MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE MIDLAND CITY PLANNING
COMMISSION
WHICH TOOK PLACE ON TUESDAY,
OCTOBER 23, 2012, 7:00 P.M.,
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, MIDLAND, MICHIGAN
1. Roll Call
PRESENT: Hanna,
Heying, McLaughlin, Mead, Pnacek, Senesac, Stewart, Young and Tanzini
ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Brad Kaye, Director
of Planning and Community Development, Cindy Winland, Contract Planner, Cheri
King, Community Development Specialist, and 8 others.
2. Approval
of Minutes
Moved by Hanna, seconded by Pnacek, to approve the minutes of the regular
meeting of October 9, 2012. Motion passed unanimously.
3. Public Hearings
a. Conditional Use Permit No. 43 – initiated
by DeShano Construction Company for a 49 unit residential senior apartment
building, located at 300 Joseph Drive on 2.97 acres.
Mr.
Pnacek disclosed that his family is the owner of the property at 300 Joseph
Drive and he would like to abstain from the discussion. Motion by Senesac, seconded
by Hanna to allow Mr. Pnacek to abstain from this petition. Motion approved unanimously.
Mr.
Kaye showed an aerial photograph of the subject property. The applicant is DeShano Construction
Company. The property is located at 300
Joseph Drive (the east 350 feet) on 2.97 acres of
land. The property is zoned Office
Service. Multiple-family residential is
a conditional use in the Office Service District. The project is for a 49 unit, 19,497 sq. ft.
senior apartment building. The proposed
units consist of 35 one bedroom units and 14 two bedroom units.
The
overall parcel is zoned Office Service (OS).
To the west is OS, with Residential to the north and east. Mr. Kaye reviewed the types of uses permitted
by right in the OS District.
The
site design proposed includes an access to Joseph Drive at the west end of the
property and a right out only access at the east end of the property. 25 of the proposed parking spaces will be
covered by a carport. The overall height
of the building is 37 feet, which is generally compatible with the adjacent
residential property.
The
Planning Commission was presented with a revised site plan tonight, which would
provide for a looped water system and a revised drive location to join with the
driveway to east, thereby eliminating one driveway access onto Joseph
Drive. The revised plan was prepared by
the applicant in response to the concerns expressed by staff. Staff concerns have been largely addressed by
the revisions. It is understood that the
neighboring property owner is generally supportive of the connections, but such
connections have not yet been legally secured.
John
Ledy, Apex Engineers, represented the petitioner, Gary DeShano. They tried a year ago to get this approved
over on Eastman Avenue but that did not work out. It is essentially the same building and the
same layout with a few tweaks here and there to make it fit the lot and the
site. The retention pond is in the best
spot possible, as the soccer fields are to the south and would be a nice view
for people living there. The retention
pond, where it is proposed, is isolated by the parking and the carport so it is
not as visible by the residents.
Mr.
McLaughlin asked about the depth of the detention pond. Mr. Ledy stated that it is about 4 feet deep
and is designed to have about 2-1/2 feet of water in it during a 100-year storm
event.
Mr.
Senesac asked Mr. Ledy to explain what the carport will look like. Mr. Ledy stated it will be a gabled roof over
the cars. It will be a roof on columns. They are trying to screen the development as
much as possible. They will have
exterior lighting on poles in the parking area, but they have not completed a
photometric plan yet.
Mr.
Mead asked about the cost of the rental units for these apartments. Mr. Ledy stated they want to cater to a more
up-scale population, that the rent would be approximately $1,000 per
month.
Gary
DeShano, DeShano Construction Company, stated previously they were trying to
get funding from MSHDA, which would require some units to be rented to
low-income households. This development
would be a more up-scale development.
The carports would be pretty much screened from day one. He is expecting two people at the most in
each of these apartments, even though they will have some two-bedroom
units. They would like to keep the back,
by the soccer fields, open. They will
have additional services for the seniors such as emergency pull cords, medical
assistance and some assisted housekeeping.
They do have room to add some additional handicap parking spaces. He will make a note of that.
Mr.
McLaughlin asked if there will be landscaping to buffer from the soccer
fields. Mr. DeShano stated they would
like to preserve that view on the back property line. It will be predominantly an open area. Mr. Kaye pointed out that small landscaped
clusters are indicated on the submitted site plan.
Mike
Pnacek, 2661 Blackhurst, Larkin Township, stated his family owns the
property. When they annexed the property
into the city in 1992, this is exactly what they wanted to happen with this
property.
There
were no further public comments either in favor of or in opposition to this
petition. The public hearing was
closed.
4. Old Business
None
5. Public Comments
None
6. New Business
None
7. Communications
None
8. Report of the Chairperson
None
9. Report of the Planning Director
Last week was the
Michigan Association of Planning Conference.
Mr. Stewart and Mrs. Hanna both attended the conference also. There was a heavy emphasis on competitiveness
and making your community competitive in the current economy for
development.
10. Items for Next Agenda – November 13, 2012
a. Conditional Use Permit No. 43 – DeShano Construction
Company – a 49 unit residential senior apartment building, located at 300
Joseph Drive – action
11. Adjourn
Motion by Hanna second by Young to adjourn at 7:30. .
Respectfully submitted,
C. Bradley Kaye, AICP
Director of Planning and Community Development
MINUTES ARE NOT FINAL UNTIL APPROVED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION