HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2019-07-09MINUTES OF THE 1,145th PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
On Tuesday, July 9, 2019, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia
held its 1,145th 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: David Bongero Sam Caramagno Glen Long
Betsy McCue Carol Smiley Peter Ventura
Ian Wilshaw
Members absent: None
Mr. Mark Taormina, Planning Director, and Stephanie Reece, 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 bolds 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 2019-06-01-04 RYAN KRESGE
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2019-
06-01-04 submitted by Ryan Kresge pursuant to Section 23.01 of
the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended,
requesting to rezone the properties at 8999, 8985 and 8981
Middlebelt Road, located on the west side of Middlebelt Road
between Joy and West Chicago Roads in the Southeast 114 of
Section 35, from CA Local Business to R-1, One Family
Residential - 60' x 120' Lots.
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Mr. Taormina: This is a request to rezone properties from C-1 (Local Business)
to R-1 (One Family Residential). This property is located at the
southwest corner of Middlebelt Road and Dover Avenue. The
property consists of four platted lots that are described as lots 31
through 34 inclusive of the E.G. Settle Realty Co's Bonaparte
Gardens subdivision. The parcel that is addressed as 8999
consists of two of those lots, 31 and 32, and is currently
developed with a single family home. The other two lots are
vacant and contain separate tax identification numbers. The
three parcels together contain roughly 94 feet of frontage on
Middlebelt Road and a depth of 100 feet. The purpose of the
rezoning is to bring the current use of the property, which is
residential, into compliance with the zoning ordinance. The
residential use has been in existence well before the adoption of
the zoning ordinance that rendered the site non -conforming. it is
determined to be a valid non -conforming use. The site is
grandfathered, butwith limitations and restrictions. Section 18.18
of the ordinance specifies that a valid non -conforming use shall
be automatically terminated if more that 50% of the building is
destroyed. Moreove, Section 18.21 prohibits increasing the
height, area, and bulk of a valid non -conforming building. Such
limitations and restrictions pose difficulties in obtaining title
insurance. Looking at what surrounds the property, to the west
are residential properties that are zone R-1 (One Family
Residential) similar to the category that is proposed here. Across
Middlebelt Road are a variety of commercial uses, as are the
properties both to the north and south of the subject property. R-
1 zoning requires minimum lot size of 60' x 120' and a lot area of
7,200 square feet. Combined, these three properties conform to
the minimum lot area and lot width requirements, but not the lot
depth. There is a provision in the ordinance that specifies that
where immovable physical boundary limitations exist which
prohibit meeting the lot depth requirement, then Section 4.04(b)
of the ordinance allows the depth requirement to be waived by
the Planning Commission and City Council. With that, Mr.
Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please.
Mr. Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated .tune 13,
2019, 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 rezoning at this
time. The existing parcels are assigned the addresses of #8981,
#8985 and #8999 Middlebelt Road. The legal description
provided with the petition appears to be correct and should be
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29242
used with the subject petition. The existing building is currently
serviced by public sanitary, storm and water main. The
information submitted does not indicate any new connections to
the existing utility services, so it appears that there will not be any
additional impacts to the existing systems at this time. Should
alterations to the existing services be required, the owner will
need to provide plans to this Department to determine if permits
will be required. Should the owner do any work within the
Middlebelt Road right-of-way, they will need to contact the Wayne
County Department of Public Services for any permits that may
be required." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E.,
Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is from the Finance
Department, dated June 26, 2019, which reads as follows: '7 have
reviewed the addresses connected with the above noted petition.
As there are no outstanding amounts receivable, general or water
and sewer, 1 have no objections to the proposal." The letter is
signed by Coline Coleman, Chief Accountant. The next letter is
from the Treasurer's Department, dated June 17, 2019, which
reads as follows: "In accordance with your request, the
Treasurer's Office has reviewed the address connected with the
above noted petition. At this time, there are no outstanding
amounts receivable for taxes. Therefore, 1 have no objections to
the proposal." The letter is signed by Lynda Scheel, Treasurer.
That is the extent of the correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director?
Mr. Wilshaw: Is the petitioner here this evening? We will need your name and
address for the record please.
Ryan Kresge, 2988 Jackson Blvd., Highland, MI, l think it is pretty straightforward.
The issue I am having is that the house is sold. We are kind of in
contract waiting for the rezoning to take place. Like you stated,
the title insurance is becoming a problem because of this issue.
I am just trying to get the house sold.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any questions for our petitioner?
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or
against this item? We do have one person in the audience.
Mitch Lodge, 8942 Fremont, Livonia, MI, we live on the alley. We have been there
25 years. I don't have really any objection to what is going to
happen on Middlebelt Road, however, I have been on that alley
now, as I have stated, for 25 years. I have seen so much on that
alley in 25 years, I am not going to even waste all your time. With
the drugs, with the bums, with the fights, with... on and on and on
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and on, what I see going on in that alley on a daily basis. My only
concern is what is going to happen if that turns into another
business with the alley and the traffic going up and down it. The
business behind us, it used to be heating and cooling is now
some type of a musical instrument holding place. They fixed it
up. The building with the cameras that they have brings a loft of
safety because it used to be dark, abandoned. A lot of things
going on back there. I live right behind that. Right where the
trucks back in. Again, 25 years, we moved in 1995. My only
concern is what is going to happen if that turns into a business
with the alley. Will we still have traffic up and down there? It's
loud enough with Middlebelt Road, let alone right out my back
fence when cars are whizzing up and down the alley. The police
are called there on a regular basis. They have done a good job
of patrolling it. They truly have. The house that was at the other
end that was burned years ago and temped was finally taken
down, which is a good thing because people were living in it.
Bums. I think what finally got it down was they found someone
half dead in there. That was the end. I seen the house go about
a month later. I think that was the final straw with what the city
wanted to see out of that home next to the bicycle shop. So with
that said, that is the only thing I came here for. The alley has
always been a concern to me and my family. It's never been
closed at either end. Basically, it's a...whoever goes up and
down there its for their own shortcut or whatever or misdoings.
Drug deals, this that and the other because its dark. Again, since
that business has been put there, that has been eliminated
somewhat. It's been one of the quieter summers we have ever
had. With the cameras that are back there that the new business
installed I think people feel....You're not going to go back there
with lighting and cameras all over the place. So, with that said,
that is all I wanted to say. The alley is a huge concern and what
business goes in and then what is going to happen with the traffic
as far as what they'd want to put up as far as a business. It's on
Middlebelt Road. There has been people in and out of that house
for years. Different people moving in and out. The last couple
that was there fixed it up quite nicely. It was a family that lived
there.
Mr. Wilshaw: Actually, sir. What this proposal is ... currently that property is
zoned commercial even thought there is a residence on it. It is
essentially a non -conforming use. What the petitioner is looking
to do is actually to rezone the property to residential so that there
won't be a business or can't be a business there. It will stay as a
residential property and you won't have to worry about a business
going there if that is the case.
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Mr. Lodge: It was mainly the alley. What they want to do with the property
that's anyone's.... great if he wants to fix it up. It's just the alley
and the traffic.
Mr. Wilshaw: We appreciate your vigilance to watch the alley and report that to
the police.
Mr. Lodge: I've reported one incident in all the years because I'm not one to
make the phone call. Basically, I am fearful of that. I don't want
retaliation. Again, what I have seen in that alley... I would love to
see that alley close one year. What happens in that alley ... there
can't be too many in Livonia. It's some tough things that go on
back there. Good luck to you sir.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Lodge: Thank you for your time, and thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Appreciate your comments.
Mr. Wilshaw: is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or
against this item? Mr. Kresge, is there anything else you wanted
to add before we make our decision?
Mr. Kresge: No. 1 think we are all good. Thank you.
Ms. Smiley: Who owns the alley?
Mr. Taormina: It's public right-of-way. It has not been vacated. It could be
petitioned to be vacated. The city would have to study whether it
would be feasible. Typically there are utilities that exist within
public alleys that service the homes and businesses that border
it. The other issue is whether any of the businesses rely on
access from the alley way. But it is something that has been done
throughout the community. If this gentleman wants to explore
that further, I would suggest that he talk to our City Engineering
Department.
Ms. Smiley: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any other questions or comments from the floor here?
Ok, then if not, I will close the public hearing and ask for a motion.
On a motion by Smiley, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was
#07-58-2019 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on July 9, 2019, on Petition
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2019-06-01-04 submitted by Ryan Kresge pursuant to Section
23.01 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended,
requesting to rezone the properties at 8999, 8985 and 8981
Middlebelt Road, located on the west side of Middlebelt Road
between Joy and West Chicago Roads in the Southeast '/4 of
Section 35, from C-1, Local Business to R-1, One Family
Residential - 60' x 120' Lots, the Planning Commission does
hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2019-06-01-
04 be approved for the following reasons:
1. That a change of zoning will more appropriately reflect the
current use of the property as a residential house;
2. That a change of zoning will help to eliminate the
nonconforming use status of the property; and
3. That a change of zoning will help the Petitioner sell the
property or secure the necessary financing and other
approvals necessary to expand and upgrade the existing
house.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 23.05 of
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Long: Would a waiver be beneficial in this case for the petitioner?
Wanted to help move things along. He said he was trying to...
Mr. Taormina: It would not. It has to go back to City Council for a public hearing
and the waiver really does no good.
Mr. Long: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go onto City Council with an approving resolution.
ITEM #2 PETITION 2019-06-01-05 DEVONCE CUSTOM CONST
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2019-
06-01-05 submitted by DeVonce Custom Construction Inc.
pursuant to Section 23.01 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance
#543, as amended, requesting to rezone the property at 13393
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Farmington Road, located on the west side of Farmington Road
between the CSX Railroad right-of-way and Schoolcraft Road in
the Northeast'/4 of Section 28, from M-1, Light Manufacturing to
C-2, General Business.
Mr. Taormina: This too is a rezoning petition involving a single parcel located at
the southeast corner of Graytona Ave and Surrey Ave. The
subject property consists of lots 76 through 79, as well as the
west half of the adjacent vacated alley of Grayton Highway
Subdivision. This subdivision was platted in 1925. The request
is to rezone the property from M-1 (Light Manufacturing) to C-2
(General Business). The parcel measures 0.43 acre. It has 145
feet of frontage on Surrey Ave and approximately 130 feet of
frontage on Graytona. The site is currently vacant. The petitioner
also owns the adjacent easterly parcel, which is located at 13389
Farmington Road. The adjacent parcel is developed with a
veterinary hospital. As you can see from the zoning map, it is
zoned C-2 (General Business). The reasons for the rezoning are
to allow for the future expansion of the veterinary hospital.
Section 11.03(b) allows veterinary clinics and animal clinics and
animal hospitals. Subject to waiver use approval, veterinary
hospitals are allowed in the C-2 district, but not in the M-1 zoning,
which is the reason for the rezoning. You can see from the zoning
map, immediately to the south and to the west of this property is
PL zoned property that is the Department of Public Works yard.
Immediately to the north are office and commercial buildings
zoned C-1 and C-2 and M-1. East across Farmington Road are
a variety of industrial uses that are zoned M-1 (Light
Manufacturing). With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the
departmental correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please.
Mr. Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated June 11,
2019, 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 rezoning at this
time. The existing parcel is assigned the address of #13393
Farmington Road. The legal description provided with the petition
appears to be correct and should be used with the subject
petition. The existing building is currently serviced by public
sanitary, storm and water main. The information submitted does
not indicate any new connections to the existing utility services,
so it appears that there will not be any additional impacts to the
existing systems at this time. Should alterations to the existing
services be required, the owner will need to provide plans to this
Department to determine if permits will be required. It should be
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noted that the owner will need to contact Detroit Edison regarding
the existing overhead power lines and associated easement that
runs through the property where the future addition is planned.
Also, Should the owner do any work within the Farmington Road
right-of-way, they will need to contact the Wayne County
Department of Public Services for any permits that may be
required." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant
City Engineer. The next letter is from the Finance Department,
dated June 12, 2019, 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. The next letter is from the
Treasurer's Department, dated June 13, 2019, which reads as
follows: `in accordance with your request, the Treasurer's Office
has reviewed the address connected with the above noted
petition. At this time, there are no outstanding amounts receivable
for taxes. Therefore, I have no objections to the proposal." The
letter is signed by Lynda Scheel, Treasurer. The next letter is
from the Assessor's Department, dated June 12, 2019 , which
reads as follows: "in reviewing the petition submitted by DeVon ce
Custom Construction, the proposed building addition will span
three separate Tax Parcel descriptions. The owner/petitioner will
need to contact our office for a land combination." The letter is
signed by Mary Ciolino, Department of Assessment. That is the
extent of the correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director?
Mr. Wilshaw: is the petitioner here this evening?
Dean DeVonce, 43650 Utica, Sterling Heights, MI, we are looking to expand. We
are already an existing veterinary clinic. The existing site just
doesn't accommodate the required parking that is needed for an
expansion. That is why we are going to have to expand on to all
three parcels. That is about it. We already have the special use.
It has already been obtained for the one parcel, so we will be
seeking it an expansion of that once you guys approve the
rezoning.
Mr. Wilshaw: Can you give us your name and address for our record?
Janice Collins, 13389 Farmington Road, Livonia, MI.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for coming and explaining that. Are there any
questions for our petitioner or their representative?
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Mr. Ventura: Can you tell us when approximately you will be expanding the
building and to what extent/
Mr. DeVonce: Our plan is as soon as we get approvals. We are hoping to still
get a shovel in the ground this year. There are a lot of meetings
that have to get approval first, and as soon as that can get done,
we will start applying at the Building Department.
Mr. Ventura: How much of an expansion of the building are you planning?
Mr. DeVonce: Right now we are estimating between 4100 and 4300 square feet.
Mr. Ventura: So substantial?
Mr. DeVonce: Substantial. That is why we need the other space she already
owns yes.
Mr. Ventura: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Taormina.
Mr. Taormina: My question was related to overhead power line that may pose a
constraint to the construction and whether he has contacted DTE.
Mr. DeVonce: I have already contacted them. They said that they will assign
someone as soon as it is pertinent. They said until then they are
not wasting their time until we get your guys approval. They want
to make sure it is able to be done before they start investing their
resources into a site engineer on it.
Mr. Taormina: That is unfortunate, but...
Mr. Wilshaw: It is the old chicken and the egg.
Mr. DeVonce: That is DTE for you.
Mr. Bongero: Also, in connection to that, I spoke to the Engineering
Department. Your neighbor, the DPW, is doing a large
renovation. They have to deal with the overhead lines too. They
said they tried to reach out to... maybe to the owner.
Ms. Collins: I have his card, I have not reached out to him yet.
Mr. Bongero: He said just to call him because maybe you guys can work
together on it because it needs to be done for them too. I told
them I would mention it.
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Mr. DeVonce: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Bongero. Any other questions for our petitioner?
Mr. Wilshaw: is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or
against this item? Seeing no one coming forward, I will close the
public hearing and ask for a motion.
On a motion by McCue, seconded by Long, and unanimously adopted, it was
#07-59-2019 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on July 9, 2019, on Petition
2019-06-01-05 submitted by DeVonce Custom Construction Inc.
pursuant to Section 23.01 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance
#543, as amended, requesting to rezone the property at 13393
Farmington Road, located on the west side of Farmington Road
between the CSX Railroad right-of-way and Schoolcraft Road in
the Northeast'/4 of Section 28, from M-1, Light Manufacturing to
C-2, General Business, the Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2019-06-01-05 be
approved for the following reasons:
1. That a change of zoning to C-2 General Business is
compatible to and in harmony with the surrounding land
uses and zoning districts in the area;
2. That a change of zoning will allow the expansion of the
adjacent animal hospital; and
3. That the proposed change of zoning represents a
reasonable and logical zoning plan for the subject property
which adheres to the principles of sound land use planning.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 23.05 of
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
ITEM #3 PETITION 2019-06-02-09 NEUMANNISMITH ARCHIT.
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2019-
06-02-09 submitted by Neumann/Smith Architecture requesting
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approval of all plans required by Section 11.03(t) of the City of
Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with
a proposal to expand the floor area, renovate the exterior
appearance of the building and modify the vehicular parking
layout of the existing Salvation Army resale store at 33600
Plymouth Road, located on the north side of Plymouth Road
between Farmington and Stark Roads in the Southeast 1/4 of
Section 28
Mr. Taormina: This is a request to renovate and expand the existing Salvation
Army store which is located on Plymouth Road just west of
Farmington Road. The subject property is 3.2 acres in size. It
has 320 feet of frontage on Plymouth Road and a depth of roughly
430 feet. The zoning, as you can see, is C-2 (General Business).
The building altogether is 30,586 square feet. Salvation Army
currently occupies the easterly two-thirds of the building, or about
21,000 square feet. The remaining portion is vacant. The
previous occupant was Chimento's Italian Market. Parking is
available, as you can see from this aerial photograph, on the
north, south and east sides of the building. Salvation Army is
proposing to expand by occupying the entire building.
Secondhand stores and rummage shops, which the Salvation
Army is classified as, are permitted as waiver uses in the C--2
zoning district as set forth in Section 11.03(t) of the ordinance.
Like the current layout, the front section of the expanded resale
store would contain most of the retail display area including the
clothing racks, changing rooms, as well as a furniture area and a
point of sales or cashier area which would remain at the front of
the store. The rear part of the building is where the merchandise
would be processed and prepped before it is put out on the floor.
Donated items would be shipped to the store by truck and
delivered via an overhead door that is located at the rear of the
building. The store would continue to accept public donations.
There is a drop-off location on the east side of the building. Part
of the expanded area would include other services within the
building. It shows offices, public and employee's bathrooms, a
locker room, closets, mechanical rooms and employee
breakroom. The main customer entrance to the building is
currently located in the southeast corner. This will be moved to
the center of the storefront facing Plymouth Road. Let me go
quickly to what that would look like. The new entrance, as you
can see here, would be defined by these new masonry columns.
There would be new metal panels that would be installed over the
entire length of the storefront's existing canopy. The donation
drop-off center on the east side of the building would also contain
a new metal canopy. As you can see from these renderings, the
entire building would be repainted. Parking required for this store
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is based on a ratio of 1 space for each 160 square feet of usable
floor area. Accordingly, there are 153 parking spaces required to
satisfy the zoning ordinance. The plan shows 123 parking spaces
available on site, which results in a deficiency. However, this is
a pre-existing condition and the fact that the building would be
occupied by a single tenant actually reduces the amount of
required parking, so there may not be a need for a variance in
this instance, even though there is a slight deficiency. There
would be several modifications to the parking. Mostly in front of
the store between the building and Plymouth Road. This area
would be restriped to allow for one-way traffic. Those of you that
are familiar with this site, are aware that there currently is
opposing angled parking along the front of the store. This is both
inefficient and confusing to customers. The change would restrict
the flow to one-way traffic from east to west. The rear parking
area would also be restriped and made available to customers.
The entire site, as you can see from this plan, would be re -
landscaped which includes new landscaping along Plymouth
Road. This item is scheduled to be reviewed by the Plymouth
Road Development Authority (PRDA) next week. The lighting
would be restricted to 20' in height. One of the issues that was
discussed at the study meeting was the fact that there is no
dumpster location on site. It was described to us that there is no
need for that since all of the items that are brought to the store
eventually leave the store via trucks and are sent to other
locations. Signage is limited to one sign. On the front of the store
is one, as well as one ground mounted sign. The wall sign shall
not exceed 1 square foot for each foot of building frontage. The
plans provided indicate a couple of signs. That would have to be
reviewed by the Inspection Department to determine if zoning
variances are required. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out
the departmental correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please.
Mr. Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated June 11,
2019, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request,
the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced
petition. We have no objections to the proposed project at this
time. The existing parcel is assigned the address of #33600
Plymouth Road. The legal description provided with the petition
appears to be correct and should be used with the subject
petition. The existing building is currently serviced by public
sanitary, storm and water main. The information submitted
indicates revisions and additions to the water main that will need
to be permitted through this Department. Since the proposed
storm sewer improvements will be connecting to a County -owned
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storm sewer, the owner will need to submit drawings and obtain
permits through Wayne County. Should the owner do any work
within the Plymouth Road fight -of -way, they will need to contact
the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) for any
permits that may be required." The letter is signed by David W.
Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is from the
Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated June 24, 2019, which reads
as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in
connection with a proposal to expand the floor area, renovate the
exterior appearance of the building and modify the vehicular
parking layout of the existing store on property located at the
above referenced address. We have no objections to this
proposal with the following stipulations: 1. Building shall be
protected by an automatic sprinkler system. 2. Subject building(s)
are to be provided with an automatic sprinkler system, and on site
hydrants shall be located between 50 feet and 100 feet from the
Fire Department connection. 3. In regard to NFPA 13, 2013
edition, Fire Department Connections should be of 2 % Detroit
Standard Thread, 4.Knox Box (Knox Locks on gated entries)
must be installed for Fire Department access. 5. These issues
and other code requirements will be addressed during the plan
review process." The letter is signed by Greg Thomas, Fire
Marshal. The next letter is from the Division of Police, dated
June 17, 2019, which reads as follows: "1 have reviewed the plans
in connection with the petitions. My only objection to the site plan
is the lack of accessible handicap parking spaces. Otherwise, I
have no other objections to the plan."The letter is signed by Brian
Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the
Inspection Department, dated June 18,2019, which reads as
follows: "Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition
has been reviewed. 1. A variance from the Zoning Board of
Appeals would be required for the deficient number of parking
spaces proposed. 2. Signage shall meet the requirements of the
ordinance or a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals would
be required for excess number of signs and/or square footage.
This Department has no further objections to this Petition. 1 trust
this provides the requested information." The letter is signed by
Jerome Hanna, Director of Inspection. The next letter is from the
Finance Department, dated June 12, 2019, which reads as
follows: '7 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. The next letter is from the Treasurer's Department,
dated June 11, 2019, 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
July 10, 2019
29253
no outstanding amounts receivable for taxes. Therefore, I have
no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Lynda
Scheel, Treasurer. That is the extent of the correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director?
Ms. Smiley: The Army Shield. Is that considered signage?
Mr. Taormina: It would be. As a second sign on the face of the building would
require a variance. I am not sure if that situation exists today, but
if they only have a single sign today on the front of the building,
adding the second sign is definitely going to trigger the need for
a variance.
Ms: Smiley: The whole front of the building is glass except that little piece of
cement or whatever, right?
Mr. Taormina: This doesn't show the full front. Let me go to the black and white
drawing. I think this drawing shows it. That is the one area of the
building that is currently brick I believe.
Ms. Smiley: So they would be over in the number of signs and the amount of
signage square footage?
Mr. Taormina: I cannot say whether it would exceed the total area, but definitely
the number of signs.
Ms. Smiley: I don't find it the least bit offensive, but ... thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Smiley. Any other questions for our Planning
staff?
Mr. Ventura: Mr. Taormina, on that same topic, I note that in the illustration that
you had on the screen prior to this one, I noticed at the top of the
windows on the east side of the building there is a red band. Do
you know whether that is_ and it is not on shown on the windows
on the west side of the entrance in this particular illustration, but
if you go to the south elevation the red banner is shown all the
way across the store. Do you know whether that is signage or
what is that?
Mr. Taormina: Are you referring to the stripe across the upper portion of the
fagade?
Mr. Ventura: Yup.
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Mr. Taormina: That would not be considered a sign. As long as it is a part of the
fagade treatment, I don't believe that would be classified as a
sign. That is just a metal facia. I will let the architect describe
that, but if I understand you correctly, you are referring to this
band that exists along the top part of the fagade.
Mr. Ventura: No.
Mr. Taormina: I am sorry.
Mr. Ventura: No, Across the top part of the windows.
Mr. Taormina: Across the top part of the windows?
Mr. Ventura: It was more visible on the other illustration.
Mr. Taormina: Okay, I will go back to that.
Mr. Wilshaw: That almost looks like that is interior.
Mr. Ventura: I am trying to figure out what that is.
Mr. Taormina: I am going to let the architect describe that when it is appropriate.
Mr. Wilshaw: We will figure that out. Any other questions for Mr. Taormina?
With that, our petitioner has come forward. If you want to start
with your name address, please.
Mike Kirk, Neumann/Smith Architecture, 400 Galleria Officentre, Ste. 555,
Southfield, MI
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Kirk.
Jim Cummings, Neumann/Smith Architecture, Project Manager, same address as
Mike Kirk.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. And we have someone from Salvation Army.
Envoy Jacquelyn Idzior, 1627 West Fort Street, Detroit, MI 48216.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, mam. The first question you heard was ... we will give
you a chance of course to speak to anything you wish to, but you
did already hear one question about the red band around the top
of the window. Can you explain what we are seeing in those
drawings?
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Mr. Kirk: There is a section of the ceiling that drops down. It is kind of a
drop ceiling, its drops down. That probably won't be red, it will
probably be white. It is just a part of the interior you are seeing
there.
Mr. Wilshaw: So, what you are showing there in that diagram is some of the
interior treatments that are showing through the window?
Mr. Kirk: Through the glass, yeah.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. Mr. Ventura, does that answer your question?
Mr. Ventura: It does. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Since you are here, Mr. Cummings, did you want to add any
additional information to the presentation?
Mr. Cummings: I would just say that the Salvation Army has enjoyed a long
business relationship at this location with the City of Livonia.
They want to expand their operation. They have also been very
cognizant of the issues with processing the donations at the rear
of the building currently. What this expansion actually does is
almost double the size of the processing area at the back of the
building. There is only about 15% more actual retail space being
created, but by doubling the size of that processing area it will
allow the Salvation Army to keep all of their operations within the
building for the most part. I will let Envoy tell you about the
operation.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, thank you.
Ms. Idzior: So, let me say that the citizens of Livonia are extremely gracious
in their donations. Just recently we had to close our Redford
location and many of those donors are coming to Livonia as well,
so the donations increased substantially. We purchased the
entire building, I believe, in 2011. We have wanted to expand for
a long time. It is finally coming to fruition. We are very excited
because we know that the parking lot needs a lot of maintenance.
The building itself needs a lot of maintenance. We need to get
the donations inside. We know with this expansion we will be
able to bring all of our donations inside. There will be a truck well
at the back, which will make it easier for loading and unloading
purposes. I believe that the donor experience will also be better
now that there will be an overhang and protected from the
elements a little bit better.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Envoy. Are there any questions for the petitioner?
July 10, 2019
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Ms. Smiley: It is my understanding that you don't keep everything that is
donated. That it is processed and moved to other facilities.
Ms. Idzior: Yes. So, Livonia is probably one of the top five stores that we
have in Southeast Michigan. What they do is go through
everything that comes in that they can and that they can put out
on their floor and the rest is sent back for warehousing. If it is not
any good, let's say it is unusable or unable to be resold, then that
goes back to our warehouse in Detroit. We are currently working
on a consolidation process there and moving into one facility that
will be located on Cabot in downtown Detroit. That is where we
go through and bail all of the rags. We prepare the metals to be
recycled, the electronics to be recycled, plastics to be recycled,
and the cardboard is recycled. Shoes, plush, accessories, those
things are sold off and then obviously if we have any remaining
garbage it would be taken care of at that facility.
Ms. Smiley: Okay, so that is why you don't need trash or a big dumpster or
anything like that?
Ms. Idzior: Correct.
Ms. Smiley: Did I understand at the study meeting that you said that only a
third or 30 something percent is truly usable?
Ms. Idzior: Yes, mam.
Ms. Smiley: [ am still finding that number incredible.
Ms. Idzior: Well, the good thing is that we make ... we are able to make some
money off the things that aren't usable to the consumer. So rags
are sold overseas. Plastics can be recycled. Cardboard has a
good market, depending on how the commodities go, so we can
get back some of the funds in that way.
Ms. Smiley: Thank you and thank you for the good work you do.
Ms. Idzior: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Smiley. Are there any other questions for our
petitioner?
Mr. Caramagno: I heard you mention a truck well in the back. Is that on the west
side where the bay door is? Or where is the truck well going to
be? I don't think I saw that.
July 10, 2019
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Mr. Kirk: The truck well is located on the east side of the building. At the
rear of the building across from the Consumers Gas facility
behind. The particular door where the truck well will be is in about
the center of that....) said east, it is north, I am sorry. It is in the
center of that wall. It is an existing door opening.
Mr. Taormina: It is not shown, so that may be part of the confusion. The
rendering does not show the new truck well along the north
elevation. It does not show in this particular plan.
Mr. Caramagno: Truck well as in back down into a dock?
Mr. Kirk: Correct.
Mr. Caramagno: Where you have level loading off the floor?
Mr. Kirk: Correct.
Mr, Caramagno: That is going to be on the north side of the building?
Mr. Kirk: Right. If you go to the site plan we can point that out.
Mr. Taormina: Let me see if I can get that.
Mr. Kirk: There you go. You can see, right there in the center, with the
landscaping around it. That is the truck well that goes down to
the back door of the building.
Mr. Caramagno: Will these be straight trucks or tractor trailers that go back in
there?
Mr. Kirk: Primarily panel trucks, but we could have semi if we needed to.
They have very few semi's that come into the facility.
Ms. Idzior: Right now, at the end of the year we usually have a semi or two.
You have probably seen them on site because of the amount of
donations we are able to obtain through the city. Daily there are
four or five box trucks there. They are about 24 to 26 feet that
come and cart away product.
Mr. Caramagno: You have the proper radius to get up and back into that well?
Mr. Kirk: Yeah, we have run auto --turn programs on it.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions?
July 10, 2019
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Ms. Smiley: It is more of comment. When you go to Council it would be helpful
if you had a sample board of what everything is made of, and the
colors that are going to be used.
Mr. Kirk: Sure. Yup.
Ms. Smiley: Visual aids are very helpful, particularly to me, but when you go
on to Council I think it would help if they saw the actual product
that you are putting on the front of the building. Colors, stuff like
that.
Mr. Kirk: We actually have the board. We didn't bring it, so we are all set.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Smiley. That is a good recommendation. We are
a very visual group in this city. Are there any other questions for
the ... yes, Mr. Bongero.
Mr. Bongero: I think this is great. Two questions. Are you staying open during
construction or are you going to shut down?
Mr. Kirk. Yes, they will be in operation continuously so, right now there is
three bays from east to west in the store. We will close down the
western most bay along with the former restaurant space and
renovate that first keeping the eastern most bays open. Then we
will move all of the product over into the west bays and finish off
the eastern bays.
Mr. Bongero: A couple weeks ago I was probably your biggest customer.
emptied half of our basement.to you store. It does get a little
confusing on the parking. I know you are going to offer parking
in the back, but there really isn't anything telling you. Talking
among a few of us, we were saying maybe you can post
something notifying customers there is something back there,
you know what I mean?
Mr. Kirk: Right now there is a fence that kind of goes across that back lot.
That will go away and the entire parking lot will be a new surface
and striped with landscaping. It will be very obvious that you can
use the who thing.
Mr. Taormina: If I can interject a little bit.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes.
Mr. Taormina: The plans show that you will create a one-way driveway aisle
from the east entrance heading to the west. That is where the
July 10, 2019
29259
main entrance is, kind of centrally positioned on the store front so
that is the parking that will go first, obviously. As customers drive
across the front of the store and realize that there is no parking
available ... to avoid them having to come back out on to Plymouth
Road and circle back around to find parking on the east side or
at the back of the store, it would be helpful if you had a sign
indicating that there is additional parking available at the rear.
Alternatively, we question, and maybe this is something you can
evaluate, if it makes more sense to reverse the parking along the
front, because that way if people enter, and maybe there is a
good reason not to do this but if vehicles enter and find that all
the spaces are occupied on the front of the building, it is much
easier for them to then turn left and find available parking on the
east side of the building or alternatively behind the building. This
is just a suggestion.
Mr. Kirk: We can definitely look at it. Our thoughts of heading the one way
drive to the west was to promote more people exiting the site
farther away from the Farmington Road intersection. 1 know that
when 1 have gone into the store and tried exiting out of that east
drive, you are almost to the backed up traffic in the turn lane. I
guess we will get out a coin and flip it.
Mr. Taormina: Some signage indicating that there is additional parking in the
back may help.
Mr. Kirk: We can do that.
Mr. Wilshaw: That is a good suggestion. Thank you, Mr. Taormina. Any other
questions for our petitioner? I don't' see anything else. Is there
anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this
item? I am not seeing anyone coming forward. Envoy, 1 did have
one question. You mentioned that this is, not only one of your top
stores in Southeast Michigan for donations, but I believe you also
said at our study meeting it is one of your top stores for sales. Is
that correct?
Ms. Idzior: Yes. It has been in the past. Obviously, with the deterioration of
the store, we have suffered some in sales. We believe with this
expansion we are going to be over two million dollars. The store
trends somewhere between 1.5 and 1.7 and it is trending at about
1.4 or 1.3 right now. We do believe with this expansion it will be
an over 2-million-dollar store.
Mr. Wilshaw: Excellent. That is great news, and we appreciate you providing
that information. This has certainly been in the community a long
time and I think this is a good expansion. Thank you. Any other
July 10, 2019
29260
questions, comments? If not, we will close the public hearing and
a motion would be in order.
On a motion by Smiley, seconded by Ventura, and unanimously adopted, it was
#07-60-2019 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on July 9, 2019, on Petition
2019-06--02-09 submitted by Neumann/Smith Architecture
requesting approval of all plans required by Section 11.03(t) of
the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in
connection with a proposal to expand the floor area, renovate the
exterior appearance of the building and modify the vehicular
parking layout of the existing Salvation Army resale store at
33600 Plymouth Road, located on the north side of Plymouth
Road between Farmington and Stark Roads in the Southeast 1/4
of Section 28, the Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2019-06-02-09 be
approved subject to the following conditions:
That the Site Plan identified as Sheet No. SP2 dated June
7, 2019, as revised, prepared by Nowak & Fraus Engineers,
is hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
2. That this approval is subject to the petitioner being granted
a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for deficient
parking and any conditions related thereto;
3. That all parking areas shall be repaired, resealed and
restriped as necessary to the satisfaction of the Inspection
Department. Parking spaces shall be doubled striped at ten
feet (10') wide by twenty feet (20') in length;
4. Barrier free parking shall be provided at the direction of the
Inspection Department;
5. That there shall be no outdoor sales, storage or display of
merchandise, and no storage of merchandise or other
materials in any type of temporary or portable unit, structure,
trailer or donation receptacle;
6, That the Landscape Plan identified as Sheet No. L2 dated
June 5, 2019 prepared by Nowak & Fraus Engineers, is
hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
7. That the Petitioner shall work with staff and the Plymouth
Road Development Authority (PRDA) on plans to install
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29261
additional landscaping and other streetscape improvements
(i.e., brick piers and fencing) along Plymouth Road;
8. That all disturbed lawn areas, including road rights -of -way,
shall be sodded in lieu of hydro seeding;
9. That underground sprinklers are to be provided for all
landscaped and sodded areas and all planted materials
shall be installed to the satisfaction of the Inspection
Department and thereafter permanently maintained in a
healthy condition;
10. That any facilities for the outdoor storage of refuse shall be
screened by means of an enclosure constructed of masonry
walls with metal enclosure gates which shall be properly
maintained and, when not in use, closed at all times;
11. That the Elevation Plan identified as Sheet A401 dated June
7, 2019, as revised, prepared by Neumann Smith
Architecture, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
12. That all rooftop mechanical equipment shall be concealed
from public view on all sides by screening that shall be of a
compatible character, material and color to other exterior
materials on the building;
13. That all light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in
height and shall be aimed and shielded so as to minimize
stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring into
adjacent roadways;
14. That only conforming wall signage is approved with this
petition, and any additional signage shall be separately
submitted for review and approval by the Zoning Board of
Appeals;
15. That no LE❑ light band or exposed neon shall be permitted
on this site including, but not limited to, the buildings or
around the windows;
16. That unless approved by the proper local authority, any type
of exterior advertising, such as promotional flags, streamers
or sponsor vehicles designed to attract the attention of
passing motorists, shall be prohibited;
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29262
17. 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
18. Pursuant to Section 19.10 of Ordinance #543, the Zoning
Ordinance of the City of Livonia, this approval is valid for a
period of ONE YEAR ONLY from the date of approval by
City Council, and unless a building permit is obtained, this
approval shall be null and void at the expiration of said
period.
FURTHER, the Planning Commission recommends the approval
of a Conditional Agreement limiting this waiver use to this user
only, with the provision to extend this waiver use approval to a
new user only upon approval of the new user by the City Council.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 19.05 of
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
ITEM #4 PETITION 2019-06-08-09 SC HEALTH
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2019-
06-08-09 submitted by SC Health requesting approval of all plans
required by Sections 18.47 and 18.58 of the City of Livonia
Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with a
proposal to construct a new four-story medical/health services
facility on a portion of the property at 18600 Haggerty Road,
located on the east side of Haggerty Road between Six Mile and
Seven Mile Roads in the Northwest % of Section 7
Mr. Taormina: This new development is proposed on approximately 8.3 acres of
vacant undeveloped land located in the northeast corner of the
Schoolcraft College Campus. The subject site is in the process
of being rezoned from PL (Public Lands) to PO (High -Rise
Professional Office). First reading was given by City Council on
the rezoning on April 22, 2019 and second read and roll call are
on hold pending a review of the site plan. The building proposed
is positioned on the easterly side of this site. This allows for better
exposure and visibility from the expressway. The main entrance
to the new four-story building would be on the west side. Parking,
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29263
as you can see here, would be available on the north, west, as
well as the south sides of the building. Primary access would be
from the new ring road that was built to facilitate access around
the east side of the campus. This part of the road is going to be
renamed to St. Joe's Parkway, after the name of the tenant that
will be occupying the building. The building will be constructed in
two phases. Phase I is four -stories and consists of the south half
of the structure. The gross floor area of Phase I is approximately
92,000 square feet. Phase 11 would be one-story in height and
constitutes the northerly half of the structure. It will contain a
gross floor area of roughly 34,700 square feet. Altogether, the
building will occupy a floor area of about 126,800 square feet.
The PO district regulations require that the maximum ground
coverage be limited to 20%. This equates to roughly 72,000
square feet of footprint area. In this case, the building is roughly
65,000 square feet or 18% of the site. Additional regulations for
the PO district are the setbacks. They are required to be 60 feet,
both for the front as well as the rear and the sides. In this case,
the building is 217 feet from St. Joe's Parkway, and roughly 71
feet from the 1-27511-96 expressway right-of-way. The side yard
setbacks are both 83 feet from the north property line and 121
feet from the south property line. So this building complies in all
respects with the height, area and bulk standards of the Zoning
Ordinance. Required, altogether, is a total of 446 parking spaces.
Provided on site are 353 spaces. There would be 151 additional
shared off -site parking spaces provided on the south side of St.
Joe's Parkway. Altogether, there would be 504 parking spaces
to support the proposed development. That too would comply
with the Zoning Ordinance. Dumpsters are located in both the
southwest and northwest corners of the parking lot. Support
adjacent to the rear of the building. This is where most of the
other services will be located including the receiving area, ground
mounted mechanical equipment and a mobile MRI unit. All of
these will be screened from view using 7'/2 foot high brick walls.
The storm water would be handled via the existing storage pond,
which is located south of this site. There is a fully detailed
landscape plan that was submitted with the application.
Landscaping constitutes roughly 19% of the site. Looking at the
design of the building, you can see what the style of the building
will look like. It is predominately a brick structure. Other materials
include insulated metal panels, curtain wall glazing, and the use
of composite siding. There is one wall sign permitted in this case.
That would be limited to 110 square feet. With that, Mr.
Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence.
Mr. Wishaw: Please.
July 10, 2019
29264
Mr. Taormina: The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated June 12,
2019, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request,
the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced
petition. We have no objections to the proposed project at this
time. The existing parcel is assigned the address of #18900
Haggerty Road, although all buildings within the Schoolcraft
College properties use the address of #18600 Haggerty Road.
Should the owner wish to have a separate address assigned to
the proposed building, they should contact this office. The legal
description provided with the petition appears to be correct and
should be used in conjunction with his petition. it is not clear from
the submitted drawings as to whether or not the owner intends to
split the project envelope from the overall parcel. Should the
owner wish to split the parcel, they will need to submit the
appropriate paperwork with the Assessors office and provide
access easements to service the new parcel. The existing site is
currently serviced by a combination of public and private water
main that can be extended to the proposed building. The owners
will need to identify what, if any, portions of the new water main
loop will be public and provide easements as needed. Sanitary
and storm sewers servicing the proposed project are private and
will not require easements. Storm water detention has been
provided for the site through previous projects, although the
owners will need to submit design calculations showing the pond
was adequately constructed. We will review these items when full
engineering drawings are submitted to this Department. Right-of-
way permits may be required from the Michigan Department of
Transportation depending on the access and grading required to
install the utilities and landscaping along the 1-275 corridor."The
letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer.
The next letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated
June 25, 2019, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed
the site plan submitted in connection with a request to construct
a new four-story medical/health services facility on a portion of
the property located at the above referenced address. We have
no objections to this proposal with the following stipulations. 1.
Building shall be protected by an automatic sprinkler system. 2.
Subject building(s) are to be provided with an automatic sprinkler
system, and on site hydrants shall be located between 50 feet
and 100 feet from the Fire Department connection. 3. Fire
Hydrants and Water Supply shall be required according to 18.3
NFPA 1, 2015. 4. In regards to NFPA 13, 2013 edition, Fire
Department Connections should be of 2 % Detroit Standard
Thread. 5. Fire Department access roads shall be designed and
maintained to support the imposed loads of fire apparatus and
provide an adequate all-weather driving surface. 6. This division
requests that the entrance drive be posted (on both sides) "Fire
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29265
Lane — No Parking". 7. Access around building shall be provided
for emergency vehicles with a minimum vertical clearance of
thirteen feet six inches, a turning radius of fifty-three feet wall to
wall and an inside turning radius of twenty-nine feet six inches. 8.
A fire access road shall be provided with not less than 20 feet of
unobstructed width and have a minimum of 13 feet 6 inches of
vertical clearance in accordance to 18.2,3.4.1.1 and 18.2.3.4.1.2
of NFPA 1, 2015. 9. 18.2.3.4.1.2.2 Vertical clearances or widths
shall be increased when vertical clearances or widths are not
adequate to accommodate fire apparatus NFPA 1, 2015. 10.
Chapters 8 & 9 shall be followed as they relate to Fire Protection
features and Alarm Systems NFPA 101, 2015 edition. 11. Knox
Box (Knox Locks on gated entries) must be installed for Fire
Department access. 12. These issues and other code
requirements will be addressed during the plan review process."
The letter is signed by Greg Thomas, Fire Marshal. The next
letter is from the Division of Police, dated June 17, 2019, which
reads as follows: "l have reviewed the plans in connection with
the petitions. My only objection to the site plan is the lack of
accessible handicap parking spaces. Otherwise, I have no other
objections to the plan." The letter is signed by Brian Leigh,
Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the Inspection
Department, dated June 25, 2019, which reads as follows:
Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition has been
reviewed. 1. A cross access and parking agreement would be
required for use of off -site parking spaces. 2. All parking spaces
shall be 10' x 20' and double striped. 3. Signage has not been
reviewed at this time. 4. The outdoor parking lights are detailed
at 30 feet in height. The Commission and or Council may wish to
review the proposed height. This Department has no further
objections to this Petition. I trust this provides the requested
information." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of
Inspection. The next letter is from the Treasurer's Department,
dated June 11, 2019, which reads as follows: "In accordance with
your request, the Treasurer's Office has reviewed the address
connected with the above noted petition. At this time, there are
no outstanding amounts receivable for taxes. Therefore, I have
no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Lynda
Scheel, Treasurer. The next letter is from the Finance
Department, dated June 12, 2019, which reads as follows: "!have
reviewed the addresses connected with the above noted petition.
As there are no outstanding amounts receivable, general or water
and sewer, 1 have no objections to the proposal." The letter is
signed by Coline Coleman, Chief Accountant. The next letter is
from the Department of Assessment, dated June 21, 2019, which
reads as follows: "The petition submitted by SC Health, involves
a part of a 95-acre exempt parcel owned by Schoolcraft College.
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29266
The new owners will need to contact our office to establish
ownership, the taxable status and separate tax billing."That letter
is signed by Mary Ciolino, Department of Assessment. That is
the extent of the correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? The letter from
the Police Department on this petition and on the previous one
note the lack of accessible parking spaces. In both cases, I see
them on the plan. Are they getting a different plan than what we
are seeing?
Mr. Taormina: They should be receiving the same information that we are
reviewing tonight. Whether or not it was just something that was
overlooked or they feel the numbers are deficient, I don't know.
That is something that is verified at the time of the Plan Review
by the Inspection Department to make sure that they provide the
proper ratio of barrier free spaces to regular parking spaces,
depending on the occupancy of the building.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, thank you, Mr. Taormina. If there are no other questions
for our Planning staff we will go to the petitioner who is here.
Good evening Mr. Cerny.
Glenn Cerny, 18500 Haggerty, Livonia, MI 48152, 1 am the President of the SC
Health Organization. 1 have a host of people behind me, so 1 want
to make sure we introduce everybody behind me. Lowell Spragg
is the VP of Finance and CFO of IHA. We have Sarah Gilbert
who is the Senior Vice President of Operations for St. Mary
Mercy. We have John Ekstein who is the lead architect for Lindout
Associates. John Wright who is the Executive Director of
Construction and Physical Plan Operations in a lot of different
projects at the campus for Schoolcraft College, The President of
Zeimet Wozniak & Associates, Julian Wargo. We brought a lot
of stuff for you to look at. We have material boards. We've got a
lot of things, so we are open for your questions.
Mr. Wilshaw: Sounds like you have prepared for anything that can come your
way.
Mr. Cerny: We hope so.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Do we have any questions for our petitioner?
Ms. Smiley: One quick one. The only signage that I see is facing 1-275. It
says St. Joe's IHA. Is there signs anywhere else on the building?
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Mr. Wilshaw: Here come the samples. You should have known that question
was coming.
John Ekstein, 10465 Citation Drive, Brighton, MI, I am an architect with Lindout.
We are currently showing one sign that is allowed per the Zoning
Ordinance. We are fully aware that if we are going to change
that, we need to come back for a zoning variance.
Ms. Smiley: It is on the side of the expressway?
Mr. Ekstein: Correct. We provided a movie. I think a picture is worth a
thousand words, so I don't know if you folks saw that or not. That
may give you a better feel. It takes you up and down 1-275 and
on to the park as well.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr Ekstein. We will let Mr. Taormina get that queued -
up. Do we have any other questions in the meantime, while he
gets that ready?
Mr. Ventura: For either gentleman, a note in Mr. Taormina's disortation that
there are eight -foot parking spaces. Can you explain why you
would have an eight -foot parking place?
Mr. Cerny: That is why you have a team.
Mr. Wilshaw: Works very nicely.
Julian Wargo, Zeimet Wozniak & Associates, 55800 Grand River, New Hudson,
Mi. That is located halfway between Wixom and Milford. The
parking stalls that we presently show on the drawing that are 8 x
20 are the barrier free only. That is the ADA current standard for
universal accessibility.
Mr. Ventura: The effective width would be greater than eight feet.
Mr. Wargo: Yes. Our college standard is 9 x 20, and the city standard is 10
x 20 so on the PO zoned parcel we have standard parking stalls
that are 10 x 20, with the barrier free measuring 8 x 20. On the
college shared parking we follow the college standard of 9 x 20.
Mr. Ventura: Thank you. Can you address the fact that you are showing 30-
foot-high lights as opposed to the code required 20?
Mr. Wargo; I cannot, but I think John White can.
Mr. Cerny: I have a bullpen here, so I am bringing them in. I am like Sparky
Anderson. Bring in the leftie.
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Mr. Wilshaw: Here comes the reliever.
John White, Schoolcraft College, I am not sure of the question. I didn't hear the
question.
Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Ventura?
Mr. White: The college standard is 30 foot high. That is what we use
throughout the entire campus. So, they are following the same
standard for aesthetics and for overall lighting. We seem to get
the best lighting distribution through that.
Mr. Ventura: Okay, so you are rezoning this to private land and the city
ordinance requires a 20-foot height. Would you have any
objection to conforming with the city ordinance?
Mr. White: Well, I .... I guess the question is, would the city object to
conforming to what we already have on the rest of the campus?
Mr. Ventura: I think we already do.
Mr. White: I mean, it is certainly not lighting that is imposing on anybody
around us or anywhere. It is kind of off and it would certainly look
best if it all follows the same plan, same layout.
Mr. Ventura: My final question is, we note that this is being built in two phases.
I assume you are waiting to build phase II.
Mr. Cerny: Yeah. It is basically a MOB (Medical Office Building). IHA is the
primary tenant for Phase I and then St. Joe's OR, the operational
surgery and surgical procedures, is Phase 11. It is a logical split
between the two organizations. The Phase I will go immediately
and Phase II will follow shortly thereafter.
Mr. Ventura: Are you waiting for a Certificate of Need?
Mr. Cerny: No. We are not waiting for Certificate of Need.
Mr. Ventura: Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Taormina, you have your video queued -up and ready to go?
Mr. Taormina: Let's see if it works.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, great.
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Ms. Smiley: It's like Disney World.
(Movie playing)
Ms. Smiley: I'm not hearing the music playing (laughing).
Mr. Wilshaw: Make it copyright free music, because our Channel 8 city
television would have some issues with copyrights.
Mr. Bongero: That's cool.
Ms. Smiley: That is very cool.
Mr. Taormina: Right now the image is circling around the north side of the site.
The building in the foreground is one of the Seven Mile Crossing
office buildings. Now it is heading west away from the highway.
It will circle back and show the main entrance to the building.
What you are looking at now is the one-story Phase II on the left
hand side and the four-story Phase 1 on the right had side. This
part of the building with the main entrance being located near the
center of the two phases. Looking at the building from southwest
direction and now we are circling back around to the south side
of the building. Again you can see the Seven Mile Crossing
building, now in the background. The highway now becomes
visible on the right hand side. The cell tower that 1 think a lot of
people are familiar with, which is the also the sign for Schoolcraft
College. Coming back around and to the point of beginning,
which is looking at the building from the east side. The plane is
headed back to the airport I think.
Mr. Wilshaw: Excellent narration Mr. Taormina.
Mr. Taormina: Thank you.
Ms. McCue: Can you do that again?
Mr. Taormina: But with music right?
Mr. Wilshaw: You can hum along while .... (laughs)
Ms. Smiley: Feel free to sing.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for showing us that video. That was excellent.
Mr. Wilshaw: 1 assume you want to walk through the material boards you have
presented. Mr. Ekstein, do you want to do that? That will give
July 10, 2019
29270
our TV audience an opportunity to see what we are looking at as
well.
Mr. Ekstein: I won't go through every elevation.
Mr. Taormina: I can use these, so if you have a particular rendering you want to
point to here on ...
Mr. Ekstein: Let's go with the east because that is what you will see from I-
275. So as I stated earlier, it is basically a brick masonry building
along with insulated metal panels. So at the base is our darker
brick here. (Inaudible) Over here, as it climbs up you have the
lighter brick and then we also have this, it's called long board. It
is a faux wood. If you see right here, it is a pretty beefy metal
panel. You see it a lot on the Whole Foods nowadays. But it
looks more like wood. Then the soffit up high is aluminum cut
and composite panel, whereas on the metal panels, there are
three variations on those. There are insulated metal panels that
go on top of another layer of insulation. We have...I brought an
example. This is a hospital. Mercy hospital on the west side of
the state. We are kind of using that same theme. (inaudible)
...that consists of these colors here. Then we also have the
curtain wall and punch windows. Which we have a window....it
is just a clear anodized frame. Below the windows we have the
grey and then we have another metal panel that is kind of the
break, to break up the fagade, which is a grey as well.
Mr. Wilshaw: Ok. Thank you. You gave our Livonia television staff a challenge
on trying to follow you on camera.
Mr. Ekstein: Oh, sorry.
Mr. Wilshaw: That's okay. He did pretty good. So any questions additional for
our petitioner based on what we have seen so far? No additional
questions? Is there anybody else in the audience wishing to
speak on this? I don't think so. Everyone is from your team. Mr.
Cerny, is there anyone else or anything else that you would like
to provide before we make our decision.
Mr. Cerny: I don't think so.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. With that, this is a miscellaneous item section so
there is no closing of the public hearing.
Mr. Caramagno: Mark, can you go back to the video for just a minute? Or does
that have to load?
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Mr. Wilshaw: It's right there.
(Video playing)
Mr. Wilshaw: Was there a specific point you were looking for?
Mr. Caramagno: I want to see the view from the starting point there.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. If you want to hum along you are more than welcome to.
Mr. Caramagno: I'll make my own song. That's good Mark. Thank you. That is
all I needed.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mark. Any other questions or comments before we
have a motion, if not a motion is in order.
On a motion by Ventura, seconded by McCue, and unanimously adopted, it was
#07-61-2019 RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2019-06-08-09
submitted by SC Health requesting approval of all plans required
by Sections 18.47 and 18.58 of the City of Livonia Zoning
Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with a proposal to
construct a new four-story medical/health services facility on a
portion of the property at 18600 Haggerty Road, located on the
east side of Haggerty Road between Six Mile and Seven Mile
Roads in the Northwest Y4 of Section 7, be approved subject to
the following conditions:
1. That the Site Dimension Plan identified as Sheet No. C100
dated June 7, 2019, as revised, prepared by Zeimet
Wozniak & Associates, is hereby approved and shall be
adhered to;
2. That appropriate recordable legal instruments, such as a
cross access agreement, that gives notice and outlines the
terms of how the subject property would share parking and
access with abutting property(s), be supplied to the
Inspection Department at the time a building permit is
applied for;
3. That the Landscape Plan and Landscape Details identified
as Sheet No. L-1 & Sheet No. L-2 both dated June 7, 2019,
as revised, prepared by Allen Design, are hereby approved
and shall be adhered to;
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29272
4. That all disturbed lawn areas shall be sodded in lieu of
hydroseeding;
5. That underground sprinklers are to be provided for all
landscaped and sodded areas and all planted materials
shall be installed to the satisfaction of the Inspection
Department and thereafter permanently maintained in a
healthy condition;
6. That the Elevation Plans identified as A2.1, A2.2, A2.3 &
A2.4, all dated .tune 5, 2019 prepared Lindhout Associates,
are hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
7. That all rooftop mechanical equipment visible to the public
shall be concealed on all sides by screening that shall be of
a compatible character, material and color to other exterior
materials on the building;
8. That the three walls of the trash dumpster area(s) shall be a
minimum seven feet (7) in height, constructed out of
building materials that shall complement that of the building
and the enclosure gates shall be of solid panel steel
construction or durable, long-lasting solid panel fiberglass
and maintained and when not in use closed at all times;
9. That this site shall meet either the City of Livonia or the
Wayne County Storm Water Management Ordinance,
whichever applies, and shall secure any required permits,
including storm water management permits, wetlands
permits and soil erosion and sedimentation control permits,
from Wayne County, the City of Livonia, and/or the State of
Michigan;
10. That all light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20) in
height and shall be aimed and shielded so as to minimize
stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring into
adjacent roadways;
11. 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;
12. 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
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29273
13. 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: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. Itwill go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
Mr. Taormina: The petitioner is seeking a seven-day waiver in this particular
case. That is something that the Commission would consider.
We could then move this to the next City Council meeting if you
will approve that
Mr. Wilshaw: This would be able to improve there opportunity?
Mr. Taormina: Yes.
On a motion by Long, seconded by Smiley, and unanimously adopted, it was
#07-62-2019 RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby
determine to waive the provisions of Section 10 of Article VI of
the Planning Commission Rules of Procedure, regarding the
effective date of a resolution after the seven-day period from the
date of adoption by the Planning Commission, in connection with
Petition 2019-06-08-09 submitted by SC Health requesting
approval of all plans required by Sections 18.47 and 18.58 of the
City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in
connection with a proposal to construct a new four-story
medicallhealth services facility on a portion of the property at
18600 Haggerty Road, located on the east side of Haggerty Road
between Six Mile and Seven Mile Roads in the Northwest Y4 of
Section 7
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
ITEM #4 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,1441" Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting
July 10, 2019
29274
Mr, Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of
the Minutes of the 1,144 th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting
held on June 11, 2019.
On a motion by Ventura, seconded by Long, and unanimously adopted, it was
#07-63-2019 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,144th Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on June 11,
2019, are hereby approved.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Ventura, Long, McCue, Smiley, Caramagno,
Wilshaw
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
Mr. Wilshiaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously ad'?q,�
t d, the 1,145th Public
y
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on July 9, 2019, vyAs p journed at 8:23 p.m.
W FVA FORTYL4 f N T E rel F0 RM M To I P ff M*i 2
o
Sam
ATTEST:
]an Wilshaw, Chairman
ramagno, Secretary