MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE MIDLAND CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
WHICH TOOK PLACE ON TUESDAY,
JULY 13, 2010, 7:00 P.M.,
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, MIDLAND, MICHIGAN
1.
Roll Call
PRESENT: Ballard,
Brown, Hanna, King, Mead, Senesac, Stewart and Young
ABSENT: Pnacek
OTHERS PRESENT: Keith Baker,
Planning Director, Cheri King, Community Development Specialist, Cindy Winland,
Consultant Planner, Chris Coughlin, City Fire Marshall, and 5 others.
2. Election of
Officers
Diane
appointed Commissioners Mead and Senesac as the nominating committee, to come
back at the next meeting with a recommendation for officers.
3. Approval of Minutes
Moved by Mead, seconded by Hanna,
to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of June 8, 2010 as written. Motion passed unanimously.
4. Public
Hearings
a. Zoning
Text Amendment No. 151, initiated by Jason D. White, to amend Section 14.02
D of the Zoning Ordinance to permit mini-pigs as a conditional land use in the
single family residential zoning districts.
Cindy
Winland reminded the commission that they had seen this issue back in January and
February with a request to consider mini-pigs as a pet. Today the request is to amend the text for
residential districts to permit mini-pigs as a conditional use. Staff looked at what it would mean if you
added mini-pigs to conditional land uses.
Does a mini-pig meet the test of providing quality of life in
residential land uses? The intent and
purpose of single family districts is to primarily provide for single family
and two-family detached development. These uses should contribute to the viability
of neighborhoods. At this time, swine is
included as a part of the “farm animal” definition. Is a mini-pig compatible with the quality of
life in residential neighborhoods? Staff
would note that a mini-pig could be compatible under certain conditions, but
these conditions could be difficult to enforce.
Does this contribute to the richness and compatibility of
neighborhoods? Increasing the type of
outdoor animals allowed in neighborhoods contributes to the variety in
neighborhoods. Neighborhood stability is
unlikely to be deterred by one mini-pig, but it could be deterred by a variety
of mini-pigs in one neighborhood. There
are some aspects of pigs that would not be compatible with health, safety and
welfare in neighborhoods for both people and the pigs.
According
to the assessment for text amendments, there are a set of six criteria. Is the proposed use consistent with the
city’s master plan? Staff would propose
that it is not. Introducing farm animals
to residential neighborhoods would not be consistent with the Zoning Ordinance. Have conditions changed since the ordinance
was adopted? No, conditions have not
changed. Was there a mistake in the Zoning
Ordinance that justifies the amendment?
No. Will the amendment merely
grant special privileges? No. Anyone could apply to have a mini-pig by
conditional use permit. Will the
amendment create an inequity created by the Zoning Ordinance? If the Planning Commission chose to recommend
to City Council, based on the evidence, it would have to be based upon some
evidence provided that it was an inequity created by the Zoning Ordinance.
It
is staff’s recommendation that a mini-pig is considered a farm animal and it
does not exhibit enough of the characteristics of a domesticated animal to be
allowed in single family districts.
Mr.
Senesac reviewed the process for conditional use permits. When he reads the chapter on Conditional Use
Permits, he did not find anything he felt would help him distinguish having or
not having mini-pigs in residential districts.
Ms. Winland stated if you look at things that are permitted by
conditional use, they include parking and hours of
operation. The only measurable things
about a mini-pig would be size, weight, and number of pigs and perhaps fencing
requirements. Mr. Senesac stated he
cannot see any criteria in the Zoning Ordinance that could be used to evaluate
whether or not a mini-pig should be allowed.
If you substituted a mini-cow, or a mini-pony, mini-sheep for the
mini-pig, there would be no difference.
We would have to come back and re-evaluate the ordinance in each
instance.
If
a renter wanted to apply for a conditional use, both the renter and the owner
would have to apply for the conditional use.
The conditional use runs with the land so no matter who owns the property, the conditional use would be site-specific. Mr. Senesac would like to see the actual
language where it would be inserted into the Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Mead agreed.
Jason
D. White, 1313 W. Hines Street, stated this is his third time before the
Planning Commission. He is requesting
the same intent as before, but with a slightly different interpretation. His 9 year old son, Ethan, is highly allergic
to the fur and dander inherent to most “traditional” pets. His wife is also allergic to pet fur and
dander, although not to the same degree as their son. After about a year of research he began to
focus on obtaining a mini-or micro-pig.
Mr. White presented a letter from Dr. John Carr, Professor at the
College of Veterinary Medicine in Ames, Iowa.
This letter states “The pig is an ideal companion for man”.
Earlier
this year, they submitted Zoning Text Amendment No. 150. This amendment would have updated the
definition of ANIMAL, DOMESTIC within the city’s Zoning Ordinance to include
mini- or micro-pigs. At the February 9th
meeting of the Planning Commission where their original text amendment was
recommended for denial, they were encouraged by several members of the panel
who thought that mini-pigs might be allowed by another means.
The
original petition (No. 150) was recommended for denial. Negotiations and discussions within the
Planning Commission intended to draft a special permit for them, fell through
and were ultimately terminated. Now the
Planning Commission Staff has again recommended denial.
Compatibility
– “A mini-pig could be considered compatible under specified conditions such as
restrictions on weight, size, and containment, and therefore be considered
compatible.” Mr. White found several
examples of similar ordnances that are already in place around the country,
including Los Angeles, CA, Norco Municipality, CA, Village of Cambridge, WI and
Rapid City, SD.
Enforcement
– The idea that the city of Midland would be excessively strained by the
“policing” needed for the permit in question doesn’t really make much sense to
Mr. White. Mr. White had a conversation
with Mr. Rick Shields, Shift Leader of the Midland County Sheriff’s Office
Animal Control. Mr. Shields stated they
investigate complaints of animal nuisances.
Their office does not investigate every pet to make sure they are property
taken care of.
The
behavior of any pet is predominantly influenced by the care and diligence it is
provided by its owner. He believes that
he has gone above and beyond in demonstrating how dedicated they are to having
a mini-pig. His family is only seeking
a permit for one mini-pig, no more.
These animals cost about $600, plus the cost of going through the legal
channels to obtain permission for them.
It is not likely to suddenly have a number of mini-pigs showing up in a
neighborhood. They are seeking a permit
for only one mini-pig. Their property
will look exactly the same as it does not should a mini-pig take up residence
there.
After
the last Planning Commission meeting on February 9th, they were
quite excited about the prospect of obtaining a special permit which would
still allow them to get their pet mini-pig.
Their excitement was in no small part based upon the very encouraging
comments they received from a number of the planning commission members.
Commissioner
Hanna stated that Mr. White is renting and does their lease state that they can
have animals? Mr. White stated they
currently have a rabbit and it is in their lease that they can have the
rabbit. Due to financial constraints,
they do not feel it is feasible to move outside the city limits.
Commissioner
Senesac asked Mr. White to go back to his second slide. In his presentation, Mr. White stated that
this a process and did he realize that he would have to come back to the
Planning Commission for a second round – to allow him to have this conditional
use. Mr. Senesac asked Mr. White why this
should be approved for him and not for someone else. Mr. White stated they have tried to convince
the Planning Commission their level of commitment to having a mini-pig. He has tried to convince the commission that
they would be responsible pet owners.
Lisa
White, 1313 W. Hines Street, stated they have two binders full of research that
her husband has done about mini-pigs. He
has tried to address all of the concerns of the Planning Commission. They experienced extreme joy when they met
with “Roger” the mini-pig and played with him.
All this pig wants is someone to love him. Mrs. White has Gerber formula waiting to be
used for this pig. She brought in a
“beanie baby” pig and stated “Roger” will not get much bigger than that. She understands that the Planning Commission
does not want to allow mini-pigs anywhere in the city. They are trying really hard to follow the
rules and get all the information they can about mini-pigs. She is not looking to change the whole zoning
text of the city. They were told that
that is what they had to do in order to have the mini-pig.
No
other public comments were received either in favor of or in opposition to this
request.
The
public hearing was closed.
5. Old Business
None
6. Public
Comments (unrelated to items on the agenda)
None
7. New
Business
Requirements for Site Plan Review – Chris
Coughlin, City Fire Marshall
Mr. Coughlin made a presentation
several years ago and has been asked to repeat the presentation as there are a
few new planning commissioners. The 2006
Edition of the Michigan Building Code specifies that the Fire Department shall
review all site plans for conditions or hazards. It also references the 2006 edition of the
International Fire Code. This provides
standards that must be followed for safety purposes. The Fire Code does allow local departments
the latitude to make decisions based upon local conditions. Every site they look at has different access
considerations, depending upon the property, neighboring properties, and can
they maneuver on the site. The fire code
official is authorized to require more than one fire apparatus access road
based on the potential for impairment of a single road by vehicle congestion, condition
of terrain, climatic considerations or other factors that could limit
access. Dimensions – Fire apparatus
access roads shall have an unobstructed width of not less than 20 feet except
for security gates in accordance with Section 503.6, and an unobstructed
vertical clearance of not less than 13 feet 6 inches. Section 503.2.2 Authority. The fire code official shall have the
authority to require an increase in the minimum access widths where they are
inadequate for fire or rescue operations.
Section 503.2.3
Surface. Fire apparatus access
roads shall be designed and maintained to support the imposed loads of fire
apparatus and shall be surfaced so as to provide all weather driving
capabilities. Section
5.3.2.4 Turning Radius. The
required turning radius of a fire department access road shall be determined by
the fire code official.
Water supply must be capable of
supplying the need for the building not only being built now, but all the
buildings that may be built in the future.
Generally they will want a looped system so if they have the shut down
of a water main, they still have access to water coming from the other
way. Each truck carries about 600 feet
of large diameter fire hose.
Response times are a major
issue. The new McKay Press location
moved into the jurisdiction recently.
Currently, there is no hydrant there.
That is being changed. Their
response times to this location is 7-8 minutes. It could be as long as 12-13 minutes until
the trucks arrive from the other stations.
They are dependent upon the water supply in the sprinkler system and the
hydrants.
There are several things they look
at when determining the number of stories allowed in a commercial
structure. If they have to fight a fire
in a multi-story commercial building, they do not have to get the apparatus
right up to the building. However, if it
is a residential structure, they have to be able to get the fire apparatus
right up to the building to facilitate a rescue.
8. Communications
A
copy of the Michigan Planner and the
Michigan Planning and Zoning News was
provided in the packets for the Planning Commissioners.
9.
Report of the Chairperson
None
10. Report
of the Planning Director
Keith – State Planning
conference is coming up October 20th to the 22nd, in Detroit.
11. Adjourn
Adjournment at 8:28 p.m. was unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Keith Baker, AICP, CFM
Director of Planning & Community Development
MINUTES ARE NOT FINAL UNTIL APPROVED BY THE PLANNING
COMMISSION