Planning Commission

CITY OF BATTLE CREEK JOINT PLANNING AND CITY COMMISSION 10 North Division, Battle Creek, MI 49014 Minutes for Wednesday, March 23, 2022 Meeting called to order by Vice Mayor Kaytee Faris at 4:04 p.m. This meeting was in person. Vice Mayor Faris asked for an attendance roll call to be taken. A roll call was taken: Planning Commission Present: Commission Newman Commission Sobieralski Commission Godfrey III Commission Gray Commission Spranger Vice Mayor Faris Mayor M. Behnke Planning Commission Absent: Commissioner Laws City Commission Present: Mayor M. Behnke Vice Mayor Faris Commissioner Morris City Commission Absent: Commissioner Blood, Commissioner Herring, Commissioner Lance, Commissioner Reynolds, Commissioner Sofia, Commissioner Szonda-Wilson Staff Present: Ted Dearing, Assistant City Manager Jill Steele, City Attorney Marcel Stoetzel, Deputy City Attorney Linda Morrison, Revenue Services Director, Finance Barbara Dearing, Assistant Budget Officer Carl Fedders, DPW Director Marcie Gillette, Community Services Director Susan Cronander, Zoning Administrator Travis Sullivan, Planner Vanessa Hernandez, Customer Service Rep II Announcement: Vice Mayor Faris announced this was a joint meeting with the Planning Commission and City Commission and stated that public comments are generally limited to 3 minutes. Vice Mayor asked for public comments; no public present. Vice Mayor Faris opened discussion on the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and directed to Ted Dearing, Assistant Manager, who will pres gave Linda Morrison, Revenue Services Director, the floor to present the CIP report. 1 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM for Fiscal Years 2022-2023 thru 2027-2028 STAFF PRESENTATION: Linda Morrison, thanked the Finance, Planning, and IT departments for their assistance in putting the Capital Improvement Program report together. Ms. Morrison stated that the CIP is a multiyear proposed plan to be funded during a period. This planning document provides a long term blue print for capital needs, prioritizing those needs with the ability to pay. The approval of this document does not equal project approval or inclusion in the fiscal year budget. The CIP process provides a structure for developing and prioritizing the capital needs of the city and it enables policy makers to see the complete picture of the city’s capital needs. It is in that spirit that this document has been developed. The CIP process provides an opportunity to study and evaluate the capital needs of the city, especially as it relates to the Master Plan of the city. The preparation of this document is in compliance with the Michigan Municipal Planning Commission Act (PA 33 of 2008). It is a tool and resource used throughout the fiscal year. This document formalizes and consolidates all capital improvement projects throughout city departments, and provides a comprehensive summary of the capital needs of the city for the next 6 years (2023-2028). As the community’s needs change, so does the prioritizing of capital assets. The Priority Based Budgeting (PBB) scoring mechanism is used to rank and score all projects that are included in this plan. There was a considerable effort to put this year report together, particularly due to employee turnover, but also due to the implementation of updated community results and definitions for the priority base budgeting, found on page 11-18 in the CIP book. For the last 6 years, the PBB model has been used to prioritize projects that are included in the CIP. New projects were scored against the PBB results. The summary document on page 19- 23 show all 203 programs. The proposed total for this six year period is $354,639,992.00, page 23 shows the total for all 6 years of the plan. Note that projects shown as funded in this document are not automatically included in the department’s budgets, there is a separate budget process adopted by City Commission. This document is a guide, not a budget document. Unique to this year’s plan, is the availability of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal funds. This is notated as a new funding source in page 6 of the document. The City Commission passed a resolution in November, which identified the number of city projects that will be funded with ARPA funds. Those that met the criteria to be included in the CIP and are noted as such. Mrs. Morrison stated that they are always open to suggestions of how the Planning Commission or City Commission would like to see this document put together any suggestions are welcomed as well as any questions. Vice Mayor Faris thanked Ms. Morrison for the presentation and opened the floor for any Commissioner comments. Planning Commissioner Godfrey thanked the Finance team for putting this document together. Vice Mayor Faris agreed that it is a lot of work and it is concise and a well put together document that is straight forward for anyone to read and understand. JOINT MEETING PUBLIC COMMENTS: None. Vice Mayor Faris concluded the CIP portion of the Joint Meeting and City Commissioners were welcome to leave the meeting, turning the Planning Commission meeting over to Chair Godfrey after a brief recess. 2 Chair Godfrey called the Planning Commission meeting to order, and since the joint Planning and City Commission meeting was previously initiated, he asked Vanessa Hernandez, Customer Service Rep II, to take note of the attendance. NEW BUSINESS: A.) Chair Godfrey asked for a motion as it relates to the Capital Improvement Program. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER SOBIERALSKI, SUPPORTED BY COMMISSIONER SPRANGER, TO APPROVE THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR YEARS 2022-2028. Discussion: None. ROLE VOTE: Chair Godfrey asked everyone in favor to signify by saying “yes”: ALL IN FAVOR, NONE OPPOSED, MOTION APPROVED. B.) APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Chair Godfrey asked for a motion for the approval of Feb. 23, 2022 meeting minutes. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMM. GODFREY, SUPPORTED BY COMM. NEWMAN, TO APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 23, 2022. BY COMM. NEWMAN. Discussion: Vice Mayor Faris confirmed that she was not present in the previous meeting and that the meeting was in person not virtual, and requested to have the minutes updated. ROLL VOTE: Chair Godfrey asked everyone in favor to signify by saying “aye”: ALL IN FAVOR, NONE OPPOSED, MOTION APPROVED. C.) S-05-22: SPECIAL USE PERMIT: Petition from Thanos, LLC, requesting a Special Use Permit for property located at 492 SW Capital Ave. The request is for a medical marihuana provisioning center. Property is zoned “T-3 Neighborhood Commercial District” pursuant to Sec. 1251.29 & 1281.05 of the zoning code. Parcel # 7260-00-006-0. Staff Presentation: Susan Cronanader, Planning Administrator, gave the staff report presentation and recommended approval with the conditions listed on the staff report. Thanos, LLC is applying for a special use to allow a medical marihuana provisioning center in the majority portion of the existing vacant building at 492 Capital Ave SW with a 10,542 square foot vacant building. The applicant is proposing to use 6,180 square feet of the existing vacant building for a medical marihuana provisioning center. The approval of this request is tied directly to the proposed use and elements of the site plan any changes to the contrary to that which is included in the application will require review and approval by Planning Commission and City Commission again. 3  Chair Godfrey asked if anyone was present to speak on behalf of petition #S-05-22. Applicant Presentation: Joey Kejbou, 330 Executive Court Bloomfield, MI 48304, the attorney for the applicant, Thanos, LLC stated his client is looking to improve roughly 10,500 square foot building. The building has been vacant for a long time. Ideally they would like to upgrade the area, bring jobs, and revitalize this property and set the benchmark to encourage other people to improve the neighborhood. As a provisioning center they will upgrade the facility and bring jobs to the area. Public Comments: None. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MAYOR BEHNKE, SUPPORTED BY COMM. SOBIERALSKI, TO APPROVE S-05-22, A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A MARIHUANA PROVISIONING CENTER. Discussion: Chair Godfrey asked what the lighting plan will be for the parking lot and if it is mapped out. He, asked if consideration is being given since the property is next to a residential neighborhood to do some masking of any existing lighting or new lightning so it does not infringe upon the residents. Marcel Stoetzel recommended to add an 8th condition, that the property owner consent form be filled out correctly and resubmitted. Chair Godfrey requested the addition of a 9th condition, the lighting conform to the property in regards to not infringing upon the neighboring properties. With no other discussion, a roll call was taken: ROLL VOTE: SEVEN IN FAVOR, NONE OPPOSED, MOTION APPROVED. PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC COMMENTS: None. COMMENTS FROM PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF: None. COMMENTS FROM PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS: None. ADJOURNMENT: Chairperson Godfrey adjourned the meeting at 4:47 Public Comments: None. Submitted by: Vanessa Hernandez, CSR II, Planning and Zoning M:\Planning Files\Planning Dept\1. Planning Commission\2.Minutes\Year 2022\PC 3.23.22 Meeting Minutes_DRAFT. 4 5