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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNING MINUTES 2019-07-23 MINUTES OF THE 1,1461" PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA On Tuesday, July 23, 2019, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia held its 1,146t" 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 holds the only public hearing on a request for preliminary plat and/or vacating petition. The Commission's recommendation is forwarded to the City Council for the final determination as to whether a plat is accepted or rejected. If a petition requesting a waiver of use or site plan approval is denied tonight, the petitioner has ten days in which to appeal the decision, in writing, to the City Council. Resolutions adopted by the City Planning Commission become effective seven (7) days after the date of adoption. The Planning Commission and the professional staff have reviewed each of these petitions upon their filing. The staff has furnished the Commission with both approving and denying resolutions, which the Commission may, or may not, use depending on the outcome of the proceedings tonight. ITEM #1 PETITION 2019-06-02-10 Mom & Dad Assisted Living Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2019- 06-02-10 submitted by Home for Mom & Dad Assisted Living L.L.C., requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 5.03(f) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with a proposal to operate a senior assisted living facility for sixteen (16) persons in an R-U-F (Rural Urban Farm) zoning district at 14860 Bainbridge Avenue, located on the east side of Bainbridge Avenue between Lyndon Avenue and Five Mile Road in the Northwest Y4 of Section 23. i. E'. July 24, 2019 29276 Mr. Taormina: This is a request to operate an adult foster care facility for 16 persons. This property is on the east side of Bainbridge, which is between Lyndon and Five Mile. As indicated, the zoning on the property is R-U--F (Rural Urban Farm). The property measures roughly 1.42 acres. It has 99 feet of frontage on Bainbridge and a parcel depth of roughly 622 feet. There is an existing residential structure on the property. Presently, Home for Mom and Dad operates a licensed adult foster care facility for up to six persons, which under State Law and the Zoning Ordinance is treated as a permitted use. According to the State of Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Home for Mom and Dad is currently licensed as a small group facility and is approved to serve the aged, which includes patients with Alzheimer's. Home for Mom and Dad is proposing to enlarge the house in order to increase the living capacity for up to 16 residents, which is the maximum allowed under Section 5.03(f) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance, subject to waiver use approval. Pursuant to LARA's licensing rules, this increase would reclassify the facility as a large group home with a capacity of between 13 to 20 persons. Subsection 5.03(f)(1) stipulates that the use shall be located on a parcel of no less than Y2 acre. The site, as previously indicated, is 1.42 acres in size. The site is surrounded by residential homes that are also zoned R-U-F. The existing house on the property is one-story in height and about 2,947 square feet in size. The expansion would include a 1,122 square foot addition, one-story, to the rear of the house. Once completed, this would increase the size of the overall house to 4,069 square feet. The expanded structure would contain a total of 10 bedrooms. This includes converting the existing attached two- car garage, located in the front of the house, into living space that would contain two of the ten bedrooms. Subsection 5.030)(3) requires that no more than two occupants be in each bedroom. The interior living space includes a living room, five bathrooms, kitchen, dining area, and laundry room. The requirements are for the house to be set back at least 50 feet from the right-of-way of Bainbridge. In this case, it is setback 151 feet. The side yards must be at least 10 feet. In the case of the north side it is 10 feet 8 inches and on the south side 22 feet 7 inches. The required rear yard setback is 50 feet and in this case, it is over 410 feet. The existing house, plus the addition conforms to all of the setbacks, as well as the other height, bulk, and area standards of the R-U-F district. Parking for the use is required based on the ratio of 1 space for each bedroom. In this case, the ten-bedroom facility would require ten parking spaces. The site plan shows the expansion of the parking area that is currently in front of the house going from five to ten parking spaces. These would be July 24, 2019 29277 lined up along the south side of the property, extending from the corner of the garage westerly for a distance of approximately 103 feet. Access would be achieved via a single widened driveway on Bainbridge Avenue. The existing house is finished with brick and hardy plank siding, and a shingled peak roof. The addition would contain many of the same materials, so it would blend in with the existing structure, in terms of the architectural materials. There is a requirement under Subsection 5.03(f)(4) that the lot be completely fenced in in the rear yard. Also Subsection 5.03(f)(6) stipulates that outdoor recreation space be provided, equal to at least 500 square feet per bedroom. The plan presented to the Commission shows that both of these requirements would be met. 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 26, 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 waiver use at this time. The existing parcel is assigned the address of #14860 Bainbridge Avenue. 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. The submitted drawings indicate that a large addition is to be constructed on the rear of the existing structure. We would like to request that the owner submit a grading plan for the proposed addition (including the existing structure) to show that there will be no additional storm water runoff directed to the abutting properties." The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The second letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated July 22, 2019, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a proposal to operate a senior assisted living facility for sixteen (16) persons in an R-U-F (Rural Urban Farm) zoning district on property located at the above referenced address. We have no objections to this proposal with the following stipulations: 1. Any expansion of this location must be specifically permitted by the State of Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs as well as the State Bureau of Fire Services. 2. Any work must have the proper permits and plans submitted to the State Bureau of Fire Services for review and code acceptance. 3. All July 24, 2019 29278 work, if permitted, must meet provisions of the current fire code as recognized by the State of Michigan. 4. Note. The Livonia Fire Department, Fire Inspection Division has concerns that the use of this facility and the type of patients housed there (Alzheimer's and dementia) may inhibit a safe means of"self-evacuation"in a fire event. 5. It would be suggested by this division that any proposed expansion be first approved by the State of Michigan prior to seeking any local building permits." The letter is signed by Greg Thomas, Fire Marshal. The next letter is from the Division of Police, dated July 8, 2019, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the plans in connection with the petition. I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Brian Leigh, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the Inspection Department, dated July 17, 2019, which reads as follows: " Pursuant to your request, the above referenced Petition has been reviewed_ 1. The proposed renovations to this structure shall meet all required current codes. Complete plans shall be submitted for review and permitting with the Inspection Department if this project moves forward. This Department has no further objections to this Petition. " The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of Inspection. The next letter is from the Finance Department, dated June 26 , 2019, which reads as follows: "1 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 July 1, 2019, which reads as follows: "1n accordance with your request, the Treasurer's office has reviewed the address connected with the above noted petition. At this time there are taxes due, but they are not delinquent, 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. Benedicto Arcenal, 30352 Kingsway Dr, Farmington Hills, MI 48331, 1 am the owner and administrator. My training, my expertise, is in that line of field. Should I proceed in explaining to you why I picked that area? Mr. Wilshaw: Sure, please. July 24, 2019 29279 Mr. Arcenal: I was a psychiatric nurse for over 30 years. The first 15 years was at a psychiatric hospital and the last 15 years I focused my service to the elderly. One of the reasons, my mom, this is how we got started, she has Lewy Body Dementia. She has been to three different places where we see the lack of care. All this big facilities, they cost you from $8000 to $12,000 dollars a month. They don't provide any care because the state regulation requires 1:12 (one staff to 12 patients). At my facility, we provide 1:3 during awake hours. I don't charge $8,000 - $12,000 a month. l hardly make any money what I am doing, but this is my passion. This elderly people, they are in the last days of their lives with dementia. Between the moderate and late stages. They need care. They need to be in a place, not like an institution where they are so afraid. When they need help to go to the bathroom nobody comes. I go to these facilities and help them with this, but because.of the state regulations, the requirement, they can get away with it. I hate to see that. The thing about it, I think, in my neighborhood, they don't understand when someone screams and yells, these people have dementia. When they scream and yell like that, sometimes they do that when they are getting a bath. They don't know what is gong on. To grudge us for being there, who are providing services to the community to these older people, I just can't understand it. Everyone of us is going to get older one day. Actually, this type of home needs to be encouraged. This big facilities, they don't serve them, they don't provide care to these people. To deny the elderly to have a peaceful environment like a home, its....even the mentally ill people deserve to be cared for, but these are elderly people with dementia, with health problems. 1 don't get it. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your desire to expand the property? Mr. Arcenal: Yes. I would like to expand it because right now, the present house, when we bought it because of my mom has dementia, we were in hurry to buy it. The living room, how it is situated, there is no windows there. It is dark. They just have two small windows. I'd like to improve it for them. To have a big living room in the back, two more bedrooms in the back, and then convert the other places The only reason we need more is I cannot afford the sprinkle system. It is $25,000 to $30,000. For me to improve the facility and for the care of these patients, I need to have a little bit bigger facility and a little bit more money. If you look at my...my wife and I make a lot of money. We don't need this money. My wife is an engineer. We don't need this. This is our passion. can tell you story why it is our passion, but...actually I invited three of my family members to speak for the type of care we July 24, 2019 29280 provide, but I don't know if they are here or not. Any other questions that I can answer? Mr. Wilshaw: We will certainly have an opportunity for anyone in the audience to speak and if they are here, hopefully they will come forward and speak. Before we do that though, we will see if there are any questions from the Commission. Are there any questions for Mr. Arcenal? Ms. Smiley: Because of the size of this project, I am not sure you are in the right community. You are in a neighborhood. (audience clapping) Mr. Wilshaw: Folks, you are going to hear a lot of things that you are going to appreciate or not appreciate, so we will try to keep things expedient. I appreciate the comment. Thank you. Ms. Smiley: I appreciate what you are doing first of all. I realize that there is a need for it. I had elderly parents and in-laws so I understand what you are saying, but I am not comfortable with your location. It is just too many people in a neighborhood. Mr. Arcenal: They basically stay inside. They hardly go out. They are mostly like, need care and are wheelchair bound, the majority of the them. In terms of traffic, we hardly have any. Every now and then a clinician comes by and we have doctors. PT, OT, you name it. Everybody that comes by the house to provide care for my patients, they don't come all at the same time. Ms. Smiley: It's more like a skilled nurse or like you say... Mr. Arcenal: It's not a skilled nurse. It is not a nursing home. It is like a home. Ms. Smiley: Except, it is more like a business than an actual home where you have your parents with you. Mr. Arcenal: My mom passed away so she isn't there anymore. Ms. Smiley: I am sorry for your loss. I understand what you are saying, but I am questioning your environment for this particular business. Mr. Arcenal: Actually, this is the most suiting environment because it is like a home. If you puff patients in .....that is why they don't thrive and don't do too well, it almost looks like an institution. The whole idea here is to put them in a place just like home, where they have a backyard and they can see the animals running. It is very July 24, 2019 29281 therapeutic for them. Most of these patients they have a lot of anxiety sometimes. Our job is to keep them calm and to provide support. Ms. Smiley: I don't doubt that. I'm just telling you that it is more like Marywood or it's more like...when we had someone going into hospice, have been to a couple hospice homes. They are actually businesses that are...which require...for the size and stuff and they weren't in the middle of a neighborhood. Mr. Arcenal: This is throughout the whole Michigan. 1 am not the only one who has this small group homes. Some of them are even inside a subdivision. This is not something new that 1 am just starting to create. It's all throughout. It is just that most people are not aware of it. The state is aware of it though. The state is very supportive of what we are doing. Basically, as far as I am concerned, we meet all of the criteria that the city...because I met with Scott. We discussed the issues. He checked all the requirements and all that. I shouldn't have any problems with it. I just didn't go ahead and did it. I consulted the certain people here and in the facility. So when they said to me yeah, you should be ok, I went ahead. It's not cheap you know..... Ms. Smiley: To go through the process. I know. I can appreciate that. I am just telling you as one commissioner, that I don't feel this belongs in the middle of that neighborhood. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Ms. McCue: Just in a follow-up from her statement. I agree with what she is saying. I will also say that I appreciate what you are doing. Have you looked at other locations? Have you attempted to find any place else you can take the home? Mr. Arcenal; I can. It's just the whole idea that I would like to achieve is to be in a place that is just like a home, not an institution or not like a commercial building. There is a therapeutic sense to it by putting them in a place they can see animals. They can see like a backyard. This is a very reason for this to be there. I can go somewhere else and have a commercial building. I am not able to achieve those type of setting for them by just going into all the commercial places. They become like an institution. Anyplace that you see there, I hope you guys can visit some of those. I am telling you its...it is what I do for a living I go to those places and assess those patients and make my recommendation to families, to providers, and I am telling you it is a scary thing. You should read all of the statistics. About two months ago in Yahoo news, July 24, 2019 29282 about there is going to be a shortage of this and a lack of quality in this business. We are all getting older and one day you want to be able to go to a place. For myself, my wife... Ms. McCue: I don't think anybody would deny a need. Mr. Arcenal: There are people that are denying it. Ms. McCue: I don't think anybody would say that they are denying the need for facilities such as yours. I think it is a location issue. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for our petitioner? Mr. Bongero: My dad had Alzheimer's, so I am sensitive to it also. When I visited the site, the house blends pretty much. It looks like it fits pretty decent. I am reading here that there were 34 Fire and Rescue runs over a 4-year period with 6 patients. I have to believe you would increase that by almost three times. Those runs are going to increase significantly. Mr. Arcenal; They say 16 because that is what is the rule that you guys had established. It doesn't have to be 16 is what I am saying. Mr. Bongero: Okay, just hear me out. Let's just say, whatever the number is, it is going to increase. That number is probably going to increase to...and I don't know what those runs were, but I am sure there were issues. Being sensitive to homeowners and neighbors, in the middle of the night you have Fire and Rescue trucks zipping up and down the street. I agree with the fellow commissioners that it just doesn't fit and now you are going to have this 40-foot- wide driveway with 10 parking spaces and handicap spot. It looks commercial. I just doesn't look right in the middle of a sub. You need to look at from their side also. I believe in your care, don't take it the wrong way. I totally think it is a great thing, it is just the setting seems like it belongs up on Five Mile or somewhere where there are similar facilities. That is my feeling too. That's it. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for our petitioner? Mr. Ventura: Mr. Arcenal, what is the current age of the folks in your... Mr. Arcenal: Right now it is averaging 89 -98. Mr. Ventura: So the youngest person is 89? Mr. Arcenal: Yes. July 24, 2019 29283 Mr. Ventura: And the oldest is 98? Mr. Arcenal: Yes. Mr. Ventura: Have you even had any of your neighbors, people that live in the surrounding homes, come to you and complain about your residents? Mr. Arcenal: l received one phone call, and it was like we heard some screaming and it was true because the hospice aid was giving the bath to someone who is bed bound and has severe dementia. I heard that. Last Friday we heard a complaint about...according to the state from the locals that we are operating the home without a license. All little things...I think I heard it from my staff, that they were told that sometimes they have garbage and the garbage collector comes. When they pick up the garbage and they throw the garbage, if a glove fell out there, it all of the sudden becomes...those are a easy fix. If a staff is notified, they can easily go out there and pick it up. Those are not the major problems. I think the issue here is that they just don't want us in the neighborhood. Mr. Ventura: My next question is, have you gone back to the folks that have complained with a solution to the problem? Mr. Arcenal: l have tried calling but they never call me back. (Person in audience yells out) Mr. Wilshaw: You will have your chance. Mr. Ventura: You will have your chance. Mr. Arcenal: The thing about it is, 1 don't know if this is the right time to complain about it, since they have. They run a business on that side. They are the one that take care of my lawn. They have tractors and everything lined up. There are days they have ten of them lined up. We are more quiet than they are. It's just that we are new in the neighborhood. Mr. Ventura: Thank you, Mr. Arcenal. Mr. Wlshaw: Any other questions for our petioner? Mr. Long: Do you use the normal garbage pick up that the city provides? Mr. Arcenal: Yes. July 24, 2019 29284 Mr. Long: How much...or how many bags or cans of trash do you have? Mr. Arcenal: They bring somewhere from four to five cans. Black cans that they put garbage. Mr. Long: That is with six people in there now. Mr. Arcenal: Yeah, that is with six people. Mr. Long: So, again, if we are looking at increasing that, we are looking at doubling or tripling that amount of waste. Mr. Arcenal: We would probably have to look at a better service, if we have to. Mr. Long: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for our petitioner? Mr. Caramagno: Sir, how long have you been in business now? Mr. Arcenal: Three and half years. Mr. Caramagno: Three and half with the six people? Mr. Arcenal: Yes. Mr. Caramagno: How about before that? Were you in business before that as well? Mr. Arcenal: No. It is just that I got started with this when my mom got sick with Lewy Body Dementia. She was in different facilities where she never got cared. Mr. Caramagno: How many other properties have you looked at, I guess in Livonia, around Livonia to kind of find your... Mr. Arcenal: Before I found this one. Mr. Caramagno: Before you found that one and now since you are trying to expand. What else have you looked at? Mr. Arcenal: I have looked at some other places in Livonia. I live in Oakland. We are here already and it is a nice setting. I have a big land where...it is a comfortable place. Mr. Caramagno: You have looked at other places, like where? That is very vague. July 24, 2019 29285 Mr. Arcenal: Right now, it is a building by itself by the Middlebelt. Used to be physical therapy but I haven't been inside. I am just canvassing exactly in terms of where is a better place. It's just walls there. That is why it doesn't fit the design of how I envisioned how an older people should be able to have peace in their lives before...you know. They are in the last days of their lives. Mr. Caramagno: Yeah, you made that pretty clear today. I have got to say, like some of the others here, I don't deny that what you are doing here is good work, but in the neighborhood, I don't think it is the right spot. That is my opinion for now. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Caramagno. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions or comments for our petitioner? Seeing none. Sir, we will have you sit down for just a moment. We have several people in the audience who I am sure want to speak and then we will get you back up here at the end. Mr. Arcenal: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against this item? William Peterson, 14585 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, I am opposed to this waiver. Now, having said that, I admire the gentleman's commitment to caring for the elderly. They absolutely need that care. My mother is in an assisted living facility. She could not survive without that. However, having said that, my wife and I moved my family to this city and to this particular neighborhood 19 years ago because it is just that...a neighborhood. The residents that live here mostly know each other. We look out for each other. We help each other as the needs arise. Between Lyndon and Five Mile, this is a neighborhood of single-family residences. Most are owner occupied. We care about each other and what goes on in the neighborhood. A change of the type proposed here would indelibly alter the neighborhood and not for the better, I believe. This proposed facility would be of a completely different nature than the rest of the neighborhood. To my knowledge the owner of this facility has not made an effort to make himself known to the rest of the residents of the neighborhood or to interact with us at all. That is not a good neighbor policy. It is not a good neighborhood policy. More specifically, the owner has been operating a six-bed facility, there have been complaints about trash, about garbage. They put out in bags by the street and the animals, and there are a lot of animals in the neighborhood, they July 24, 2019 29286 get at them and then we have used medical supplies...I have heard of sharps, needles, rubber gloves, that sort of thing. That's not needed in our neighborhood. The large structure that he proposes would change the appearance of the neighborhood, especially for those who live next door or a house or two removed. I don't think that would be supported. You will likely hear from them. The traffic flow, there would be increased traffic flow. That obviously is not welcome in a small neighborhood like that. I believe there are other places in the city that would be more appropriate. It would be a much better fit for this type of operation. In this neighborhood we have ditches and mailboxes. We don't have curbs and sidewalks. Frankly, we like it that way. If any of his residents happen to get out of the building and are able to walk up some place, there is no place for them to safely move. I will reiterate, I am opposed to this. My wife is opposed to this and for those reasons 1 ask you to deny this request. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir. Jim Parks, 1965 Oakview Drive, Canton, M1, my mother is a resident at the facility. She has lived in Livonia for almost 40 years. She has been at three of the other facilities that Ben had talked about. One of the things I would like you to be aware of, when you do sign up your parents for one of those facilities, they do make you sign off a waiver that says that they are allowed to sedate your parent. That is why when you walk through the facility, you see numerous people in wheelchairs staring at the walls. My mother has been through three of them. One in Ann Arbor, and two in Livonia, as you were talking about them. We got her into a group home setting to answer your question about being in the right setting and so forth. Every one that we had looked at for the group homes are in neighborhoods. They blend in and you don't really notice them. To the gentleman's discussion about the fear of them getting out, they are in a locked and secure system. You can't just walk in and they can't just walk out. There are multiple things in order to allow them out. I understand the many people here that have areas of that issue. My wife and I have had our parents, both her parents and my parents living with us for nine years before we finally got to the point where we couldn't take care of my mother anymore. So, my mother is 93 years of age. To the gentleman's statement about the businesses has been stated. There are other businesses on there so the house blends in if you didn't know it. You'd drive by it all day long and never notice it. House size wise, there is several large houses over there, so again, it's just an expansion of a home. It's not something that has a big sign out front that says that. Like I said, we have been through several group homes where again, they July 24, 2019 29287 are all in neighborhoods and you would never notice the difference of them. It is nothing that falls out. Traffic wise, in my neighborhood, I happen to live in Canton, I see there is elderly people in my neighborhood. I see traffic come through. There is one that is down the street from me that has multiple people that have emergency care that is taking care of them. I have a gentleman that lives right next to me that we kind of always watch out for as well. He has five or six issues so far just this year. That happens. Any type of neighborhood, you are going to have people that are going to be coming in and out in emergency situations. I understand all of their points. As I said, my parent was in two of those facilities for a while. We could not in good conscious keep them there. Since my mother has been there at Ben's facility, her medicine intake has changed dramatically. My mother was on a downward slide. We really thought she wasn't going to last more than 18 months. In the time she has been there, a marked difference. The doctors that care for them, we have a doctor that actually travels. Funny enough. She has visited the house when my mother lived with us, so she has seen all the differences. She said that this has been the best thing. Since she has been there, she has seen other patients that have been at the facility and she is utterly stunned on the change and the care that they are getting. I just wanted you to be aware of that. I understand that there is a lot of issues that people have. Their perceptions. But it has been running there for years and understand that there has been some complaints on that. Those are minor things that can be resolved. I am in a quality position. Anything can be fixed. You just put in implement corrective actions and so forth. If we lost this place for my mother I am not sure what me and my siblings would do because the care she has taken, including the care she had when she was living in my own home for several years, this is so much better. They are professionals and they know how to take care of the elderly. Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Parks, we have a question for you. Ms. Smiley: You don't see it changing when they triple the size of it? Mr. Parks: With the care? When you say changes, explain what you mean. Ms. Smiley: It is going from a home of six people, that could be a family. What am saying is that when it goes from six to 16 that is almost triple the size. You don't see the 16 to 20 environment changing? You have a big driveway going down with parking spots. It is not going to be the same thing. July 24, 2019 29286 Mr. Parks: If you have seen the facility, there is five more parking spots in there. Visually...I have a guy across the street from me, he has a driveway that is four long. lit almost covers the front of his yard. There is not a lot of variation that you are going to see in that. It looks like a home. Like I said, next door is a business itself that has trucks, multiple trucks and equipment there. The visual acuity on it is not that different. Ms. Smiley: I am just seeing it different than from being a home. Mr. Parks: 1 understand that. Most of it is off the back. You are not going to see it from the street side. The only difference you are going to see is a few extra parking spots that are coming up from the front. Ms. Smiley: I appreciate your opinion, thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Parks, I want to thank you for your comments. I am glad that your mom is getting good care there. That is very good to hear. Mr. Parks: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Good evening, sir. Scott Salmonson, 14558 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, I live down the street from this house. 1 applaud the gentleman, because it is a nice house, it is well taken care of. He appears to be giving very good care to the people there and I appreciate that, because I have been to several facilities, older retirement homes that are deplorable. It is a great thing that he is doing. That's fine, however, living on the street, and I go down the street and it is trash day and there is a ton of trash out there, I worry about tripling the size of that. All my neighbors have to look at a long driveway that is now expanded into a parking lot. Now they are looking at several cars going down. We have regular roads. It is two lanes wide. There is no room for error. More and more traffic down our street, which is already high enough is....it is right next to Merriman. People fire down it all day. More traffic means more traffic, and that means that the fire department, and that is a concern for me as well. If you are going all the way back there and now you are putting another addition on the back of this so they have to go even further away from where they are hooking up, and how are they going to get people out. That concerns me. For me, its more of a...yes there are people that own businesses on this street. I am one of them. Everybody who has been here knows that I had a whole bunch of Fed Ex trucks at some point in my driveway. Fixing it, doing something with it, but I also took care of it and got it out of there as soon as possible. That is not the point, but the July 24, 2019 29289 point is that I had a business there and I understand, however, l just don't see that tripling the size of the capacity of this is going to be a good idea. It won't be garbage cans anymore, it will be a dumpster and now I drive down my street and look at a whole bunch of nice smaller homes and I see, like you said the parking is about 100 something feet and it is about 20 feet wide. Now that is going to have to be expanded for all of those parking lots. Now I am looking at a parking lot. I guarantee it that I will be looking at a parking lot and a dumpster. When you do all of that and you have to lay down all that asphalt it's got to go somewhere. So, I fear for my neighbors to the immediate north and south of them if that does happen for flooding because it will happen around there. Besides that, like I said, more traffic I don't need and obviously everyone else will tell you what they think too, so...thanks. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir. Good evening, sir. We'll go to you. Bill Fedoronko, 14880 Bainbridge, Livoina, MI, I am directly north of the property. It takes a special person to be a hospice nurse. We are not knocking that. It is a wrong location. His corner of the house on the northeast corner of his house is 9.2 inches away from my property line, not 10.8 that is stated on this paper. I am definitely concerned about the shed of the rainwater going on my property. Our backyards are flooded already. We don't need any extra water. We do have issues with employees coming in and out. Living right next door, in and out, 24 hours a day, car alarms going off, people getting dropped off with loud radios going down the street, car doors slamming, alarms going (noise). They turn on the light for the pathway to get in. The first thing they do at 2:00 o'clock in the morning? They knock on the door. What does my dog do? Gets up and barks, wakes the whole family up doing its natural job. That is not good for a neighborhood. I am going to be looking at 56 feet of wall on one side of my house. That is larger than the front of his house. It is going to be blended in with brick and veneer...it's not a good fitting. It's not a good fitting for the neighborhood. I disagree with the whole thing. I don't think it should be in our neighborhood. It should be on Five Mile. It should be wherever on a commercial street for this type of application. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir. Thomas Shuttleworth, 14820 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, I am directly south so I will be the one that gets to look at the parking lot. As you guys stated and other things...the man talking about them being thrown out, no one said anything about what they have there. The expansion July 24, 2019 29290 is the issue. I think everyone is on the same page with that. I don't think l really have to go on and on about issues. Ben is a very nice guy. I can't say anything bad about the guy. He has been very pleasant, however, when you are going to this size, it needs to be moved to where it needs to be moved, or get a different home somewhere else. Why can't he have another house? He is going to get a bigger staff. My concerns are is that you are going to let commercial...it is a residence and we go home to rest, this is what we want to do, not look at a big building per se, and that is how we will all look at it. When you start talking dumpsters, I am all out on dumpsters. That will be for me to look at and that will be wonderful. We are definitely not for it. Thank you for your time. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for coming. Good evening, mam. Gayle Federonko, 14884 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, I am the house directly next door to the north, and I wanted to share a few examples with you that is not in the paperwork that you have to look through tonight. I really wanted to share the human aspect of living next door to this commercial business. While Bern is a very nice person, and i applaud his efforts, and no one has had any problem with the current level that he has been servicing of six people. l agree with Tom, and my neighbors, that it is the fact of the expansion. It just does not fix into our neighborhood. What I would like to do is share some examples of things that I have personally witnessed over the three and a half years that he has been my neighbor. Now, granted some of them haven't' happened yesterday or the day before, it happened a year ago or so ago, but they are still instances in which my family was subjected to things that you really wouldn't expect to find in a residential area. I would like to read a letter that I have composed so that i don't get too far off track and take up too much of your time. Mr. Wilshaw: Feel free. Ms. Federonko: Of the business, since its inception at its present location, has in fact changed the neighborhood dynamics. One notable observation is the disruption of the peace and tranquility that originally attracted my family and l to the neighborhood 21 years ago. It has become increasingly difficult to sit on our back deck and enjoy the quietness of the landscape when you often hear the distressing screams for help from the patients inside the facility. I have personally witnessed the elopement of patients from their caregivers while outside and the chase that has ensued by the employees to try and regain control of the patient. All the while listening to the patient yelling and trying to get away from July 24, 2019 29291 the staff. It is very disconcerting to watch that. Granted, it hasn't happened lately because as Ben has said, most of his patients are all bound to the house. It has in fact happened, not once, not twice, but on multiple occasions over the three and a half years that he has been there. Another noteworthy fact that has become apparent, is the increased traffic into and out of the business by medical personnel, patients and their families, employees and support personnel. It has created a parking issue as the current facility does not have the necessary parking capacity to support the number of individuals assessing the facility on a daily basis. It has also increased traffic that is not typically witnessed on a recurring basis in a residential area. For example, according to the information that was provided to me by Livonia Fire and Rescue, they have been dispatched to the facility 34 times for emergency care. Let's let that number sink in for a minute. It was 34 times that the neighborhood has endured an emergency response due to the condition of a patient next door. That number does not include the number of times patients have been transferred to and from the facility by a private ambulance company. I hesitate to think what the impact of what this proposal would do to these reported numbers and the overall atmosphere of this neighborhood if the resident population was increased to 16 versus the current six. The facility next door does operate as a commercial business. We have been subjected to a myriad of problems associated with 24-hour care and rotating employee shifts. Specifically, there has been a shift change over this past winter that occurred around midnight. I know this because multiple times a week my family and I would be awakened by the loud thumping bass of a car radio while someone waited in the driveway to pick up an employee at that time. You can only imagine how disruptive that has been. In addition to the aforementioned situation, the facility has also brought an element of crime to our area. I have three reports from the Livonia Police Department that outline three separate instances where the police department was dispatched to that facility. One report outlined assault and battery at the location. An employee from the facility phoned the police department at 2:20 a.m. stating that multiple subjects were trying to enter the facility and he was hiding in the bathroom. During the emergency call, he said that the subject had gained entry into the home and he disconnected the call. When the police arrived, they were unable to locate the subjects. The employee called again at 4 a.m. to say that his car windows had been smashed and that he would like police support. All of that happening while my family was sleeping less than 100 feet away. Another documented report outlines an incident where the police report reads "Psych patient out of control. Fighting staff and throwing things." The third report July 24, 2019 29292 outlines a hospice death and the removal of the body to the funeral home. I have copies of all of those reports should you like a copy for your records for your reference. As you can imagine, this type of activity has been increasingly difficult to tolerate. Home for Mom and Dad, while it is a wonderful service, is in fact a commercial facility that would be best served in an existing dedicated commercial zone due to the advanced needs of its patients and the types of services required to offer adequate care. It does not fit into a single-family residential model currently in place in this area. When I purchased my home and invested thousands of dollars to improve it, I never once imagined that the existing home next door would be turned into a ten-bedroom commercial facility. I purchased my property for its neighborhood qualities and its ambience, which has now been compromised by the activity that has become the norm for this business next door. There is absolutely no benefit to the current neighborhood in granting this request, but rather a long list of detriments that seek to lower our property values and our quality of life. I am asking you to uphold Livonia's motto -- Families First. I am asking you to vote no on this business proposal and put the families of Bainbridge first. Thank you for the opportunity to express my views and to address this panel. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Federonko. John Ware, 15127 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, I have been there for over 40 years. am a senior citizen. I believe that all the homes on this street should be single family homes. We do not want a commercial business in the center of our neighborhood. The road is too narrow as it has been mentioned before. If you park two cars side by side, one on one side and one on the other side of that street, which sometime will happen because people have parties in the summertime. I would say that everyone that lives on that street right now, nobody parks their car on the street overnight. They are all parked in their driveways, their yards, wherever. People have parties in the summer, which is fine. There will be double rows of cars. You can barely get between those cars with a car. You wouldn't get between one with an. ambulance or firetruck. Trust me, you wouldn't. Giving a commercial license to somebody in the middle of a residential neighborhood is just the wrong thing to do. In order to have parking, which has been mentioned, you would have to pave his entire front yard. Not just expand the driveway a little bit for a couple more spots. On the weekends, if he has 16 people living at home, he could have 12 to 16 visitors on a Saturday or a Sunday easily. Where are they going to park? Plus, he is going to have to have nursing staff. What is he going to do for a food service? Cooks, laundry, July 24, 2019 29293 cleaning staff, visitors. You could have 25—30 cars trying to park in that area on a Saturday or Sunday. What is he going to do for food service trucks? Is somebody going to go over to Kroger and do all of the shopping for all those people or are they going to have someone like Gordon Food Service come by with their semi- trucks and deliver food? I can guarantee you, if Gordon Food trucks are driving down that road when the frost laws are on, 1 am sure most of your know what the frost laws are, I will call the state, I will call the city because none of those trucks should be on that road when the frost laws are on. The only trucks that should be on that road are garbage trucks. We will never stop that. We have too much truck traffic up and down that road as it is. Even when the frost laws are on. It is going to destroy our road again. That road is a nice road right now compare to Merriman I can tell you that. Anybody that has driven down Merriman, it is pothole city. I don't know if the county ever intends to do anything about that. 1 know that everybody that lives south of Lyndon uses our street as a cut through street. I can't say I blame them, and I can't say we really like that living on that street. The speed limit is 25 but not too many people know that. They think it is about 50 or 60 sometimes. As far as he says people looking at the wildlife out the back of their truck, out the back windows of his house, yes there is a lot of wildlife. We have deer. An abundance of deer in that area running around. These people with Alzheimer's disease at that age...I know because I had a father-in-law that had it. He got to the point, like this gentleman talked about...this is a good thing what this gentleman is thinking of doing, but not in this neighborhood. I know what Alzheimer's is. My father-in-law got to the point that he didn't know me, and he didn't know his wife. This is what happens over that. They don't know where they are and they don't know what they are doing. He is right about the screaming and hollering. I have heard that time and time again. I used to go visit him in a home. It's not nice. It's not pretty. Once you give somebody a foot in the door to have a business in a setting like this, what is going to come next? That is another thing. It's called a foot in the door. We all know what that is. You are going to let real estate company...buys houses. We'd have real estate on our street. A clinic, maybe another assisted living house, because you gave him a business there on our street. We will have more assisted living houses. Funeral home, I hate to bring that up but there are a lot of funeral homes that were put into houses as a setting. What he is doing...I can see it is a good thing, but it is just the wrong neighborhood for what he wants to do. I could go on and on and on, but I am dead set against this. Thank you very much. Mr. Wishaw: Thank you, Mr. Ware. Good evening, sir. July 24, 2019 29294 Roger Byrne, 14910 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, I am two houses north of this house. Let's talk about logistics. He wants ten bedrooms. He is asking for 16 people. It is just a matter of time before it goes to 20 people. Then you would have three people for...I mean for every thirty people you have one staff. It would have ten parking places in front. They can't accommodate the parking as it is. They park, as it is now, on the street. You can't get down the street. Most of the people walk their dogs down the street. The kids, they don't play in the street anymore because of all the traffic. The long and the short of it is, it is a high traffic zone and it is a problem. Let's talk about the trucks that deliver. Trucks deliver stuff now. They back in, they hold up the driveway and sometimes that park right in the middle of the road, offload on to the deck and wheel it into the garage, which is now going to be two bedrooms. So the long and the short of it is, this is not the place. It is not the place. About ten years ago you were talking about putting in condos and they were trying to buy the back part of the property. At that point the zoning commission and the city turned it down because they didn't want to ruin the neighborhood. You do this and you will ruin the neighborhood again. That is what I have to say. I am dead set against it. Appreciate it. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Byrne. Good evening, mam. ❑enise Byrne, 14910 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, I live two houses north. I am very opposed to this. We have so much traffic going on our street as it is. You allow this to happen, we are going to have a huge parking lot, and people coming and going. I have been woken tip countless times in the middle of the night by shift change, stereos blaring, car alarms. I think he is doing a great thing and we haven't said anything about what he has there now. If he expands, our whole neighborhood is going to be ruined. I don't personally want to look at a big old parking lot in the front yard everyday that I walk out of my house. So, I am asking you to no let this pass and I am also asking you how would you like this next to you? Thank you. Mr. Wlshaw: Thank you very much. Good evening, sir. Leo DeLaFraiger, 14681 Bredin, Livonia, Ml, I got a notice from the City and that is why I am here. I am in the R-U-F area and 1 am close enough to get the city notice. I think Bainbridge is not the place for a facility this large. The street can't handle it. Open ditches, no streetlights, no sidewalks. The snow removal in the winter, its one of the last streets to be done. It is no major thoroughfare. What happens when the fire truck or EMS end up in the ditch? July 24, 2019 29295 Right now, it is kind of controlled nuisance, but to expand it and change the zoning is total irresponsible. l am against it. My wife is against it. A lot of people are. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for coming. Good evening, mam. Patricia Gawlik, 30920 Lyndon, Livonia, MI, as someone stated earlier no one know it is only 25 mph and sometimes I sit there for quite a while before I can back out of my driveway. I sure wouldn't want to see more traffic. Like Mr. Bongero, I hope I didn't massacre your name, I had a father with severe dementia. The more his mind decreased, his ability to escape increased. Eventually, he had to be in a home where it was secure, windows, doors and everything. My father wasn't a real social man, so what he really valued was his dignity and privacy. In the home he was in he had his own bedroom, a sitting area, his own bathroom, but I don't recall how many bathrooms was planned for this house. They aren't all in diapers, so they need the facilities. The parking was mentioned. With my dad, he had two sisters that still drove. I have four siblings. Sometimes we were all there at the same time. Ten spaces, you would need at least three times that. The facility also had a huge dining room where they could sit at a table by themselves or they could sit with other people. They had their own kitchen. It was open with snacks beside the meals, they could get something to eat. The backyard, someone did mention the deer, they scare a lot of people. I was out one time just watching the stars and turned out my lights and I was joined by 20 of them. There is a big population here. I just think...I know the need for this kind of care, but it belongs in the proper facility and not in a single family house neighborhood. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you very much, Ms. Gawlik. Good evening, sir. Thomas Dudek, 14616 Bainbridge, Livonia, M1, I am retired for the last 13 years so I am home all day long. I walk my dog Max up and down the street. Several things that I noticed. For the garbage, there is more than four cans. There may be four cans, but there is probably 10 bags and it gets broken into by the racoons. There are surgical gloves all up and down the street from the animals. One time when we were walking, I found needles. Another time, one other thing I want to mention, like someone else said, if you increase this this big in this location, I would imagine that you would have to have commercial garbage pickup. That means a dumpster. Trucks coming and going and getting it. Food services again. Right now—you are doing a great job you are, but in the middle of our street, no. There are other locations. Is this the July 24, 2019 29296 only business he has running is on Bainbridge or is he running other facilities too? Mr. Wilshaw: We don't know the answer to that right now. Mr. Dudek: Oh, okay. If he would have went around to the neighbors and says hey this is what I am thinking about doing...I've been there since '89 and you know...he said he bought in a few years back. I don't know the guy. I never see him. He don't live there. What do I do. So, I am against it. Thank you for your time. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Dudek. Good evening, mam. Brenda Johnson, 14905 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, as I look at my notes, I don't want to be redundant and repeat everything that everybody just said. I do want to mention the safety and the welfare of everybody on that street. The infrastructure for that street is not for commercial. There are ditches. There are no sidewalks, so when I walk with a stroller down the street, already twice I had to go off the side with my grandchild because I had Fire and Rescue coming down the street. However many times that it happened, you know you are going to have to at least double that. All hours of the day and night. I have been on that street for 35 years. I understand exactly what he is doing. It is an honorable thing to do, but the bottom line, the only thing that is going to benefit is the person, the landowner that wants to change our street into something other than what it really is, not residential but commercial. That would set a precedent as one of my other neighbors said. It's going to set a precedent of this gentleman doing it at this house and who is to say that a neighbor two doors down isn't going to want to do the same thing? 4r I may want to do the same thing and then...you can't set that precedent on a residential street like that, you just can't. My understanding is that as Mr. Dudek had said before, whether it is true or not, my understanding is that he has at least two other facilities that he runs at his home in Canton and one in Northville that he could possibly expand that into, but maybe because it is in residential those cities won't let them do it either. At this point, I just want to voice my opposition to what this plan would be and thank you for your time. Mr. Wilshaw: We appreciate you coming Ms. Johnson. Thank you. Good evening, sir. Matt Mance, 15027 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, just want to pretty much echo what my neighbors have said. It just isn't a good place to have this facility. I am a Fed Ex driver and 1 do deliver to some of these facilities on my route. They get an enormous amount of adult July 24, 2019 29297 diapers and these boxes are quite large. Garbage, I mean trash day, all them diapers have to go somewhere. Tripling the amount is going to make a real mess. One thing that my neighbor did say to me and mentioned was what happens when this guy folds up this business? Who is going to want to buy that property? What are they going to do with that property? It just isn't feasible. That's all I have to say. I am dead set against and my wife is against it. Thank you for your time. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for coming. Good evening, mam. Mary Dudek, 14616 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, I have a letter from a neighbor on Lyndon who is totally opposed to this. 1 would like to present this and you may read it at your leisure. Mr. Wilshaw:. You can hand it to Mrs. Reece. Thank you. Ms. Dudek: I have two letters from two neighbors on Flamingo Street who are totally opposed to this for several reasons. They could not attend because they are on vacation. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. We will get those added to the record. Ms. Dudek: Thank you, I appreciate it. Thirty years we have lived on this street. We have raised our children on this street, we dated on this street, we have raised a family. We have watched families come to this street for one reason and one reason only, it is a residential street. My neighbors are close. We take care of each other; we watch over each other. Most of you people in this audience will also know this street as the Kroger street. We call it the Kroger street because we have an abundance of traffic. If you call the Livonia Police Department, I reported traffic last night. had two drag racers down my street. You can't make this up. For any of you that live in Livonia that are near my street, I am not offended, 1 know it is the Kroger street. Now you want to bring in a residence with 16 individuals that need state supervision. They need care. You cannot tell me that you want to give them a nice environment and yet you are not going to take them outside and see the environment. You stated that yourself sir. I do not want this on my street. 1 have enough to deal with on our street. Livonia Police are tired of hearing from us. There is nothing they can do and we get that, but we all have invested a lot on money into our property for the simple reason is it is a beautiful residential street. This is a commercial building sir that you want to build. If you feel having that is such an important thing, I urge this gentleman to please, and I will help him find a realtor, put his property up for sale. He will make a very good investment dollar July 24, 2019 29298 on that property for a family such as any of these here that would like to move in. I will help you find a commercial building in the City of Livonia to house those wonderful people that you wish to take care of. By the way, my mother died for Alzheimer's, so I do know what those people go through and their families. That is all I have to say. I appreciate all of your time this evening. On behalf of myself and our neighbors and I hope to God you vote this down. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Dudek. Good evening, mam. Loraine Jones, 14734 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, I live a few doors down from the facility. I can tell you right now that the neighbors that live on either side of that facility will probably take a loss if they wanted to sell the property because no one is going to want to live next door to what is right there right now. There quality of life is destroyed. The rest of the block also because of the traffic. I don't think he knows how to handle biohazards. There is no excuse for any facility like that to have needles or diapers or anything litter our street on garbage day. He is already, you know...it is just a sad state of affairs for us if he were to expand. We have a dumpster on our block. Not only tha,t but the traffic is bad. Whatever he says, he can put in a little parking lot but our street will be his parking lot for his commercial business. That is not fair to us. So, he gets money and we have to put up with his traffic and his cars. He can do whatever he wants. All the love he can put into a building doesn't have to be on our residential little one-person family homes. It doesn't have to be there to have love for these people. That is not the solution. Those people need love and care, but they don't need to be inside in the middle of two families where they are going to have to be exposed all night to you know traffic and ambulances and crying and screaming. To raise your kids like that is...or a family. You can't even enjoy your own backyard. It's just sad. It's good work, but not the right place. He needs to learn about biohazards. Just saying. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Ms. Jones. Good evening, sir. Greg Miller, 14951 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, I moved my family to Bainbridge because it is Rural Urban Farm status. It is like country living in the city. It is all the convenience of everything you need near you but it is like living up north. There are drainage ditches on the side, like my neighbors said, and the road is very thin. You can barely get two cars across it, but I don't think this is the right place for it and it should be maintained in the same zoning ordinance that it is in now. I don't think it should be changed because that July 24, 2019 29299 opens it up to bringing in other businesses and things like that to the neighborhood. My family is against it. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you very much for coming. Good evening, mam. Andrea Moore, 14640 Bredin Ct., Livonia, Ml, I live around the block. I would like to acknowledge that it is certainly noble that this man is caring for the elderly. I sincerely hope to be one one day and I hope if I get there, there will be a safe and happy place for me to live. I want that for all the elderly in our society. That being said, we need to consider the worse case scenario, because once this is approved, we have no say in how the structure is altered or used. Visually it would detract from the rural feel of the surroundings. Practically, we need to consider what future owners, should there be any, would do with this altered structure. The small business association reports that 30% of new businesses fail within the first two years of being open. It is 50% within 5 years and 66% within the first ten. We are looking at 2/3 chance that this is not going to be this group home within the next ten years. I don't know what another company would do with it once it is made commercial like this. The proposed changes to the property may make it undesirable for future builders, or future buyers, resulting in vacant property and/or decreased property values for the surrounding homes. Construction would create a hardship forthe residents of the narrow sidewalk less street. We have no idea of how long construction would take. The traffic impedance, noise, and smell of construction vehicles are not desirable. A commercial structure and parking lot would detract from the bucolic atmosphere of Bainbridge, altering the essential character of the neighborhood. Bainbridge is a street down which folks drive with care and safeguard the children and wildlife that call it home. Visitors and employees wouldn't have the same familiarity with and attachment to the neighborhood to make those considerations. We live on Bredin Ct., the next street over and frequently use Bainbridge to ride our bikes or walk to Books Connection or Merri-Bowl and Miami Bakery among others. If we do drive Bainbridge, we are watchful for the pair of ducks that call it home in the drainage ditch on the northern end. This is an area that folks know their neighbors. A commercial property brings with it an influx of strangers that can put our kids, wildlife, and property at risk. With regard to traffic, increased residents means an increase in vehicles, whether it is resident owned, visiting family, friends, or physicians, delivery vehicles, staff, for hire transport like Uber or Lyft who are incentivized to travel quickly. The community shuttle, or as previously acknowledged, emergency vehicles, that many more additional cars driving down and parking on Bainbridge with drivers that are not familiar with July 24, 2019 29300 the neighborhood increases the risk of an incident. Living on Bredin Ct., I predict an increase in frustrated drivers trying to circle the block to find a location for parking or exit the neighborhood only to find a dead end. Especially in the winter, when the roads are slick, people may find themselves in one of Bainbridge's ditches if they aren't familiar. As a young family we will be living with the changes made to the structure for decades to come as well as the potential for other similar structures to be built by setting this precedent. My husband and I oppose this. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for coming. Good evening, mam. Linda Summers, 14647 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, which is across the street from the house and down some. First of all, I have a letter from a neighbor across the street that could not be here tonight. So I wanted to leave that. Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, we will add that to the record. Thank you. Ms. Summers: My mom has Alzheimer's. I realize the need for a home like Ben has. I really do, but my feelings are with the rest of my neighbors. This home does not belong in a residential area. Everything was going to say, they already said, so I don't want to repeat it. There is one thing, and maybe I am out of line in my thinking, but I am going to ask you anyway. Let's just say that this gets approved, down the line what would happen to the rest of us as far as—would they take away our R-U-F zoning from us? Could they do that? Because now we have a commercial business. Would our taxes be raised? Would it put us in a different zone other than R-U-F? That would mean that you have to have sidewalks, because you are not R-U-F anymore. Who is going to pay for these sidewalks? Oh, the residents. So, this has been heavy on my mind. It wasn't brought up yet, so I am bringing it up. It is a concern and I just thought I would throw that out there, because I think it's something to think about. What is going to happen to the residents as far as our R-U-F zoning? Mr. Wilshaw: That: is a very fair question Ms. Summers. There is no proposal to change the zoning. This is simply a waiver use for this particular property for this type of use. It wouldn't alter the zoning, but it is a fair question to ask. I think it is good that you are thinking of those types of things. That is not to say that at some point in the future that the zoning could be proposed to be changed in that area, but it is not in the cards. It is not on the table and no one is proposing that. July 24, 2019 29301 Ms. Summers: Would it be changed? Is it more likely to be changed if this goes through? Mr. Wilshaw: I don't think so. I think, honestly, and what we typically do in these type of situations is, because it is a waiver use, if this were to go forward with an approving recommendation, typically we ask that the waiver use be limited to this particular user. Even if he were to sell the business it would require that he would have to, the future owner, would have to come forward to the Council and be reapproved for that use. We try to do things to restrict as much as possible to the petition we see before us because we can at least know what his intentions are and not necessarily the future users. Needless to say, I don't think you are going to have to worry about the zoning changing. Ms. Summers: Thank you, all of your for your time and your consideration and listening to myself and my neighbors. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for coming Ms. Summers. We do appreciate everyone in the audience who has come forward to speak, for being cordial, and also doing a good job of expressing your views and your opinions. We do have another person who would like to come forward. You are more than welcome. Casey Sanderson, 14875 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI, right across the street. I just moved to the neighborhood last fall, so I am probably newer than a lot of people. To be honest, I haven't noticed a lot of the issues that were mentioned. I will say, in my house hunting process, that a lot of things about my property now would change, as far as the attractiveness of moving into the neighborhood. It is a rural zoning neighborhood. We have lots of wildlife, lots of peace and quiet so I just know that for the home values and people wanting to sell their properties or other people moving in, it would affect it. I know I probably wouldn't have made the same choice I did if there was a commercial business right across the street. Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Is there anyone else wishing to speak for or against this item? I don't see anyone else coming forward. Mr. Arcenal, would you like to come forward for just a moment. As the petitioner, we always like to give you the last word. You heard a number of comments. We don't want to get into a debate, obviously. If there is anything you would like to address, you are more than welcome. Mr. Arcenal: Some of what was said I don't agree 100%. 1 don't know why that would be...sharps, sharps are...there is a special place for the July 24, 2019 29302 sharps container there. I don't' know exactly what they found, and 1 wish someone would talk to me about it, if they found one or two or three. Really, there are sharps containers in the house. Maybe there is a careless staff that just threw it away and I need to know that. I have been a psychiatric nurse at a hospital for the first 15 years and I know exactly what to tell them. I trained them personally. In terms of...I am not aware also of the loud noise that comes playing radios and all that, because most of the time there is only one car who works in the middle of the night. Right now, on midnight when everyone is sleeping there is only one car there. Having those noise...I don't know where those things came from, but I don't know, I don't live there. I am just trying to be honest and making a statement that I don't think is 100% correct. We are very quiet there. Like the last person said, she didn't observe any of those issues. That is why I am quite surprised that the whole neighborhood is here. l understand that they don't want this for the value of the properties and all that. l don't know because for the look of the building no one can really see the big because it is going to be in the back. The issues of trash... (someone yelled from the audience "We live in the back") Mr. Wilshaw: Please don't yell out, please. Mr. Arcenal: I got it. I do understand. I know exactly...they are afraid of the values of their properties may go down. 1 don't know if they will or not. I go to many different facilities, whether it is Oakland, million-dollar houses have group homes right next to them, and they have no issues about it. I live in Oakland County so I see a lot of patients in Wayne County too. I can tell you there are hundreds of small group homes; most people don't know. Mr. Wilshaw: is there any question from the Commission for Mr. Arcenal? I don't see any. There is one person in the audience wishing to speak. Sir, you will need to come forward so our vast TV audience can hear you. Please ask the question of us. I would like to know if the gentleman has this type of home in his neighborhood. Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir. Mr. Arcenal, if you would like to answer that questions you are more than welcome to, you don't need to. Mr. Arcenal: l am new to this neighborhood where 1 live. I used to live in Canton and Rochester Hills. Yes, they have facilities like that in those neighborhoods. Actually, some of the are DD. July 24, 2019 29303 Mr. Wilshaw: Mr. Arcenal, the question was asked earlier as well, and just to be able to answer that question, do you have any other facilities like this one, do you own any or just this one? Mr. Arcenal: This is the only one. Like I said from the very beginning, the only reason I thought about it is because of my mom. When she has been to many different facilities where she wasn't taken care of so that is why I thought about it and I always thought about what is good for them. I have done this for many many years, and I made recommendations and seen which are very good group homes, and which one are not. So, I have seen them, and I am trying to do is create a good environment for them. I thought about it...in my opinion, of course I am bias, that traffic...whenever I go over there, there is only one or two cars, my staff. The crowd and all that, I don't know. There is a lot of room there to create. The driveway according to the plan that I submitted is going to be wider because of the requirement. It is 30 foot wide. It's going to fit. Mr. Wilshaw: Right, we see that on our plan. Mr. Arcenal: To change the appearance to the neighborhood. It's not going to change it because it is in the back. (someone in the audience yelled out again "we live in the back") Mr. Wilshaw: Again, everyone had their chance to speak. Let's be nice to Mr. Arcenal too. Is there any other questions or comments for Mr. Arcenal? As chairman I don't get to speak a whole heck of a lot, but I will say Mr. Arcenal that many of the commissioners have said and many people in the audience, the work that you do is very noble and very admirable and I appreciate that as well. With that, I think we are ready to close the public hearing and look for a motion. On a motion by McCue, seconded by Ventura, and unanimously adopted, it was #07-64-2019 RESOLVED, that pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held by the City Planning Commission on July 23, 2019, on Petition 2019-06-02-10 submitted by Home for Mom & Dad Assisted Living L.L.C., requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Section 5.03(f) of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, in connection with a proposal to operate a senior assisted living facility for sixteen (16) persons in an R-U-F (Rural Urban Farm) zoning district at 14860 Bainbridge Avenue, located on the east side of Bainbridge Avenue between Lyndon Avenue and Five Mile Road in the Northwest % of Section 23, the July 24, 2019 29304 Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2019-09-01-07 be denied for the following reasons: 1. That the petitioner has failed to affirmatively show that the proposed use complies with all the special and general waiver use standards and requirements as set forth in Sections 18.58 and 19.06 of the Zoning Ordinance #543; 2. That the number of persons proposed for this adult foster care facility would adversely affect the peace and tranquility of the neighboring residential properties; 3. That the proposed intensity of the use, expanding from 6 to 16 residents, is inconsistent with the surrounding residential neighborhood; 4. That the proposed use is contrary to the goals and objectives of the Zoning Ordinance which, among other things, are intended to ensure suitability and appropriateness of uses. Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion? A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: McCue, Ventura, Smiley, Long, Bongero, Caramagno, Wilshaw NAYS: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None ITEM #2 PETITION 2019-06-08-10 CBL & Assoc.- Dunham's Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2019- 06-08-10 submitted by CBL &Associates, on behalf of Dunham's Sports requesting approval of all plans required by Sections 18.47 and 18.58 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance #543, as amended, regarding a proposal to renovate the exterior of one of the units, 17625 Six Mile Road, of the Laurel Park Place Shopping Center, located on the northwest corner of Six Mile and Newburgh Roads in the Southeast '/ of Section 7 Mr. Taormina: Laurel Park Place Shopping Center is located within one of the city's seven special area development control districts as set forth under Section 18.47 of the Zoning Ordinance. What this does is July 24, 2019 29305 regulates any alterations to structures. It requires that they first be reviewed by the Planning Commission and approved by City Council. Dunham's Sports will be the new tenant that will occupy a significant portion of the first floor of the space that was previously occupied by Carson's Department Store. The entire upper level of the former department store as well as a portion of the first floor located on the north end is not part of the leasehold improvements. We heard from the petitioner at the study meeting that they will be occupying about 45,000 square feet of the lower level which is about 65,000 square feet and altogether the former Carson's was about 130,000 square feet in size. The part of the fagade that Dunham's proposes to renovate faces Newburgh Road and includes the store's main entrance on that side of the building. These changes would include painting the exterior columns that frame the main entrance as well as installing a new sign. The area in question today is a lighter beige color. As you can see from the rendering the new color scheme around the entrance would be dark brown. This includes the metal framing around the doors, the windows, and the canopy. Above the entrance.where the old Carson's sign was located will be a new sign that identifies Dunham's Sports. This sign would be an area of approximately 236 square feet. Corrugated metal panels would be used as the backing behind the sign. All the other brick and other exterior features, including the granite veneer, would not be altered as part of this petition. Mr. Chairman, relative to correspondence, we have items from the Engineering Division, the Livonia Fire and Rescue, the Traffic Bureau of the Police Division, the Inspection Department, the Department of Finance, the Office of the Treasurer, as well as the Assessors, all of which do not have any objections to this petition. Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions of the Planning Director? Seeing none. The petitioner is here. If one of you could come forward. Good evening, sir. Andy Wasserstrom, 5150 Walcott Ct, Columbus, OH, we are the national signage provider for Dunham's Sports. We have done the majority of the sites in Michigan. I did pass out last week, at the session, some sheets. I did want to note that the calculations, I believe that were just read off of 236 were incorrect. We were told we could calculate this as each word being its own square footage, so Dunham's and Sports being its own. That would give us a total square footage of 227.75 square feet f I do have these in updated drawings if you would like me to pass these out. Mr. Wilshaw: I don't think that is necessary. Mr. Taormina, is that the correct on how square footage is calculated or is it on the entire area? July 24, 2019 29306 Mr. Taormina: Actually, I thought how it was done the first time was accurate, but that is usually a review that is done by our Inspection Department. How the exact calculation is determined, I am not sure. This shows the 236 square feet total with each word computed separately. Mr. Wasserstrom: I just checked the math this morning and I don't know why it was off, so...but I have copies. Tonight, we are asking to have a variance granted for the sign on the store front. The previous retailer, Carson's, had three signs and three different elevations. We have a hardship of about 420 feet of setback from the store to Newburgh Road. You are all familiar with the berm that is there as well. Diagonally, there is about a 515-foot setback to the corner of Newburgh and North Laurel Park Drive. The previous sign that was there, was the Carson's sign that was measured at seven feet by 32 feet and before that, we have the Parisian sign that was six feet by 38 feet, which would measure 228 square feet. So, we are asking for a little less than the Parisian sign that is up there. I believe we shared some examples too, of the different store fronts indicative of the brand with the last call, so 1 don't know if there is anything we need to discuss or if there is any questions, we will be happy to answer. Mr. Wilshaw: Any questions for the petitioner's representative? Mr. Caramagno: Tell us a little bit about the lighting so we understand the lighting and the times it is going to be lit. Mr. Wasserstrom: So, it is internally illuminated as you would typically see an internally illuminate channel letter, so it will be face illuminated. think that the retailers, if I recall, have that similar type of construction, like the Eddie Bauer Store. I don't know that it would be very different from the Carson's. The Carson's sign, I can't tell from the pictures we took, when we looked at it, that it was either back lit or face lit with a perforated vinyl. It was late at night, but it would be very indicative of the retailers that are already in the mall. Mr. Caramagno: Do you think you get your best visual against that corrugated background? It just doesn't stand out. I realize that it is Dunham's corporate deal, but it just doesn't seem to stand out strong as if you had it against a solid back. Mr. Wasserstrom: We do. That gets the most presence. Having the lighter background with the red is the most visible color for a sign that July 24, 2019 29307 there is. That is why we choose a red color and the silver backing is quite visible. Mr. Caramagno: Maybe the picture here doesn't do it. Mr. Wasserstrom: I think if there were some nighttime views perhaps maybe that would help. At nighttime, obviously, that goes away. I think someone on the board last week had asked if it was a mirror almost because of the sun shining on it in some of these photos. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for the petitioner? Not seeing any and I'm not seeing anybody left in the audience to speak for or against this item. Is there anything else you would like to tell us before we make our decision? Michael Lee, CBL, 1652 Timber Hollow Drive, Wildwood, MO, during the work session you had asked for a floor plan. We did submit that so if you had any questions on that I can answer or the exterior I can answer those questions as well. Mr. Wilshaw: I don't think that made it into our electronic packets. No, it did, I have that so...if there are any questions about that please ask. Ms. Smiley: You are talking about the interior of the building. My question was, you are going to put a wall up between what would have been...after the escalators and the elevators and the sunlight or the lighting in there, there is going to be a wall that goes all the way to the ceiling which will pretty much eliminate any natural light from there back. Is that correct? Mr. Lee: The north entrance has all the glass provided for that in that entry. So, we are only using the east entrance and we are taking all the skylight for the Dunham's space. Ms. Smiley: But there would be no windows...I guess the entrance way and around the entrance way you would have light. Mr. Lee: Correct. Ms. Smiley: I was just wondering about the rest of the building. Is there someone here from Laurel Park here that...could I ask you that? What do you think you will do with the building, or that part of it? Jeff Allen, CBL, we do not know at the time. At this time leasing and pursuing, continuing to pursue different uses. July 24, 2019 29308 Ms. Smiley: But it is kind of two story isn't it? It would be virtually no light except for the entrance way. Mr. Allen: Unless we put or find a tenant that wants to put a window system in or a curtain wall in or storefront. Ms. Smiley: Is there some way they can get to the second floor? Mr. Allen: Yes, there is that opportunity. Ms. Smiley: Thank you. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for our petitioner? I don't see any. Anything else you would like to add? You're all set? Good. Thank you. I will look for a motion. On a motion by Long, seconded by Caramagno, and unanimously adopted, it was #07-65-2019 RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby recommend to City Council that Petition 2019-06-08-10 submitted by CBL & Associates, on behalf of Dunham's Sports requesting approval of all plans required by Sections 18.47 and 18.58 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance#543, as amended, regarding a proposal to renovate the exterior of one of the units, 17625 Six Mile Road, of the Laurel Park Place Shopping Center, located on the northwest corner of Six Mile and Newburgh Roads in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 7, be approved, subject to the following conditions: 1. That the modifications as depicted on the exterior elevation plan prepared by Casco + R5, as received by the Planning Commission on June 21, 2019, is hereby approved and shall be adhered to; 2. That only conforming signage is approved with this petition, and any additional signage shall be separately submitted for review and approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals; 3. That the specific plan referenced in this approving resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department at the time the building permits are applied for; and 4. Pursuant to Section 19.10 of Ordinance #543, the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Livonia, this approval is valid for a period of ONE YEAR ONLY from the date of approval by City Council, and unless a building permit is obtained, this July 24, 2019 29309 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. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution. ITEM #2 PETITION 2018-05-02-11 CESO, Inc. Mr, Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Petition 2018- 05-02-11 submitted by CESO, Inc. requesting a one-year extension of all plans in connection with a proposal to renovate the existing Speedway gas station, including demolition of the existing building, construction of a new gas station and the operation of a limited service restaurant (Speedy Cafe) at 37416 Seven Mile Road, located on the northwest corner of Seven Mile and Newburgh Roads in the Southeast '/ of Section 6. Mr. Taormina: This is a request to extend the site plan and waiver use for the redevelopment of the Speedway Gas station at Seven Mile and Newburgh roads. This project was approved a little over a year ago. The petitioner is here to indicate that they were unable to commence the construction this year, so they are seeking the one year extension with plans to get under way in April 2020. Mr. Wilshaw: I believe we received letters of correspondence all in support of it. Mr. Taormina: Yes, and I believe some of those repeat the reports that were provided on this item back in 2018. Mr. Wilshaw: I see. Thank you. Are there any questions for the Planning Department? See none, the petitioner is here. If you would like to come forward and add anything you can to this really simple request. Good evening, welcome back. Mandy Gauss, CESO, 13060 Old U.S. 27, Dewitt, MI, thank you for having me back. If you have any questions, I am happy to answer them. Again, we are requesting an extension. Unfortunately, it wasn't in the budget to start this year. We do have our Wayne County approvals which are good through May 2020. We will get started before that expires, because you all know how Wayne County can be. The goal is start in the spring of next year. July 24, 2019 29310 Mr. Wilshaw: I think that was the obvious question we were going to ask you. Any other questions for our petitioner? Mr. Bongero: Are you going to maintain being open the whole time? Ms. Gauss: Oh yeah. They won't close the station until they are ready to start construction. They don't want to lose any, obviously, revenue. So, what they will do is before they close down, typically they give a 30 day warning. They start clearing out the products and left everybody know because they have to completely shut down the station to demolish everything and reconstruct. The entire process typically takes around four months. That is all for reconstruction. They will close the station, but they will give ample notice to the people who stop regularly so they are aware of the day that it will be shut. It will be quick. The longer they are shut down the less they make. Mr. Bongero: It's busy in there, that's all. Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for our petitioner? No other questions. If not, a motion is in order. On a motion by Smiley, seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it was #07-66-2019 RESOLVED, that the City Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that the request for a one-year extension on Petition 2018-05-02-11 which previously received approval by the City Council on July 9, 2018 (Council Resolution 254-18 &255-18), to renovate the existing Speedway gas station, including demolition of the existing building, construction of a new gas station and the operation of a limited service restaurant (Speedy Cafe) at 37416 Seven Mile Road, located on the northwest corner of Seven Mile and Newburgh Roads in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 6, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council that Petition 2019-05-02-11, be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. That the request for a one-year extension of waiver use approval by CESO, Inc., on behalf of Speedway, in a letter dated June 14, 2019, is hereby approved; and 2. That all conditions imposed by Council Resolutions#254-18 and #255-18 in connection with Petition 2018-05-02-11, which permitted the redevelopment of the existing Speedway gas station site at 37416 Seven Mile Road, shall remain in effect to the extent that they are not in conflict with the foregoing condition July 24, 2019 29311 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- I will make a note that I did skip audience communication because there is no one in the audience. Just making a note of that for our TV audience, ITEM #4 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,145th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of the Minutes of the 1,145th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on July 9, 20,19. On a motion by Ventura, seconded by Smiley , and unanimously adopted, it was #07-67-2019 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of 1,145ffi Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held Iby the Planning Commission on July 9, 20119, are hereby approved. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following-. AYES: Long, McCue, Smiley, Ventura, Bongero, Caramagno, Wilshaw NAYS-. None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Mr, Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously ado ted, the 1,146th Public Hearings and Regular Meeting held on July 23, 2019, s adjourned at 8:48 p.m. CITY P INN COMMISSION 6arn aramagno, Secretary ATTEST: Ian Wilshake-ha'irman