HomeMy WebLinkAbout1,232 - July 1, 2025 signedMINUTES OF THE 1,232nd PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, the City Planning Commission of the City of Livonia
held its 1,232nd Public Hearing and Regular Meetings in the Livonia City Hall,
33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan.
Mr. Ian Wilshaw, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.
Members present: David Bongero
Peter Ventura
Sam Caramagno
Ian Wilshaw
Members absent: Wafa Dinaro Patrick Droze
Glen Long
Mr. Jacob Uhazie, 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.
TEM #1 PETITION 2025-05-02-10 Papi's Tacos
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2025-
05-02-11 submitted by Nick loannou on behalf of the Wine Castle,
requesting waiver use approval under Sections 3.11 and 6.51 of
the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to operate a food
truck on the property at 33415 Seven Mile Road, located the
southwest corner of Farmington Road and Seven Mile Road in
the Northeast % of Section 9.
Mr. Uhazie:
July 1, 2025
31923
Good evening. This petition is to operate the food truck at the
Wine Castle located on Seven Mile Road between Farmington
Road and Fillmore Street. The existing zoning is C-2 (General
business). Adjacent properties across Fillmore street include, a
strip mall that includes a Biggby coffee, Pizza Hut and a Hair
Studio, which is zoned C-1 (Local business). To the north is the
old Kmart site that has been approved for a Planned General
Development containing a Meijer Fresh and a townhome
apartment development zoned C-2 (General business). To the
east is currently a vacant property that has been approved for a
drive through coffee facility with ice cream parlor, also zoned C-2
(General business). To the northeast of the site, opposite the
intersection, is the Wintergarden Tavern, which is zoned C-2 and
finally, south of the site is a Bigg Burger fast food restaurant with
drive through which is zoned C-2 (General business). The site is
about 0.62 acres with about 247 feet of frontage on Seven Mile
Road and approximately 110 feet of frontage on Farmington. The
existing Wine Castle store operates with a SDD liquor license for
off premise consumption and the building measures 5,371 square
feet. The waiver use for this petition falls under Section 6.51 of
the zoning ordinance. The proposal is for Papi's Tacos, which
would occupy three parking spots in the parking lot on the north
side of the existing building shown on the site plan up here. The
food truck measures 20 feet in length, about eight feet in width
and 10 feet in height. The truck would be parked in the northwest
corner of the site by the entrance for Fillmore Street. The food
truck would operate three days a week, from 11 am to 9 pm. There
is no plan for a dining area. The original plan had no bathroom
access, but I believe that has been updated to allow bathroom
access and trash would be disposed of by the food truck. The
existing building will remain the same with no changes to the
setback or height. The zoning ordinance requires for parking food
trucks one space for each 125 square feet of floor area plus one
parking space for each three outside patio seating spaces, plus
one parking space for each employee. Parking for this petition
would be three for the food truck, and the SDD parking
requirements is one parking space for each 300 square feet of
floor area, which would be a total of 15 for the SDD license. The
total site would require 18 parking spaces. The site plan shows
30 spaces or 27 when the food truck is in operation. Here's a
picture of the food truck that would be operated on site. One thing
to note in one of the correspondences we will see is that there is
an outstanding tax bill that the petitioner has noted that they have
set up a payment plan to pay back the back taxes. But that is not
reflected in the notes. The payment plan is set up with Wayne
County, we do not have a record of it as of now. Also to note is
the bathroom is being remodeled to be ADA compliance. With
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Uhazie:
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31924
that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental
correspondence.
Yes, please.
The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated June 9,
2025, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your request,
the Engineering Division has reviewed the above referenced
waiver use approval request. The address of #33415 Seven Mile
Road is correct for the subject parcel, and should be used in
connection with this petition. We have no objections to the
proposed petition, although the following items should be noted:
1. Should the proposed use have the need to occupy, or should
any of the associated activities impact either of the Seven Mile
Road or Farmington Road right-of-way's, a permit from Wayne
County will be required as both roads are under their jurisdiction.
2. All sanitary sewage from the site resulting from the proposed
operations shall be disposed of properly. 3. Should the operators
need to have water provided for their facilities, they should
contact the City of Livonia Water Department to obtain the proper
equipment, including a water meter with backflow preventer." 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 18, 2025, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed
the site plan submitted in connection with placement and use of
a food truck on the property located at the above referenced
address. This office spoke with Building Department Plans
Reviewer Matt Stierna who had zoning concerns regarding the
placement of a food truck on this property. If allowed, parking
spaces around the food truck will have to be blocked off to create
separation distance to allow fire apparatus access in case of an
emergency response. A further detailed plan review will take
place when this division receives an official plan set" The letter
is signed by Brian Kukla, Fire Marshal. The next letter is from the
Division of Police, dated June 4, 2025, which reads as follows: '1
have reviewed the plans in connection with the petition. I have no
objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by Paul Walters,
Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the Inspection
Department, dated June 19, 2025, which reads as follows:
"Pursuant to your request, the above -referenced Petition has
been reviewed. 1. A minimum of two restrooms shall be provided
for the new proposed use, and the fixture count must comply with
the Michigan Plumbing Code 2021. The restrooms shall meet the
Michigan barrier -free standards and shall be provided. They shall
be accessible to the public and not located in a storage area.
Permits will be required if this proposal moves forward. 2. The
existing dumpster located on the west end of the building does
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not have a dumpster enclosure, and one is not proposed.
Planning and/or Council may wish to address this. A building
permit would be required for the installation of an enclosure. 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 Treasurer's Department, dated June 5, 2025, which
reads as follows: "Taxes are owed on this property 2024 Summer
and Winter with interest and fees $15,389.41 2023 Winter
$7, 686.15 Total taxes owed $23,075.56 Plus unpaid water bill of
$2,580.63 Grand total $25,656.19." The letter is signed by Susie
Nash, Treasurer. That is the extent of the correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Uhazie. Is there any questions for our planning
staff?
Mr. Bongero: Mr. Uhazie, did you say that they are renovating one of the
bathrooms?
Mr. Uhazie: Correct.
Mr. Bongero: Okay, because Jerome is saying two restrooms.
Mr. Uhazie: Yes, they sent in an email saying that they were renovating that
to comply.
Mr. Bongero: Okay. And it's specifically for this food truck.
Mr. Uhazie: They may have to answer that one specifically, but it's my
understanding that it's a response to the...
Mr. Bongero: Okay. Were they aware of the dumpster enclosure?
Mr. Uhazie: I'm not sure if they were.
Mr. Bongero: Okay. I'll ask the petitioner.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Bongero. Any other questions for staff? Mr.
Ventura.
Mr. Ventura: Mr. Uhazie, I note that the police department's letter here says
they have no objection, but I'm wondering about someone going
into the store and buying a six pack of beer and coming out
buying a taco and sitting in the car and drinking and eating. I know
you can't do that outside a bar. Okay, so I'm wondering, has
anybody checked out to find out if you could do that here, and
whether, if a patron does that, are they in violation of the law? Do
we know the answer to this question?
Mr. Uhazie:
Mr. Ventura:
Mr. Wilshaw:
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I don't know the specifics of that. I would imagine it's not that
different than any of the other SDD establishments that might
have food on premises, but that may be something that you refer
to the petitioner of how they would handle that.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ventura. Any other questions for staff? No, okay,
everyone, good. All right, our petitioner is here. Good evening,
ma'am, if you'd like to start with your name and address for our
record.
Judy Welch, 2500 Covington Place, Bloomfield Hills, 48301.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Ms. Welch:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Bongero:
Ms. Welch:
Very good. Thank you. Ms. Welsh, what would you like to tell us
about this request? This is a waiver use.
The request was to bring event spaces into the Wine Castle to
meet our neighbors and to capture some of the construction
crowd on the north and the east side, but mostly to meet our
neighbors. We're a neighborhood store, and I'd like to get some
events going before the Meijer opens up across the street and
become more of a neighborhood store, supporting our little
league teams, supporting our school teams. My first event was
going to be, bring in your 4.0 homework, and you get a free taco.
You know, after graduation to meet our school teams nearby.
That's about it, but I think I'm toast because of the second
bathroom. We did comply. I did renovate the bathroom for you
and...but we don't have room for two bathrooms in the store, so,
okay, I think I'm done.
Well, let's see what kind of questions that we have from the
commission, and we do have some leeway and flexibility on
things, so we'll see what we can do, but we'll have probably some
questions for you before we make our decision so, let's see what
kind of questions we have.
In regard to the bathroom, you might want to talk to the building
department, but you might be able to do a unisex bathroom. ADA
compliant depends on occupancy, so, but he said in there two,
but you might be able to ask them.
We don't have room for two.
Mr. Bongero: Because you don't offer public restrooms now, do you?
Ms. Welch:
Ms. Welch:
Mr. Bongero:
Mr. Uhazie:
Mr. Bongero:
Ms. Welch:
Mr. Bongero:
Ms. Welch:
Mr. Bongero:
Ms. Welch:
Mr. Bongero:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Ventura:
Ms. Welch:
July 1, 2025
31927
We do.
Yeah, yes. You know our people come in and have to go. So I
think everybody requires a public bathroom, don't they? Every
supermarket, I know...
I don't know on those liquor stores, though, do they have to?
I think technically they're supposed to.
Okay, you might want to look into the unisex but, you know, you
might be able to get away with one.
Okay.
Have you looked at the dumpster enclosure? I was there tonight.
The dumpsters look full, and there is garbage leaning up against
the back wall.
That might be from the renovation. Yeah, that's probably what it
was. He was trying to finish it today, so I could provide finished
photos for you. So that's probably what it was from.
Okay, that's kind of what the enclosures are all about. You know?
Okay, to hide the dumpster one. Okay, keep all the garbage
behind them, something you want, you might want to do
regardless of tonight's outcome.
No, you're right. Thank you.
You're welcome. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Bongero, any other questions for our petitioner,?
Mr. Ventura.
Good evening. Can you tell us how you're going to manage
people coming into the store and buying a six pack of beer or a
couple of cans of beer, and then going out and buying a meal and
then sitting in their car and drinking and eating, which is clearly
against the law? How will you prevent that?
I never thought of that. I think that's against the law to do anyway,
isn't it? I mean, they could go in and buy a six pack right now and
sit in their car and drink it. It's an in and out store. Mostly, we try
to get people in and out quickly. And I can't answer that. I hadn't
thought of that.
July 1, 2025
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Mr. Ventura: Okay, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Ventura. Any other questions? Mr. Long.
Mr. Long: Good evening. So, in your write up, or in the write up, it says that
you would like to have the food truck on site three days a week.
Ms. Welch: Yes.
Mr. Long: Have you thought through which three days it would be and what
the schedule be? Would it vary? What would be the...
Ms. Welch: It would be 11 to 9, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday,
Mr. Long:
Ms. Welch:
Okay, you said that you wanted to try to get some of the
construction workers and stuff like that. Do you think you're going
to be able to achieve that with that schedule? I mean, I don't know
that they work...
Yes, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday, I was hoping to attract the
golfers down the street, and there are a lot of things going on at
the park, that type of thing.
Mr. Long: Okay, thank you. Thank you. Mr. Chair.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Long. Any other questions?
Mr. Caramagno: We talked at the study session. No eating area, no picnic tables
outside.
Ms. Welch: No,
Mr. Caramagno: And the truck, tell me again, the truck, you proposed that the taco
truck stays there Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday, or does it go home
every night? How does that look?
Ms. Welch: It leaves.
Mr. Caramagno: It leaves every night?
Ms. Welch: It has other places to go and...
Mr. Caramagno: It resets the next day?
Ms. Welch: Yes, maybe Saturday night. I'm not sure I could ask him, but...
July 1, 2025
31929
Mr. Caramagno: These are things we need to know. Yeah, it leaves. How about
water? I know water is a potential issue. I just had the Livonia
Spree this week, and all of these rigs and food vendors needed
water, water hookup and electricity hookup of some sort or
another. What's the plan for water and electricity?
Ms. Welch: He told me he was self-contained.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, it is a self-contained unit.
Ms. Welch: Yes.
Mr. Caramagno: How about for his wastewater and his waste food? He obviously
takes it with him. He takes his waste with back with him when he
goes.
Ms. Welch: Yes.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, yeah, then as Dave mentioned about the bathroom, you
know, the bathroom, not only is the city saying you should have
two, but they also shouldn't be located in a storage area, and I
think yours are in the back, aren't they?
Ms. Welch: Yeah.
Mr. Caramagno: Which is, which is a bit of an issue. So, all right, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Thank you, Mr. Caramagno, any other questions? One question
for you, Miss Welsh. Do you know how this vendor is going to
deal with grease. You said that he's going to take garbage off site,
but what about his grease?
Ms. Welch: He removes everything.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Okay. So, I know in researching these types of venues, I found
that there are some cities having issues with food truck vendors
pouring grease down sewage grates, or, you know, sewers which
are obviously not made to deal with grease. So, I'm curious about
that. And if a person came to this food truck and they picked up
some tacos. You said there's not going to be any area for them
to sit and dine, but there's really nothing that prevents them from
eating in their car or staying there, you know, to consume their
food while it's still hot, right? Okay, and you're you wouldn't have
any, would you have any, any way to police that are any concern
about people staying there to eat? I
Ms. Welch:
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I hadn't thought of that. Most of the time when I've done the food
truck, its a grab and go, okay? And I hadn't thought about that. I
we could address that.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. And then the other concern would be about lighting. Do
you know...does this operator have any lighting for his food truck
to draw attention to it or even for patrons in the evening, if it gets
dark out at night?
Ms. Welch: The one I had seen in Redford did have it.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. What sort of lighting did they have.
Ms. Welch: They had it on their truck.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, was it just white lighting, or was it colored lighting?
Ms. Welch: It was just white, not colored.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, so just like a spotlight or something?
Ms. Welch: Yes.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, and they will be under this spotlight. We do have a light, a
pole light back in that area.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, so your parking lots illuminated in that area?
Ms. Welch: Correct.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, for safety too. All right, that's all the questions I have for
now. Is, if there's no one else with any questions.
Mr. Caramagno: Mr. Chair, I've got another question. When we talk about
Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday, and lighting comes around, I hadn't
thought about lighting. Is this just for the summer? Are you talking
about something year round?
Ms. Welch: No, just for the summer.
Mr. Caramagno: Through Labor Day?
Ms. Welch: Yes.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, all right. And I got a question for Jacob. If you don't mind.
Jacob, we don't have any other food trucks city, do we?
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Mr. Uhazie: Not that have been approved through the Planning Commission,
nothing from us.
Mr. Caramagno: So, there's no spot food trucks, food trailers anywhere else in this
in the city, I don't know that I've seen any.
Mr. Uhazie: No, other than, like, special events, like the Spree.
Mr. Caramagno: The Spree is a special event.
Mr. Uhazie: Yep, correct.
Mr. Caramagno: With a start and end date. Okay? Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Caramagno. Jacob, on that same line of
questioning when it comes to a business having, I'm sure there's
businesses in Livonia that have a food truck come for a couple
hours at lunchtime for special occasions, or maybe during
summertime. Do those need to be licensed as well? Or are they
just not?
Mr. Uhazie:
Through Wayne County Health Department, they need to be
licensed, but there's no special permit for Livonia unless they're
going to be like a regular date and time for an extended period of
time. We have businesses regularly having them for grand
openings that are just there for a couple hours. But if it's going to
be an ongoing, regular thing is when they would have to come in
to us.
Mr. Wilshaw: And then get the waiver use.
Mr. Uhazie: Yes.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay. All right, great. Thank you. All right. If there's no other
questions on this item for our petitioner. Is there anyone in the
audience wishing to speak on this item? I don't see anyone
coming forward. Ms. Welsh, we always give the petitioner the last
word. Is there anything else that you'd like to say before we make
our decision?
Ms. Welch: Thank you very much.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. I'm going to close the public hearing then, and a
motion would be in order.
On a motion by Long, seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it was
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#07-31-2025 RESOLVED, That the City Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2025-05-02-11
submitted by Nick loannou on behalf of the Wine Castle,
requesting waiver use approval under Sections 3.11 and 6.51 of
the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to operate a food
truck on the property at 33415 Seven Mile Road, located the
southwest corner of Farmington Road and Seven Mile Road in
the Northeast'/ of Section 9, be denied for the following reasons:
That the petitioner has failed to comply with all general
standards and requirements as set forth in Section 6.51 of
the Livonia Zoning Ordinance.
2. That the proposal is in conflict with the spirit and intent of the
Zoning Ordinance to promote and encourage a balanced
and appropriate mix of uses and not oversaturate an area
with similar uses.
3. That the petitioner has failed to sufficiently demonstrate that
the site has the capacity to accommodate the proposed use;
4. The petitioner has failed to comply with the City of Livonia
Treasury Department.
That the petitioner has failed to comply with all the concerns
deemed necessary for the safety and welfare of the City and
its residents.
That the petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated that the
proposed use would be compatible to and in harmony with
the principal use of the subject property as well as other
uses in the surrounding area; and
7. That the proposal 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?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to the City Council with an approving
resolution.
ITEM #2 PETITION 2025-06-02-12 Penske Automotive
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2025-
06-02-12 submitted by Penske Automotive Group, requesting
Mr. Uhazie:
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31933
waiver use approval under Sections 3.16 and 6.24 of the Livonia
Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to operate an automobile repair
facility in connection with Bill Brown Ford, at 11813 Hubbard
Street, located on the west side of Hubbard Road between
Plymouth Road and Capitol Avenue in the Southwest '/ of
Section 27.
Thank you. This petition is, as you mentioned, on the west side
of Hubbard, between Plymouth and Capital. The current zoning
is M-1 (Light manufacturing). The adjacent properties include to
the west, the Feldman Chevrolet parking lot, which is also zoned
M-1 (Light manufacturing), as well as C-2 (General business). To
the north is a parking lot zoned M-1 that houses the Bill Brown
fleet center. To the east is an industrial building zoned M-1 that is
used for a fitness warehouse, and the parking area is used for the
Bill Brown Ford. To the south is a Penske property currently under
construction zoned C-2 (General business). The property is about
1.96 acres in size, 300 feet along Hubbard and a depth of 287
feet. It contains a 3,554 square foot existing automobile repair
facility. New site plans were submitted that you did not receive in
the e-packet, but you have in front of you here. There are some
minor changes that include removing some of the addition. The
new petition seeks to construct an addition to their existing
automobile repair facility, which would total 6,785 square feet.
The new building would have a reception desk, new waiting room,
one alignment track, 10 car indoor queuing area, a lounge and
car wash. The new building's total area would be 40,359 square
feet. With the addition, the building will have a minimum 20-foot
side yard setback, which satisfies the building requirements. The
zoning ordinance requires two parking spaces for each repair
bay, plus one for each employee. There are 29 repair bays and
20 employees, which would require 78 parking spaces.
Alternatively, under the ITE parking manual, garage service
centers would require 55 parking spaces. The site plan shows 52
striped spaces, but they are striped at nine feet. One note on the
floor plan is that it states that employees will park across the
street in a dedicated employee parking lot. There are no barrier
free parking spaces shown on the site plan, and the petition did
not include any changes to signage or landscaping on the site. A
dumpster enclosure is shown in the southeast corner of the site,
but no additional details are provided on whether it will be an
enclosure or it's just open dumpsters. The site plan shows
existing fencing surrounding the property, but currently there
appears to be none in the back. The zoning ordinance requires
fencing the back lot area to be enclosed with a fence of a type
approved by the City Council, with only such openings therein as
may be necessary for ingress and egress. Landscaping design
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Uhazie:
July 1, 2025
31934
requirements in Section 10.3 of the zoning ordinance would
require one deciduous tree or evergreen per 40 linear feet of road
frontage, one ornamental tree per 100 linear feet of road frontage
and eight shrubs per 40 linear feet. The site would require eight
deciduous or evergreen trees, three ornamental trees and 60
shrubs total. The site plan submitted June 30, 2025 does not
show the required landscaping. The elevations plans show the
building painted white. The addition would be made with white
CMU and gray CMU along the lower third of the building with
white CMU canopy. The car wash additions building material
would also match the existing building. The existing building will
be painted white with gray wainscoting. With that, Mr. Chairman,
I can read out the departmental correspondence.
Yes, please.
The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated June 9,
2025, 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. Please note that the parcel has been assigned the address
of #11813 Hubbard Road. If additional addresses will be required,
the owner will need to contact this Department after approvals
have been obtained. The existing parcel is currently served by
public water main and sanitary sewer, as well as private storm
sewer. The submitted drawings do not indicate any proposed
alterations to the existing services, so we do not believe there will
be any additional impacts to the existing utilities. Should public
utility services need to be altered for the proposed project, the
Developer should submit Engineering drawings to this
Department to determine if permits will be required. Any work
within the Hubbard Road right-of-way will require permits through
this Department, including approach and sidewalk removals."
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 6, 2025, which reads as follows: "This office
has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with a request
to renovate a commercial building on the property located at the
above referenced address. We have no objections to this
proposal with the following stipulations: Provide code referencing,
plans and permits for fire suppression of these added areas. A
further detailed plan review will take place when this division
receives an official plan set." The letter is signed by Brian Kukla,
Fire Marshal. The next letter is from the Division of Police, dated
April 7, 2025, which reads as follows: 1 have reviewed the plans
in connection with the petition. I have no objections to the
proposal." The letter is signed by Paul Walters, Sergeant, Traffic
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31935
Bureau. The next letter is from the Inspection Department, dated
June 13, 2025, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request,
the above -referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1. The
proposed change in use will need to comply with the 2021
Michigan Building Code and International Fire Code. The building
will require a fire suppression system designed for the proposed
use. 2. The parking spaces shall be 10' x 20' and double striped.
3. Signage has not been reviewed. Signage shall comply with the
sign ordinance or a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals
would be required. 4. The parking lot shall be maintained in a
satisfactory condition so as to be safe, attractive, and free of
hazards, nuisances, or other unsafe conditions. 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
Treasurer's Department, dated June 5, 2025, which reads as
follows: `All taxes have been paid on this property." The letter is
signed by Susie Nash, Treasurer. That is the extent of the
correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Are there any questions for the Planning Director?
Mr. Caramagno:
Mr. Uhazie:
Mr. Caramagno:
Mr. Uhazie:
Jacob, any special requirements for this car wash going in the
back of the property? Or is it so minimal use that doesn't really
apply?
I think, because...I believe this is just for the service station, it's
not open to the public. That wouldn't be additional...
It's not generating a lot of water, a lot of wastewater, nothing like
that?
Correct?
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:
All right. Good question. Anything else for our staff? If there's
nothing else, our petitioner is here with us. Good evening, sir. Ask
that you start with your name and address for our record.
Charlie Harris, 2555 South Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Harris:
Thank you, Mr. Harris. And what would you like to tell us about
your petition?
So, everything is spelled out well in the documents that were
submitted. We do plan to bring all of our service operations from
Bill Brown to this location, consolidating this and making a way
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Ventura:
Mr. Harris:
Mr. Ventura:
July 1, 2025
31936
for customers to enter and have their vehicles serviced. This is
more of a long-term service type use, where they're bringing their
vehicles in, dropping it off, and then most likely leaving for an
extended period of time. The parking provided on site is relative
to what the use is within the building. We also submitted a plan
that shows the parking lot to the north, east and south, which will
all be all serve Bill Brown Ford, seeing that they are adjacent
properties and uses.
Okay. Is there any questions for our petitioner?
What's going to happen with the Quick Lane building? Is that
quick lane service going to move over into this facility, or will that
remain a stand alone?
So Quick Lane is to the north and that will remain a standalone
for oil changes and tire rotations, that type of quick service.
Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for the petitioner?
Mr. Caramagno: On one of the elevations here, I see the overhead doors to the
south are being removed. Are the doors going to stay? And
they're going to be painted, so if they stay there, or are they going
to be completely removed? On that picture, the top picture, top
left side, am I looking at? The top left picture is that, are those
overhead doors?
Mr. Harris:
Those are overhead doors that says infill dock and replace doors
so that it's currently a loading dock. We're bringing that up to
grade and would replace it with new doors to suit the needs.
Mr. Caramagno: So, they'll still be doors there?
Mr. Harris: Correct.
Mr. Caramagno: But there just won't be a loading dock?
Mr. Harris: Correct.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: All right, very good. Any other questions? One quick question
about the car wash, since it came up, you have an existing car
wash on this building at the northwest corner of the building,
correct?
Mr. Harris:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Harris:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Harris:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Harris:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Uhazie:
Mr. Harris:
Mr. Wilshaw:
July 1, 2025
31937
Not at this building. This is a new building to us.
Okay, but you don't know if this building currently has a car wash
facility. It does not.
Okay, so the one that you're going to add on the back is going to
be a new wash.
That's correct.
Okay. All right, very good. And then the main loading for customer
drop off is going to be on the...they're going to come in from the
east side of the building and basically come into a tunnel, if you
will.
That's correct.
Okay, and then they would drop their vehicle off, and the porter
or someone would take it into the actual service area.
Yes.
Okay, very good. And then, as far as the parking spaces being
nine foot, obviously, for non -customer parking, we generally allow
nine -foot spaces, but would customer parking at this location still
need to be 10-foot? Is that correct, Mr. Uhazie?
Correct. I guess it's up to your discretion, but Inspection
recommended the 10 foot.
One clarification. The parking spaces on the entry to the building,
there's eight located across the front. Those were labeled at 10
foot. So those would be customer parking spaces, while the
others would not.
Okay. So that would be your customer park, correct? And then
the other spaces would be for employees or storage or temporary
storage of vehicles as they're getting traveled back and forth.
Okay? And then will any repair facilities continue at your actual
dealership, just oil changes or would all service go to this
location?
Mr. Harris: Not all service comes to this location, but a majority of it does.
There will still be some service in the existing building.
July 1, 2025
31938
Mr. Wilshaw: So, quick service, basically, or shorter -term service would
happen at the dealership. This would be more for longer.
Mr. Harris:
Mr. Wilshaw:
It's similar service at both. The dealership would be more heavy,
engine repair, transmission repairs, this would be kind of midterm
repair, while Quick, quick repairs, oil changes, tire changes,
would happen at the Quick Lane building to the north.
Oh, Okay, interesting. All right, and is there a reason that you're
separating those is it because of the equipment that you have at
those facilities you don't want to move it?
Mr. Harris: Restriction on square footage.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, repairs are a big thing. All right, good. Well, is there any
other questions for the petitioner?
Mr. Caramagno: I've got one more. I recall at the study session which said no
collision work will be done at this site that will still be done on
Plymouth Road at the old terrace theater.
Mr. Harris: That's correct.
Mr. Caramagno: We talked about leaving unrepairable cars on site, engine jobs,
rear end jobs... big, big, big, big repairs. What is the plan there for
something that you got to do an engine job. How long will it sit
outside? And does Penske Motor Group or Ford...do you have a
plan to keep those cars from sitting outside for long term?
Mr. Harris: When those vehicles are under repair, they're in the shop, in the
enclosed building.
Mr. Caramagno: So if you've got something that it's going to be waiting for big
repair. You don't tow it outside and leave it set for weeks or
months on end.
Mr. Harris:
No, the vehicles on the exterior are typically when customers
bring a vehicle in while they're waiting to be serviced, so they're
not in service vehicles.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, all right. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Caramagno. Any other questions for our
petitioner? Nothing else. Anyone else in the audience wishing to
speak on this item? No one's leaping forward. Anything else you'd
like to tell us? Mr. Harris, before we make our decision,
Mr. Harris: I appreciate your time and consideration.
Mr. Wilshaw:
July 1, 2025
31939
Very good. Thank you for coming in. Let's see what happens. A
there's no other questions on this item. I'm going to close the
public hearing, and a motion is in order.
On a motion by Bongero, seconded by Ventura, and unanimously adopted, it was
#07-32-2025
RESOLVED, That the City Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2025-03-08-02
submitted by Karim Elrez, under Section 13.13 of the Livonia
Zoning Ordinance, requesting approval of all plans to expand an
existing commercial building by constructing a new two-story
addition at 29440 Schoolcraft Road, located at the Northwest
corner of Schoolcraft Road and Middlebelt Road, in the
Southeast' of Section 23., be approved subject to the following
conditions:
1. 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.
2. That the site's landscaping shall be enhanced to meet
requirements Landscaping Design Requirements in Section
10.3 of the City of Livonia Zoning Ordinance and thereafter
permanently maintained in healthy condition.
3. The eight (8) parking spaces located at the front of the
property shall be doubled striped at ten feet (10') wide by
twenty feet (20') in length.
4. That there shall be no outdoor storage of disabled or
inoperative equipment and vehicles, scrap material, debris
or other similar items.
5. That appropriate recordable legal instrumentation, 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.
6. 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.
July 1, 2025
31940
7. Pursuant to Section 13.13 of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance,
as amended, this approval is valid for a period of one year
only from the date of approval by the 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. It will go on to the City Council with an approving
resolution.
ITEM #5 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,231st Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of
the Minutes of the 1,231st Public Hearing and Regular Meeting
held on June 10, 2025.
On a motion by Long, seconded by Bongero, and unanimously adopted, it was
#07-33-2025 RESOLVED, That the Minutes of 1,231 St Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on June 10,
2025, are hereby approved.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES: Bongero, Long, Ventura, Caramagno, Wilshaw
NAYS: None
ABSENT: Dinaro, Droze
ABSTAIN: None
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,232nd Public
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on July 1, 2025, .�S adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
ATTEST:
Ian Wilshaw, Chairman
CITY • ANNING COMMISSION
Sam aramagno, Secretary