Planning Commission

APPROVED 12/12/2019 REGULAR MEETING PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES NOVEMBER 14, 2019 THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE RICHMOND PLANNING COMMISSION WAS CALLED TO ORDER AT 7:00 P.M., ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2019, BY CHAIRMAN McCLELLAN ROLL CALL Present: Frank, Kaminski, Majchrzak, McClellan, Moore, Rix, Weinert, Zink Absent: Prior Others: City Planner Jeschke, City Clerk Stagl Visitors: Russ and Melissa Eggli, David Edgington, Linnae Pierskalla, Donna Pack, Frank Taccano, Neil Bryan Motion by Rix, seconded by Moore, to excuse Commissioner Prior for being out of town. All yeas Motion passes APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Rix, seconded by Frank, to approve the minutes of the September 12, 2019, regular meeting as presented. All yeas Motion passes AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION None. CORRESPONDENCE - City Council Meeting Minutes of September 3, 2019 - City Council Meeting Minutes of September 16, 2019 - City Council Meeting Minutes of October 7, 2019 - Quarterly Roundtable Meeting Minutes of October 7, 2019 PCM: 11/14/2019 Page 1 of 7  APPROVED 12/12/2019 Motion by Kaminski, seconded by Weinert, to receive and file correspondence as presented. All yeas Motion passes ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion by Kaminski, seconded by Rix, to adopt the agenda as presented. All yeas Motion passes PUBLIC HEARING A-1. SCU-02-2019/Kreger, LLC on behalf of Grace Christian Church/Special Condition Use Request/68834 Main Street Motion by Rix, seconded by Moore, to open the public hearing at 7:02 pm. All yeas Motion passes City Planner Jeschke informed the Commission that the applicant was proposing a church within an existing commercial strip at 68834 Main Street. Churches are allowed in all zoning districts, except industrial, but in the Downtown Business zoning district a Special Condition Use approval is required. Pastor Russ Eggli informed the Commission that this is a small congregation that will have a Wednesday evening service and a Sunday morning service. No further comments were received. Motion by Rix, seconded by Frank, to close the public hearing at 7:05 pm. All yeas Motion passes A-2. SCU-03-2019/Lance Hollweg on behalf of Backyard Living, LLC/Special Condition Use Request/68336 Beech Street Motion by Rix, seconded by Moore, to open the public hearing at 7:05 pm. All yeas Motion passes City Planner Jeschke that a special condition use approval was required for outdoor displays. Frank Taccano informed the Commission that they plan to remodel the building. There are a lot of options on the property for display of the sheds/barns that they propose to have. PCM: 11/14/2019 Page 2 of 7  APPROVED 12/12/2019 No further comments were received. Motion by Rix, seconded by Frank, to close the public hearing at 7:09 pm. All yeas Motion passes ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION B-1. SCU-02-2019/Kreger, LLC on behalf of Grace Christian Church/Special Condition Use Request/68834 Main Street City Planner Jeschke informed the Commission that the applicant was requesting permission to open a church within a storefront of a commercial strip center. The space they are intending to utilize is the northernmost space in the building that houses Mattress King. This is a small congregation and parking should not be detrimental to the surrounding area. The City Planner was recommending approval. Some discussion on the Church taking away from a potential business. City Planner Jeschke informed the Commission that this site has been vacant more than it has been occupied. The proposed Church meets the zoning requirements, therefore he doesn’t know if we could deny them the use of the site. Some discussion on how this affect the Master Plan. City Planner Jeschke informed the Commission that Churches are allowed in any zoning district, with the exception of industrial. Also, approval of the Special Condition Use would not change the zoning or future Land use plan designation of the property. Motion by Rix, seconded by Frank, to approve the requested Special Condition Use Permit for a proposed house of workshop (church) within an existing commercial strip center on 0,96 acres located at 68834 Main Street (APN: 50-07-06-02-229-004) All yeas Motion passes B-2. SCU-03-2019/Lance Hollweg on behalf of Backyard Living, LLC/Special Condition Use Request/68336 Beech Street City Planner Jeschke informed the Commission that the applicant was requesting permission to have outdoor display of merchandise in conjunction with a proposed lawn and patio business. The applicants are proposing to display multiple accessory structure (barns and sheds) on the premises. The property is adjacent to the east side of Main Street between Beech Street and the railroad tracks. The applicants are proposing to purchase the entire property, reuse the front building for their business, secure the other existing structures on the site and eventually come in for a development proposal for the back portion of the property in the PCM: 11/14/2019 Page 3 of 7  APPROVED 12/12/2019 future. The City Planner was recommending approval with 1 condition. Moore – This was a good use for the property. Some discussion on whether the sheds would be built on site. Frank Taccano explained that most of the sheds would be built to the customer’s specifications and are built in Grand Rapids. Discussion on what the City requirements are for sheds. City Manager Moore informed the Commission that dependent on the size of the shed, the resident would need either a zoning permit or a building permit. Frank Taccano informed the Commission that their company would check with the customer’s municipality and apply for the required permits. Motion by Zink, seconded by Kaminski, to approve the requested Special Condition Use and Site Plan Review for the outdoor display of merchandise in conjunction with a proposed outdoor and patio business (Backyard Living) on 0.593 acres located at 68336 Beech Street (APN: 50-07-06-01-157-008), subject to the following condition: 1. The applicant shall submit for a re-occupancy permit through the building department prior to opening. All yeas Motion passes B-3. SPR-03-2019/Richmond North LLC/Site Plan Review/67746 Main Street City Planner Jeschke informed the Commission that the Applicant was proposal an 18- unit addition to the existing Richmond North Apartments located at 67746 Main Street. The site plan presented still has minor deficiencies. The City Planner was recommending approval of the site plan, with seven conditions as noted by the City Planner. The applicant did bring in a revised plan, which will eliminate one of the conditions noted by the City Planner. Commissioner Frank left the meeting at 7:31 pm. The Commission questioned if a color rendering would be submitted. The applicant stated that they have not finalized any colors. The Commission questioned if there were any minimum lighting requirements. City Planner Jeschke informed the Commission that the zoning ordinance only noted the maximum lighting requirements that couldn’t be exceeded. PCM: 11/14/2019 Page 4 of 7  APPROVED 12/12/2019 The Commission questioned whether any improvements would be made to the existing structure. The applicant informed the Commission that they will try to do something to improve the existing structure. All Commissioners expressed their concern with the existing condition of the current buildings and the existing blight on the property. The applicant informed the Commission that the purpose of proposing additional structure was to justify having a property manager on site to make sure that the building and property is maintained. Some question on whether a berm could be placed along the back of the property to screen it from the adjacent Lake Angela Subdivision. The applicant indicated that this shouldn’t be a problem. Rix stated that if the City Planner can work with the applicant on the remaining condition, he was okay with accepting the revised site plan, along with the applicant adding the berm. He further stated that the City has been working diligently to eliminate blight conditions within the City. Moore stated that the applicant has done what they could to address conditions on the front building. What the applicant is proposing is less than what is allowed by the zoning ordinance. The applicant has expressed their interest in working with the City. McClellan expressed concern with the finished grade of site. He would like to see the finished grade on the final site plan. The Planning Commission agreed to add three (3) conditions: 1. Color rendering, 2. Berm is allowed by Engineering and 3. Finished Grade Elevations of Proposed Buildings. Motion by Zink, seconded by Kaminski, to approve the requested Site Plan Review for a proposed 18-unit addition to an existing multiple-family residential development (Richmond North Apartments) on 2.94 acres of property located at 67746 Main Street (APN: 50-07-06-01-326-015), subject to the following conditions: 1. The site plan shall be amended to indicate the following: a. The site plan shall be amended to indicate a correct scale of 1 inch is equal to 40 feet. b. The site plan shall be amended to show the rear building shifted northeastward to have site setbacks of 30 feet on each side. c. The site plan shall be amended to show a sidewalk on the southeast side of the driveway leading from the street to the front building as well as a sidewalk on northwest side of the driveway leading from the street to the front of the existing building, and an additional sidewalk leading from the rear of the existing building to the new proposed new building at the rear of the property. PCM: 11/14/2019 Page 5 of 7  APPROVED 12/12/2019 2. The site plan shall be amended to show the inclusion of 3 handicap accessible spaces. a. Two barrier free (handicap accessible) parking spaces shall be indicated along the row of parking that fronts the rear building. These spaces can share one eight (8) foot loading space between them and count as the required van-accessible parking space. b. The third barrier free (handicap accessible) parking space shall be placed adjacent to the front building on the southeast side of the driveway leading into the site. c. The first two parking spaces adjacent to the front of the existing building (southwestern corner) shall be removed and replaced with a landscape island for safety reasons. d. The applicant shall mark the finished grade elevations of the proposed buildings in relation to the surrounding area. 3. The landscape plan shall be amended to show the following landscaping requirements: a. One tree shall be planted within the new landscape island adjacent to the existing building where the two parking spaces were recommended to be removed. b. The applicant shall plant an evergreen screen adjacent to the southeastern property line for a distance of 170 feet beginning approximately 25 feet behind the back of sidewalk to buffer the residential property to the southeast. The evergreen screen shall consist of 15-gallon size coniferous evergreen trees planted in a double staggered rows with trees that are 15 feet apart between the rows and trees in the rows. c. The applicant shall plant an evergreen screen adjacent to the western side of the parking row behind the existing building extending back approximately 85 feet to buffer the residential properties to the west and north. The evergreen screen shall consist of 15-gallon size coniferous evergreen trees planted in a double staggered rows with trees that are 15 feet apart between the rows and the trees in the rows. d. If allowed by site drainage and engineering, the landscape plan may be amended to show a berm with an evergreen screen along the northern property boundary. 4. Prior to the issuance of any building permits, the applicant shall provide a color rendering or color palate for the new building in the residential development. 5. Prior to the issuance of any building permits, the applicant shall submit full engineering plans that clearly define how and where storm-water drainage is being accommodated. 6. Prior to the issuance of any building permits, the applicant shall comply with all conditions as required by the city engineer, Tetra Tech. 7. The applicant shall coordinate with the public works department on all requirements for the tapping of the water lines. 8. Per the Public Service Directors comments, the applicant shall replace the driveway approach at Main Street with sidewalk that extends through the approach and meet ADA standards. PCM: 11/14/2019 Page 6 of 7  APPROVED 12/12/2019 All yeas Motion passes MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS FROM THE CITY STAFF City Manager Moore – Tree Lighting and Santa Parade is scheduled for Saturday, December 7th. CHAIRMAN AND COMMISSION MEMBERS Councilors wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Rix, supported by Kaminski, to adjourn the Planning Commission Regular Meeting at 8:03 p.m. All yeas Motion passes Respectfully submitted: Karen Stagl City Clerk PCM: 11/14/2019 Page 7 of 7