MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION,
WHICH TOOK PLACE ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2006, 7:00 P.M.,
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL,
1. Roll
Call
PRESENT: Eyre,
Gaynor, Jocks, Kozakiewicz, Mead, Rapanos, Senesac and Svenson
ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Jon Lynch, Assistant City Manager;
Daryl Poprave, City Planner; Cheri Standfest, Community Development Specialist,
and 13 others.
2. Approval of Minutes
Regular Meeting of
It was moved by Mead and supported by Eyre to approve the minutes of
February 14th. The minutes were
unanimously approved.
3.
Public Hearing
None
4. Public Comments (not
related to agenda items)
None
5. Old Business
Site Plan No. 250 – Consideration of a petition
initiated by the Michigan Baseball
Foundation to review a site plan consisting of a 3,500
seat baseball stadium on
approximately 21
acres bounded by State Street, Buttles Street, Lyon Road and
Dow Chemical –
Michigan Operations property.
Mr.
Kozakiewicz requested to be allowed to abstain from deliberations this evening
due to a conflict of interest. Mr.
Gaynor moved, seconded by Mr. Rapanos, to allow Mr. Kozakiewicz to abstain from
deliberations on this site plan.
Mr. Lynch
presented an area map showing approximately 21 acres that is being
considered
for a baseball stadium. This area is
presently undeveloped. The subject
property currently falls in the community zoning classification. This district is surrounded by regional
commercial, high density residential and industrial districts.
Jon
presented the site plan and the surrounding street corridors. During the public hearing, they received 8
comments in support of the project, primarily relating to economic development
for the area. There were also two
comments in opposition. Those comments
were carried forward for further examination.
Issues from
the February 14th public hearing include parking utilization,
neighborhood parking, emergency response, public safety, homeland security,
police patrols, control of events, amplified sound, property values and
infrastructure improvements.
The site required 591 additional parking
spaces. Five agreements have been
received addressing 971 parking spaces.
The applicable provision of the zoning ordinance allows for land uses
that do not have overlapping hours of operation to utilize each others’ parking
spaces. There are 603 spaces that would
be available during the hours of the use of the stadium. Prohibition of on-street parking in impacted
neighborhoods can be implemented via traffic control orders issued by the Engineering
Department. The City Engineer indicated
this is fairly commonly used around public schools to control traffic and
parking in the street.
Public
safety personnel have met with representatives of the Michigan Baseball
Foundation and The Dow Chemical Michigan Operations. Municipal public safety officials are
satisfied with evolving protocols. Roger
Garner, Emergency Services Director, submitted a letter dated February 22,
2006, regarding safety issues related to the site. A letter has been provided in the Planning
Commission packet. The Michigan Baseball
Foundation states that the facility will not be operational during periods of
elevated alerts issued by the U. S. Department of Homeland Security that
require activation of local security response plans. The area will receive extra patrols by
on-duty personnel. The Police Department
has not budgeted for additional manpower, but such needs could be accommodated
by the existing police force.
Events at
the proposed stadium will be permitted and controlled by its owner, the
Michigan Baseball Foundation. The City
does not require an event related permit for the use of amplified sound from
private property. The City of Midland
Assessing Department indicates that the proposed stadium will not likely have a
negative impact on area property values.
The City of Midland is not prepared to raise taxes to fund improvements
associated with the project. The City
will participate in funding improvements via matching grant contributions from
existing resources.
The
Michigan Baseball Foundation does not currently plan to provide shuttle
service. The Downtown Development
Authority is currently researching the feasibility of operating a trolley
shuttle on event days.
The
Planning Commission received a landscaping plan and a modified lighting plan in
their packet. There were nine
contingency items relating to the original plan. Items #1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 have been addressed
by these plans. The remaining
contingency items, numbered 3, 8 and 9 remain and City Council will have some
involvement with these issues when the site plan comes before them. The level of illumination is a review item by
City Council.
Mr. Rapanos
inquired about the addition of bicycle racks on the site. Mr. Lynch stated this is something that is
reviewed at the time the Certificate of Occupancy is requested. They have indicated that they will be
provided so staff will look for those details.
Peymand
Zand, 3898 East Pine Hollow, Larkin Township, stated he was there to answer any
questions. Chairman Senesac asked him to
address the concerns that have been raised with regard to public safety. He stated they had their first meeting yesterday
with Roger Garner and the police chief to begin addressing the needs for public
safety with regard to public stadiums.
They are also working with Dow Chemical, the world’s best safety
company, to help develop a plan that will meet the risk mitigation factors for
the community. The stadium is designed
to have areas available for shelter in case of any weather related events. They are going to talk to the Lansing Lugnuts
regarding the need for safety-related issues. Mr. Zand stated they will
definitely have bike racks located on the site.
Paul Dehn –
Stillwater Lane, Midland, Michigan – The safety of the community and the 4,000
people inside the fence line will be their first concern in case of any
situation. They have built in public
safety variables, both internal and external to the fence line for the
stadium. They have commissioned a team
of experts in the area to address the various issues to make sure they have
addressed everything they can conceive of occurring. This team will meet every three weeks
throughout the development process. Mr.
Roger Garner is one of the primary contacts in this process.
Mr. Senesac
asked if there might be any releases that could come across the property
line. Mr. Dehn spoke of “sheltering in
place” in an all-weather enclosure would be one of their options. He stated he really cannot answer that
question, as there are too many variables that would come into play.
Roger
Garner stated he has had the opportunity to set down with Dow, Michigan
Operations, and the Baseball Foundation, and there is a commitment on their
part to sit down and do whatever is necessary to resolve any issues and to come
up with an emergency plan that will meet the needs of the community. Mr. Garner stated that he sees this as being
a positive event, as there are a lot of people looking at these issues and preparing
to address them in case of an emergency.
This will ultimately benefit the entire community.
Anna Marie
Morgan, Fournie Street. She lives three
blocks away from the proposed site. She
stated a lot of the neighbor’s concerns have been addressed and she thanked the
commission for doing this. She is still
not convinced that all the parking needs have been addressed and she feels this
will be an issue for the surrounding neighborhoods. She is concerned that perhaps there would be
a bar located near the stadium and that the neighbors will be subjected to
vandalism and lewd behavior by the patrons of the bars around the stadium. She stated that, since they do not plan to
increase the number of police on duty, this is even more of a concern. If they have rock concerts, there could be
even more concern for the safety of the children in the surrounding
neighborhoods. Traffic congestion is
also still a concern. She stated they
petitioned the city to have parking on only one side of their street. Signs have been posted. However, people still park on both sides of
the street. People also leave trash
around where they park. This contributes
to the deterioration of their neighborhood.
Noise from the stadium is also a concern. The neighborhood was subjected to noise
almost all last summer during the excavation of soil for the new water line
that was laid along Patrick Road. There
will be noise during the construction phase and then noise from the ballpark
and rock concerts that occur in the stadium.
When will games be scheduled?
What about the elderly residents of Riverside Place? They, too, are on the front lines. They are also concerned about property values
in the neighborhood. This is one of the
older sections of Midland and there are many working individuals who live
here. She is wondering how some of the
profits from the stadium, mentioned by Mike Hayes at the public hearing, will
be funneled back into the community.
Ms. Morgan
stated she distributed flyers this weekend to her neighbors. She stated they are afraid to speak out
against this for fear of losing their jobs.
They perceive the stadium as being a “done deal” and so why bother. She stated that she feels everyone had the
right to be heard and we were currently being asked how we see the community in
the next 20 years. Why not do something
about it now? They trust in the
integrity of the community leaders to uphold the quality of life in the community
for all the citizens of Midland.
Doug Schlosser - Mill Street. He still has concerns about the number of
needed parking spaces. The City parking
ordinance states that, in a situation where two businesses can share parking
due to differing business hours, it is permissible. However, he does not think there are enough
parking spaces provided for the numbers of people who will be attending events
at this stadium. There needs to be more
regulation of parking on the streets and really review the numbers of parking
spaces required. He does not feel the
1200 parking spaces to be provided to be adequate.
Anna Morgan
– Mill Street – Ms. Morgan showed a pie chart showing Dow Chemical Company, the
Downtown merchants, the Baseball Foundation and the residents of Ward 2. She feels the first three entities have been
addressed. She also wants to ensure that
the local residents are heard.
Peymand
Zand stated he has met with the Lansing Lugnuts on several occasions. There is a total transformation of the area,
and this is a valid concern. However,
the 5,000 people who will be there will be families who are there to enjoy the
game. They have started to look at some
of the fundamental issues of prevention for issues which might occur in areas
which serve alcohol. They have hired
experts in this field to come in and provide training and ideas on how to
handle these types of situations. If Mr.
Zand is going to take his children to a game here, he definitely wants to
ensure that it is a healthy environment for those who attend these events. They have gone to great length that their
noise levels are within acceptable ranges.
They will have very sophisticated sound systems that will help contain
the noise from the stadium. There are 70
games scheduled throughout the year.
Some of the games are on the weekends and some are in the evenings. This is intended to be a 501 C (3), or a
charitable organization. The profits
will be channeled back into the community.
Uses for these funds will be determined in the future. The stadium will provide entertainment and
value to the community and the profits there from will be channeled back into
the community.
David
Morgan – 807 Fournie Street. He would
like to know how many non-baseball events will be scheduled during the
year. He stated that Mr. Zand indicated
there would be 70 baseball games scheduled during the year.
Mr. Zand
stated they have not planned for any other events as of this time. The baseball players will be expected to get
onto the field and practice. However,
this would probably be done during the day.
Mr. Mead
stated he thinks there are some issues that he is still unsure about. How do we plan for traffic? Do we plan for peak traffic times? Do we plan for the maximum security
needed? He feels they should depend on
the “experts” to advise them that these issues will be appropriately
handled. Mr. Garner has assured them
that these issues will be dealt with.
There is little more risk here than things people deal with every day
when they deal with rush hour traffic and going out to the mall. It seems people have looked at these issues
and he feels it is in the best interest of the city to support this in any way
we can.
Mr. Eyre
stated he is in agreement with Mr. Mead.
He feels staff has answered all the questions that came up at the public
hearing. He thinks parking may become a
problem, but that will have to be dealt with after we see what the magnitude of
these problems are.
Mr. Gaynor
stated he feels the problems have been dealt with and he feels this project
will be a real boon to the community.
This is a great source of civic pride.
He is in total support.
Ms. Svenson
felt their questions were answered.
However, there should be an open dialogue between the community and the
baseball foundation to address any concerns that come up along the way.
Mr. Rapanos
stated he feels the planning commission’s role is to address this site plan and
to address the issues that may arise.
This will be an ongoing process as the project develops. He does not think all the problems can be
addressed in the site plan review and that will be the end of them. He thinks the problems can be addressed as
they arise and this will be an on-going process. He thinks everything is headed in the right
direction. The baseball foundation and
the City of Midland have been working together and will continue to work
together and this will be a good project for the city.
Mr. Jocks
stated he agrees with everything that has been said. There are always ongoing issues, but the work
that is going on with the baseball foundation, the city, and industry is a good
partnership and this is a benefit for the community. He is in full support.
Mr. Senesac
stated this is a fabulous opportunity.
There will be a lot of positive coming out of it. However, he has to look at the site plan and
evaluate it on its merits. He feels that
there probably will be problems that come up, but people will address these
issues as they arise and the city will address these issues. One of his primary concerns after the public
hearing was safety. He feels these
concerns have been addressed tonight.
Over half of the contingencies have been taken off the list and that is
a sign of people working together.
It was moved by Svenson
and supported by Gaynor to recommend approving Site
Plan No. 250 with the
following contingencies: (#3, #8 &
#9)
1. Lot combinations must be completed
prior to issuance of a building permit.
2. City Council approval of field lights
mounted on 120’ tall mast.
3.
On site signage complies with provisions of Article 8.00 of the Zoning
Ordinance.
The motion was
unanimously approved, with Mr. Kozakiewicz abstaining.
6. New Business
None
7. Communications
None
8. Report
of the Chairman
None
9. Report of the Planning Director
February 20th
PUBLIC
HEARINGS
None
ACTION
ITEMS
§ Receive proposals for reuse and / or redevelopment of the Midland Civic Arena. (presentations March 20th)
§ Receive a report outlining public input opportunities associated with the Master Plan.
§ Approve projected socio-economic data related to transportation demand model being developed by the Michigan Department of Transportation.
March 6th
PUBLIC
HEARINGS
§ Rezoning, Zoning Petition No. 527 – Public hearing for consideration of a petition initiated by Midland County to rezone approximately 30 acres located at 4600 Bay City Road from Agriculture to Community zoning.
ACTION
ITEMS
§ Site Plan No. 250 – Consideration of site plan approval for a 3,500 seat baseball stadium located at 825 East Main Street, submitted by the Michigan Baseball Foundation.
March 14th
PUBLIC
HEARINGS
§ Rezoning, Zoning Petition No. 528 – Public hearing for consideration of a petition initiated by Michael Rapanos to rezone approximately 11 acres located at 4124 Waldo Avenue from Residential A-4 to Residential B zoning.
ACTION
ITEMS
None
March 28th
PUBLIC
HEARINGS
None
ACTION
ITEMS
Zoning Petition No. 528
February 21st
Cancelled
None
§
There are currently 25 Meetings in a Box scheduled.
§
Town hall Meetings in a Box take place at City Hall
on March 22 and 23 at 7:00 PM.
10. Adjourn
Adjournment at approximately 8:25 PM and unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Jon Lynch
Assistant City Manager
MINUTES ARE NOT FINAL UNTIL APPROVED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION