MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE MIDLAND CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
WHICH TOOK PLACE ON TUESDAY,
SEPTEMBER 28, 2010, 7:00 P.M.,
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, MIDLAND, MICHIGAN
1.
Roll Call
PRESENT: Ballard,
Brown, Hanna, Mead, Pnacek, Senesac, Stewart and Young
ABSENT: King
OTHERS PRESENT: Keith Baker,
Planning Director, Cheri King, Community Development Specialist, and 9 others.
2. Approval of Minutes
Moved by Senesac, seconded by Ballard,
to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of September 14, 2010 as written. Motion passed unanimously.
3. Public
Hearings
None
4. Old Business
a. Site Plan No. 296 from Glorified Homes on
behalf of Dr. McLaren for site plan review and approval for a 2,331 square
foot expansion of an existing dentist office located at 308 Northgate Drive on
.7 acres.
Mr.
Baker showed an aerial photograph of the subject property. It is located on the north side of Northgate,
between W. Wackerly Street and Jefferson.
It is adjoining office and commercial development to the North and
single and two-family development to the south.
Both lots being reviewed this evening are zoned Office Service. There is commercial zoning at the corner of
Jefferson and W. Wackerly.
The
request tonight is for a 2,331 square foot office addition. At the last meeting, staff reviewed
the 20 site plan review criteria. The
biggest concern was the location of the drive approaches. The petitioner is seeking a second drive
approach. One of the criteria is that
one is an entrance and the other is an exit.
The question from the last meeting was what the fire department felt
about this configuration. In the staff
memorandum, it was noted that they would support this design of the two drive
approaches. This would benefit them more
than a single access. Parking,
landscaping, lighting, screening, storm water and utilities meet the
requirements of the ordinance. Staff
recommends approval of this site plan.
The
public hearing was held two weeks ago.
Tonight, the Planning Commission will make their recommendation to City
Council. Representatives of the
petitioner were present to answer any questions. Mrs. Hanna asked about bike racks. She stated she did not see any of them shown
on the site plan. Mr. Baker stated that
is now a requirement in the Zoning Ordinance as a part of a site plan.
Mr.
Senesac stated that, if every parking space was full and a car pulled into the
parking lot, there is no turn-around.
The car would have to back out of the parking area. Mr. Baker stated they exceed the minimum
number of parking spaces by one.
Jim Kline, Axiom Consulting, 4552 Vail Court, Auburn, Michigan. Mr. Kline stated they would be happy to
install the bike racks. If they had
started with a clean slate, they would have configured the parking
differently. With the size of the
building requested, that was the only configuration to fit the office space
requested by their client. They did not
reconfigure the office space to try to change the location of the parking
lot. They wanted to keep as much of the
existing façade as possible. It did not
work for them to place the expansion on the other side of the existing
building. There is also some room by the
dumpster if someone really had to turn around in a tight space. Ms. Brown asked if there has ever been a time
that the parking lot was completely full.
Dr. McLaren, of 2515 Hearthstone Circle, stated that yes, there have
been times that the parking lot was completely full. If they need to hatch one of the parking
spaces for a turn-around space that is something they are willing to do.
There
were no new public comments in favor of or in opposition to this petition.
Motion
by Pnacek, seconded by Hanna, to recommend to City Council the approval of Site
Plan No. 296 from Glorified Homes on behalf of Dr. McLaren for site plan review
and approval for a 2,331 square foot expansion of an existing dentist office
located at 308 Northgate Drive on .7 acres contingent on the following:
1. The storm water 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.
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 irrigation systems will comply with the
City of Midland Water Department specifications.
7.
That they would stripe one parking space
to be used as a turn-around.
8. That they include bike racks on their plan.
9. That the parking lot be expanded to the north
to include additional room for the turn-around on the east parking lot.
Mrs.
Hanna stated she thinks this is a great plan.
Mr. Pnacek stated he agreed with Mr. Senesac, in that the last parking
space could be striped for a turn-around.
Mr. Mead stated he thinks it is a great plan. Mr. Kline showed a drawing of the proposed
addition. Ms. Brown asked Mr. Baker
about signage. Mr. Baker stated that is
one of the contingencies. Mr. Mead
stated that the building looked serviceable both inside and outside. Mr. Pnacek asked if they could expand the
parking lot a little bit further to the north to give a little more room for a
turn-around. Mr. Kline stated he did not
see a problem with that. Ms. Brown
stated she also thinks it is a good plan.
Vote:
YEAS: Ballard,
Brown, Hanna, Mead, Pnacek, Senesac, Stewart and Young
NAYS: None
ABSENT: King
Motion
was approved 8-0. This will go to the
October 11th City Council meeting.
b. Zoning
Petition No. 572, initiated by Schauman Development on behalf of Timothy
Pomranky, to rezone property at 4517 and 4521 Dublin Avenue from Industrial
A zoning to Residential B zoning.
Mr.
Baker gave a geographic overview of the site.
It encompasses approximately 13 acres on the west side of Dublin
Avenue. The subject property was
previously used as an auto parts junk yard.
It has since been cleaned up. The
existing zoning in this area includes RC Regional Commercial on both sides of
Saginaw Road. There is Community zoning
where the Northwood property is and there is Office Service and some Regional Commercial
to the northeast. The properties in
question, according to the Master Plan show the property being used as medium
density residential.
The
Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on September 14th, at
which time there were no public comments.
The ten criteria in the Zoning Ordinance were reviewed by staff at that
time. Based upon those criteria, staff
recommends the rezoning of this property to the City Council. This would make it consistent with the city’s
master plan and future land use map.
Ron
Schauman, Schauman Development, stated they own the buildings that are already
there. The buildings proposed will be
from 1,300 square feet to 2,000 square feet.
There will be attached garages for everyone.
There
were no new public comments either in favor of or in opposition to this
request.
Motion
by Hanna, seconded by Pnacek, to recommend to City Council the approval of
Zoning Petition No. 572, initiated by Schauman Development on behalf of Timothy
Pomranky to rezone property at 4517 and 4521 Dublin Avenue from Industrial A zoning to Residential B zoning.
Mr.
Pnacek stated he did not have any problems with this rezoning. Mr. Mead stated this looks like a good
location for the buildings. Ms. Brown
stated she also thinks this will be a good addition to this area.
Vote:
YEAS: Ballard,
Brown, Hanna, Mead, Pnacek, Senesac, Stewart and Young
NAYS: None
ABSENT: King
Motion
was approved 8-0. The public hearing
with City Council will be set at the October 11th meeting and will
be held at the November 8th meeting.
c. Zoning
Text Amendment No. 152, initiated by the City of Midland, to address
medical marijuana in the City of Midland Zoning Ordinance.
Mr.
Baker made a presentation on medical marihuana zoning. The Planning Department has not received any
additional public comments since the last Planning Commission meeting. The medical marihuana statute was voted into
law in November 2008. The Michigan Medical
Marihuana Act does not address dispensaries within the Act. This has caused municipalities around the
state to address the issue. Most have
issued a moratorium while 11 communities have banned dispensaries. The law citation is MCL 333.26426(4)(b). The law states
that each registered patient may have only one primary care giver. Each primary caregiver may have no more than
five registered patients. Current
conditions include 56,513 applications for patient cards have been received
since authorized in April 2009. 32,270
persons have been issued cards. There
are approximately 13,686 caregivers licensed.
Approvals are supposed to be issued within 15 days but the Department of
Community Health is significantly behind in the review of applications.
The
law in Michigan does not address dispensaries or offer any regulatory system
for them. The Michigan Department of
Community Health interprets the law as saying that it is illegal to operate a
marihuana dispensary. The Midland Police
Department recognizes State Law as it pertains to registered patients and
registered caregivers. Use of Medical
Marihuana is permitted under State Law for specific reasons. It will be in the best interest of the City
of Midland to enact an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to prohibit uses
otherwise illegal as defined by local, state or federal law. A public hearing was conducted on September
14, 2010. Deliberation and action are
requested this evening. The request is
to recommend adoption of Zoning Text Amendment No. 152. No public comments have been received since
the last Planning Commission meeting.
Mr.
Baker showed the proposed ordinance changes, beginning with the addition of two
definitions in the “Definitions” chapter, Chapter 2, Section 2.02. There is also proposed to amend Article 3 to
add reference to the prohibition of uses which are illegal under local, state
or federal law within the city limits of Midland.
Eric
Gunnels is a registered caregiver for three members of his family. He lives at 1211 E. Lake Road, Clio,
Michigan. He travels around the state
speaking on behalf of caregivers and on behalf of those who would use his
services. He feels their primary goal is
to provide safe access for the patients.
That is the primary goal and that is what the Michigan voters voted
for.
Mr.
Stewart stated that when people voted for this law, he thinks they primarily
thought a doctor would write a prescription for the marihuana and they would go
to a pharmacy and get the prescription filled.
Mr. Gunnels stated that marihuana is still classified as a class I narcotic
at the federal level. The U. S.
government has a patent on the THC and another compound on marihuana so this
would indicate that, eventually, the U. S. government intends to regulate these
substances at a federal level. At this
time, there may be some debate that pharmacies may or may not be allowed to
distribute those substances. Since the
state has adopted this medical marihuana law, it allows for people at the
“grass roots level” to acquire their medication until it is legalized by the
federal government. Mr. Gunnels stated
he can only sell his product to his patients.
The law specifically states that “the patient legally has the right to
acquire.”
Mrs.
Hanna asked how Mr. Gunnels protects his plants from being used by people other
than his patients. Mr. Gunnels states
the law states that he is required to grow his plants in an “enclosed”
area. This would be a locked room or a
fenced-in area. That is considered a
closed, locked facility.
Mr.
Gunnels stated that the law states that the patient and the caregiver have the
legal right to acquire. If they do not
have some legal means for patients to acquire their medication, then the
patient is left not knowing how to acquire their medication. There are a significantly larger number of
patients than caregivers. If you do not
allow some legal avenue for these patients to acquire their medicine, they have
to go seek their medication in some illegal fashion. By not allowing a legal avenue to obtain for
these patients to legally acquire their medicine, we are allowing the “black
market” to take care of them. The legal
avenues that we see happening across the state help to reduce crime by allowing
these patients to obtain their medication in a legal fashion.
Rob
LaPien, 7373 N. Seymour Road, Flushing, stated that he is also a licensed
caregiver. You do not have to have any
special requirements to become a caregiver.
The federal government has already patented the medicinal benefits of
this drug. He would like to see everyone
investigate the drug itself, and the medicinal benefits of the drug. It actually cures glaucoma. It has no side effects whatsoever. It is completely harmless, no matter how much
you take. He does think we need to
consider something like a research center where the caregivers and the patients
could reside, along with doctors. He
dispenses his marihuana in a paste or a candy.
His patients do not smoke the marihuana.
They either take the paste or eat the candy which contains the medicinal
properties of the marihuana. You do not
want to over-medicate someone. If it is
not grown properly, it can actually be dangerous to your health. One of his patients did not have a caregiver
and he did not have the ability to access his medication.
Mr.
Baker stated that anyone over 21 years of age, who has never been convicted of
a felony, can become a caregiver. A
patient is anyone who has been diagnosed by a physician to have a debilitating
condition, as defined in the Act.
Mr.
Senesac stated that the Police Chief has done a great deal of work on this
issue and he wants to support his efforts.
Mrs. Hanna agrees. Mr. Ballard
stated we have to go along with the law that was passed by the state. He is against any dispensaries that might
want to establish themselves in the city.
Mr. Stewart stated that the law was written that it does not permit
dispensaries. It seems like it is pretty
much wide open out there. He supports
the language that clearly draws a line on its distribution.
Motion by Senesac, seconded by Hanna, to recommend to City Council
the approval of Zoning Text Amendment No. 152, initiated by the City of
Midland, to address medical marijuana in the City of Midland Zoning Ordinance.
Vote:
YEAS: Ballard,
Brown, Hanna, Mead, Pnacek, Senesac, Stewart and Young
NAYS: None
ABSENT: King
Motion
was approved 8-0. A public hearing will
be introduced at the October 11th City Council meeting. The public hearing will be held on November 8th.
5. Public
Comments (unrelated to items on the agenda)
None
6. New
Business
None
7. Communications
None
8.
Report of the Chairperson
The
meeting of October 12th has been cancelled due to lack of business.
9. Report
of the Planning Director
None
10.
Adjourn
Adjournment at 8:17 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