MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION,

WHICH TOOK PLACE ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2003, 7:00 P.M.,

COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, MIDLAND, MICHIGAN

 

1.   Roll Call

PRESENT:  Baker, Dowling, Geisler, Kozakiewicz, Max, Senesac, Svenson and Wieland

ABSENT:     Slicker (previously arranged)

OTHERS PRESENT:  Jon Lynch, Director of Planning & Community Development; Mark Ostgarden, City Planner; Cheri Standfest, Administrative Assistant

2.   Approval of Minutes

a.        Special Meeting of January 22, 2003

It was moved by Kozakiewicz and supported by Svenson to approve the minutes of January 22nd as presented.  The minutes were unanimously approved.

b.        Regular Meeting of January 28, 2003

It was moved by Wieland and supported by Dowling to approve the minutes of January 28th.  It was noted that Svenson is spelled incorrectly on page two and the references to the City Planner should be changed to Mr. Mark Ostgarden.  The minutes were unanimously approved as amended.

c.        Special Meeting of February 4, 2003

It was moved by Max and supported by Senesac to approved the minutes of February 4th.  The minutes were unanimously approved.

 

3.   Public Hearings

 

None

 

4.   Public Comments (not related to agenda items)

 

None

 

5.      Old Business

 

None

 

 

 

6.  New Business

a.        Jon Lynch, Planning & C.D. Director, provided the Planning Commission with a list of capital projects scheduled to be completed during the 2003-2004 fiscal year.  The list only includes projects that will result in construction of new infrastructure.  Commentaries regarding compliance of each project with the City’s Master Plan are also provided and staff has concluded that all projects comply.  Comments from Planning Commissioners regarding positions of non-compliance with the Master Plan are to be communicated to Mr. Lynch.

 

b.        Mr. Mark Ostgarden, City Planner, provided a review of the approach to sign regulation being proposed by McKenna Associates within the updated zoning ordinance.  The proposed regulatory approach is based on linking the size of permitted signs to the speed of traffic passing the signs.  Based on his research into the approach Mr. Ostgarden discovered that several communities had poor experiences with this process. 

Planning Commissioners discussed the language and raised concerns that the approach does not take into account a drivers familiarity with a given area, that other communities have had difficulty implementing the approach, and that enforcing the language would be difficult when street speeds were changed.  Commissioners requested that staff pursue a more traditional approach to sign regulations.

 

c.        Mr. Lynch provided the Commission with background language regarding requirements for Traffic Impact Surveys (TIS) within the proposed zoning ordinance.  He pointed out that several items of information requested in the surveys are not linked to changes in related zoning applications.  In addition, the City’s traffic engineer indicated that a required TIS would need to be evaluated by the City’s own engineers to determine its validity.  It was further noted that some of the stated benefits of TIS are addressed in the new site plan review process.

Commissioners discussed the merits of the variable approaches to TIS.  Members felt that a TIS can provide relevant information associated with large scale projects but that the recommended threshold for requiring them is currently quite low.  The Commission requested that staff revise this language to futher bolster the site plan review process and raise the threshold for TIS to large scale projects.

7.  Communications

None

8.  Report of the Chairman

      None

 

 

9.   Report of the Planning Director

The Director reported on the following matters:

 

Informational material regarding the MSUE Citizen Planner Program was distributed to Commissioners.  Commissioners were also reminded that the 2003 Michigan Society of Planning annual conference is scheduled to take place from October 15th to October 18th.

 

Meeting reports include--

 

 

CITY COUNCIL

February 10th

·         PUD No. 15  - Carolina Cove;  approved

                                                                       

 

PLANNING COMMISSION

      March 4th

·         Subdivision Ordinance Presentation

March 11th           

·         Site Plan No. 223 – (public hearing) Fountain Park Office Center, W. Wackerly St.

March 25th

·         Site Plan No. 224 – (public hearing) Pizza Hut, Saginaw Rd.

·         Site Plan No. 223 – (action)

 

 

 

10.  Adjourn.

Adjournment at approximately 8:20 PM was moved by Wieland, seconded by Senesac, and unanimously approved.

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Jon Lynch, AICP

Planning Commission Secretary

 

 

MINUTES ARE NOT FINAL UNTIL APPROVED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION