MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION,
WHICH TOOK PLACE ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2000, 7:00 P.M.,
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, MIDLAND, MICHIGAN
1. Roll Call.
PRESENT: Commission
members Baker, Garner,
Geisler, Kozakiewicz, Lind, Senesac, Rapanos, Slicker, Wieland
ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Jon
Lynch, Director of Planning and Community Development; Mark Ostgarden,
City Planner; Cheri Standfest,
Administrative Assistant; and approximately 30 others
2. Approval
of the minutes of the meeting of November 14, 2000.
It was
moved by Senesac, seconded by Baker, to approve the minutes of the meeting of
November 14, 2000. It was noted by
Chairman Wieland that the third paragraph of item #3 should reflect that only
he abstained from deliberating over the request. Motion carried.
3.
Public
hearings:
Site Plan No. 197
the request of A.J. Damman Company, for the redevelopment of an existing
shopping center, Eastlawn Center L.C., located at 825 985 South Saginaw
Road. It is located on a 6-acre site
with approximately 80,000 square feet of commercial area. The proposed redevelopment will eliminate
15,000 square feet of existing space and construct 14,490 square feet of space
in the form of a freestanding Walgreen Pharmacy. There will be no increase in floor area [see
transcript].
4.
Public Comments.
There were
no public comments.
5. Old
Business.
Consideration of Zoning Petition No. 470 the request of Lola Cole, Don Hall, Lavina Hunt, Stan Ostahowski, Mark
Thornton, Michael Skinner, John Fisher, Roger Klemkosky, Tom McCann, Todd
Bennett, and Mary Jane Miner to rezone property on the north side of West
Wackelry Street east of Sturgeon Avenue from Residential A-1 to Business
B-2. Mr. Ostgarden noted that the
request would produce a zoning district partially incompatible with surrounding
zoning districts and land uses. Staff
recommended that the east portion of the subject area, that being north of an
Office-Service 2 district south of West Wackerly Street, be zoned Business
B-2. The west portion of the subject
site should then be zoned Business A, a district permitting land uses of lower
intensity than those permitted in the Business B-2 Zone.
Chairman Wieland asked if there were any public comments regarding this
request that would provide the Planning Commission with new information.
Howard Hennis of 2603 Schade West noted that there are 44 units in the
condo development and that senior citizens occupy 90% of them. Any zoning change that will increase traffic
on West Wackerly Street will present safety problems to the residents of the
condominiums. In addition,
businesses would produce negative impacts such as noise, light pollution, and
litter.
Charlotte Allen of 6213 Alyse Lane stated that the Business A zoning
would be inappropriate, but that if any zoning change were made, an
Office-Service district would be less intrusive. She noted that residential dwellings are
permitted in the Office-Service zones but not in the Business A Zone. Finally, Ms. Allen indicated her belief that
West Wackerly Street is not sufficiently designed to support additional traffic.
Don Beckwith of 2609 Schade West Drive explained that there are nine
zoning district designations between the existing Residential A-1 zoning and
proposed Business B-2. There is also
plenty of vacant land available for business development elsewhere in the
community.
Orrin Barrett of 2717 Schade West Drive noted that in addition to noise
and traffic, other residents of the neighborhood would have direct views of
businesses built on the north side of West Wackerly. Increased traffic in this area would not
constitute good planning given current plans to extend Sandow Road. Significant residential growth is likely to
occur west and south of US-10.
Tim Skelcey of 2807 Schade West Drive noted that he lives on a private
street, and significant increases in traffic on West Wackerly may force residents
to incur expenses to solve resulting neighborhood traffic problems.
Pam Streeter of 2828 West Wackerly Street asked why a division between
proposed zoning districts would be placed west of her property.
Tom McCann of 3310 Jefferson noted that at the A.J. Damman site, a zoning
pattern similar to that proposed here has existed for some time. The Business A district may not be
beneficial, since many smaller structures with independent driveways would be
provided.
At the conclusion of public input, the Planning Commission entered into
deliberation. Commission members noted
that the Business B-2 Zone would allow a wide range of land uses that could
potentially be detrimental to the area.
Additionally, the Business A Zone may not adequately protect residences
across for the district, south of West Wackerly Street.
It was moved by Rapanos and seconded by Senesac to recommend that the
subject site be divided between lots 11-32-50-042 and 11-32-50-044. An Office-Service 2 zoning designation should
be applied to the west portion of the site, while Business A zoning should be
applied to the east portion of the site.
Vote on the motion:
YEAS: Baker, Garner, Geisler,
Kozakiewicz, Lind, Senesac, Rapanos, Slicker, Wieland
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
An amendment to Planned Unit Development No. 2,
Harcrest Woods Condominiums the request of Robert
VanSickle, on behalf of Harcrest Woods Condominium Association, to install
traffic control gates at the east entrance to the complex (Harcrest Drive just
west of Thornberry Drive). Chairman Rod Wieland continued to abstain from
participating in consideration of this request.
Vice Chairman Geisler conducted the meeting from this point forward.
Mark Ostgarden explained that concerns pertaining to this request could
be separated into planning issues and public safety issues.
With respect to planning issues, a gate at this location would be
contrary to local street arrangement requirements for the original Planned Unit
Development approval, and other traffic calming options may be available to
remedy described problems. Regarding
public safety matters, comments in opposition to a gate, due to its impact on
emergency response time, have been received from the Police Department, Fire
Department, Midland County Emergency Medical Services, and Consumers Energy.
Given these facts, staff recommended denial of the request.
Vice Chairman Geisler asked if there were any public comments regarding
this request that would provide the Planning Commission with new information.
James Ramseyer of 2021 Oakfield explained that he had driven from the
hospital emergency entrance to both the west and east entrances of Harcrest
Woods. In both cases the trip was 4
minutes and 30 seconds in duration. None
of the residents wants to endanger their own safety and it is difficult to
accept public safety reasons to deny this request.
Arron McMann of 2209 Maple Leaf noted that most condominium developments
have a single point of access, whereas Harcrest Woods has two. Any other group seeking to close a private
street within a PUD would need to go though this process of consideration as
well.
Bob VanSickle of 2309 Oakfield Drive also indicated that a gate could not
be located at the west end of Harcrest Woods due to a municipal requirement for
a service turnaround. There are also
legal issues affecting the public status of this road. Access must periodically be interrupted so as
to preserve the private ownership of the street.
The Planning Commission discussed design standards for private streets, PUD
street design requirements, and the Citys role in policing private
streets. Several Commission members
expressed reluctance to act in a manner contrary to reservations expressed by
public safety personnel. Other
Commission members felt that owners of a private street should be entitled to
make their own access decisions.
It was moved by Slicker and seconded by Geisler to recommend approval of
the requested gate installation, requiring that the gate be equipped with
emergency access equipment approved by the Midland public safety
departments. A vote proceeded as
follows:
YEA: Geisler, Kozakiewicz, Lind,
Rapanos, Slicker
NAY: Baker, Garner, Senesac
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: Wieland
Chairman Wieland reclaimed the gavel.
6. New
Business.
Zoning of Annexed Property. Mr. Ostgarden informed the
Planning Commission that several parcels of land west of Jefferson Avenue and
north of the US-10 expressway currently hold Larkin Township zoning
designations. The Commission or the
Planning Department can either initiate a petition to apply municipal zoning
designations to the parcels and first solicit comments regarding zoning and
land use from the property owners.
Planning Commission members opted for the latter.
Review Report from the City Engineer regarding Patrick
Road. An
advisory report was included in the November 14th Planning
Commission packets. No questions or
comments were forthcoming.
Planning Commission meeting with City Attorney. The City Attorney is available to
meet with the Planning Commission on December 12th at 6:00 p.m. His presentation on the Freedom of
Information Act, Open Meetings Act, and Ethics Ordinance will last
approximately 45 minutes.
Adjournment at approximately 9:35 p.m. was moved by Lind, seconded by
Slicker, and unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Jon Lynch
Planning Commission Secretary
NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL APPROVED BY PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION