MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE MIDLAND CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
WHICH TOOK PLACE ON TUESDAY,
JANUARY 10, 2012, 7:00 P.M.,
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, MIDLAND, MICHIGAN
1.
Roll Call
PRESENT: Hanna, Heying, McLaughlin,
Mead, Pnacek, Senesac, Stewart, Tanzini, and Young
ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Cindy Winland, Contract Planner, Cheri King,
Community Development Specialist, and 17 others.
2. Approval of Minutes
Moved by Hanna, seconded by Heying, to approve the
minutes of the regular meeting of December 13, 2011. Motion passed unanimously.
3. Public Hearings
a. Site
Plan No. 309 – Initiated by Kloha Properties for site plan review and
approval for Autumn Brooke Townhomes, a 68 unit residential townhome
development, located at 405 Joseph Drive on 9.82 acres.
Cindy Winland explained that this is listed as a public hearing but it is
really a public meeting as there was an error in the notification
requirements. One property was missed
and another property could have been missed for notification so we will have a
public meeting tonight and an official public hearing on February 14th.
The
Autumn Brooke Town Homes are a use by right, subject to site plan review. It is being proposed by Kloha Development at
405 Joseph Drive on 9.82 acres. The
property is zoned Residential B, Multiple Family Residential. Sixty-eight units are proposed, with private
2-car garages, divided into at least two phases. This development will consist of one and two
story townhome units. The actual
location of each type of floor plan is undetermined at this time. The footprint of the structures shown on the site plan will fit the largest structure
proposed for that location.
The
property is located north of Joseph Drive, east of Jefferson. It is east of Bickford Cottage, north of The
Village at Joseph’s Run. A plan was
displayed showing 68 units with a variety of building sizes and locations. There is lighting on the front of each of the
structures. There are bike racks shown
on the site plan and there will be sidewalks on Joseph Drive as well as
throughout the development. This
property has been through all the internal reviews at the staff level. There is one style with a one-car garage and
the remainder of the styles have 2-car garages.
All
site plan criteria have been met.
Standard contingencies include storm water management, lighting,
landscaping, signage and soil and sedimentation control. The parcel is currently vacant with some
scrub grass on it. There is nothing
desirable from a vegetation standpoint that will remain on the site. The proposed landscaping far exceeds that
required by the city ordinance. There is
a fair amount of natural land cover on the private lots behind this development. The fire department has approved access and turn-around
radii on all the right-of-ways proposed.
There is a 4-foot walkway on the interior of the site and a 5-foot
walkway on the exterior of the site. There is parking permitted in driveways
and there are extra areas of parking throughout the development.
John
Billette, the engineer for the petitioner, stated there is a drainage ditch at
the north of the property. Ms. Winland
stated that there is street lighting as well as lighting on the front of each
of the structures. There is vacant land
to the east and west and an institutional use to the west. Additional screening is not required by the
ordinance. No health or safety concerns
have been identified. The eastern units
will most likely be phase I. The western
units would be built at a later date.
Staff recommends that this site plan be recommended for approval by City
Council.
Mrs.
Hanna asked about the depth of the detention pond, what will surround it, and
how will it be protected. Mr. Billette
stated the slope is 1:6. This is the maximum
allowed without fencing. The maximum
depth will be about five feet deep. They
are intended to be dry basins. The
detention basin is about 250 or 270 feet long.
There will be no standing water in it.
Mr.
Heying asked about fire hydrants. There
are already a few along Joseph Drive.
They are planning on adding an additional three hydrants in the interior
of the site plan. Mr. Senesac asked
about the garages. Chad Kloha, the developer
responded. Unit A is a 2-bedroom unit
with a one car garage. The driveway is
25 feet long. If it is a couple and they
each have a car, any company would have to park in the public parking
spots. There are 20 public parking spots
for 68 units. They are going to require
that the tenants park in the garages and not use them for storage. That will be in the lease. They have some guest parking but that is
limited. Mr. Billette stated the number
of parking spaces for each of the units was specified in the ordinance. There will be “no parking” signs along both sides
of the drives.
Mr.
McLaughlin asked about snow removal.
Where will they pile the snow?
Chad Kloha stated perhaps they would put it in the detention pond. This is not the maximum density for this
property. You could put more units on
this property if the units were moved further to the south. There is a rear yard requirement of 25 feet
plus an additional foot for every five feet of the width of the building along
the property line.
They
are going to leave the property to the north in its natural state.
People
speaking in support of the Plan: Mike
Pnacek, 2661 Blackhurst Drive, stated his family still owns this property. They are in support of this plan. The drainage ditch was never on their
property, as far as they know. The ditch
was dug by the adjacent property owner.
Tonya
Ross, 3600 Oakbrook Drive, stated the drainage ditch behind them is about 4-5
feet deep. Their property runs along the
ditch.
Scott
Zimmerman, 3664 Oakbrook Drive, stated he is not really in opposition but he
would like some clarification. They live
on the south side of Oakbrook Drive so Grace or Hope will be their next-door
neighbors. His two concerns are that
there are no plans for screening – that’s their back yard, and intrusive
lighting. Their backyard faces the
circle that comes out of Joseph Drive.
They see their headlights every time a car comes or goes. He has no opposition to this, but they have a
single family house on a one acre lot and they would like to enjoy their
property as they have for the past 13 years.
Mr. Billette stated there is some
evergreen screening that will go along the north property line. Every car that goes back there will spray the
area with lights. The street lighting
will be directed downward and they have submitted a photometric plan. Perhaps there could be a 2-foot berm with
some evergreens on top at the end of Hope and Grace Streets.
A public hearing by the Planning
Commission will occur on February 14, 2012.
Planning Commission action will occur on February 14, 2012.
b. Zoning
Petition No. 577 – initiated by the City of Midland to rezone property at
4515, 4517 and 4521 Dublin Avenue and 5501 North Saginaw Road from Industrial A zoning to Residential A-1 zoning and property at 4411,
4415 and 4505 Dublin Avenue from Limited Commercial Manufacturing and Research
zoning to Residential A-1 zoning.
Ms. Winland stated this is a
rezoning from Industrial A and LCMR to Residential A-1, single-family
residential. It is located southwest of
the Rail Trail and Dublin Road. The area
is 35.79 acres. The property is located
along the Rail Trail, across the street from Trailside Senior Center. Currently there are some structures that are
left over from the previous industrial use.
The majority of the parcel is vacant.
To the west is Homer Township and there is city land to the south.
To the south of this parcel is a
medium density residential. The Master
Plan shows the northwest tip of the proposed site as regional commercial, but
the remainder of the property is shown as medium density residential. In the Master Plan, the two lots at the
southeast are shown as commercial.
Winland reviewed the general evaluation
criteria as detailed in the staff report.
Teresa Vincent-Dopp, states they own
the two lots to remain LCMR. She is
concerned with all this area changing to residential. You will have residents all around a
manufacturing piece of property. She
questioned the value of their property with this change with all the homes
around them. There are other businesses
on this road. She is concerned with how
they will continue to function. The
college is on the other side. With Trailside
Senior Center and the Rail Trail, there is a lot of traffic in this area. She is concerned about the numbers of people
that will be added to this area.
Vandemere and Countryside Drive already provide significant traffic onto
Dublin Avenue in this area.
The Planning Commission will make a recommendation
on January 24, 2012. The City Council
will set a public hearing on January 30, 2012 and hold their public hearing and
made a decision on February 20, 2012.
Staff recommendation is to recommend approval to the City Council.
C. Preliminary
Plat of Hawk’s Nest – a residential subdivision of 62 lots on 30.40 acres
west of Dublin Avenue and south of North Saginaw Road. The developer is Tim Lyons.
Cindy Winland stated this area is
the same area as Zoning Petition #577.
The proprietor has asked for the tentative and final preliminary plat
review at the same time. The property is
approximately 30 acres. There will be 21
acres in lots, 4 acres in conservation and 6 acres in streets.
The main entrance to this area is
off Dublin Avenue. The proposed street
stubs abut the western property line so they can eventually be extended further
to the west. There is a utility easement
that has been approved by the city. The
Rail Trail is to the northeast. There
are no sidewalks that connect to the rail trail. There are sidewalks shown internally on the
preliminary plat as these are public streets.
The area in the center of the
development will be held in common. The
project is able to meet all lot dimensions, setback requirements and minimum
lot sizes. There have been some wetlands
identified. However, none of them
qualify as “regulated wetlands”. The
site is proposed to be developed so as not to interfere with adjoining
properties. There are all back yards
that back up to these properties. None
of the parcels require buffering. The
Fire Department has reviewed the plat for emergency services. The internal public streets have sidewalks so
pedestrian and vehicular circulation are adequately
separated. A soil erosion and
sedimentation plan is required. An
exterior lighting plan is required. The
city has determined that it can provide water and sanitary sewer in this
area. This plat is proposed to be
developed in one phase. That would mean
that all of the infrastructure for the entire subdivision would be installed at
the same time.
Contingencies include:
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. The
location, access and flow of any proposed fire hydrants and water service shall
be in accordance with the City of Midland Fire Department and City of Midland
Utility Department specifications.
6. A
subdivision contract for detention access and maintenance is executed between
the developer and the City.
There was one public comment in
writing in opposition to this request.
Staff recommends approval of this preliminary plat, pending the zoning
approval and pending any reviews by the Engineering Department.
Jon Ledy, Apex Engineers, is
representing the proprietor. The lots
are smaller to the north and the cul-de-sac was created due to the wetland
situation there. There are larger and
more exclusive lots on the cul-de-sac.
The roads are standard city streets, which are 28 feet wide, curb and
gutter, and catch basins all through.
The cul-de-sac is large for fire safety purposes. Sidewalks will be around the entire
development. Sidewalks along Dublin
Avenue will be 5-feet wide, compared with 4-foot wide sidewalks in the internal
portion of the site. Storm water will be
collected in the center area, which is an easement that will be owned and
maintained by surrounding property owners.
They do not want it to be wetlands.
They want it to be a nice view from the back yards of the surrounding
properties. The slopes are 6:1, and even
up to 10:1. The south portion of the
easement is a wooded area and will remain a wooded area. The easements are between the lot lines. They may have to shift them slightly. The rear yard drains are designed so that
they will handle the run-off water from that lot. The ground out there is sandy soil. The wetland areas were considered too small
to be regulated wetlands. The area shown
as wetland to the south has not been determined if it was connected to another
wetland or not so it’s official status is not
determined. The developer is showing it
as wetland so avoid any issues in the future.
Sanitary sewer will be connected on Saginaw Road, run down Dublin Avenue
and have gravity fed sanitary sewer.
There will be two water lines connecting this development to N. Saginaw
Road. There will be street lighting as
outlined by Consumers Energy.
The depth of the storm water
detention area is two to three feet deep.
Right now, in a 100 year storm, at the deepest, it will hold two feet of
water. Mrs. Hanna requested a traffic
study for this development due to the number of lots and the number of
potential vehicles.
No one spoke in support of this
petition.
People Speaking in Opposition to
the Development: Teresa
Vincent-Dopp, 4215 Dublin Avenue, stated she is concerned how Mr. Lyons is
going to handle this development. He has
cut down several trees in the area to the south of this proposed
development. The water draw off of
Dublin Avenue is a concern. They have
had low water pressure over the years and she is concerned about their water
pressure if this area is developed.
Robert Dopp, 4215 Dublin, stated his
question is about the drain also. He
thinks there are wetlands in the southeast corner of this development.
Tim Lyons, Developer, 300 Heckele,
He had stakes installed and lines put in to delineate the property line. He brought in a logging company and they made
a mistake taking trees out of the property to the south. The liability is with the logging company and
their insurance company is in contact with the property owners to the south.
In summary, the tentative
preliminary plat is a concept which requires no outside review. The final preliminary plat will have a review
by the County Drain Commissioner, among others.
The final plat with the full engineering detail,
requires further reviews. Contingencies
are detailed in the staff report. At the
next Planning Commission meeting they will vote on the preliminary plat and the
final preliminary plat. This will go to
City Council to set a public hearing on January 30, 2012 and hold their public
hearing on February 20, 2012. Staff
recommendation is for approval.
Mr. Ledy stated that the Dopps had
some concerns about water main pressure.
There is a 10-inch water main in Dublin Avenue. That is the one they would be tying
into. They will restrict the amount of
storm water that gets into the Rose Drain.
It will be held in a detention basin until the drain is able to handle
the trickle of water from the basin.
4. Old Business
a.
Zoning Ordinance Revisions
Cindy
Winland presented the 2012 proposed Zoning Ordinance text changes.
·
Transitional
Housing – Modify the definition to recognize the unique nature of Emergency
Shelters. (Article 2 – Definitions). Senesac requested that the words, “…but
participation in programs is not mandated.” are deleted.
·
Airport
Zoning Ordinance – Add reference to Tri City Joint Airport Ordinance as
controlling regulations within zoning. (Page 3-1).
·
Open Porches
– Permit existing uncovered porches to be covered provided they meet setback
requirements. (Article 3, Table 3.2, 3.e.)
·
Private Road
Width – Table 3.8: Minimum paved road
widths for private roads would be 24 feet to accommodate fire trucks in case of
emergency. (Motion by Hanna,
seconded by Heying, to remove this from the list of zoning ordinance
revisions. Motion passed unanimously.)
·
Parking
Cooperation – In the case of new development, permit the Planning Commission to
require shared access and/or shared parking to further access management goals.
(Page 5-3).
·
Parking –
Delete regulations for obsolete terms.
·
Fences –
Change the way the height of a fence is measured (Article 7, 7.02 E.) (Page
7-2).
·
Fences –
Table 7.1: Required obscuring wall or fence height – The maximum height of a
fence would be four feet in height. (Page 7-2)
·
Fences – The
Planning Director shall have the discretion to … permit fences up to 6’ in the
required street side yard. (Page 7-3)
·
Fences –
Fences located in required front or side street yards shall not exceed four
feet in height above grade. Fences
located outside of the required front yard and in front of the principal
structure shall be decorative in nature and constructed so as not to create the
appearance of a wall in the front of the house.
McLaughlin suggested a definition of “decorative” should be added.
·
Garage Sale
Signs – Revise the zoning text to match the 2008 adopted Garage Sale sign rules
(Page 8-7).
·
Site
Development Standards – Nursing Homes, Convalescent Homes, Residential
Treatment Centers, Transitional Housing and Day Shelters – Location and
Number: Nonresidential uses as listed in
this section may not be located within one thousand (1,000’) feet of a school
or Day Care Center, excluding Nursing and Convalescent Homes.
·
Downtown
Northside Overlay – Make parking locations consistent with Downtown Overlay
District. (d) No parking space or maneuvering lane shall be permitted within
ten (10) feet of any street property line.
(Page 21-19)
·
Permit Auto
Sales in IA District. (Page 23-3)
·
Require
Color Renderings – Section 27.03 – Site Plan Review Applications and
Procedures.
No one spoke either in favor of or in opposition to
these changes.
Motion by Senesac, seconded by Hanna, to recommend to City Council
the approval of Zoning Ordinance revisions.
Vote:
YEAS: Hanna, Heying, McLaughlin, Mead, Pnacek, Senesac, Stewart
and
Tanzini
NAYS: None
ABSENT: Young
b. Community
Development Block Grant process.
Cheri King reported that the City of Midland
will be receiving approximately $217,000 in Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) funds from HUD for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. Public input sessions regarding the
allocation of these funds were held at the Salvation Army Building on November
29, 2011 and at City Hall on December 8, 2011.
Ten people attended the session on December 8th and provided
very good discussion.
On December 7th, funding
applications were sent to local agencies.
Requests for funding are due to the Planning Department on Friday,
January 13, 2012. A special
Housing Commission meeting will be held on Monday, January 30th to
review the CDBG funding requests. The
proposed budget will be recommended to City Council by the Housing Commission
at their meeting on March 5th.
City Council will approve the 2012-2013 CDBG budget
at their first meeting in May as the annual action plan must be submitted to
HUD no later than May 15, 2012.
These funds are to be used to help low and
moderate-income households. If any of
the Planning Commissioners have any recommendations for the use of these funds
regarding infrastructure or other proposed projects, please contact the
Planning Department prior to Friday’s deadline.
5. Public
Comments (unrelated to items on the agenda)
None
6. New
Business
Mr.
Senesac stated two site plans have come before the Planning Commission where he
has been concerned about parking. In the
site plan presented tonight, it looks like it is approximately 1000 feet from
the farthest “A” unit to the public parking area. He would like to talk about this issue at a
work session to address this issue in future site plans.
7. Communications
Planning
and Zoning News and another brochure on Transportation Planning were included
in the packets to Commissioners.
8. Report of the Chairperson
None
9. Report of the Planning Director
City
Council
Planning
Director Update
Sign
Workshop – January 19, 2012
10.
Adjourn
Adjourned at 9:17 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia E. Winland, AICP, PCP
Consultant Planner
MINUTES ARE NOT FINAL UNTIL APPROVED BY THE PLANNING
COMMISSION