MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE MIDLAND CITY PLANNING
COMMISSION,
WHICH TOOK PLACE ON TUESDAY,
JUNE 10, 2008, 7:00 P.M.,
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, MIDLAND, MICHIGAN
1.
Roll Call
PRESENT: Brown,
Eyre, Gaynor, Hanna, Kozakiewicz, King, Mead, Senesac and Svenson
ABSENT:
OTHERS PRESENT: Keith Baker,
Planning Director; Daryl Poprave, Deputy Planning Director; Cheri King, Community
Development Specialist and 14 others.
2.
Approval
of Minutes
Moved by Hanna, seconded by King, to approve the
minutes of the regular meeting of May 27, 2008. Motion passed unanimously.
3. Public Hearing
a. Conditional
Use Permit No. 30, the request of Joan Dukarski for a group child day care home
located at 809 E. Sugnet Road.
Mr. Poprave showed an aerial photograph of the subject
property. It is one house from the
corner of E. Sugnet and Washington. It
is a residential dwelling. It is
surrounded on all sides by RA-1, single family residential. There is a church on the corner of Washington
and E. Sugnet Rd. A group day care home
would license Ms. Dukarski to care for up to 12 children at a time under state
law. This is for a change in use of the
property, not a site plan or a change in the configuration of the property. There is some fencing in the rear yard. The driveway will accommodate up to four
vehicles. There will be the addition of
one non-household member who will be working at the day care (this is required
by state law).
Contingencies include:
1. That
no on-premises signs be permitted.
2. That the hours of operation not extend
past 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
3. That no exterior or interior
alterations to the building be permitted that would otherwise change the
character or nature of the dwelling as a residential use.
4. That no more than one additional
non-resident adult employee be present at any given time.
Mr. Senesac asked if Ms. Dukarski was absent, would
there still be required to be two caregivers there? Mr. Poprave stated that it would be “on a
regular basis” there would be only one non-household member on site. This will be a year-round day care versus a
summer day care as was presented in Conditional Use Permit No. 29.
Joan Dukarski, 809 E. Sugnet Road, stated she had no
comments or questions. Ms. Hanna asked
if these would all be pre-schoolers. Ms.
Dukarski stated she could also take school-age children. She stated she has room in her driveway for
at least six vehicles so dropping off children and picking them up would not be
a problem. She has a very big back yard
with a swing set and sandbox. She has a
storage shed for the balls, bikes and toys that the children will use. The yard is nearly all fenced in. There is a fence between her house and the
road.
Marie Johns, the daughter of Joan Dukarski, stated
she will be the one helping her mother with the day care. Ms. Dukarski has had a day care before and
there were never any problems with the neighbors.
No one spoke in opposition to this request.
The public hearing was closed.
b. Conditional
Use Permit No. 31, the request of Midland Country Club for a new clubhouse,
pool and cabana building at 1120 West St. Andrews Road.
Mr. Kozakiewicz asked to be allowed to abstain from
this petition as his employer will be the contractor for this project. Motion by Mr. Eyre, seconded by Ms. Hanna, to
allow Mr. Kozakiewicz to abstain. Motion
passed unanimously.
Mr. Mead and Mr. Gaynor stated they
are members of the Country Club but they see no conflict in participating on
this petition.
Mr. Poprave showed the aerial
photograph showing a large site currently occupied by the Country Club. It is bounded on the west by Eastman Avenue,
W. St. Andrews Road to the south and southeast and on the north by W. Sugnet
Road. The land use map shows this
property located in RA-1 Residential. It
is bounded by predominantly RA-1 zoning with some community to the
southeast. The Library and Center for
the Arts are to the west. The future
land use map shows it as “private recreation”.
Mr. Poprave showed a conceptual drawing of how the new facility will
appear. There will be comprehensive work
done both on the building and on the golf course. The site plan shows the new clubhouse, pool,
cabana, and the parking lot. There will
be 99,000 sq. ft. of building space.
There will also be 82,000-89,000 sq. ft. of clubhouse, and a 5,600 sq.
ft. cabana. The nearest point of a
building to a property line is 270 feet.
This would be the closest proximity of any part of the building to a
roadway. The ordinance requires a
minimum setback of 30 feet. Section
14.02(d)(8) lists a golf course as a principal permitted use in an RA-1
district. Swim clubs are also a
principal permitted use in this zoning district.
The strictest parking count is 413
spaces. These spaces are located in
multiple locations. Most of this
property is in the flood plain. The
existing building is located in the flood plain. The new clubhouse will actually be out of the
flood plain. They will be making
improvements to Snake Creek, for which they have already received state approval.
There are no photometric plan or
dumpster enclosure details provided.
These will be a part of the contingencies for this site plan. All setbacks have been met. The maximum height in this zoning district is
28 feet. The Country Club is requesting
a variance through the Zoning Board of Appeals for 40 feet.
The Country Club has been in this
area of town since 1928. There seems to
be no need for additional landscaping to shield this from surrounding
uses. The curb cut on the east side of
the site needs to be repositioned at a 90 degree angle, according to the City’s
Engineering Department. This will
provide added safety to the site as the existing driveway is at an obtuse angle
and the field of vision is limited. There
will be two covered entryways on the south side of the building. Those canopies must be able to clear
emergency vehicles and public transportation.
Some Dial-A-Ride buses are 13’9” high so the canopy height needs to be a
minimum of 14 feet high.
The required parking is 413 spaces,
based upon a ratio of one space per two Country Club members. It is based upon bringing the membership back
up to where it used to be. They have
provided 317 spaces. The Midland Center
for the Arts and St. John’s Episcopal Church have both provided agreements that
the Country Club can use their parking lots in the event of a very large
wedding or some other large use. The
Country Club stated there is a very low probability that all members will be
there at the same time. The will be
constructing 105 more spaces than they have right now, based upon the 413
spaces.
Storm water will be retained on
site. There is a creek running through
that holds water to the south. They are
widening this creek to hold additional storm water runoff. Soil erosion will be monitored by the
Building Department. No photometric plan
has been received yet. They have a new
proposed public water main. Adequate
site landscaping currently exists. The
existing club house will remain open until the new one is in use. They project a two year timeline for
construction. There is no signage shown,
but shall adhere to the zoning ordinance.
There is adequate fire protection, although they are proposing some
additional public hydrants.
Contingencies include:
1. The
stormwater detention system is designed and constructed in accordance with the
City of Midland Engineering Department specifications.
2. All
landscaping shall comply with Article 6 of the Zoning Ordinance and a detailed
parking lot landscaping plan shall be submitted.
3. All
exterior lighting shall comply with Section 3.12 of the Zoning Ordinance and a
photometric grid shall be provided to prove compliance.
4. All
exterior signage shall comply with Article 8 of the Zoning Ordinance.
5. All
parking spaces shall comply with Section 5.01D of the Zoning Ordinance and be
delineated by the “box” style striping.
6. All
roof top and ground mounted mechanical equipment shall be screened in
accordance with 6.02(e)2 of the Zoning Ordinance.
7. Shared
off-street parking agreements shall be maintained with St. John’s Episcopal
Church and the Midland Center for the Arts to provide excess event parking.
8. All
dumpster enclosures shall be constructed and screened in accordance with
Section 3.15 of the Zoning Ordinance.
9. The
proposed entry drive on West St. Andrews Road shall be set at a 90 degree angle
to the street for maximum visibility and safety.
10. The
clubhouse building height shall not exceed 28 feet unless a variance is granted
from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
11. All
entry canopies shall maintain a minimum canopy under clearance of 14 feet.
12. A
public water main maintenance easement shall be created for the city to access
and maintain this public utility.
13. The
location, access and flow of the proposed fire hydrants shall be in accordance
with the City of Midland Fire Department specifications.
Mr. Senesac stated that
the parking agreements are a significant distance from the Country Club. Mr. Poprave stated the Dow Diamond has shared
parking that is significantly further from the facility than normal. Mr. Senesac asked staff to provide numbers of
accident reports at this intersection from the city Police Department. This information will be provided at the next
meeting.
Fred Eddie, Project
Manager, 4322 E. Monroe Road, Midland, Michigan. Mr. Eddie stated the petition is specifically
for the new clubhouse, the cabana building and the main building. The golf course will remain basically as it
is, with a few changes such as tree removal.
Starting at Sugnet, they are putting in boulders at periodic spots that
will reroute some of the stream. The
creek will be lined with either large boulders or a product called “erosion
barrier tube” and it stabilizes the river to prevent erosion. The erosion that is currently going on will be
reduced with this project. There will be
new bridges built across the creek at periodic increments. The creek will be made a little bit wider
than it is currently. Mr. Poprave talked
about additional parking. There is an
area along W. St. Andrews that has the possibility of being made into
additional parking. However, the Country
Club anticipates they will not need this parking, and they do not wish to
increase the parking in this area. Their
goal is to stay in operation of both the pool and the golf course during the
renovation process. Since 2002,
membership in the Country Club has been declining. They are trying to attract and retain
existing members, so this project is critical to the long-term success of the
Midland Country Club. It has been there
for 80 years and they plan that it will be around for a long time to come.
Mr. Eddie showed a
dimensional photograph of a 6-foot tall person looking at a 28’ tall building
setback 30 feet from the street. He also
showed the line of sight if he were looking at a taller building setback the
270 feet.
A key issue is raising
the building up above the flood plain.
Once completed, the entire building will be above the 100-year flood
plain.
Mr. Senesac asked about
the feasibility of moving the driveway off the curve to a location that looks
like it would be a safer location. Mr.
Eddie stated they have not had a chance to discuss this with a traffic engineer
yet. The existing sign next to the
entrance will be removed so this will increase the visibility from the
driveway. Mr. Eyre asked if they had
ever used the overflow parking at the church or at the Center for the Arts.
Steve Patterson, 1500
Timber Drive, is the General Manager of the Country Club. He stated they have used the church parking
one time in the past year. They asked
the staff to park in the outlying areas and they would shuttle them to the main
building.
Ms. Svenson asked if
they had considered sidewalks. Mr. Eddie
stated they do not have sidewalks today and they have not given them any
consideration for the future development.
No one spoke in favor of
or opposition to this request.
Mr. Senesac asked Mr.
Baker to provide a statement from the city’s engineer about the ramifications
of moving the driveway to the other end of the site. Mr. Baker stated he will have that for the
next Planning Commission meeting.
The public hearing was closed.
c. Site
Plan No. 282 from MidMichigan Medical Center for site plan review and approval
for a 101,410 square foot Harlow Bed Tower Expansion located at 4005 Orchard
Drive.
Mr. Baker stated there has been some additional work
proposed and adjustments have been made to the parking. The site is bounded by W. Sugnet Road,
Orchard Drive, N. Saginaw Road, and MidMichigan Drive. The Campus Ridge parking lot is to the
north. The zoning of the property is
Community. The southwest quadrant of
this property was recently rezoned from RA-1 to Community. The remainder of the hospital campus is also
zoned Community with RA-1 zoning to the east and south. The Future Land Use plan identifies this
property as Civic Institutional. The
revisions to the site plan show a deceleration lane coming from W. Sugnet to
Harlow Drive. There is an emergency generator
with a 10’ high screening wall and an area to the west has had parking removed
from the original site plan due to wetlands.
Additional parking has been identified to the northeast portion of the
site. The proposed building expansion is
vertical, adding height to the existing building. This has parking ramifications, however, it
will not increase the size of the footprint of the building. The proposed parking lot expansion is
internal to the hospital campus. An
emergency generator will also be installed and screened. The tower height, as identified on the site
plan, is approximately 92 feet.
Locations for ingress and egress remain the same as
they are today. Much of the parking to
the north is used by staff as well as patients of the Campus Ridge facility and
of the oncology building. Vehicular and
pedestrian circulation are provided by an interior network of sidewalks. The Harlow Drive entrance has proposed a roundabout
for both coming into the campus and exiting from the campus. The hospital will require 2,549 parking
stalls for all of its facilities on site.
They have stated they are providing 2,598 stalls. The difference between them is 49 spaces.
Soil erosion and sedimentation control will be monitored by the Building
Department. The facility itself does not
require any additional public services.
No additional health or safety concerns have been identified with the
changes to this site plan. There is no
additional signage proposed for this facility.
Contingencies include:
1.The stormwater detention system is designed
and constructed in accordance with
the City of Midland Engineering Department specifications.
2. All landscaping shall comply with
Article 6 of the Zoning Ordinance including the addition of 12 trees and 46 shrubs.
3. All exterior lighting shall
comply with Section 3.12 of the Zoning Ordinance including the submission of a
photometric plan for the new parking lot expansion.
4. All exterior signage shall comply
with Article 8 of the Zoning Ordinance.
5. All parking spaces shall comply
with Section 5.01D of the Zoning Ordinance and be delineated by the “box” style
striping.
6. All roof or ground mounted
mechanical equipment shall be screened in accordance with Section 6.02(E)2 of
the Zoning Ordinance.
One
correspondence was received containing some concerns about what the height of
this building would look like.
Tom Lind, Vice President of
MidMichigan Health, was there to address any concerns of the Planning
Commission. They have met the requirements
of the parking as outlined by city staff.
They are proposing to add 173 parking spaces at the north end of the
parking lot and will probably be designated as employee parking. It is currently being used as such and will
continue to be used by employees. There
will be a left turn lane added to the corner of McCandless Drive and N. Saginaw
Road. This will help employees get out
during a shift change. They currently
have 250 beds in the hospital. They will
be creating two new floors of beds in the hospital. However, they will be moving beds out of
semi-private rooms and they will all be private rooms. They will have the ability to handle more
people with the same number of beds.
There will be six new operating rooms and improved intake for surgery
and recovery. Pediatrics will be moved
out of the basement up to the “D” level, near the obstetrical unit. The square footage will nearly double but the
number of beds will remain the same.
This will allow more room for family members and equipment in the
rooms. They are putting in an energy
plant along with a mechanical room. This
will be moved out to the center of the campus and away from the surrounding
neighbors.
Mrs. Hanna asked for the distance
between the Campus Ridge spaces and where the new facility is going to be. Mr. Lind stated it is probably about ¼
mile. Mrs. Hanna stated she has a
concern for the safety of the employees who work 12-hour shifts and come out at
all hours of the night. Mr. Lind stated
they have security who will walk anyone to their car following their
shift. The entire campus is under
surveillance by video 24 hours a day with someone watching those tapes at all
times. They have a parking management
team who has worked on this expansion plan extensively.
Mr. Lind stated the present height
of the existing Harlow Building is about 10 feet lower than the proposed
building. The existing private room is
100-150 sq. ft. The new private rooms
will be about 350 square feet. They are
building models of these rooms and working with staff to make them as
user-friendly as possible.
No one spoke in favor of or in
opposition to this request.
Mr. Baker stated the proposed
vertical elevation will be 91 feet tall and a level G elevation of 175
feet.
The public hearing was closed.
4. Public Comments (not related to agenda items)
None
5. New Business
None
6.
Old
Business
a. Site
Plan 280 from Mark Sirrine, North-Point Construction, Inc. for site plan review
and approval for a 27,524 square foot mixed commercial shopping center called
Bell Plaza located at 211 East Wackerly Street.
Mr. Poprave stated the proposed site is located east
of Jefferson and north of E. Wackerly.
There is a residential area to the south with direct access off Elliott
Drive. It is zoned Regional Commercial
which permits the full range of uses that is being proposed by right. There is an existing medical office to the west. This will be a three phase project being
constructed from east to west, with the first phase being a restaurant and
three retail spaces, the second phase being four retail spaces and the third
phase being a convenience store and three retail spaces. The proposed berm meets the requirement of
the Zoning Ordinance. The dumpster
details also meet the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. There is 621 lineal feet of street
frontage. Screening is required on the
south side as it is adjacent to residential development. This site has only one curb-cut, which the
Planning Commission will like. Under the
ordinance, they would be allowed to have three curb cuts based upon the amount
of street frontage they have. They have
proposed public sidewalks on the site.
Staff did receive a photometric lighting plan.
Mark Sirrine, North-Point Construction, 2510 Ashman,
stated they just received the photometric plan today. Mrs. Hanna asked about the proposed hours of
operation for the proposed restaurant and the convenience store. Mr. Sirrine stated that the landlord would
like to see these types of facilities at this location. However, she does not have tenants committed
to these facilities yet, therefore, the hours of the proposed businesses are
not known at this time.
It was moved by Mead, and seconded by Brown to
recommend to City Council approval of Site Plan No. 280 with the following
contingencies:
1. The stormwater detention system is
designed and constructed in accordance with the City of Midland Engineering
Department specifications.
2. All landscaping shall comply with
Article 6 of the Zoning Ordinance.
3. All exterior lighting shall comply with
Section 3.12 of the Zoning Ordinance and the lighting shall be adjusted at the
north and west property lines to meet the Zoning Ordinance requirements.
4. All signage shall comply with Article 8
of the Zoning Ordinance.
5. All parking spaces shall comply with
Section 5.01D3 of the Zoning Ordinance and shall be delineated by the “box”
style striping pattern.
6. All exterior mechanical equipment shall
be screened in accordance with Section 6.02(E)2 of the Zoning Ordinance.
7. All required landscape screening and
berming shall be constructed prior to building construction commencing per
Section 6.02(E)2 of the Zoning Ordinance.
8. The driveway, loading/emergency vehicle
access areas, public sidewalks, street frontage landscaping, and stormwater
facilities are constructed as part of phase one of this project.
9. That a detailed landscaping plan be
provided prior to the issuance of a building permit which adheres to Article 6
of the Zoning Ordinance. This plan
should show all berm construct details and number and types of plants being
provided.
10. That a maintenance easement is provided
to the city to maintain the public water main on site.
Vote on the motion:
YEAS: Brown,
Eyre, Gaynor, Hanna, King, Kozakiewicz, Mead, Senesac and Svenson
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
The motion was approved 9-0.
b. Site
Plan No. 281 from Evergreen Solar for site plan review and approval for a
31,400 square foot building located at 2820 Schuette Road on 4.76 acres.
Mr. Baker stated this site is on the south side of
Schuette Road, just west of Waldo Avenue.
The Central Warehouse property is just to the west of this site. The subject property is zoned I-A, light
industrial. It is bordered on three
sides by light industrial and by heavy industrial to the south. The future land use map shows this land use
as light industrial, with heavy industrial uses to the south.
The proposed project is a 31,400 sq.
ft. industrial facility. Evergreen Solar
is the applicant. The landscaping plan has
been updated. There was concern by the
Planning Commission about the need for two driveway approaches. The Fire Department is recommending retaining
the second driveway for the site, due to the chemicals that will be utilized on
site.
Carl Stegenweald, Vice President for
Evergreen Solar, represented the petitioner. They have just submitted a revised
site plan. They have now shown some of
the storage tanks on the rear of their site.
One of the questions is what happens if there is a leak? They obtain this chemical from Dow Corning
Corporation, who is a local supplier. Evergreen
Solar plans to use all the safety methods at their disposal for the safety of
their employees and the surrounding residents.
Dow Corning will actually come audit their storage facilities prior to
any delivery of that chemical to their site.
Mr. Gaynor asked about the change in
the surface material from the front of the lot to the rear of the lot. Carl Bouchard, stated it is asphalt in the
front and the sides and concrete in the back, where there is heavier truck
traffic.
Ms. Svenson asked if they talked to
Central Warehouse about a cut-through with the property next door. They do believe it is a better site design to
have two driveways onto the site. Mr. Bouchard
stated he has visited the site several times and at this time, Central
Warehouse is parking trailers and large trucks in the area where the
cut-through would be located. They would
have to agree to keep this area open in the event they were to use it as a
shared driveway.
It was moved by Hanna and seconded
by Gaynor to recommend to City Council approval of Site Plan No. 281 with the
following contingencies:
1. The stormwater detention system is
designed and constructed in accordance with the City of Midland Engineering
Department specifications.
2. All landscaping shall comply with
Article 6 of the Zoning Ordinance including the addition of forty-five (45)
shrubs.
3. All exterior lighting shall comply with
Section 3.12 of the Zoning Ordinance.
4. All exterior signage shall comply with
Article 8 of the Zoning Ordinance.
5. All parking spaces shall comply with
Section 5.01D of the Zoning Ordinance and be delineated by the “box” style
striping.
6. The Planning Commission authorizes the justification
of the second (west) drive approach.
Mr. Gaynor stated they do focus on access
management, however, in this area he feels they should be allowed to have the
two curb cuts. You do not have the
traffic driving down the streets in this area like you do on Eastman Avenue or
Jefferson.
Mr. Senesac stated he supports the plan, as does Ms.
Brown, Mr. Eyre and Mr. Mead. They are
in favor of this site plan.
Vote on the motion:
YEAS: Brown,
Eyre, Gaynor, Hanna, King, Kozakiewicz, Mead, Senesac and Svenson
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
The motion was approved 9-0.