to exceed
$488,000.00 to the low bidder, Professional Thermal Systems which meets the
specs for completing the work associated with this project and the funds are
budgeted in the Capital Improvement Account. He stated Building Maintenance
Supervisor Steve Makie and Jerry Hirth from Fishbeck were present to answer
questions.
President Toy asked if preference was given to Livonia businesses on bids and
Rohraff responded in the affirmative, saying if it’s within 3 percent.
President Toy said she noticed the two bids were close, the Livonia business was
Clearwater Construction compared to Professional Thermal and that they are a
young company as well, but they don’t have much of a background in regards to
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just a couple of years and the other one has been in business a lot longer which
she is questioning.
Rohraff stated through the Ordinance there is still the Livonia business preference
there if they’re within 3 percent of the low bid. In this particular instance they were
not.
McIntyre asked if Rohraff was surprised at the low number of bids that came in
being three and he responded by saying he’s not really surprised by bid responses,
that sometimes there’s a plethora of bids that come in and come to the pre-bid and
then they end up only seeing two bids come out of it. He said he would defer to
the professionals to say whether or not there is a trend.
McIntyre stated she knows that Fishbeck checked out the references and asked if
they could be shared at some point so they could have an opportunity to
understand where they’ve done work and if the scope was similar.
Bahr stated that McIntyre’s question was a good one, noting that when there are
three bids that are this close to each other, it gives some measure of confidence.
He went on to state that place where he spends the most amount of time is in the
City Council Chambers and the temperature is either freezing cold or boiling hot,
and asked if they would see an improvement as far as the quality of climate control
if these are replaced.
Rohraff stated the system in City Hall is not like one that you would see in your
home where you can go and turn it up or down or adjust it. That they are constantly
trying to blend outside air with the inside air so a drastic temperature change
outside will sometimes take 36 hours for the building temperature to recoup
because of the blending of the air.
Bahr asked if that was the function of the building design and not the handling units
and Rohraff stated it was a combination of both. Bahr then asked if there is
something that can be done to fix that or is it the way the building is constructed
that there is not something that can be done.
Rohraff said the new air handling units along with the energy management system
that’s being put together, the situation will be able to be controlled a lot better.
Bahr said they have talked about the inefficiencies in design of City Hall many
times and he knows it presents a lot of challenges. He stated it is a lot of money
but that it is definitely necessary and he offered an approving resolution for the
Consent Agenda if there was no objection.
President Toy objected to it going on Consent.
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Kritzman stated that he is uncomfortable spending a half million dollars on a
building whose future and longevity is in question. He said he knows this has been
an issue for a long time and that they had put something in Committee and taken
it up and tried to address it but they thought that the Master Plan process would
lend some guidance as far as how to proceed with this.
Bahr asked Rohraff if this was not done would the nature and cost of the repairs
give them a couple more years of life or if he had an estimate of the duration of the
repairs. Rohraff responded that referenced in the letter that was submitted to
Council were two compressors which are just one piece of the whole air handling
unit. There are five compressors and currently there are only three functional. He
stated that a lot of the water issues in the lobby of City Hall are coming from these
air handling units. The compressor portion would cost 90,000 to $100,000 but they
would not be addressing the actual issues of the air handlers themselves. So the
costs for that is still growing.
Bahr asked if this was something that could happen any day? He asked
hypothetically if through the Master Plan process it was determined that a new City
Hall would be built, then he would not have offered an approving resolution on this
tonight. He asked if this was a critical need and Rohraff said he is unable to give
a timetable when this will break down and all he can say is the costs over the last
two to four years are growing much greater than they were before and the slope is
getting bigger when it comes to repair costs. He said his job is to try and take care
of what we’ve got, serve the public so they can come in and partake in the business
they have in City Hall and also have the employees work in an environment to do
that. He said they are probably on very thin ice at this point. He would not come
to Council if he didn’t think they needed it.
Bahr also offered to send this item to the Capital Outlay and Infrastructure
Committee along with the approving resolution.
Vice-President stated it was his understanding this building was funded back in the
1970s by the Federal Government as an energy efficient matter, which they now
know is wrong. But he said to understand the fuller picture of the circumstances it
would be helpful to have a breakdown over the course of twelve months what the
energy costs of City Hall is if that’s readily available.
Rohraff responded that he thinks an energy study was done a couple years ago,
and would that satisfy Vice-President Jolly’s request, or is he looking for electrical
and heating and cooling costs on a monthly basis or repair costs?
Vice-President Jolly said he would like to see on a monthly basis the cost of the
energy they’re using so it can be used as a point of reference, something to
compare a fictitious, more energy-efficient building that may be built in the future.
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Kritzman stated he had a conversation with Rohraff earlier in the day and in looking
through the packet he sees notes from September 6, 2017 where discussion was
held and that he will commit to bringing that topic to the forefront in the next month.
McIntyre asked Rohraff if these units can be used on another building or are they
specific to a particular building and Rohraff said these units were custom built for
the building. McIntyre stated she was asking about the new units, if they could be
used on another building. Rohraff deferred the matter to *********
Jerry Hirth, with Fishbeck, Thompson, and 1711 Gregory Street, Ypsilanti, stated
each unit is sized for the spaces themselves so if you put the unit on the roof it’s
designed tonnage wise for cooling capacity for this building. It would probably not
match another building and you normally don’t take a rooftop unit off one building
and put it on another.
Bahr clarified his earlier comments and stated they as public servants are quick
to talk about this but not act on it.
Kritzman indicated he was informed he is not the Chair of the Capital Outlay and
Infrastructure Committee, but he did put this item into Committee back in
September of 2017. He stated that this building is not handicap accessible and
the structure of the building limits use of technology and makes it a lot harder to
serve residents and business constituents of the City.
McIntyre stated the discussion of a new City Hall has been very public, that in
April the Master Plan Steering Committee publicized three or four separate public
events that everyone was invited to and talk about the needs of the City.
President Toy stated she was an intern in this building when McNamara was Mayor
in the old City Hall and that they went to Ann Arbor to study space and new
buildings and at the time they were told not to build a round building because of
the inefficiency a round building has in space and that all the air and heat come up
the middle, just like the Capital. She said she was Treasurer in this building for
three years with ladybugs in her office and hot and cold conditions, but all in all
she commends the DPW for looking at this issue and that she doesn’t want in on
Consent because she has some questions that she would like to look at. She said
there was some talk at looking at other alternatives for the building and she
referenced that the Capital enclosed their floors at one time for space requirements
and that Mayor Kirksey started looking at those types of things and this has been
an ongoing problem for the last 34 years and that in all due respect it’s been a
major problem and the space here is definitely costly but that she would like to take
a look at the totality of it once and for all with Councilmember Kritzman and others.
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Bahr offered the following resolutions for the Regular Agenda.
DIRECTION: 1) APPROVING REGULAR
2) CAPITAL OUTLAY AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Rohraff stated these change outs for these type of units usually concur with the
change of season, stating October would be a timeline they would like to see this
happen and that they would be happy to sit down with any Committee to answer
questions.
12. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE TWO (2) 2019
FREIGHTLINER SINGLE AXLE DUMP TRUCKS AND (1) 2019 FREIGHTLINER
TANDEM AXLE DUMP TRUCK THROUGH THE ROCHESTER HILLS CO-OP
AWARD AGREEMENT: Public Service Division, re: to replace vehicles that have
surpassed their life expectancy, and will be auctioned off, from budgeted funds.
Don Rohraff, Director of Public Works, presented this request to Council.
He stated he is requesting these items to be utilized as front line trucks for snow
and ice as well as other various jobs in the department. Two of the trucks will be
outfitted with a new style salt spreader, spinners and a removable brine tank for
anti-icing of bridges and roadways.
He stated bids were taken through the Rochester Hills Coop which meets the
Finance Ordinance requirements, Wolverine Freightliner got the bid this year for
the truck and Truck & Trailer Specialties has the bids for the outfitting. The trucks
will not be an increase to the fleet, they will be replacing vehicles that will be
disposed of through the auction process. He indicated it was the recommendation
of the Public Service Division that Council authorize the purchase of two (2) 2019
Freightliner Single Axle Dump Trucks and one (1) 2019 Freightliner Tandem Axle
Dump Truck from Wolverine the price of $286,796.00 with funds from the 2017
approved Capital Outlay Budget; and second, approve the outfitting of said trucks
by Truck & Trailer Specialties in the amount of $297,284.00 from funds from the
2017/2018 approved Capital Outlay Budget and also waive the formal bidding
process in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Ordinance, as amended.
Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
13. REQUEST TO REVISE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED CONTRACT WITH ETNA
SUPPLY COMPANY, THE SOLE SOURCE PROVIDER OF SENSUS METERS
IN MICHIGAN: Public Service Division, re: for water meters and supplies in an
amount not to exceed $540,000.00, from budgeted funds. (CR 277-17)
Don Rohraff, Director of Public Works, presented this request to Council.
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He stated this item is the end points that register the readings off of the water
meters and that they are looking to purchase them in bulk to gain some savings
on equipment that they use on a regular basis. As previously explained before
Council, DPW installs approximately 40 end points per month and they’re currently
up to around 8,000 that have been installed and are continuing their quest to get
the end points installed on all homes in the City. They have worked with their
supplier, Etna Supply Company, who has lowered the cost per unit by $7.11 if they
are bought in bulk and would have savings of $28,440 if they purchase 4,000 units.
He indicated it is the recommendation of the Public Service Division that Council
proceed to authorize the purchase from Etna Supply Co., 4,000 water meter end
points at the discounted unit price quoted, $135.00 per unit in the amount of
$540,000.00. Budgeted funds are available in the Water and Sewer Budget.
Kritzman stated this is an item that they’ve been installing as a means of trying to
stay consistent with the system that is being put in place and this is the provider
that the City has been working with and great to see the discounted price.
Kritzman offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
14. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2018-04-02-09 submitted
by Allyson Andrews to operate a child day care center (Andrews Angels Academy)
on the south side of Seven Mile Road between Purlingbrook and Merriman Roads
(30931 Seven Mile Road) in the Northwest ¼ of Section 11.
Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented this
request to Council.
He stated this is a waiver petition that involves reuse of an old office building as a
dental office for a number of years. It was a building that was constructed in the
1970s located at the corner of Seven Mile Road and Sunset Street, a 2,300 square
foot building. The property that it sits on is roughly 4/10ths of an acre, it has 140
feet of frontage on Seven Mile Road and 130 feet of frontage on Sunset. There’s
a single driveway that provides access to the site, that driveway is off of Sunset
Street and there are roughly nineteen parking spaces available to serve the site.
Andrews Angels Academy would occupy all of the building. There is a requirement
in the Ordinance that child care centers provide at least 5,000 square feet of
outdoor play area. The 5,000 square feet is substantially more than what the State
of Michigan requires. The Planning Commission considered this petition relative
to not only the amount of play space but also the location of the play area.
Originally it was shown in a northerly part of the property. Considering that the
state only requires 1,200 square feet and this facility would provide care for 32 kids
ranging in age from 6 weeks to 4 ½ years, they felt that a reduced play area would
be appropriate. The location is illustrated on this drawing, something that the
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provider is confident that the state would approve. It also moves it a little bit further
away from the adjacent residences to the west. The approving resolution provided
by the Planning Commission does limit the use to this provider only with the ability
to extend that to another user only with Council approval as well as provide for
fencing around that play area is required and other stipulations as provided in the
packet. There are no exterior building modifications proposed other than the
additional outdoor play area and I believe the owner of the property is here this
evening.
Aldo DeSantis, 22349 Antler Drive, Novi, Michigan.
President Toy opened the floor for questions from Council.
President Toy asked the Petitioner if he had done a child care center before and
he stated that he is just the landlord.
President Toy asked if the person who is running the day care is present at the
meeting and DeSantis responded that something had come up with her family and
she was unable to attend tonight.
Vice-President Jolly offered an approving, a denying and Committee of the Whole
seeing that the lady who will be running the daycare is not present.
Vice President Jolly offered the following resolutions:
DIRECTION: 1) APPROVING REGULAR
2) DENYING
3) COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
15. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2018-05-02-12 submitted
by Wade Shows, Inc. to conduct a carnival in the parking lot of Sears, sponsored
by the Rotary Club of Livonia, consisting of amusement rides, games and food
concessions from Thursday, August 9, 2018 through Sunday, August 12, 2018,
inclusive, on properly located at the northwest corner of Seven Mile Road and
Middlebelt Road (29500 Seven Mile Road) in the Southeast ¼ of Section 2.
Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented this
request to Council.
He stated that the information contained in the Council’s packets provide the
details for this event. He indicated that this is the second carnival put on by the
Rotary Club and Wade shows and the Planning Commission is recommending
approval.
President Toy clarified that this was the AM Rotary Club.
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White offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
Vice-President Jolly asked if the Rotary Club is planning on holding two carnivals
a summer on a go forward basis and wondered how many festivals the community
can support and have them be successful.
Joanna Hardesty, Wade Shows, Inc., P.O. Box 51730, Livonia, and member of the
Livonia Rotary Club, stated that in doing the second event Wade Shows in their
scheduling and Sears, they want to do an event to fill backpacks. She has stated
she is uncertain how this will turn out because it is the first time they have
attempted this. She said the length of this carnival is shorter than the first one.
Vice-President Jolly asked if all the shows that were mentioned were put on by
Wade Shows and Hardesty responded the Spree, the first one held at Sears and
St. Mary’s and this second one were all put on by Wade Shows.
Vice-President Jolly asked who incurs the costs for the police and auxiliary
services and she responded that Wade Shows does.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
16. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2018-05-02-13 submitted
by Kucyk, Soave & Fernandes, P.L.L.C. to develop a Planned Residential
Development under the Single-Family Clustering option (Heritage Square),
consisting of 50 site condominium lots, on properties located at the east side of
Newburgh Road between Five Mile and Six Mile Roads (36900 and 36910 Mallory
Drive; former Clay Elementary School site, and 16600 Newburgh Road and a
portion of 16700 Newburgh Road), in the Northwest ¼ of Section 17.
Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented this
request to Council.
He stated this is a special waiver petition that the Council is well aware of since
there is a pending zoning application that would change the zoning application of
the site to R-2 from the current zoning of the site of PL (Public Land) and R-3. The
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City Council gave first reading for the zoning at its June 4 Regular Meeting and
the second reading and roll call which are the final processes are on hold pending
review of this plan.
The current plan shows a total of fifty homesites, this corresponds to the density
allowance for cluster homes under the R-2 Zoning which equates to three and a
half dwelling units per acre. So on a 14.4 acre site, it could yield up to fifty homes
and that’s exactly what the plans show. It is very similar to previous plans that
Council has reviewed relative to number one, the layout of several lots on the site
but virtually identical to the road pattern that was provided with the earlier
conceptual plans with a single looped road entering from Newburgh wrapping
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around providing access to all of fifty homesites. So, lots 1-21, which are all the
lots that border the site to the south and to the east adjacent to the Kingsbury
Heights Subdivision, all of those would be conventional size R-2 lots meaning that
they would be at least 70 feet in width and at least 120 feet in depth and meet the
minimum lot area requirement of 8,400 square feet. Next, looking at the lots 2-37
which are those lots located as confined by that looped road pattern, all of these
would measure roughly sixty feet in width by 120 feet in depth. And then lastly,
where lots 38-50 are shown along the north and the western side of the property,
these would be the lots that would in addition to lots 22-37 would require under
cluster provisions, the reduction in lot size and in this particular case with respect
to lot width those lots are shown at 52 feet and generally again bordering the
Busch’s site to the north and then St. Timothy’s Church to the west.
Also very similar to the plan you reviewed previously is the location of the storm
water detention pond in the northeast corner of the site, here you’ll note there are
actually three chambers if you will to this facility. One is a four bay that handles
the pretreatment of storm water as it inflows into the system and then is discharged
into the two holding ponds which are identified on the plans as detention basins
and then those detention ponds release that storm water into the existing storm
system to the east at a controlled rate of flow.
Landscaping has been detailed with this plan. You’ll notice the concentration of
plant material really along the west and the north sides of the site as well as around
the detention basin. Additionally trees are shown in front of each of the single
family owns as required by ordinance, but really the heaviest amount of vegetation
shown on the plan would be along Newburgh Road where there would be berming
and screening for that home that is immediately adjacent to Newburgh near the
parking lot to the church as well as on the north side of Lots 38-44 which border
the wall that separates this property from the commercial property and then along
the detention basin and particularly along the east side of the property.
Also provided is a walkway, a linkage between this development and the
subdivision to the east, a public sidewalk that would be connected to the existing
sidewalk that is part of that adjacent subdivision. Signage is not detailed on this
plan but it would be provided in a conforming manner located in the central aisle
provided off the main road.
And then lastly, the plans include the Master Deed Bylaws which really outline
some of the building and use restrictions relative to the development. I think key t
our review is the amount of brick and the minimum home sizes. I will note that the
approving resolution provided by the Planning Commission only indicates the
minimum percentage of brick as 80 percent. That typically would just apply to the
ranches, we normally include a second standard and that’s 65 percent minimum
brick requirement for Colonials and Cape style homes, that was inadvertently
omitted from the approving resolution and it’s requested that should there be an
approving resolution on this item this evening, that that be provided.
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With that, Madam Chair, I will answer any questions you may have. Thank you.
President Toy thanked Mr. Taormina and asked for the Petitioner to come to the
podium.
Enricoh Soave, 37771 Seven Mile Road, Livonia, Michigan, came to the podium
and stated that the site plan before Council is not the first impression seeing that
it is the fifth revision since they started back in February from the Planning
Commission and was in part due to the input from individual Council members and
the Council as a whole. It’s due to discussion with the neighbors which I’d like to
thank the Council for the time they’ve spent on this, the phone calls, emails, he
apologized to them for that and thanked them for their efforts and diligence on that.
He also thanked Mark Taormina as well who has been working a lot on the project
and he thanked the neighbors for their time in the matter. The site plan before
Council is a by-product of both negotiations, discussions and time spent on this
plan.
Testing my recent memory I haven’t spent personally especially this amount of
time in putting together a site plan, most of that is in part of he cares what he does,
he cares about reputation and he cares about the community he’s invested in.
The only thing may be a first impression is the landscaping plan and they put great
thought in that, they added a lot of landscaping in areas where you don’t normally
see landscaping, mainly along the detention areas and other screens, sort of
vegetative screens and greenbelt because the neighbors did abut the properties
to the east.
At the end of the day this is not a plan that they wanted, they really wanted attached
ranches, I know a lot of people continue to call and ask about attached ranches
but so be it, that’s a foregone conclusion, it is entirely single family. But this is a
plan they can live with at the end of the day. He hopes the neighbors can come to
the same conclusion and that the Council should see that as the Planning
Commission did.
President Toy thanked Mr. Soave and opened the floor for questions from Council.
Bahr stated that the landscaping looks very nice and thanked Mr. Soave, but stated
that the one thing he noticed is on the western edge of the detention pond, he
doesn’t see any landscaping along there and asked if there was a reason for that
seeing that there is screening in other areas and nothing there.
Soave responded the rationale for that is to leave that up to the homeowner,
whoever buys that house or if they’re going to put a fence up there, a privacy fence,
limiting decorative style fencing in this community. If you haven’t seen the
landscape plan, there is decorative wrought iron fencing along the pedestrian
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walkway to the east of the property, so that was probably the main rationale on
that, they didn’t want to screen that particular unit owner from the rest of the
development.
Vice-President Jolly confirmed that the first draft that was shared with Council had
fifty-eight house on it.
During Audience Communication, Charissa Shawcross Scott, 36479 Munger
Court, Livonia, stated that she acknowledged the work the builder has done on
listening to the concerns of the community and try to come up with a plan that
everybody is happy with and that the neighbors can live with. She has an ongoing
concern with the retention plan, by profession she’s a nurse practitioner, she has
done a lot of work in Africa with Community Health in trying to eradicate malaria
and eliminate breeding ground for mosquitoes. She then inquired if the retention
ponds are open ponds, are there grasslands, the CVS property at Five Mile and
Newburgh has an open retention pond and there is quite a proliferation of insects
in that area so it’s very difficult for people that are riding their bikes or running to
go through that area without bothering the bugs. She wants assurance that the
environment that is being provided to their neighborhood isn’t going to be
damaging in allowing that proliferation of insects, especially the mosquitoes.
President Toy reminded that questions should be directed to her.
Charissa further stated her concerns asking if there would be an open pond or is
there any kind of enclosures or sod, is it an underground retention pond.
President Toy said she would allow the next two speakers and then call the
Petitioner back up to respond to all questions.
Susan Tranquilla, 16823 Fitzgerald, Livonia, echoed the comments made thanking
the builder for trying to respond to citizen concerns. She stated that she applauds
the good things that have happened, there are no attached condos, twenty-one of
the homes are at least 70 feet wide lots, sixteen homes are on 60 foot wide lots,
not as good but acceptable, but that she is still concerned about the thirteen homes
that are on 52-foot wide lots. She feels the neighbors have compromised a lot on
their end and doesn’t like the fact that there are lots that are 52-foot wide and is
asking Council to address that issue.
Robert Sluka, 16791 Fitzgerald, Livonia, stated his house borders the property,
abuts the east property line there of the Clay parcel and said he would like to add
to the prior comments regarding the 52-foot wide lots. Obviously the Planning
Commission approved the site plan for this property but that he still has concerns
on the 52-foot wide lots. He indicated this plan could be a standard R-2 project
but what they have is an R-1 development centered in the middle and the
transitionary area around the edges. He understands the need for the transitionary,
what’s called the Busch wall which has deteriorated over the years. He agreed it
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makes sense to have a transition area but doesn’t see the need for two and he
stated his concerns about property values in the surrounding neighborhoods. He
is asking Council to reconsider the 52-foot wide lots which are not in harmony with
the surrounding R-2 and R-3 neighborhoods.
Sandy McDonald, 37124 Munger Street, Livonia stated that she had been at the
last meeting and spoke and that she still has concerns about the fence. She
indicated she has a survey of her property stating that the fence is not hers so she
can’t tear it down. She also stated she has concerns about the high grass and has
spoken to numerous people at the School Board, the grass has not been cut, it’s
at least 36 inches and wondering if the 9-inch ordinance in effect. She stated an
inspector came out to her house and that she has seen rats where the school once
was. She indicated the silt fencing around that lot cannot be penetrated so they
do come out and cut around the bush wall quite a bit out but where the silk fencing
is, none of that has been cut. She stated she asked the maintenance department
at the School Board if they would like her to go in and take it down and they sent
an inspector out and when he was told about the rats, he did not want to walk
through the field. She expressed her frustrations about the tall grass.
President Toy stated that both Council and the Mayor’s office would try and
address that issue.
Vice-President Jolly stated they had received an email within the last two days
stating the same thing about the grass but unfortunately it’s a set of circumstances
that school property is public land which is entirely under the jurisdiction of the
schools and they have very little actual power to force them to do things.
Kritzman stated that he knows they were looking for a time to have Mr. Soave
come back to the podium to address the questions of the residents.
President Toy suggested that McDonald attend a school board meeting to address
the issue and requested a copy of the survey that she brought with her.
Norman Boegner, 22755 Brookdale Street, Farmington, Michigan, and a member
of St. Timothy’s Church. He stated that working with Rico with the site changes
and studies that were done and that everything they’ve requested him to do he has
been very giving and very understanding and it’s been a pleasure dealing with him
and his brother in working out a site plan for this. With regard to the transition, he
has seen that in many locations within Farmington and Northville and he
understands what he’s doing and how he’s functioning this site to downsize to a
commercial property and that’s a difficult transition. He thanked Mr. Soave for all
the work with the ponds and the walkways and the entrances and working with St.
Timothy’s on the project.
Kritzman addressed the silt fence that is up was from the demolition of the building
and not related to construction in any way.
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Soave confirmed that the silt fence is serving no purpose for the builder and was
put up by the demolition crew hired by Livonia Public Schools.
Kritzman stated he hoped they could expedite the progress on the site with by
addressing the School Board about it. He then asked Soave if he had spent any
additional time on exploring the ownership of the fences on the property. Soave
replied that based on the topography and Phase I, his client concurs with St.
Timothy’s Church, the fence is not entirely on Livonia Public Schools property.
Kritzman asked Soave if they have completed a study of the existing conditions on
the site and he replied yes.
Soave stated he would like to make an offer should Council approve this matter,
that he would see to it that the silt fence will be removed and the grass cut prior to
closing and buying the property.
Kritzman then asked if Soave had an existing survey that outlines the existing
location of the fence and the existing property lines and Soave responded that
based on conversations with the civil engineer the property lines purport to the site
plan before Council tonight.
Kritzman asked if the site plan showing existing conditions had been completed
and Soave responded yes but that it was not in Council’s packets and Kritzman
asked him to provide it to Council to determine where the fence line is and the
property lines.
Kritzman then addressed the issue of the mosquitoes and the detention ponds and
stated that most of that is driven by the Wayne County Storm Water Ordinances,
they require the detention basin, they are the ones setting the requirements for the
calculations to determine the size of the basins. He stated he has heard stories of
flooding in the areas immediately adjacent to this property and if they were to
forego a detention basin and try to do it some other way it would be putting a
greater burden on the existing community so that is a distinct advantage related to
the storm water issues on the property in the adjacent areas. This should make
the storm water situation in the adjacent areas better.
He stated he has seen multiple times how the developer has modified their
intentions, he reviewed the clustering option as many people have, there is a
difficulty in the northeast corner. There is an existing 48-inch storm sewer that
runs below that corner of the property so that is the natural place to put in that
detention system.
He addressed Sluka’s comments by saying what he is seeing on the drawings is
not a proposed footprint of the home, that is the buildable area and what is required
by the ordinance that the area between the homes has to be a minimum size, in
some instances it’s as low as 8 in R-1, so he appreciates the 12-foot parameter
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between the smallest of the lots in Mr. Soave’s development adhere to that 12-foot
separation between the buildable properties.
Vice-President Jolly stated he had a question for the Law Department, he asked if
you’re looking at the southeast portion of the site plan that’s proposed, between
lots 17 and 18 there is a pedestrian walkway buffered by open space on other side
requested by the Council and added by the Petitioner that leads to Mallory Drive,
is there a precedent or a process that would be established to do something else
with the roadway that is not going to be used, would it be possible or feasible in
the future if someone were to take the initiative to take the old Mallory Drive
between those two houses that are existing and make an open green space.
City Attorney Bernier responded there is a possibility of taking that land, take that
road or either give it to the houses or sell it to the houses on each side or make it
into a public parkway. The problem is that you’re going to have to tear it out and
put in dirt and a lot of ground soil there but there is a legal process to take that
street that goes nowhere, that he has the same experience next to his house and
he would love to do that but indicated that there is a process.
Vice-President Jolly stated he thought the residents would like that and he would
like to see that occur.
Bahr asked Soave about the size of the houses on the 52-foot lots, what size house
does he anticipate putting on those?
Soave responded minimum 1,500 square feet. He said they raised the bar for this
development and made the minimum size homes larger, nothing smaller than
1,500, a mixture of ranches and colonials.
Bahr asked about the square footage of the homes being put on a 60-foot lot and
he stated it would be the same.
Bahr asked if there would be fencing around the houses and Soave responded no
and then asked if the open space behind Busch’s, that would essentially be an
extension of those people’s backyard and Soave responded that is esthetically
correct and would be maintained by the homeowner’s association.
Bahr spoke about his preference for 60-foot lots. He stated someone made a
comment about the Busch wall and would like to see the developer do more there,
he indicated there is a pretty heavy landscaping berm being shown at that Busch
wall so the developer has made good efforts on that.
Bahr asked through the Chair to Zilincik if he could indicate to Council and the
residents what steps would be taken should this be approved to make sure the
system can handle the water.
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Zilincik responded by for this site since its 15 acres they require 100 year storm
detention, anything over five acres requires that, so they would review the
calculations to ensure the Storm Water Ordinance is met for that capacity and meet
the Wayne County Storm Ordinance and work out with the engineers to make sure
that those requirements can be met. He indicated after heavy rainfalls, the water
goes into the four bay, the sediment filters out, goes into the detention pond and
is restricted to an outlet downstream to the rivers and creeks.
Bahr stated when they vote on this in two weeks if it is approved for 52-foot lots,
although it’s not ideal, it is not the end of the world. Number one, the buildable
areas here are similar if not larger than the 60-foot wide lots. Number two, he
spoke to a friend of his who has been in the real estate business for a long time
and he asked him about when doing appraisals for homes the affected property
values if these were going to be smaller lots and his friend responded comparables
have way more to do with the size of the house and the acreage of the property
than they do with the width of the property. And from that standpoint the acreage
of these properties is actually larger than the 60 foot wide lots and you throw in the
fact that they are placed on the property where they are shielded from the existing
homes on Fitzgerald.
McIntyre stated that she appreciates all the work done by everyone on this project
including the residents, she studied what’s required to provide an R-2 clustering
option and it’s that you have significant frontage against a significant commercial
or industrial use to act as a buffer space and that is a very difficult commercial
space because of the wall, because of the type of business it is with truck traffic.
The 52-lot sizes really only effect the people that buy those lots. As long as there
is no adverse effect on the surrounding homes and do not diminish the property
values of the surrounding neighborhoods. If anything, this new development will
only be a benefit to the property values around it. She stated that the notes she
had received indicated that people don’t want this property developed, they liked
the lot, and the Livonia School Board has made it clear that they’re willing to sell
this property and Little Tots is gone, someone mentioned they liked to see the
children coming and going. They are no longer coming and going. The School
Board wants to sell this, we’re looking at development, we want the highest and
best use, we want the lowest impact. Everything in here meets the R-2 zoning
clustering option. She stated the 52-foot lots are not going to be visible to anyone
on the adjoining street. There is no requirement to drive by those lots to get to
your homes. Points were well made about transition zones but given the unique
layout, the size of this property, what it abuts and what it’s constrained by, with
these two transition zones really makes sense. She stated she does not see any
adverse impact on the homes that border this development and she would support
it with the 52-foot lots.
Soave asked Taormina through the Chair what the minimum side yard setback for
a conventional lot and Taormina replied it is either seven or eight feet.
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Bahr asked for clarification and Taormina stated it is twelve feet between homes
as it applies to these lots that are not adjoining the existing subdivision. The side
yard setbacks for Lots 1-21 are ten feet so he’s showing a minimum of a 10-foot
side yard setback so sixteen feet between homes, it may be six.
Kritzman stated he has the ordinance open in front of him and it’s six and it’s ten
in R-2 and sixteen in R-3 as they apply to the clustering provisions.
Taormina stated in the case of a conventional subdivision it’s a minimum of six of
one side yard, total of sixteen, so you have to have six and ten.
Bahr stated that what they’re seeing on these homes the Busch homes would at a
maximum less between houses than what you’re seeing on the 60-foot lots and
Taormina responded yes.
Soave stated the purpose of his inquiry was on the 70-foot lots, there will be
instances where there will be six feet and six feet and twelve feet in between
houses which is the same thing that’s on the Busch property so you’re going to
see that much of a difference. When you drive through this development, you’re
not going to notice one bit.
During Audience Communication Susan Tranquilla stated that there was talk about
that it’s okay to have these smaller lots around the Busch wall and the St. Timothy
parking lot, but wanted to remind everyone because those are commercial areas,
and north there is commercial at Six and Newburgh and west of them there is
commercial at Six and Newburgh and the residential area is right in back of those,
one of them is R-4 ninety-foot lots and the others area three 85-foot lots right up
to commercial walls so she asked Council to take that into consideration too.
McIntyre stated that point is well made and well taken and in those cases the
homes were there before the commercial property was there.
Bahr stated to the west that was not the case, the homes were built after.
McIntyre offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR
17. SITE PLAN PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2018-05-08-04
submitted by Ayar Construction to modify the exterior appearance of the existing
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party store (Levan Wine Shop), located on the southeast corner of Plymouth and
Levan Roads (36217 Plymouth Road), in the Northeast ¼ of Section 32.
Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented this
item to Council.
Taormina stated they are a freestanding party store located at the southeast
corner of Plymouth and Levan Roads, it’s adjacent to LA Plaza to the east,
there’s a single family home directly to the south, a gas station located to the
west across Levan. He put a screen shot from Google Maps on the screen.
This particular store contains fabric awnings and wood siding. The Petitioner
would like to restore the exterior of the building. He showed the site plan and the
building elevations. He indicated the new façade will introduce altogether new
materials on the building including cultured stone as well as a thin brick material
that would go on the north and west elevations on the majority of the building
above the main entrance at the corner there’s an element of E.I.F.S. on the
upper part of the façade and on the rear or south elevation it would be the block
would be painted and on the east elevation it would be a combination of E.I.F.S.
as well as cultured stone.
The Planning Commission in reviewing this item noted a number of site
deficiencies and other things that they wanted corrected so what they’ve done is
they’ve broken it into two phases effectively. The first phase allowed for the
reconstruction of the exterior façade and would also include replacing the light
poles on the building or on the site that are damaged as well as repairs for the
parking lot and then Phase II work to be included would enclose the dumpster on
site as well as replacing the parking lot as well as submitting a new landscape
plan to restore the site landscaping.
Additional suggestions would add the ice and propane exchange equipment be
relocated to the east side of the building. The Petitioner has submitted a plan
that notes these improvements in Phase I and Phase II.
President Toy opened the floor for questions from the Council.
Hearing none, she called the Petitioners to the podium.
Jonathan Ayar, Ayar Construction, 31000 Northwestern Highway, Farmington
Hills.
Jeff Yono, 36217 Plymouth, Livonia.
President Toy asked how long Yono had been there and he replied twelve years.
She then clarified that the store was there prior to that with different owners and
he said yes.
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Kritzman stated he thinks it’s fantastic and great to see as this is a property that
has been becoming a bit more distressed over the last few years and he
appreciates the owner proactively working on it. He stated the only statement he
would make is that they usually require full brick and they try to stay away from
E.I.F.S. but he states the plans are well composed. The only question he has is
the transition between the north façade and east façade, being that the north side
faces Plymouth Road and the existing east façade has the diagonal wood applied
to it and that he was hoping to see that thin brick wrap around rather than the
E.I.F.S. And the reason behind that is there’s so much traffic on Plymouth and the
plaza out in front does not screen it at all so it’s going to be an extremely visible
portion of the property and thinks he should consider wrapping the thin brick
around the back there it would be a really good presentation and asked if the
Petitioner would consider doing that and they replied they would take that into
consideration.
Kritzman offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR
AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION:
During Audience Communication Charissa Shawcross Scott, 36479 Munger Court asked
Councilwoman McIntyre to abstain from voting on the Clay property. Prior to the meeting
there was a display of affection between her and the builder rather than the community.
As there were no further questions or comments, President Toy adjourned the Study
Session at 10:15 p.m. on Monday, July 9, 2018.
DATED: July 18, 2018 SUSAN M. NASH
CITY CLERK