City Council

CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2024 IN CITY HALL 1. Mayor Taylor called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Mayor Taylor led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and Melanie D. Ryska, City Clerk, gave the Invocation. 3. Council Members present at roll call: Deanna Koski, Michael V. Radtke, Jr., Maria G. Schmidt, Liz Sierawski, Michael C. Taylor, Henry Yanez, Barbara A. Ziarko Also Present: Mark Vanderpool, City Manager; Marc D. Kaszubski, City Attorney; Melanie D. Ryska, City Clerk; Carol Sobosky, Recording Secretary. 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Moved by Koski, seconded by Ziarko, RESOLVED, to approve the agenda as presented. Yes: All. The motion carried (7/0). 5. REPORT FROM CITY MANAGER Mr. Vanderpool reminded everyone of an important event taking place on January 18, Let’s Vote Community Forum, which is a session about everything residents need to know about voting. There is a presidential election in 2024, as well as the presidential primary on February 27, so they felt it would be good to hold this session to inform everyone of the legislative changes, including early voting. This will be held in Community Room 1 at the Sterling Heights Community Center on January 18. There will be a lot of information coming out on social media and other media platforms over the Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 2 next few weeks, and he urged anyone wanting more information on this event to visit the City’s website or call 446-CITY. Mr. Vanderpool noted that they are working hard to plan the 2024 Sterlingfest, and he provided a brief financial overview of this event. He explained it is a complicated endeavor that involves hundreds of people, and the budget for this event is just over $600,000. He noted this has increased from just over $500,000 in 2008, which turned out to be their most costly Sterlingfest. He emphasized their important number is their total net cost, and in 2008, their total net cost to put on Sterlingfest was $270,000. The total net cost for the most recent Sterlingfest was $227,000, so the net cost has gone down. This reduction has taken place as a result of a lot of hard work to reimagine, refresh, update, and do all they can to make Sterlingfest more cost-effective, and that includes generating more revenue. He pointed out that Sterlingfest now generates more than $400,000 in revenue, by way of the pavilion, the carnival, corporate donations, as well as fees from the artists and food vendors. He stated they had their best year ever last year for corporate donations, amounting to $140,000, thanks to their Community Relations team and their good work. They have worked hard to reduce their overtime costs required for Sterlingfest by way of set-up and take-down, and when this savings is spread out, it costs about $1.70 per capita in Sterling Heights to hold Sterlingfest. He noted that nearly 150,000 people attend Sterlingfest, and although they are not all residents of Sterling Heights, the vast majority are. He mentioned this because of the City’s excellent partnership with Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 3 Connect Macomb over the years to make Sterlingfest possible. He noted they work very closely with the Chamber, who provides them with 125 volunteers to help run Sterlingfest, and the City of Sterling Heights does not pay anything for these volunteers. They are very fortunate to have this relationship and a revenue-sharing arrangement with the Chamber that generates about $146,000 in revenue-sharing for the City. The Chamber receives about $66,000, which is less, but it is also one of their largest fundraisers. Mr. Vanderpool stressed this is a win-win situation for all parties, including their corporate donors who want to be a part of it and contribute, Connect Macomb, their Chamber, who also collect some revenue, and all who attend this event that has become a point of pride and a destination place. Mr. Vanderpool introduced Community Relations Director Melanie Davis to present a significant check to the City. She and her team work very closely with the Connect Macomb partnership, and she, along with Parks and Recreation Director Kyle Langlois, are also responsible for making Sterlingfest such a successful event. Community Relations Director Melanie Davis explained they are in their forty- fifth year of Sterlingfest, and for the majority of those years, they have enjoyed a great partnership with their local Chamber of Commerce, now known as Connect Macomb. She emphasized the time and effort Connect Macomb puts into this event is incredible, and they continue to obtain dozens of volunteers each year for the beer pavilion and satellite beer tents. They also Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 4 help them interface with the carnival, and they do a tremendous amount of work for which the City is very grateful. She introduced Connect Macomb’s President & CEO Stacy Ziarko to present the City with the fund-sharing from that partnership. Connect Macomb’s President & CEO Stacy Ziarko thanked the City for allowing Connect Macomb to continue the partnership with Sterlingfest. She emphasized they love being a part of the festival, and their team works hard each year to make it better and more efficient. They look forward to many more years of partnering with the City and agree with Mayor Taylor’s comments that Sterlingfest is one of the best weekends of the summer. She presented a check in the amount of $178,766 on behalf of Connect Macomb to the City of Sterling Heights based on their revenue-sharing agreement, and reiterated that they are so grateful they are a part of this every year. She added that they look forward to seeing everyone in July. Mr. Vanderpool stated they will be sharing more details about Sterlingfest 2024 in a few months. He stated that, in recognition of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the city offices will be closed for business on Monday, January 15. He also reminded that residents can continue to recycle their Christmas trees by setting them out at the curb on their normal collection day, and that will run through February 2. Mr. Vanderpool concluded his report by requesting that City Council convene a closed session at the conclusion of tonight’s meeting, pursuant to Sections 8(c) and 8(e) of the Open Meetings Act to discuss strategy in connection with Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 5 collective bargaining and also to discuss trial for settlement strategy in connection with Macomb County Circuit Court Case No. 2023-2799-CE. 6. ORDINANCE INTRODUCTIONS A. Mayor Taylor stated this is to consider introduction of an ordinance amending Article 6, Section 6.05 and Article 7, Section 7.05 of Zoning Ordinance No. 278 to eliminate the parking space requirements for boats, trailers, and recreational vehicles in RM-1 and RM-2 (Multiple-Family Low- Rise Districts) and RM-3 (Multiple Family Mid- and High-Rise Districts). He invited Dr. Jake Parcell, City Planner & City Development Manager, to make a presentation. Dr. Jake Parcell, City Planner & City Development Manager, explained this is a small amendment to the City’s zoning ordinance, essentially eliminating parking space requirements for recreational vehicles, boats, and trailers in all of their multi-family districts. He explained RM-1 and RM-2 Districts are in one section, and RM-3 is in another, and throughout most of the multi-family developments, they have found that developers are petitioning relief from this through a modification. It is contrary to the City’s hardscaping requirements and the associated stormwater runoff. It is also incredibly burdensome from a space perspective to put in some of these developments. He reviewed the requirements from which the multiple family low rise, mid- and high-rise developments will be relieved. These current requirements are very restrictive and cost-intensive for developers, and they are seeking the Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 6 adoption of an ordinance that helps them remove these requirements from the zoning ordinance. He offered to answer questions. Mayor Taylor opened the floor for public comments from the audience, but no one spoke. Moved by Sierawski, seconded by Radtke, RESOLVED, to introduce the ordinance amending Article 6, Section 6.05 and Article 7, Section 7.05 of Zoning Ordinance No. 278 to eliminate the parking space requirements for boats, trailers, and recreational vehicles in RM-1 and RM-2 (Multiple Family Low Rise Districts) and RM-3 (Multiple Family Mid- and High-Rise Districts). Mayor Pro-Tem Sierawski stated this makes sense, and she could not recall anyone wanting this in their new developments. She is happy to eliminate these requirements from their zoning ordinance. Councilman Radtke agreed with Mayor Pro-Tem Sierawski. He had requested this be brought forward, noting that in his six-and-a-half years sitting on City Council, he could not recall ever requiring this. He added they have been eliminating it administratively and through modifications, stating he does not know of one developer who has wanted it, and he felt the elimination of these requirements will make it easier for developers to do business in Sterling Heights. Yes: All. The motion carried (7/0). 7. ORDINANCE ADOPTIONS A. Mayor Taylor stated this is to consider adoption of a map amendment to Zoning Ordinance No. 278 to conventionally rezone property commonly known as 8850 Hall Road and situated on the southwest corner of the intersection with Brockton Avenue, from O-2 (Planned Office District) to R-80 Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 7 (One Family Residential District); Case PZ23-0009. He opened the floor for public comment, but no one spoke. Moved by Schmidt, seconded by Radtke, RESOLVED, to adopt the map amendment to Zoning Ordinance No. 278 to conventionally rezone property commonly known as 8850 Hall Road and situated on the southwest corner of the intersection with Brockton Avenue, from O-2 (Planned Office District) to R-80 (One Family Residential District); Case PZ23-0009. Councilwoman Schmidt stated this was covered very well in the introduction, it is a down-zoning, and she has no issues with it. Yes: All. The motion carried (7/0). 8. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Taylor stated this item is consideration of the Consent Agenda. He opened the floor for public comments, but no one spoke. Moved by Koski, seconded by Ziarko, RESOLVED, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented: A. To approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of December 19, 2023. B. To approve payment of the bills as presented: General Fund - $646,954.77, Water & Sewer Fund - $28,064.36, Other Funds - $1,603,705.61, Total Checks - $2,278,724.74. C. RESOLVED, to award the bid for fourteen (14) Sierra Wireless AirLink XR80 5G routers, 10 in 1 dome antennas and Network Ready Provisioning Services to Wireless Investors, LLC, d/b/a Ensemble Solutions Group, 1855 East Southern Avenue Suite 215. Mesa, AZ 85204, at a total cost of $24,815.98. D. RESOLVED, to split the award of the bid for truck transport and tank wagon deliveries of unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel to the following vendors based on bid factors included in their respective bids for a two-year period, February 1, 2024 through January 31, 2026, with the option for the City Manager to extend the bid terms and conditions for an additional two year period, February 1, 2026 through January 31, 2028, upon mutual consent: Truck Transport deliveries: 1. RKA Petroleum Companies, 28340 Wick Rd., Romulus, MI 48174, and 2. Marathon Flint Oil Company, 1919 S Dort Highway, Flint MI 48503 Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 8 Tank Wagon deliveries: 1. RKA Petroleum Companies, 28340 Wick Rd., Romulus, MI 48174, and 2. Gen Oil Company, 1238 Anderson Rd., Clawson, MI 48017 E. RESOLVED, to purchase forty-five (45) Dell Latitude 3540 XCTO laptops from People Driven Technology, Inc., 6300 Venture Hills Boulevard SW, Byron Center, MI 49315, at competitive pricing available through Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) cooperative purchasing contract #MHEC-04152022 at a cumulative cost of $60,624 and authorize the City Manager to sign required documents on behalf of the City. F. RESOLVED, to purchase computer equipment from People Driven Technology, Inc., 6300 Venture Hills Boulevard SW, Byron Center, MI 49315, through Midwestern Higher Education Commission cooperative purchasing contract #MHEC-04152022, at a cumulative cost of $58,046.75 and authorize the City Manager to sign all required documents on behalf of the City. G. RESOLVED, to purchase fourteen (14) Dell Latitude 5430 rugged Mobile Data Computers and Havis Docking Station handle mounting kits from People Driven Technology, Inc., 6300 Venture Hills Boulevard SW, Byron Center, MI 49315, at pricing available through Midwestern Higher Education Compact cooperative purchasing contract no. MHEC-04152022 at a cumulative cost of $46,877.74 and authorize the City Manager to sign all required documents on behalf of the City. H. RESOLVED, to purchase one hundred fifteen (115) NetMotion VPN Mobile Access annual licenses and maintenance from CDW Government, LLC, 200 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, IL 60061, at competitive pricing available through state of Michigan MiDeal cooperative purchasing contract no. 071B6600110 at a cumulative cost of $13,073. I. RESOLVED, to waive the competitive bidding requirement in accordance with City Code Section 2-217(A)(9)(b) and purchase the 16” LCP transition adapter set from WaterTap, Inc., 48595 West Road., Wixom, MI 48393, at a total cost of $13,892 and authorize the City Manager to sign all required documentation on behalf of the City. J. RESOLVED, to adopt the resolution designating January annually as "Poverty in America Awareness Month" in the city of Sterling Heights. Yes: All. The motion carried (7/0). 9. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS Mayor Taylor opened the floor for public comments, but no one spoke. 10. REPORTS FROM CITY ADMINISTRATION AND CITY COUNCIL Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 9 Mr. Vanderpool stated he has nothing further to add this evening. Councilman Yanez commended Clerk Melanie Ryska for the excellent job she did on her appearance on the MERS Monday podcast representing her peers and Clerks across the State of Michigan. He added she represented her peers and the City of Sterling Heights very well, and he is looking forward to her presentation on the new voting laws later this month. Councilman Yanez commented the way their meeting ended last month was uncomfortable, leading him to believe that the City’s PUD ordinance is not working. He recalled conversation about this last year at their Strategic Planning session and how they need to be on the same page, but he does not believe it is working for the City as a whole. He hopes they can review what they are trying to do with that law and try to do it better. He felt bad for the developer at the last meeting, and he hopes they can have this conversation again at Strategic Planning. Councilman Radtke saw a notice from HR that their new social worker, Staci Reed, started, and he emphasized that is great news. He is looking forward to having their second social worker start to help with the workload. He noticed that Ms. Reed had already started working with the City in October or November as a Community Resource Liaison. He found out that the position of Community Resource Liaison was created through a Letter of Understanding. He indicated he has been involved with the union for many years, but he is unfamiliar with the difference between a Letter of Understanding and a Memo of Understanding. Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 10 Mr. Vanderpool responded by first stating they had sent out background material to City Council on the position, and they provided some background. He explained that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is more formal than a Letter of Understanding (LOU), and technically an amendment, or appendix, to a collective bargaining agreement, noting MOUs always require City Council approval. He stated that a Letter of Understanding is less formal than an MOU and outlines some informal understandings between the City management and the union. It is not formal, and an LOU does not require formal approval. He stated the City Attorney is welcome to elaborate on this. If Council is interested in something more specific, he offered to elaborate. Councilman Yanez stated he would like a copy of the background material forwarded to City Council. He looked for something more specific in their packets but could not find anything. He would like more information. Mr. Kaszubski stated that, although he is not involved in the labor side of negotiations, he confirmed Mr. Vanderpool’s explanation. Councilman Yanez questioned whether this position was posted, and whether there was an internal posting to hire this person. Mr. Vanderpool replied they followed their normal hiring procedures, which is a two-step process. In this case, the individual now has her master’s degree and sufficient experience, so she now qualifies for the permanent social worker position. He reiterated all normal protocols were followed. Councilman Yanez clarified he is asking about the Community Resource Liaison position and whether it was posted. Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 11 Mr. Vanderpool replied affirmatively that the positions were advertised. Councilman Yanez requested a copy of those postings. He stated he is very uncomfortable with the fact that one employee of the City can create a job in the City with wages, hours, and working conditions attached to that job without the vote of City Council. He noted they vote on every position in this City through their budget ordinance, and if something is done beyond that, there is generally an MOU attached to it that comes before City Council. He does not feel any one employee should have that power because that is the job of City Council. He reiterated his request for this information. Mayor Pro-Tem Sierawski stated she received a phone call from a reporter asking about the City’s Lift Assist policy/ordinance because she had received a complaint from one of the City’s residents and was following up. Mayor Pro-Tem Sierawski stated she would like to provide information to the residents and get information to have Mr. Vanderpool or Mr. Kaszubski offer some clarification. According to the information provided from the reporter, she relayed that this resident was living as an independent living resident in an apartment in a facility, but has contracted certain amenities; therefore, that person is no longer considered by that facility as “independent living” and is under their “umbrella” as partial assisted living. The facility is supposed to be providing those residents with some care. The individual had a fall, and instead of calling 911, this person called the facility and requested help getting up. The facility did not help this person, even though they are charging this person for care, but they called the City. Transport came, as they always will, Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 12 and helped this person up. This particular facility uses the City’s transport services frequently for non-emergency services. The facility was charged a lift assist fee, which they then passed on to the resident in the amount of $800. Although she explained the reporter did not provide her with the name of the facility, she would like to find out which facilities are doing this because it is not the intent of the ordinance. The intent of the ordinance is to prevent the inappropriate use of the City’s emergency services when these facilities are charging residents to provide that care. The City’s emergency EMS services are being used as their own personnel when those resources could be better used for actual emergencies. Mayor Pro-Tem Sierawski inquired as to whether the City has anything in place to go after these facilities who are assessing predatory charges to their residents based on the City’s ordinance. Mr. Kaszubski replied to Mayor Pro-Tem Sierawski’s question that they have been looking into the ordinance to “put more teeth into it.” He cautioned these facilities are using the City’s emergency services even though they are charging the residents and advertising to the residents that those services are available on site. These facilities are calling 911 and, rather than helping their residents up, they are using the City’s Fire Department to lift these individuals up, thereby reducing their availability to be on the road for true emergencies. The point of the lift assist ordinance is to stop that abuse, and either provide adequate staffing to lift, or purchase the lift assist machine to help them with Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 13 this task. He confirmed there are only a few offenders, as most of the facilities have now come into compliance. He assured they are working on it. Mayor Pro-Tem Sierawski understands that some of these facilities are licensed to some extent. She questioned whether it is possible for the City to go to the State level on this matter. Mr. Kaszubski explained the problem they have is that the state has deregulated assisted living facilities, so they are skirting the licensing by offering these services through third party contracts as opposed to having it on-site. The lift assist ordinance targets the facilities that are offering these types of services being available on-site but calling 911 and charging the resident. The City does not believe it is appropriate for these facilities to being doing so, and it has caused a problem, so they are working to correct that through this ordinance, adding they are looking into a way to “put more teeth” into the ordinance. Mayor Pro-Tem Sierawski suggested that if anyone is a victim or a relative of a victim being charged for a lift assist, they should contact her at (586) 212- 7385. She stressed they want this to stop, noting it was the point of the ordinance to prevent predatory use of the City’s services, and more than that, passing the fees on to the residents. She stressed this is unethical and they want it to stop. She wished everyone a Happy New Year. Councilman Radtke referred to the concerns raised by Councilman Yanez regarding the Community Resource Liaison. He recalled reading in their Council packet that the City has had some trouble recruiting social workers. Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 14 Mr. Vanderpool replied to inquiry that is correct. Councilman Radtke understood that the candidate was in school to finish her master’s for social work, and they did not want a credible candidate to “slip through their fingers” so Administration temporarily created this position to get this individual on payroll so they would not lose her to a competitor. Mr. Vanderpool clarified that City Council unanimously approved creating two social worker positions, and that is included in the budget. There was no position created that is not in the budget. He explained the Letter of Understanding (LOU) process gives them the opportunity to sometimes bring employees in at a higher scale or perhaps slightly tweak the position to prepare it for the actual position budgeted. In this case, the social worker they recruited through their normal process was about sixty days away from completion of her coursework and obtaining her master’s degree. She was then promoted to the social worker position, which is the permanent position. He emphasized there was not a separate position created, but it was an entry level LOU, preparing the person for entering into the social worker position. He informed that the person they hired has a significant amount of social work experience, amounting to more experience than the previous social worker had, so it was a nuance they overcame through an LOU. It allowed them to hire someone they believe is a very good, qualified social worker. He clarified they have two full-time social workers who are both budgeted. He confirmed they have filled the two positions. Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 15 Councilman Radtke appreciated Mr. Vanderpool’s clarification. He stated he has no problem with how it was handled, because he wants to make sure the City is getting the high-quality employees the residents want. He explained he sent out an article in the Council packet this week from the New York Times regarding camera use in various police departments across the United States, and he urged his colleagues to read the article. He found it interesting that some departments have hired an auditor in their department to randomly review body camera footage of the officers to make sure policy is being followed and that they are doing what is expected of them. He does not believe they have any problems in this community, but he likes to be proactive. He relayed the article mentioned that if they had an auditor on staff in Minneapolis, they would have realized that some of their officers were not following policy. He noted other departments have hired auditors to look through the footage, and although he is not saying the City should do this, he wanted to make Council aware of this and urge them to provide him with their thoughts on it at a later date. He wished everyone a Happy New Year. Councilwoman Ziarko questioned what “public safety” means to everyone. She stated they hire police, fire, and public works personnel, but she questioned what it means beyond that. She noted they followed the rules set forth during the Covid pandemic, and they always make sure they have ample police representation at their crowds during events. She recalled at the last meeting, she tried to explain the traffic situation she had witnessed for over forty years in the 15 Mile/Schoenherr area. She provided details on three Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 16 separate accidents that took place in less than a week, and she was shocked at the disrespect that was shown to police, fire, tow truck driver, and DPW by the people responsible and by people who were inconvenienced by the fallout of the accident. She felt the disrespect was inexcusable, noting people were trying to help the one gentleman who was a victim in the accident by picking up all of the Christmas presents he had in his car that were scattered all over Schoenherr as a result of the accident. Since the road has been fixed, it has become a speedway. If the area needs to be patrolled more, then that should happen. Councilwoman Ziarko stressed they need to look at their Master Plan, noting they may be giving developers the opinion they can put strip malls and developments where they really should not be located because the roads will not be able to handle the traffic. Councilwoman Ziarko felt the meeting scheduled for January 18th on the new election laws is very important, and she commented that Clerk Melanie Ryska is one of the best Clerks in the entire country, not just in the State of Michigan. She requested what advice Clerk Ryska may have to make that a successful meeting for their residents. Clerk Melanie Ryska stated they are excited to announce the “Let’s Vote Sterling Heights” community forum at 6 p.m. on January 18, 2024, in Community Room 1 at the Community Center. She recommended anyone interested in attending can visit the City’s website, www.sterling- heights.gov/vote. She explained they are doing a huge voter outreach over the course of the next six months to educate voters. The Presidential Primary Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 17 is February 27, 2024. In 2022, voters approved Prop 2, which resulted in sweeping election changes that changed their Constitution. Voters now have a number of different methods of voting, whether it is early voting, permanent ballot, absentee voting, and also election day voting. There are so many different changes, and they want to educate voters and provide an opportunity for voters who have questions to come in and ask those questions. She stated they will have answers to those questions. If anyone has questions, they can email those to vote@sterling-heights.net. Councilwoman Koski referenced the Planned Unit Development (PUD) application that was discussed at the last meeting. She recalled that a PUD was only used under special circumstances. She agreed that they should take another look at it and possibly place restrictions on when it can be used, suggesting it be limited to a special tool, and not the first option of developers. She recalled there was a developer who was going to put in a PILOT development of apartments at 14 Mile Road and Red Run. She questioned whether they ever received the results from the testing done on that property, and she inquired as to why the developer did not proceed with the project. She questioned whether it was because he changed his mind, or whether it was because of the landfill issues on the strip of land that heads north and ends at Baumgartner Park. She questioned what the City knows about the landfills in that area, and whether records are kept on any of the properties where landfill testing has been done. She further questioned whether that information is private and whether the developers do not share that Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 18 information. She would like to be alerted as to the accessibility of this information. She requested that Mr. Vanderpool provide updates on things being done out of the ordinary administratively and things being done to make this such a great city. Councilwoman Schmidt wished everyone a Happy New Year. Mayor Taylor wished everyone a Happy New Year. He appreciated the comments made by Council this evening. On the issue of the lift assist, he does not feel there is any way they will get around the facilities passing this cost on to the residents. He pointed out that fees typically get passed on to the end users, and in independent living facilities, the end users are the residents. He felt these facilities could do a better job explaining to their residents what they offer, noting these are not licensed facilities but are trying to appear they are assisted living facilities, not necessarily charging assisted living facility rates, but are offering some services and amenities. He pointed out the $800 the resident claimed she was charged is the cost assessed to the facility. He felt it would make more sense for these facilities to budget it into their annual operating expenses, and rather than assessing an $800 fee to the individual residents who need this service, they could build it into their monthly rent. He would like to continue having conversations with them to find out why they are not doing that. He agreed it is unfortunate that the residents are getting stuck with the bill; however, he emphasized he is still supportive of the ordinance, although he added they can make tweaks if they determine it is necessary. Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 19 Mayor Taylor addressed Councilwoman Ziarko’s concerns about public safety and the traffic in the 15 Mile/Schoenherr area. He assured he was not disputing her first-hand experience of the traffic issues in her neighborhood. With regard to the development proposed at 15 Mile and Schoenherr that was voted down at the last Council meeting, it was brought before Council for a vote was because it was a Planned Unit Development (PUD) that had a mixed use component, and they were going to develop about forty percent of the 15-acre parcel, leaving the remaining sixty percent as green space. He noted on the portion to be developed, they were proposing about sixty-four apartment units, which would have been much less density than any recent apartment complex developments, and the type of variances requested were very minimal. The developer has indicated that they will go forward with commercial development, which they are permitted to do by right. They will get their curb cuts on 15 Mile Road, and they will be able to put in whatever uses that are allowed within that zoning district, which may or may not be undesirable. He pointed out they have heard from developers and traffic experts in the past that if a property is developed commercially only, the traffic will be greater than if a large percentage of that property is developed as residential. Mayor Taylor emphasized he is not disagreeing with Councilwoman Ziarko about the traffic in the area, but if the goal is to have less traffic and a more calming effect, this will not be a good result if the developer goes forward as he indicated that he is going to do. If the City does not want the developer to construct the proposed sixty-four apartment units, Regular City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Page 20 clean up the landfill, and remediate the environmental issues on the property, the developer can put in a strip center by right. Mayor Taylor anticipated that would be the worst option that will possibly result in more traffic and commercial uses they do not want. He stated he was frustrated at the last meeting and will continue to be frustrated because he does not feel they need to do away with PUDs, noting the City is mostly built out. He felt City Council needs to figure out what they want because there are mixed signals sent out, and if that is not what they want, they need to make that clear to the development community. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. 12. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business. 13. CLOSED SESSION PERMITTED UNDER ACT 267 OF 1976 Mr. Kaszubski stated there are two items for Closed Session this evening. 14. ADJOURN Moved by Ziarko, seconded by Schmidt, RESOLVED, to recess into closed session. Roll Call Vote: Yes: Taylor, Yanez, Ziarko, Koski, Radtke, Schmidt, Sierawski. No: None. The motion carried (7/0). The meeting recessed into Closed Session at 7:57 p.m. and adjourned from Closed Session at 9:02 p.m. MELANIE D. RYSKA, City Clerk