MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE MIDLAND CITY PLANNING
COMMISSION
WHICH TOOK PLACE ON TUESDAY,
SEPTEMBER 11, 2012, 7:00 P.M.,
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, MIDLAND, MICHIGAN
1. Roll Call
PRESENT: Hanna,
Heying, McLaughlin, Mead, Pnacek, Senesac, Tanzini and Young
ABSENT: Stewart
OTHERS PRESENT: Brad Kaye, Director
of Planning and Community Development, Cheri King, Community Development
Specialist, and 38 others.
2. Approval
of Minutes
Moved by Hanna , seconded by Heying , to approve the minutes of the regular
meeting and the special meeting of August 28, 2012. Motion passed unanimously.
3. Public Hearings
a. Conditional Use Permit No. 42 – the
request of North-Point Building and Remodeling, Inc. for a 14 unit residential
town house development, located at 2711, 2721, 2801, 2811 West Wackerly Street.
Mr.
Kaye presented the petition. The
applicant is Midland Rental Properties, LLC. The
property is located at 2721, 2801, and 2811 W. Wackerly Street on 1.69
acres. It is zoned Office Service. Multiple-family residential is permitted but
only as a conditional use in the Office Service District. The petitioner has proposed to build 14
three-bedroom units. The footprint of each
unit is to be 1,027 sq. ft.
The
site plan, as proposed, shows four units on the east, four units on the west
and six units to the south. There is a
small bank of parking spaces in the central portion of the site. A single driveway out onto West Wackerly
Street is proposed, which is directly across from the driveway across the
street. Schade West Condominiums are immediately behind this property. The area in general is zoned for Office
Service use. The Schade West
Condominiums are zoned for residential use.
The
conditional use includes site plan approval and the subjective standards as
outlined in the Zoning Ordinance. Site
Plan facts include two story development.
It meets all the required yard setbacks.
There is a 25 foot setback required for the rear yard of these
properties. There is adequate parking on
the site. There is a single drive access to West Wackerly Street. The landscaping requirements are met. The parcel is fully wooded at the current
time. None of this will be preserved. The site plan meets emergency access,
drainage, public services and lighting requirements. There are existing sidewalks on West Wackerly
and a limited internal sidewalk system.
There is an existing brick fence along the rear property line.
Discretionary
standards for Conditional Land Use approval include compatibility with
surrounding land uses and detrimental effects, impact of traffic, adequacy of
public services, protection of site characteristics, compatibility with the
natural environment, lack of on-site amenity area, non-preservation of natural
features, among others. Tonight is the
public hearing before the Planning Commission.
Staff
recommendation is that the application does not fully satisfy all required
criteria in its current form. Several
public comments and one petition have been received to date.
Mrs.
Hanna asked about the detention ponds.
Mr. Kaye stated a detention area can locate in the required
setback. The Engineering Department, at
this time, is satisfied with the plan, as presented. All sides, at this point, are at the minimum
setback, but they do comply with the requirements of the ordinance.
Mark
Sirrine, North Point Building & Remodeling, was hired by the potential
purchaser of this property, to get this property ready for the 14 unit
townhouse property. They want to be
compatible with the neighbors. At this
point, they have revised the site plan, eliminating the circle part of the
driveway. They also moved the six units
forward ten feet, to create a rear yard setback of 35 feet. They want to have a green area in the front and
trees along the back as a buffer. They
are trying to keep in mind that this is a single family area behind this
development, but there is a need for this type of rentals in town. This is not low-income housing. They are regular townhouse apartments. He does not believe it will be a detriment to
the people behind the development. There
is no way that he could see, that property values would go down. The owner of the property will ensure the
tenants abide by the rules and laws of the city. If this project does not go through, the
property owner will look at putting in some office space here, but he does not
want to do that.
Mr.
Sirrine stated they are going to leave trees wherever they can leave
trees. There are some nice maple trees
and oak trees in there, which will be preserved if possible. If they have to tweak the plan so they can
leave some of the trees, they will do it.
There are trees behind many of the condominiums that are fairly mature. It is the petitioner’s intent to add trees
for a buffer for additional privacy. He
wants to add green space in the front to make it look more like a little
park. There is going to be some
landscaping between the units also. They
want to get it so there is more green in the front of
the units. Mr. Sirrine thinks there will
be a lot of professionals, or families just starting out, who will be living in
these units. Once they start
construction, they are going to build it out all in one phase. These units will have two car garages and
space for two cars to park in the driveway.
Each unit will have room for four cars to park.
Wayne
Crosby, 2313 Oakfield Drive, is part-owner of the land to be used for the
apartment buildings. He is also one of
the people who developed Schade West Condominiums. This property has been sitting there for a
long period of time. The proposed
project is compatible with the area and the traffic can be handled by Wackerly Street. That road was meant to handle larger amounts
of traffic. The land, the trees and the
density there has been that way for a number of years. If they can maintain some of the trees, that
would be positive. If Office Service
goes in there, they could just strip it all down and build offices there. There is not a sidewalk in any of the
condominium projects in Midland. None of
them have any sidewalks whatsoever. Like
the city said, the property is zoned for this use, by conditional use
permit. If the city has problems with
certain aspects of this whole project, they should change those portions of the
plan. Give somebody the right to develop
their property, to spend their money.
This will add to the tax rolls.
If he thought this was detrimental to the area, he would not sell them
the property. If it is up to what the
neighbors want, tell us what you want.
Diane
Pendleton is one of the owners of Midland Rental Property. She lives at 2185 N. Rolling Ridge
Drive. They do own some condominiums in
the city. Because of Schade West behind
it, this land is quite appealing to them.
The asphalt and the screening are extremely important. They have begun
some revisions. The rent will be between
$1200 and $1500 per month. They have had
plenty of Dow employees come in and rent from them in other rentals they own
throughout the city.
Dave
Near, 2504 Schade West Drive, is the President of the Schade West Board of
Directors. When they bought at Schade
West, they bought into an “adults only” development. Over 90 percent of them are either retired or
about to be retired. Everyone who bought
there asked what that vacant property would be used for. They are very proud of their
association. When the condos there go on
the market they sell very quickly. They
have a total of 22 buildings consisting of 44 units. They have been there 22-1/2 years. There are 12 units that they feel would be
directly impacted by this development and an additional 32 units that will be
indirectly affected by this development.
Everyone that was approached to sign the petition signed it. The Board unanimously agreed that this is
something that they are not in favor of.
It does not matter if they are one or two story units. The Office Service establishments behind the
condos are already in use there. Their
biggest concern is noise and loss of privacy.
The office service uses are gone at night and on weekends. It is quiet then. Their other concern is that this is 1.69
acres for 14 units. That is high density
development and there will be children playing.
This is not what they agreed to when they purchased their units.
Terry Miner, 4918 Belmont Street. His parents live at 4718 Schade West. His parents are concerned about this project
going in behind them. This is where they
spend their time. They spend their time
looking out their back windows. They are
very concerned about what happens behind them.
Property zoned Office Service has generally been built as office service
– not multi-family. The trees now
offered b y the applicant are a great addition in there. In the first drawing there were no
trees. He would suggest that it be
populated with trees as a buffer zone to control the noise. He disagrees with Wayne Crosby who stated
this development would not lower property values. When condo owners purchased the property,
they purchased it with the idea that this property would be developed as Office
Service.
Bud
Carpenter, 2801 Schade West, stated that, when the
Planning Commission zoned West Wackerly Street as Office Service, they did a
good thing. There is a need for Office
Service in this area and this is acceptable to these residents. He thinks this should be turned down for
privacy issues, property values and the noise.
Richard
Goodman, 2718 Schade West, stated they purchased the
property as a retirement location. About
half of the land between Schade West and West Wackerly would be Office
Service. They drove down the street and
saw other rentals. If they thought that
was going to go in there, they would never have purchased that property.
Mike
Jackson, 6128 Londonberrie Court, stated his lot is at the end of Londonberrie
Court. His property backs up to the Schade
West condominium unit. You say that it
will be developed for families. How long
will it remain for families? They become
homes for college students and then you have noise and parties. It does not matter how many trees you put in
there, you still have the noise from the parties. He would not let his children play in the
proposed park area out by the busy street.
It is not safe. Like someone else
said, office service is there only during the day. During the evening and on weekends it is
quiet. How long will it stay family
before it becomes college students? Our
police are busy and noise disturbances go to the bottom of the list. It would not offend him if there were a two
or three story office building there, so long as it is quiet on nights and
weekends. You will have 14 units
squeezed into a small lot there. There
is nowhere for the children to play. How
much green space can you add to that small area?
Sylvia
Patchen, 2716 Schade West Drive, is concerned about the entrance to this
development. There is only one entrance
to empty all those people onto Wackerly.
There is a back-up of traffic in the morning trying to get onto US-10.
Shirley
Sanburn, 2803 Schade West, asked if there is going to
be any restriction whether they could leave their cars out overnight? She thinks it will be overcrowded
looking. Families are not going to live
there.
The
public hearing was closed.
b. Zoning Petition No. 581 – initiated by
the Planning Department, to zone property at 1334 Stark Road from Township
zoning to Residential A-1 zoning.
The
applicant is the City of Midland. It is
annexed property located at 1334 Stark Road on 0.36 acres. The existing zoning is Community Service
Commercial in the Township. The proposed
zoning is Residential RA-1, which will recognize the single-family home that
currently exists on the property. The
zoning has some industrial zones and some Residential A-3 zoning around
it. There is also some office service to
the northwest. The proposal would place
it in the RA-1 district, which would not be contiguous with any other RA-1
zoning. It is in the midst of an area
designated by the Master Plan for commercial purposes. However, there are some medium and lower
density areas that are proposed for the northeast portion as it is
annexed.
No
public comments have been received to date.
Staff recommendation is for approval.
Mrs.
Hanna asked about the wishes of the property owner. Mr. Kaye stated staff notified the owner
about the proposed rezoning and about this public hearing, but no response has
been received.
There
were no public comments either in favor of or in opposition to this petition.
Lawrence
Bartos, 2450 N. Eastman Road, stated that the two year limitation shocks
him. If you rezone a piece of property
in Larkin Township and make it commercial, he cannot get a building permit and
he cannot add on to his property in the township. He is in favor of the residential zoning for
this property.
The
public hearing was closed.
Mr. Heying proposed that the Commission take action tonight as there is
no opposition to this petition.
Motion by Heying, seconded by Hanna, to waive the second meeting
requirement. Motion passed 7-1
(Senesac voted “no”.)
Motion by Heying, seconded by McLaughlin, to approve Zoning
Petition No. 581 and send it to City Council. Motion passed unanimously.
c. Zoning Petition No. 582 – initiated by
the Planning Department, to zone property at 9203 Eastman Avenue from Township
zoning to Residential B zoning.
Mr.
Kaye indicated the applicant is the City of Midland. The location is 9203 Eastman Avenue. The parcel is approximately 57 acres. The subject parcel is at the corner of
Eastman Road and Monroe Road. Most of
the surrounding property is in the township.
It is contiguous with the City Forest.
Residential B zoning is recommended by staff as it contains a single
family residence on the parcel. The
future plans for the majority of this property is low-density residential. There had been earlier discussions between
the property owner and city staff that the parcel frontage on Eastman Road be zoned commercial.
The property owner is represented this evening and the front 250 feet
back to the west will not be dealt with tonight.
One
public comment from a property owner and one public comment have been received
to date. Staff recommendation is for
approval.
There
were no public comments in favor of the petition.
Lawrence
Bartos lives right across from the Eagle’s in the commercial property. He is shocked about the recommendation of
RB. RB is Residential B zoning and
permits multi-family development.
Sheila
Messler, Bennett Development, stated that the property owner initiated the
annexation to the city of that parcel.
It is contiguous with the city.
This property is next to the city forest. It makes sense that it is developed
residential. The only reason it is
appropriate for residential is because of City Forest. They do not foresee that parcel being a high
commercial use. This was the first
step. They are fine with the RB
zoning. She would just like a little
time before we zone the 250 feet along Eastman Road.
The
public hearing was closed.
d. Zoning Petition No. 583 – initiated by
the Planning Department, to zone property at 7730 West Wackerly Street from
Township zoning to Industrial A zoning.
The
applicant for this petition is the City of Midland, for a recently annexed
property. It is 14.75 acres in
size. The existing township zoning is
M-1, Light Industrial. The proposed
zoning is Industrial A, which is Light Industrial in city zoning. Around it are business-type zoning districts
to the highway. There is city Industrial
A zoning next to it and this application will expand the same zoning onto the
subject parcel. The Master Plan shows this
area as being planned for Industrial purposes.
One public comment was received to date.
Staff recommendation is for approval.
Terry
LeVictor, 7617 West Wackerly, stated he lives right across from where ABC
is. He has been in that house for 13
years. When he purchased it, it was
residential. Then it went to commercial
and now it is being considered for industrial zoning. He is looking at the cost to sell his
property.
Margaret
Tevlo, 7617 West Wackerly Road, stated her house is right across from their
driveway. They received a letter from
the city stating that they had been annexed into the city. The thought of having something zoned
Industrial behind them would contribute to additional noise for them. Mr. Mead stated that they are proposing the
same zoning classification that it is in the township.
Floyd
Kilbreath, Coleman, asked where the property was located. Mr. Kaye stated the south side of the
property is still in Homer Township. Mr.
Kilbreath stated he owns some of that property on the south side of
Wackerly. Mr. Kaye told him there is no
change being proposed for the properties that he owns. His properties are still located in Homer
Township.
The
public hearing was closed.
5. Old Business
Master
Plan – Chapter 4 – Local Economy and Market Strategies
Mrs. Hanna asked about page 4.1.1, Education. She is concerned about some of the wording in
the proposed section. It is significant
that, when you talk about the health area, that the hospital is now associated
with the University of Michigan. She
feels that is significant.
Mr.
Senesac stated he thinks the hospital should be added to the first paragraph.
6. New Business
Building permits have now been issued for Olive
Garden. There will be a sign
variance in front of the Zoning Board of Appeals next week.
Mr. Senesac referred to his “no” vote for dealing with the zoning
petition earlier
tonight. Why are we moving to only one meeting just
because “everyone else” does
it that way. “Everyone else” should move to our procedure
of having two meetings.
We need to change our by-laws if we are going to start changing our
procedures.
Mrs. Hanna agreed. Mr. Mead stated
perhaps we need more discussion on this
matter before we get it
resolved.
A special meeting
will be held in a few weeks for the purposes of continued discussion of
Planning Commission procedures.
7. Communications
None
8. Report of the Chairperson
None
9. Report
of the Planning Director
None
10. Items for Next
Agenda – September 25, 2012
a. Zoning Text Amendment No. 156 – DNO Sign Standards –
Public Hearing
b. Conditional Use Permit No. 42 – Midland Rental Properties
14 Unit Townhouse Proposal at Schade Drive and W. Wackerly Street (action)
c. Zoning Petition No. 582 – Proposed RB Zoning of Annexed
Property at 9203 Eastman Avenue (action)
d. Zoning Petition No. 583 – Proposed IA Zoning of Annexed
Property at 7730 W. Wackerly Street (action)
11. Adjourn
Adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
C. Bradley Kaye, AICP
Director of Planning and Community Development
MINUTES ARE NOT FINAL UNTIL APPROVED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION