Planning Commission Meeting

CITY OF MADISON HEIGHTS PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES (DRAFT) October 17, 2023 Council Chambers – City Hall 300 W. 13 Mile, Madison Heights, MI 48071 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Champagne called the meeting of the Madison Heights Planning Commission to order at 5:31 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Chair Josh Champagne Mayor Roslyn Grafstein Mayor Pro Tem Mark Bliss Commissioner Eric Graettinger Commissioner Melissa Kalnasy City Manager Melissa Marsh Commissioner Grant Sylvester Absent: Commissioner Cliff Oglesby Also Present: City Planner Matt Lonnerstater Assistant City Attorney Tim Burns Business Services Coordinator Mary Daley 3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Motion by Bliss, seconded by Oglesby to approve the minutes of the regular Planning Commission meeting of July 18, 2023. Motion carries unanimously. 4. PUBLIC HEARING No public hearing scheduled. 5. PUBLIC COMMENT - For items not listed on the agenda Chair Champagne opened the floor for public comment at 5:34 pm. Seeing none, public comment was closed at 5:34 pm. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Regulated Uses – Continued Discussion Regulated Uses - Massage Parlors/Establishments and Pawnshops - Section 10.502[A]  October 17, 2023 Madison Heights Planning Commission Minutes (Draft) This is a continued discussion from previous meetings. There was a consensus to remove the following uses from the list of Regulated Uses as part of the ongoing comprehensive Zoning Ordinance rewrite and accept the modifications per staff’s recommendations as detailed in the packet: • Pool and Billiard Halls • Tattoo Parlors • Used Goods Uses Pool/billiard halls and used goods uses would be treated as a general business license applicant. Tattoo parlors would be reclassified as personal service establishments and would be required to present a copy of their license from the Oakland County Health Department. At the July 18th, 2023 meeting, Staff and the Planning Commission continued the discussion on Regulated Uses, focusing on massage parlors and pawnbrokers; this discussion included a review of other municipal regulations in the State. Per the suggestion of the Planning Commission, Planner Lonnerstater reached out to several communities including Troy, Holland, Livonia and Ferndale to inquire if they had any zoning or police issues with massage establishments and/or pawnbrokers. Planner Lonnerstater summarized their responses. Staff has put together draft ordinance language and text modifications, for discussion purposes only, relating to the Zoning Ordinance, Amusements Ordinance, and Business Regulations and Licenses Ordinance. Massage Parlors and Massage Establishments Discussion focused on massage parlors and massage establishments. Staff recommends removing licensed massage establishments (defined below) from the list of Regulated Uses but keeping unlicensed massage establishments (defined below) as a regulated use. These changes will involve modifications to the Zoning Ordinance and Business Regulations and Licenses Ordinance (Chapter 7 of the general Code of Ordinances). Planner Lonnerstater led the discussion pertaining to the differences between Licensed massage therapists, Licensed massage therapy facilities, and unlicensed massage therapy facilities. After discussion, the consensus was to Rename Article XII to Massage Therapy Facilities. Keep language and definitions consistent with Zoning Ordinance and update the list of exemptions. Meet with the Business Services Coordinator and City Clerk to discuss updating the business license requirements, including the requirement that up-to-date State license and professional membership documents be provided upon initial business license approval and upon renewal. Pawnbrokers Discussion focused on pawnbrokers. For several reasons discussed by Planner Lonnerstater, staff does not recommend changes to the City’s current pawnbroker regulations which classify them as a regulated use. There do not appear to be any state-level regulatory agencies that manage pawnshops. Planner Lonnerstater pointed out that some municipalities classify pawnbrokers as “alternative” financial establishments. Attorney Burns remarked that check cashing might be regulated by Federal laws and he will do additional research on this. It may be beneficial to leave pawnshops as a regulated use and Page 2 of 3  October 17, 2023 Madison Heights Planning Commission Minutes (Draft) create regulations for alternative financial institutions. The Chair opened the floor to Madison Heights Police Chief Brent Lemerise to speak on this matter. According to Chief Lemerise, from a public safety standpoint, pawn shops should continue to remain a regulated use. In his opinion, pawnshops ignore plausible deniability and look the other way to avoid responsibility when it comes to crime. He shared some statistics and past experiences with former pawnshops in the City. Attorney Burns recommends leaving pawnshops as they are and creating an ordinance for alternative financial institutions. Planner Lonnerstater believes the first step should be to define “alternative financial institutions” and identify location requirements. This is something that can be discussed at the next meeting. 7. NEW BUSINESS - No new business to report at this time 8. PLANNER UPDATES A. Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Update The final rough draft has been sent to McKenna and Associates. Planner Lonnerstater will eventually bring it to the Planning Commission but first the steering committee will meet to review and discuss it. B. Streetscape Update Planner Lonnerstater shared the DDA open house invitation once again pertaining to the 11 Mile Streetscape Plan and encouraged the Planning Commission members to attend. The event will be held at Woodpile BBQ on October 26th from 4:30-6:30 pm and is geared towards the business owners specifically in that portion of the DDA. 9. MEMBER UPDATES No member updates. 10. ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING Meeting adjourned by the Chair at 6:56 pm. Page 3 of 3