REGULAR MEETING July 17, 2003 7:30 P.M.
PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA
Members Present: Russell Banush, Julie Griess Christina Lirones, Wilma Luna, Edward Resha, Norman Schneyer, Dennis Ward
Members Absent: None
Others Present: Richard Olson, Bill Stamoulis, Ken Polsinelli, Ken Bullis, Jim Haeussler, Ken Reiter, Greg Elliott, Assistant Planner Jennifer Black, Senior Planner and Zoning Administrator Mark Spencer, and Marge Burkheiser, Recording Secretary.
1.0 Call Meeting to Order at 7:30 p.m. / Determination of a Quorum.
Chairperson Lirones called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. A quorum was present.
2.0 Pledge of Allegiance
Chairperson Lirones led the Pledge of Allegiance.
3.0 Approval of Agenda
Motion by Commissioner Banush, supported by Commissioner Luna, to add 7.2 CUP 03-03 Glencoe Crossings Controlled Use to new business and move to follow item 5.1 and to add 7.3 CUP 03-04 Glencoe Crossings to new business and to follow item 5.2, and to approve, as amended.
MOTION CARRIED
4.0 Items from the Floor
Tim Reiter of the Washtenaw County Road Commission, Transportation Planner, said he was hired to help coordinate transportation plans with the local government. He stated there is approximately 35 million dollars. Of that amount 16 million is provided by the State with the balance of the funds coming from other sources. He further stated that 2/3's of the funds are spent on heavy road/highway maintenance. He said some of the main issues are revising the State Road Standards and the Public Hearings will begin in September or October. The current Standards were updated in 1997 and prior to that they date back to the early 70’s. He also said he felt different groups were working with different Standards and he would like to a coordinate the permit process along with working more closely with the Townships. He related some personal work history for the Commissioners.
Chairperson Lirones noted that there were times when a road construction project started and no one knew about it until the orange barrels showed up. Tim Reiter stated he was hired to help work through these kinds of issues and to help resolve transportation and other planning issues.
5.0 Public Hearings
5.1 CUP 03-03 Glencoe Crossings (Controlled) [submitted for a controlled use permit for a liquor license]
Planner Spencer reviewed his report stating the site bordered commercial and residential areas. He also stated petitions were sent around to neighbors within 500 feet to sign but the petition did not include the words "pool hall" as part of the petition. He requested the petitions be signed again, with the corrected wording. He also said some signatures were from the bingo hall petition and they were unacceptable. The applicant was also seventeen signatures short of the required amount. He suggested the Commission should determine if this would contribute to the "skid row" effect but felt this use would help to increase the economic viability of the area. He noted there is currently another controlled used within 1,000 feet, a bingo hall (CUP 02-07/02-08). He then said there are no schools or day care within 500 feet of the site and is compatible with the Comprehensive Plan.
Ken Polsinelli, McKinley Properties, stated he was here to answer the Commissioners' questions. He stated the owner is a high quality business operator from the Detroit area. He said they are interested in doing something a little more sophisticated for the area.
Commissioner Ward asked Mr. Polsinelli if he understood the issues the concerning the petitions.
Ken Polsinelli replied yes and that they would provide a second set with the correct wording. He also said the signatures from the bingo hall were an oversight on their part.
Chairperson Lirones invited comments from the public.
There was no comment.
Motion by Commissioner Ward, supported by Commissioner Banush, to close the public hearing.
MOTION CARRIED
Chairperson Lirones inquired about the name of the owner and the type of restaurants he operates.
Ken Polsinelli stated there are five restaurants in the Detroit area named Honey Tree and the proprietor is George Lukaj. He said the restaurants are middle east/coney island in nature. He further said this type of restaurant is not targeted for this area and the proprietor is interested in a sports type establishment.
Commissioner Griess asked about the number of people who would be in the facility on a weekend night.
Ken Polsinelli stated the area is 8,496 square feet and they would have the legal number permitted to operate.
Planner Spencer stated they have not researched the amount of required parking but staff was not concerned since this would be mostly an after normal hours business establishment.
Ken Polsinelli stated there is a walking path to the apartments from the shopping complex where the property lines meet.
Chairperson Lirones asked if there are any other bars in the area.
Ken Polsinelli replied no.
Chairperson Lirones stated one liquor license previously approved for Tuptim Thai [CUP 01-14] is further down the road.
Commissioner Ward stated he felt this use would have the potential for improving the area, but expressed his concern for the students and the alcohol involved.
Chairperson Lirones asked if the bingo hall had opened yet.
Ken Polsinelli stated they were planning to open on August 1st. He said there have been construction delays. He also stated the operator has had a number of contacts from non profits to use the space.
Commissioner Ward inquired if there would be problems with over lapping hours between the sports bar and bingo hall.
Ken Polsinelli stated the target market is different and he did not foresee many problems except possibly during the early evening but he did not think it would be a problem.
Commissioner Griess inquired regarding the hours for the bar.
Ken Polsinelli stated he felt they would be open for dinner but was not sure if they would be open at lunch time. He noted that Quizno’s is open now and the deli has renewed their lease, partly because of improvements made to the area. He felt the hours might be 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Commissioner Ward said most of the similar places are open with a limited lunch menu.
Ken Polsinelli said they have been approached by Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army and thrift shops but have refused them.
Motion by Commissioner Ward, supported by Commissioner Resha, to postpone action on CUP 03-03 Glencoe Crossing Controlled Use Permit until such time that the applicant complies with the petition requirements of Section 56.13 of the Zoning Ordinance.
MOTION CARRIED
5.2 CUP 03-04 Glencoe Crossing [submitted for conditional use permit for a sport bar and grill restaurant]
Planner Black reviewed her report stating the business's primarily use would be to serve alcohol and a recreational establishment. She said it would be adequately served by public services. She said the Commission should decide if a business that serves alcohol and a recreational establishment is harmonious with the surrounding area. She further said that the Commission must grant a Controlled Use Permit before consideration for a CUP could be granted. The granting of a CUP does not advocate the granting of a liquor license from the Townships pool of available licenses.
Planner Spencer reminded the applicant to ensure that the barrier free parking spaces are adequately signed for the entire shopping center.
Ken Polsinelli stated this would not be a problem and they are having the lot redone.
Chairperson Lirones invited comment from the public.
There was no comment.
Motion by Commissioner Resha, supported by Commissioner Luna, to close the public hearing.
MOTION CARRIED
Motion by Commissioner Banush, supported by Commissioner Ward, to postpone CUP 03-04 Glencoe Crossing until action is taken on Controlled Use Permit, petition CUP 03-03.
MOTION CARRIED
6.0 Old Business
6.1 CSPA 02-03 S/H Development Phase III [submitted for extension of the final site plan approval until December 31, 2003 and a minor change to the final site plan]
Planner Spencer stated this is the third phase of the site and that the area is just the rectangular for the building. He also said Staff has no objection to leaving this project open.
Commissioner Ward questioned Staff concerning the request of the type of trees being proposed to change. Planner Spencer stated since this is a heavy industrial area and given that the Norway Maples usually do better in this area, there are no objections to the requested change but will leave the decision to the Planning Commission.
Motion by Commissioner Ward, supported by Commissioner Banush, to approve the extension of the approved site plan CSPA 02-03 S/H Development Phase III until December 31, 2003 and allow the substitution of 24 Norway Maple trees for 24 Red Maple trees.
MOTION CARRIED
6.2 RZ #03-02/CSPA 03-06 Peters Building Co./Webster (Legacy Heights formerly Heritage Commons)
Planner Spencer stated there is a major site layout issue that needs to be resolved. He briefly reviewed Planner Schmult's past report that stated the Washtenaw County Road Commission will not approve the layout of the streets as shown on the plans. He also said the Comprehensive Plans calls for public streets in this type of development and that this plan has private streets.
Mark Pascoe, of Atwell Hicks and Jim Haeussler, of Peters Building Co., briefly reviewed the history of plan. Mr. Haeussler stated the road issues were whether the roads should be private vs public roads.
Mark Pascoe stated the current plans now show an all public road concept.
Members and applicant discussed access management and various road issues, including turning radius required by the WCRC.
Jim Haeussler restated this last concept is all public roads.
Commissioner Ward inquired how much open space has been lost to the new design.
Jim Haeussler stated a little but they still needed to work on the final design.
Chairperson Lirones stated the plan appears to have more lots and wondered why.
Jim Haeussler said there are two more lots then previously shown. He also said the cost of this design for the site will increase due to the additional sidewalks and other requirements.
Commissioner Ward stated he would be interested in comparing the lot size to the surrounding area.
Planner Spencer asked the applicant to do a comparison with surrounding sites.
Jim Haeussler stated he could do that.
Chairperson Lirones asked if this plan is vastly different than from the one presented at the public hearing and would a second public hearing be necessary.
Planner Spencer stated this would need to be discussed more at the staff level.
Commissioner Banush stated his concern with the impact of density.
The Commission agreed public roads were good but stated they were not pleased with the two additional lots shown.
Jim Haeussler stated the large fabulous oak tree was hit by lighting and has since died. He stated they had an arborist investigate and they stated the tree was hit by lightning.
Commissioner Banush asked about the street name changes and how someone would know where the street name changed on the loop.
Members discussed street naming issues and Planner Spencer stated the names would have to be approved by numerous agencies before final approval.
No motion, for discussion only.
6.3 CSPA 99-18 Pittsfield Glen [submitted for final site plan]
Planner Spencer stated Staff feels many corrections have been made. He stated there is a need for some additional tree protection, the location of the mailboxes must be shown on the plans and to make sure they are not in conflict with utilities. He also said the Township would like to see the asphalt path standard upgraded. He noted some street lights have been eliminated, as requested, and asked for fixtures that are acceptable for the mutli-family housing area. He said the developer will need to show standard DTE fixtures along the public roads and the Master Deed and Exhibit B Drawings will need to be submitted to the Township for review and a Special Assessment District (SAD), for street lighting must be in place before any building permits are issued. He also said the engineer had their usual comments including the need to get a permit from the Drain Commissioner. He then said a Soil Erosion Permit for stockpiling only was issued.
Richard Olson, of Pittsfield General Development, stated he is working on the problems in obtaining permits from the WCRC.
Ken Bullis, of Atwell Hicks, stated most of the comments of Mr. Spencer have been addressed. He said the lighting issues been addressed and they will show standard DTE fixtures. He also said there are some sight line distances to be adjusted but will need to “tweak” about six trees. The asphalt path has been approved by the WCRC but they will change if necessary.
Motion by Commissioner Banush, supported by Commissioner Luna, to approve final site CSPA 99-18 Pittsfield Glen with the following conditions:
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Developer to enter into a Development Agreement with the Township Board before any construction can begin.
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Address items number 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 9 of the Township Engineer's report of July 11, 2003. 3. Address items number 3.01, 3.02, 4.01, 4.02, 4.03 and 4.04 of the Township Planner's report of July 2, 2003.
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Enter into an agreement to establish a County Drainage District before any construction can begin. 5. The Development Agreement shall contain the following minimum requirements: a. Provide financial assurances for performance and completion. b. Set a completion date. c. Enter into an Agreement to enforce the uniform traffic code. d. Provide to the Township for payment of $78,712.00 for offsite mitigation. e. Set utility installation inspection fees.
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Request [ a Special Assessment District be established] and pay the developer contribution for street lights before any building permit is issued.
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Staff approval of the Master Deed and Exhibit "B" Drawings.
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The Master Deed must include language permanently removing all development rights from the woodland and wetland open space areas and that clearly spells out all tax responsibilities.
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Coordinate Textile Road paving with Pittsfield Township's transmission main water line installation.
MOTION CARRIED
6.6 CSPA 03-03 Rosewood Village-Clubhouse [submitted for final site plan]
Planner Black reviewed the engineer's report but noted the clubhouse was previously approved with the site plan for Rosewood. She stated the dimensions for the trash enclosure should be clarified.
Planner Spencer noted there were some issues with permits and Staff would talk with Engineering to resolve.
Commissioner Ward noted the improvements at the site and said it looked nice driving on Platt Road.
Motion by Commissioner Ward, supported by Commissioner Banush, to approve the final site for CSPA 03-03 Rosewood Village Clubhouse with the following conditions before any temporary or permanent Certificate of Occupancy is issued:
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Address items number 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the Township Engineer's report dated July 8, 2003.
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Address items number 3 and 4.05 of the Township Planner's report dated June 26, 2003.
MOTION CARRIED
6.7 CSPA 03-09 Ridgewood Apartments-Carports [submitted for final site plan]
Planner Black reviewed her report to add carports for over 336 parking spaces at the complex. She noted the applicant did not propose to extend the sidewalk along the east side of carport number seven. She said the visibility of the carports from Carpenter Road was low and if it had a significant amount of landscaping that would break the view of the structures.
Mark Pascoe, Atwell-Hicks, stated additional landscaping there would not be a problem along with adding the additional sidewalk by carport number seven.
Chairperson Lirones stated the sidewalk would be approximately 30 feet in length.
Planner Spencer stated a statement should be added to the suggested motion stating the proprietor will be responsible for removing the carports if the utilities needed to be serviced.
Motion by Commissioner Resha, supported by Commissioner Luna, to approve the final site plan CSPA 03-09 Ridgewood Apartments Carports with the inclusion of approximately 30 feet of sidewalk by carport #7 and provide a recorded document, acceptable to Township Staff, that states that the proprietor will assume all costs of removing carports that may need to be removed to service Township utilities.
MOTION CARRIED
7.0 New Business
7.1 CSPA 03-14 AHS/Marathon [submitted for final site plan]
Planner Spencer said the applicant was requested to have an architect certify the seating and floor space of the building. As a result of this effort, the number of parking spaces was found to be six short. He said deferred parking could be acceptable with the condition that if parking is needed per the opinion of the Zoning Administrator, the parking would be added.
Motion by Commissioner Ward, supported by Commissioner Luna, to approve final site CSPA 03-14 AHS/Marathon with the following conditions:
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If the Zoning Administrator determines that the deferred parking spaces are needed because of on-going parking congestion on the site, the applicant will submit a revised final site and engineering plan to complete the deferred parking within 90 days of notification by the Zoning Administrator. 2. If the Zoning Administrator determines that the deferred parking spaces are needed, the applicant will construct the deferred parking within six months of notification by the Zoning Administrator of approval of the site and engineering plans.
MOTION CARRIED
8.0 Planner’s Report
8.1 Set dates for Annual review of Comprehensive Plan
Planner Spencer stated the Comprehensive Plan review time has arrived and said they would be asking for suggestions for changes. He offered a number of suggestions to the Commissioners to start the review process. He also said there may be the possibly of a public hearing during the review and that he would be contacting LSL on how to handle the overall process.
Chairperson Lirones stated she felt this was important enough to set a whole meeting aside to review, starting possibly in September.
Members discussed various times and dates and all agreed to the first meeting of September (September 4, 2003) for a review of the Comprehensive Plan.
Planner Spencer stated he received a letter from Mr. Grammatico asking to approve CSPA 00-19. He also said he felt there would be a request for a second extension for the site.
Chairperson Lirones stated she felt a need to have the outside agencies review the Sweetwater site plan again.
Commissioner Ward stated he recently drove past the site and the water is almost to the road. He also said the only reason the water was not on the road is due to the elevation of the road.
Chairperson Lirones stated concerns about liability with this site and the amount of water there.
9.0 Chairperson’s Report
None.
10.0 Commissioner’s Report
There was discussion of upcoming meetings the Commissioner’s may be interested in attending.
Commissioner Ward noted there are a number of dead trees around recently and asked what can be done to facilitate the replacement of them.
Planner Spencer stated there are some problem areas that were inspected a year ago and everything was fine then. He said it may be hard to do anything at this point. He suggested the Planning Commission change the wording of the ordinance.
Commissioner Luna said the Natural Resource Committee is working on this issue.
Planner Spencer suggested the possibility of adding a time limit to install landscaping to the Zoning Ordinance.
Members discussed tree issues and weeds at various sites in the Township.
Commissioner Banush stated he had a copy of a letter from Kelly Diefenbach, dated June 10, 2003, of Hunter's Ridge and commented on her concerns about build in the area. He said the Planning Commission should respond to her.
Chairperson Lirones offered to write a draft and email to the Commissioners.
Commissioner Banush inquired on the status of the Mayflower Hotel.
Planner Spencer stated they have obtained a burn permit and thought it would be done by the end of August.
Commissioner Banush asked about Nature's Garden Center and said if they continue to violate the conditions of their CUP the applicant should appear before the Planning Commission and explain his CUP could be revoked.
Members briefly discussed the Nature's Garden Center issues.
Commissioner Banush restated that he would like the Commission to have the applicant appear before then and have them explain why their CUP should not be revoke.
Chairperson Lirones asked if there are other sites that have been visited.
Planner Spencer said yes; they have been to Saline Flowerland who probably should revise their CUP but they have done most of things that were required to comply with the Ordinances.
Commissioner Banush and members agreed to wait until another site visit has been made and if Nature's Garden Center is not in compliance; bring them to the next planning meeting.
Commissioner Ward stated he has noticed some major changes to Chesy’s and shouldn’t they have come before the Planning Commission since the lighting has changed.
Planner Spencer said he would investigate this and said they are in violation of the conditional use permit on the parking lot to the east but he has not talked with the owner. He said the work has not been inspected by the building department and the parking has not been striped.
Commissioner Ward noted the party store next to Chesy’s has been selling cars. He also said there were a number of dead trees at the Target Center on Carpenter Road.
Planner Spencer said they were on the department list to be contacted. He also informed the Commissioner that litigation with St. James Woods has been filed against the Township. He further said the WCRC permits were withdrawn and there is no legal access to the site, the bonds have expired and stop work orders have been posted for the whole site (11 homes). He also said their Exhibit B drawing are not correct.
11.0 Approval of Prior Minutes
11.1 Minutes of June 5, 2003
Motion by Commissioner Resha, supported by Commissioner Ward, to approve the minutes, as presented.
MOTION CARRIED
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Adjournment
Motion by Commissioner Luna, supported by Commissioner Resha, to adjourn the meeting.
MOTION CARRIED
Chairperson Lirones adjourned the meeting at 10:00 p. m.
__________________________________________________________________ s/Julie Griess, Secretary August 21, 2003
