Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007 Planning Board Jan-Mar Minutes FINAL APPROVED WITH CORRECTIONS: Draft to Clerk March 9,2007 Pg 1, under item 1D, change absences for"Ruge, Czekai, Cordill"to Approved April 3,2007 excused absences. To Clerk April 5,2007 Minutes of the Regular Meeting LANSING PLANNING BOARD 7:00 p.m., Tenth Floor, Council Chambers r- Lansing City Hall = CLD Tuesday, March 6, 2007 1. OPENING SESSION c-. ' 1 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mr. Hollister, Vice Chair,-" == i� i - : r --, r� A. Roll call: Present: Frederick, Bruch, Hollister. B. Staff Attending: Stachowiak. C. Excused absences: Ruge, Czekai, Cordill. D. Absent: Ruge, Czekai, Gordill None. Ms. Stachowiak stated that there are only three Board members present which is not enough for a quorum and requests for excused absences could not be approved due to lack of a quorum. However, the Board will still hold the public hearing. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA— None. 3. COMMUNICATIONS — None. 4. HEARINGS A. Z-1-2007, 3811 Aurelius Road, "A" Residential District to "C" Residential District This is a request by Robert Ford to rezone the property at 3811 Aurelius Road, more specifically described as: COM 158.83 FT+/- S OF NW COR OF SW 1/4 OF NW 1/4, TH E 160 FT, S 79.41 FT+/-, W 160 FT, N 79.41 FT+/- TO BEG; SEC 35 T4N R2W, CITY OF LANSING, INGHAM COUNTY, MICHIGAN from "A" Residential District to "C" Residential District for the purpose of allowing the existing building at this location to be used as a duplex. Ms. Stachowiak gave a brief overview. Mr. Tom Ward, representative for Robert Ford and resident of 206 N. Broadway, Lowell, MI 49331, stated that he has worked with Mr. Ford for many years and he knows the history of this request very well. A few years ago, Mr. Ford bought the property and it was represented to him PLANNING BOARD MINUTES March 6, 2007 Page 2 that it was a duplex. The conversion was probably done 20 years or more ago and the property's age goes back to late 1800s for the main structure. It has been added on to several times. When Mr. Ford purchased it, an agent representing Tomie Raines sold it to him as a duplex. All of the appraisals that were used to give it value list it as a duplex. He stated that Mr. Ford did not even have a clue that he did not have a duplex. Mr. Ward stated that the Code Compliance Officer who was there when he was at the property said that it was not that uncommon for these to be done 20, 30 or 40 years ago where an owner would convert something to a duplex. They were not required at the time he said to register them. This is kind of a "hand-me-down" from that era and someone sold it as a duplex. Mr. Ward stated that there are two floors: a kitchen on both floors, bathroom on both floors and separate entrances. This has been like this for 20 or 30 years. He does not know. Mr. Ford has a fairly good size mortgage on the property and his big concern is if he has to tear out the kitchen and turn this into a single family, he would have a mortgage on something that is not worth what it is mortgaged for. This is the main concern for Mr. Ford. Here he is stuck with this property and all along he thought it was a two family unit. If it is not zoned as a two family, which there are others on the street that are two family units, then he is going to lose value in the property. Mr. Ward stated that the tenants are good tenants and that there have been no problems with the community or the neighbors. In fact, he has heard that the neighbors really like these people. Mr. Frederick asked if Mr. Ford has any other rental properties in the City of Lansing. Mr. Ward said he does. Mr. Frederick asked if Mr. Ford was aware that he has to register those also. Mr. Ward said absolutely. Mr. Frederick asked why Mr. Ford did not register this one. Mr. Ward stated that this property is registered as a single family unit. There was a real estate management company (possibly Mag Real Estate) back when Mr. Ford purchased the property, managed it for Mr. Ford and was supposed to comply with some paperwork to try to get it re-zoned but they never followed through with it. This is what the Code Compliance Office told him. So, he rented it out as a single family unit to one individual and that individual is sharing expenses with the property owner. This is currently the situation. What he would like to see is to make it a legal two-unit so it can be registered as a two-unit. It has been registered for years. Dr. Bruch stated that if the costs are being shared with the property owner, she asked if that means they both live in the same house and it is really working currently as a duplex. Mr. Ward stated from what he understands, it is rented to one person and because there is a large house with two floors, he has rented it out and shared expenses. This is how Mr. Ford lives there. He has a room mate in this house. Mr. Ward stated that PLANNING BOARD MINUTES March 6, 2007 Page 3 Code Compliance had been there years ago when Mr. Ford did get the license and have been there several times since. They were well aware of the fact that it was being shared and that was how it was allowed to be. Code Compliance said that it cannot look like a duplex anymore and that Mr. Ford would have to go to the Building department to fix it. Mr. Ward looked into every thing for the rules and regulations in taking a two-unit and making it into a single unit. He is caught in this dilemma that it just cannot look like a duplex. It has to have an entry on the inside, which it does, and there is an exterior entrance. It is either going to be a two-unit or it is not. If it is not a two-unit, then he has to take everything out of it that makes it look like a two-unit, including most of the kitchen (i.e. sink, appliances). Mr. Ward stated that this property has been a two-unit for probably 30 years and has separate electricity. It has shared gas. Mr. Ward stated that the negative side is it would be less valuable once it was renovated to be a single family dwelling. Mr. Frederick asked if there were only two guys living there. Mr. Ward said yes. Mr. Frederick asked where all the cars and trucks come from. Mr. Ward stated that Mr. Ford is in construction and has a car and a truck. His roommate, who lives upstairs, has a car and a truck. He stated that there could be an extra vehicle because they collect vehicles but he does not know. Mr. Frederick stated that there are other two family units on the street but they are much further away. Mr. Ward stated that he does not have the addresses but was told that there are other two-units structures on Aurelius Road. Mr. Frederick stated that there are other duplexes on Aurelius Road but way down at the other end closer to the cemetery on the west side of the street. One duplex has been updated and looks much better. There are some but not nearby. Seeing no one else wishing to speak, Mr. Hollister closed the public hearing for Z-1-2007, 3811 Aurelius Road, "A" Residential District to "C" Residential District and was referred to the next Zoning and Ordinance Committee meeting scheduled to meet March 14, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. in the Planning and Neighborhood Development Conference Room at 316 N. Capitol Avenue. Ms. Stachowiak stated that this is the only case for the meeting next week. She asked if they would like to have a Zoning and Ordinance Committee meeting before the next Planning Board meeting. Mr. Frederick, Mr. Hollister and Dr. Bruch agreed to have the Zoning and Ordinance Committee meeting before the next Board meeting. 5. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE (3 minutes each) PLANNING BOARD MINUTES March 6, 2007 Page 4 Mr. John Hoffman, resident of 2029 Luwana, stated he lives two houses down from the property proposed for rezoning. The only things he is concerned about are the amount of vehicles that are parked around this property and the upkeep of the property. Last year, he was not sure if they were renovating it but there was quite a bit of trash around the place. If it goes into a duplex, he asked how will it be kept so that it is decent for the neighborhood. Seeing no one else wishing to address the Board, Mr. Hollister closed the public comment period. 6. RECESS — None. 7. BUSINESS SESSION — None. 8. NEW BUSINESS — None. 9. COMMENTS FROM CHAIRPERSON — None. 10. COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS — None. 11. BOARD MEMBER CODE ENFORCEMENT NOTIFICATION REPORTS — None. a. Dollar Store-Willow Street&MILK Blvd.-landscaping &buffering (May 20, 2003) b. Grovenburg property-dumpster in ROW(July 1,2003) c. 2714 W. Jolly Road-church with large statue in front yard (January 20,2004) d. W.Willow Street-Grace Tabernacle Church-no landscaping (May 4, 2004) e. Michigan Ave& Shepard Street-sign business-several banner signs nailed to the outside of building (May 4, 2004) f. 2702 S. Cedar Street-no landscaping (May 18, 2004) g. 2410 S. Pennsylvania Ave.-no landscaping (November 3,2004) h. 2200 W. Holmes Road- Bad Habits-excessive signs (May 3,2005) i. 2618 Cavanaugh Road. - registered rental&front yard paved, used for parking (October 4,2005) j. 1712 W.Saginaw Street,W.of Sparrow's St. Lawrence campus—rogue used car salesman operating in a print shop(April 18,2006) k. Keeps Party Store-Aurelius Road-illegal signs(July 5,2006, July 18,2006 &September 5,2006) I. Clarion Hotel—two big signs advertising Great Lakes Condominiums(December 5,2006) m. The Firm—review requirements for fenced outdoor patio (December 5, 2006) n. 928 Pacific Ave.—6 foot fence in front yard on a corner lot(February 6,2007) 12. ADJOURNMENT - Meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted William C. Rieske, Secretary; Planning Board PBMinutes.030607.doc Approved as written 4-3-07 Draft to Clerk February 28,2007 Approved April 3,2007 To Clerk April 5,2007 Minutes of the Regular Meeting LANSING PLANNING BOARD 7:00 p.m., Tenth Floor, Council Chambers Lansing City Hall Tuesday, February 20, 2007 ' Cti c:: W + ( 1. OPENING SESSION ; The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mr. Czekai, Chair. 'r-- A. Roll call: Present: Frederick, Ruge, Bruch, Czekail, Hollister. B. Staff Attending: Stachowiak, Rieske. C. Excused absences: Cordill. D. Absent: None. Mr. Czekai requested an excused absence from the February 9th meeting. Mr. Frederick made a motion, seconded by Dr. Bruch to approve an excused absence request from Mr. Czekai for the February 9th meeting. On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously (5-0). 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Czekai stated that ACT-13-2006 will be referred to the Committee of the Whole on March 6, 2007 as opposed to the Urban Development Committee meeting. Mr. Rieske stated that the UDC meeting scheduled for February 27, 2007 has been cancelled. Mr. Frederick made a motion, seconded by Mr. Hollister to approve the agenda as amended. On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously (5-0). 3. COMMUNICATIONS A. Letter of support from Officer Tucker, LPD, regarding ACT-13-2006 B. A packet of materials from property owners supporting ACT-13-2006 4. HEARINGS A. ACT-13-2006, Daft Street, Vacate South End of Daft Street Right-of-Way This is an application by the City of Lansing Planning Office to vacate the south end of Daft Street. Residents in the neighborhood have requested that the city vacate the south end of the Daft Street right-of-way so that a PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 20, 2007 Page 2 fence or some other type of barrier can be erected to restrict cut-through pedestrian traffic. Ms. Stachowiak gave a brief overview and read for the record Officer Tucker's letter of support regarding ACT-13-2006. Mr. Rieske stated that the ROW is 50 feet wide and if vacated, 25 feet would go to the property owner to the west and 25 feet would go to the property owner to the east. The 20 feet dimension is an arbitrary dimension that could be shortened or lengthened depending upon what is needed. Mr. Hollister asked if this was vacated, would the two property owners have to purchase the property. Mr. Rieske stated that they would not have to purchase it because it is a platted street. It would just be added to their property descriptions automatically. Dr. Bruch asked if Daft Street gets closed off, is there any reason why pedestrians would not break a hole in the fence at Shreve, Barker or Yunker Streets. She stated that it looks like a fix for this area but moving the problem some where else. Ms. Stachowiak stated that is a very good point. This is not a perfect situation and the Planning Office will have to address all of the issues in the staff report. Ms. Carol Wood, resident of 1018 W. Lapeer, stated that she just wanted to clarify the question concerning the letter from the neighborhood watch officer, Officer Tucker. Councilmember Williams (Third Ward), Councilmember Jeffries and herself have been meeting with the neighborhood. She assumed that is why Officer Tucker included them as copies because they have been dealing with the problems. She does not think that it was to slight any other councilmember and as these items are moved forward to City Council, all of them would be included. Ms. Christiane Gray, resident of 1013 Victoria Drive, stated that she lives almost on the corner of Victoria Drive and Daft Street, where most of the problems are happening. There is a wetland behind this area that used to go all the way through but now is dried up near Daft Street. On Shreve and Barker Streets, the creek still exists. Pedestrians would have to cross over the wetland or the creek in order to get over to those areas which is why they have not gone that way in the past. Ms. Danielle Patrick, resident of 6244 Daft Street, stated that each Board member should have received a lengthy packet to read at their leisure. The purpose for providing all this information was to show the Board that they have done their part as a neighborhood, to give the Board examples of the people they have been in contact with, and all the resources they have utilized to try to resolve this problem. Frankly, it has ended up with a band aid being put on all the problems. They tried working with the apartment complex managers with still no resolution. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 20, 2007 Page 3 There is a map included with highlighted sections that designates every adjacent neighborhood and the dead end street that abuts the apartment complexes. Every one of them has a barrier or fence of some type except Daft Street, which is why Daft Street ends up with all of the problems. In terms of needing transportation or convenience needs, she is a little disappointed that they would get to years down the road of these apartment complexes existing before thinking of their needs. It really does not make a lot of sense to her. There is transportation access on Georgetown Blvd. with a sidewalk and pedestrians could easily walk down there instead of coming down Daft Street. She does not see this as a valid convenience need. When the apartment complexes were developed, she highly doubts that they presented City Council with a two foot wide path on a steep embankment next to a wetland as adequate access to a neighborhood. The biggest issue is the people who are using this for criminal activity. It is a huge access for criminal activity and nobody wants to take Washington Street where everybody in the world can see them. They want to go where nobody is going to see them and that is down a street with no traffic. It is much less visible for the police. Mr. Czekai asked if Edgewood Villas and Traditions Town Homes are both affordable housing/low income. Ms. Stachowiak stated that she is not sure but will check into the matter. Mr. Steve Sulski, resident of 6386 Bishop Road, stated that he owns the vacant property along the west side. He is an absentee owner and bought the property to sell. He ran the sewer line into it and did some clearing work for getting it ready to sell. He had it sold a couple of times but the people backed out because of the residents coming from the apartments to the south. Since they were put up, his property is virtually useless. He cannot sell or hardly give it away. He empathizes with the people who live there because he experienced it when he was out there working on his property. People would pull up every day with their Cadillacs and Corvettes, park there, come out with their grocery sacks and come back 15 minutes later a pocket full of money and then leave. It was an every day occurrence. The bottom line is he thinks the City created this problem because it allowed the two projects to be built. One project was there already and the police had to set up a substation in the first one. The officers get shot and then the City turns around and allows the second one to be built. They created the problem and they should be the ones to bare the brunt of fixing it. He does not want that property, the easement or the liability. He does not want a fence on his property or kids coming in and cutting it, getting hung up in it, or getting hurt. He does not want the liability of it and does not want to maintain it. His property is for sale. Even if it is vacated, he will not put anything on it because he does not want the liability. He thinks the problem was created by the City and poor planning. By not tightening down on the developers and making them put PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 20, 2007 Page 4 up a fence, the City needs to put some pressure on the owners to make them put up a fence. It is not everyone who lives there but just a select few who come in and destroy it. He stated that there is another issue. There is a drainage ditch that has to be maintained by the Public Service Department and there will have to be access to it at all times. There is nothing that addresses it. This is a ditch that has potential for some real hazard and he thinks that the Public Service Department ought to fence it to cut back on its liability. It is an accident waiting to happen. He does not think this is a solution. He thinks the City created the problem and is trying to dump it on his lap and he does not want it. He thinks that the City should come up with a different way to address it. Mr. Frederick asked if the street was vacated, does the land have to be divided evenly amongst the adjoining property owners. Ms. Stachowiak stated it has to be because of the State law. Mr. Douglas Miller, resident of 6235 Daft Street, stated that he has lived in the neighborhood for 31 years. When Edgewood Blvd. was put in between Washington Avenue and ML King Blvd., a plan was shown and the notices were sent out to people. They wanted to run Daft Street as a through road. The residents signed a petition saying that they did not want Daft Street running all the way through and the petition held up. The residents did not want the heavy traffic. The owners of Traditions talked about putting a wooden fence around the property and he thought it was supposed to go all the way around the property. For some reason, the wooden fence was stopped at the end of Daft Street. The problem was the fire hydrant and that it could not be blocked. He went to the Fire Department and found out that it was not true and that the fire hydrant had nothing to do with them. The owners ended up not doing anything and have left it open all this time. As soon as the other complex was built, the rest was fenced off at that time. It should have been finished at the beginning. Everything gets filtered down his street and it is a nightmare there. He has counted anywhere from 160 to 180 people a day going back and forth up and down that street. He turns in license plates of people dealing down there and he watches them. He and his wife have been threatened by people walking the streets. It is just a nightmare for him and it has totally destroyed his neighborhood. His address is Daft Street and the complex address is Edgewood Blvd. This is not an entrance or an exit for them but that is what they are using it for. They are using his street more than their own street at times. This is one of his biggest peeves. Mr. Frederick asked staff that he would like to know possibly from the City Attorney if they were to establish drug acitivity, would they have to close the whole apartment building or could they close individual apartments when the drug activity took place. According to the police report, it seems PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 20, 2007 Page 5 like there is a lot of drug activity at the apartments. Maybe this is something that the City could review. Dr. Bruch asked if the Board could get some information about the creek/wetland. Mr. Leon Black, resident of 7180 W. Cutler Road, DeWitt, stated that he owns the property on the east side right next to the fence. He purchased the property in 1989 and before the City started on this apartment complex, he moved out. He always thought that he would have that house for his kids to live in but they went to college and he moved back into the house in 1999. Two weeks after he moved back in, his wife's car was stolen. He decided to put in an alarm system and when he was up one night, someone tried to get into his back door. The alarm went off. The police responded quickly but at the same time, never caught anybody. His house has been broken into five times. His bay window has been smashed four times and right now, he has to replace it. He stated that it is so sad that the City is waiting for an accident to happen. It is all mud and there is no grass anymore. It is up hill and down hill. It is slippery and there is a creek right there where children play. He warned the Board that the City is going to get sued. Someone is going to get smart, fall down and they will blame the City. He stated that it is a shame. He has been working on this and has even had a lawyer work on this back in 1996 to try to get a fence put in. The lawyer told him two weeks later that he talked to the owners and they will not put a fence or a gate there. They will not close it off. He has lost hundreds of potential buyers or renters who could have rented that house. It is a lovely little home and he made it a home for five kids. At the same time, it is nothing now. He cannot rent it to hardly anyone. He finally got good renters but it has cost him thousands of dollars in fixing this house after it was broken into, stole the copper tubing and his tools. They probably used his tools to steel the copper. The neighbors are all pretty upset about this. This home is for sale and nobody wants to buy it. He would love to see a fence there and if someone crossed over it, the first thing he would do is call the Police. That is trespassing. He does not want the headaches with it either. He is all for this but is very worried about it. There are potential hazards of being sued. Ms. Brenda Stoneburner, resident of 1124 Southfield Street, stated that Southfield is an east/west road that dead ends into Daft Street. Her street does not get the direct traffic on Daft as the neighbors do but they are involved in the neighborhood watch association and are very aware of the activity that is going on. She thinks that the letter from Officer Tucker sums up the neighbors perspective of what many of them see happening and some of the causes and issues that they are dealing with. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 20, 2007 Page 6 She has worked in the substance abuse field for over twenty years as a therapist. She has worked with kids in gangs and you know the activity when you see it. With the comment about going into the complexes and shutting down apartments, she thinks that is a good idea but what is happening a lot of people are coming through on foot and are not even going to direct apartments. It is the foot traffic in her neighborhood where people are coming in by vehicle off Miller Road on to Daft, Victoria or Barker Streets, and are making deals in her neighborhood. To trace things back to an actual apartment is going to be difficult. This is part of the issue, and cutting down on foot traffic with a fence is going to help with a lot of the issues in the neighborhood. She asked the Board to consider this proposal and think about those who live in the neighborhood and the impact it has on them. Ask yourselves if you would want to live there and if you would want your kids living there being harassed when they are playing in the front yard of their home. Ms. Vada Dodge, resident 6117 Daft Street, stated that she will have lived there 50 years in October and people used to feel safe living in that neighborhood. She has swept glass from broken bottles in front of her house in the street twice. A year ago, someone drove into her driveway and broke the window out of the back of her new car. She is always picking up trash that people throw in her yard. Mr. Filipe Villarreal, resident of 6229 Shreve, stated that he also owns a house at 6263 Shreve. His wife purchased the house in 2003 and within the first month of living there at 2:00 a.m, they had a knock on the door and a flashlight shining through the house. She walked up to the door, found out it was a police car and there was a young kid sitting out on the porch holding his head. The officer asked her if she had ordered a pizza. She said no and that he just woke her up, so why would she order a pizza. The delivery person was mugged right there on her front porch. She had only been living there a month so obviously people knew the house was vacant but did not realize that his wife had moved in. They ordered a pizza, sent it to this address, mugged the pizza driver and took the pizza. He stated that about a year ago they were walking down on Daft Street and heard a car driving extremely fast, maybe 40 to 45 mph through their little subdivision. He stopped at the end of the street, runs out of the car and into one of the apartments. He grabbed the license plate number and headed over to one of his neighbor's house to call the police. No sooner than he walked from that little spot to five houses down, that young kid runs back to his car and takes off on Victoria Street in the other direction. The police called back later and said that the license plate number was not registered to anyone. So the neighbors do not know if the people are from out of state or what. Nobody knew who owned that vehicle. There are a lot of shady people in this neighborhood just driving through and the neighbors would like it to stop. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 20, 2007 Page 7 Ms. Judith Miller, resident of 6235 Daft Street, stated that one summer she had seven young boys come by her house, call her several names and threaten to shoot her. They are constantly sweeping up broken glass and have had credit cards stolen from people in the neighborhood. These people are coming from the townhomes. She has driven around Lansing out of curiosity and every place she went to, there was a fence all the way around the property of other apartment complexes and townhome areas. Why is there not a fence all the way around the Traditions and Edgewood Villa properties. They were closed for two days but because someone cut the fence, the owners decided that they did not want to spend the money to close it or put security cameras out there to catch the residents cutting their fence. They want to put the garbage onto the neighbors. The neighbors are picking up the garbage and even one of the renters picked up garbage out of Mr. Black's yard and got yelled at because he put it back into the complex's granger dumpster. This has to end somewhere before someone gets seriously hurt. She thanked the Board for its time. Seeing no one else wishing to speak, Mr. Czekai closed the public hearing for ACT-13-2006, Daft Street, Vacate South End of Daft Street Right- of-Way and was referred to the Committee of the Whole scheduled to meet on March 6, 2007 unless otherwise noted. 5. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE (3 minutes each) Ms. Christiane Gray, resident of 1013 Victoria Drive, stated that she moved into the neighborhood a year and a half ago. One week after she moved in, her house was robbed with her five year old son at home. This man could have killed or taken her child. He was not caught and continued throughout that summer and winter to come through her neighborhood. The police were after him and every time they saw him, they called the police. This is just one gentleman who they know of and she saw walking out of her house at the time. She called the police and they told her that this was her problem and only her problem. They told her that she should not have moved into the area because she should have known the neighborhood was bad. This is the stuff that she has been dealing with for a year and a half. She has not seen it as a good neighborhood because it has been completely destroyed the whole time she has lived there. Her main concern is the safety of the children and the lives of everyone who lives there. Right now there is a concern with all of the break ins especially around that corner area. Leon's house is right on the corner abutting the proposed property. She is only three house down to the west from his home. There has been so many break ins and she is just very concerned. Her son cannot go outside without her being out there 24/7 because she is seriously afraid for her son's life. She and her son should not have to live this way. No one should. She stated that vacating the property and privatizing it, will allow the neighbors to stand up to the apartment complexes and say that this is their property and your people are not allowed to come through here anymore. Is that going to stop PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 20, 2007 Page 8 everything? No. People are still going to try but that is when all the neighbors collaborate together and get the police involved to get the trespassers. As soon as it is known that it is not a place they can be legally, she thinks that it will cut down immensely on the activity. They could come through the swamp if they wanted too. She stated that the main concern here is safety and she really feels that this is a huge step forward. It will be something completely different than what the neighbors have been dealing with now. She asked the Board to understand her frustration and her main concern here is safety. Mr. Douglas Miller, resident of 6235 Daft Street, stated that when the fence was closed up, former Mayor Benavides ordered the apartment complex to close both fences. It lasted two days before it was wrecked. For whatever reason, it was never enforced after that. The neighbors noticed that suddenly the traffic quit. He was gone for the weekend and when he came back, it was all open. The apartment complex just left it that way ever since and has not tried very hard. It was not an ongoing problem with cutting fences all the time. It happened just the one time and the apartment complex has allowed it to be open ever since. The people are using it for an access for foot traffic off their street. It is not an entrance or an exit for them. Their entrance and exit are on Edgewood Blvd. Seeing no one else wishing to address the Board, Mr. Czekai closed the public comment period. 6. RECESS was taken by the Board. 7. BUSINESS SESSION A. Consent Items 1 . Minutes for Approval: February 6, 2007 The minutes of February 6, 2007 were APPROVED w/corrections: Pg. 1, under item 1 D, change Mr. Czekai's absence to excused. B. Committee Reports 1. ZONING AND ORDINANCE COMMITTEE, Mr. Ruge, Chair a. PRD-1-2006, New Faith Gardens, Wise Road This is a request by New Faith Gardens, LLC for approval of a Planned Residential Development on the south 5.88 acres of the Lansing Church of God in Christ property at 5304 Wise Road. The applicant is proposing the construction of 24 townhouses and 24 senior citizen apartments. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 20, 2007 Page 9 Staff recommended approval of PRD-1-2006, New Faith Gardens, Wise Road, with the following conditions: 1. The development be constructed in accordance with the site plan that depicts the garages located behind the front wall of the building for the cottage units and the garages extending 5.2' beyond the front wall of the building for the townhouse units; 2. The applicant preserve as many of the existing trees as possible; 3. Landscape, screening and buffering be installed as described on pages 4 and 5 of this staff report; and 4. A pedestrian pathway from the housing development to the church be installed starting at the north end of the north-south road in the development and connecting to the church building. In Committee, the request was recommended for approval with the following conditions: 1. The development be constructed in accordance with the site plan dated 2-20-07; 2. The applicant preserve as many of the existing trees as possible; and 3. Landscape, screening and buffering, consisting of plant materials only, be installed around the site. The Committee further recommended: 1) that the buildings meet LEED standards, and 2) that the City explore tax abatements to help the applicant attain LEED standards on the buildings. The motion carried unanimously (3-0). Dr. Bruch clarified condition number 3: Instead of being as described on pages 4 and 5, the Committee scrapped the idea of having the 6 foot high fence and the very dense row of vegetation. Mr. Ruge and Mr. Frederick accepted it. Dr. Bruch asked what the difference was between the State regulated wetlands and other wetlands. Ms. Stachowiak stated that anything 5 acres or more is a State regulated wetland. Less than that, it is not. Ms. Stachowiak stated that the City does not have a local wetland ordinance so the City only goes by what the State regulates as a wetland. Ms. Stachowiak stated that the LEED standard was a strong recommendation but the project cannot be approved or denied based on whether the applicant meets it or not. The applicant has agreed to a number of energy efficient appliances and other things in terms of the buildings and they are working with Dr. Bruch to explore the possibility of having LEED certified buildings. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 20, 2007 Page 10 Mr. Ruge made a motion, seconded by Mr. Frederick, to recommend approval of PRD-1-2006, New Faith Gardens, Wise Road. Frederick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ave Bruch . . Ave Ruge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aye Czekai. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ave Hollister . . Aye On a roll call vote, there were: Ayes: 5; Nays: 0; unanimous. APPROVED. Next meeting, Wednesday, March 14, 2007, at 4 p.m. 316 N. Capitol Avenue, Department Conference Room. 2. URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, Mr. Frederick, Chair Mr. Frederick stated that the UDC meeting scheduled for February 27, 2007 has been cancelled and the only issue to be address will be taken up March 6th by the Committee of the Whole. Next meeting, Tuesday, March 27, 2007, at 4:00 p.m. 316 N. Capitol Ave., Department Conference Room. 3. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Mr. Czekai stated that the Committee of the Whole will meet March 6, 2007. 4. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE C. Old Business — None. D. Report from Planning Manager Mr. Rieske stated that the Planning Office has been working a great deal on its website. There is content on there and he encouraged the Board members to take a look at it. The Planning Office is scanning planning reports that will go on the website. He is making that website as good possible, whether or not there is a Master Plan project. He would like to have another website with a link to this one for the Master Plan project and yet another similar link for the Grand Vision project. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 20, 2007 Page 11 E. Pending Items: Future action required 1. Zoning and Ordinance Committee a. Z-1-2006, 310/312 Chestnut b. Z-3-2006,W. Edgewood c. Z-17-2005, Polly& Benjamin d. SLU-4-2006,3215 W. Mt. Hope e. Z-12-2006&SLU-7-2006 2727 Lyons Avenue f. PRD-1-2006, New Faith Gardens,5304 Wise Road 2. Urban Development Committee a. Master Plan Project 3. Committee of the Whole 4. Planning Board 8. NEW BUSINESS — None. 9. COMMENTS FROM CHAIRPERSON — None. 10. COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS 11. BOARD MEMBER CODE ENFORCEMENT NOTIFICATION REPORTS a. Dollar Store-Willow Street& MLK Blvd. - landscaping &buffering (May 20,2003) b. Grovenburg property-dumpster in ROW (July 1,2003) c. 2714 W.Jolly Road-church with large statue in front yard (January 20,2004) d. W.Willow Street-Grace Tabernacle Church-no landscaping (May 4,2004) e. Michigan Ave&Shepard Street-sign business-several banner signs nailed to the outside of building (May 4, 2004) f. 2702 S.Cedar Street-no landscaping (May 18, 2004) g. 2410 S. Pennsylvania Ave. -no landscaping (November 3, 2004) h. 2200 W. Holmes Road- Bad Habits-excessive signs (May 3, 2005) i. 2618 Cavanaugh Road. -registered rental &front yard paved, used for parking (October 4,2005) j. 1712 W. Saginaw Street,W.of Sparrow's St. Lawrence campus—rogue used car salesman operating in a print shop(April 18, 2006) k. Keeps Party Store-Aurelius Road-illegal signs (July 5,2006,July 18,2006& September 5,2006) I. Clarion Hotel—two big signs advertising Great Lakes Condominiums (December 5, 2006) m. The Firm—review requirements for fenced outdoor patio(December 5,2006) n. 928 Pacific Ave.—6 foot fence in front yard on a corner lot(February 6,2007) 12. ADJOURNMENT - Meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, P William C. Rieske, Secretary, Planning Board PB Minutes.022007.doc APPROVED WITH CORRECTIONS: Draft to Clerk February 8,2007 Pg 1, under item 1 D,change Mr. Czekai's absence to excused. Approved February 20,2007 To Clerk February 22,2007 Minutes of the Regular Meeting LANSING PLANNING BOARD 7:00 p.m., Tenth Floor, Council Chambers Lansing City Hall Tuesday, February 6, 2007 1. OPENING SESSION The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mr. Hollister, Vice Chair.r ` A. Roll call: Present: Frederick, Ruge, Bruch, Cordill, Hollister. CD B. Staff Attending: Stachowiak, Rieske, Anderson (EDC — in the audience). C. Excused absences: Czekai. D. Absent: Czeka+ None. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Frederick moved and seconded by Ms. Cordill that the Riverbend/Whitehall Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) be placed under Consent Items. Dr. Bruch made a motion, seconded by Mr. Frederick to approve the agenda as amended. On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously (5-0). 3. COMMUNICATIONS — None. 4. HEARINGS — None. 5. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE (3 minutes each) Seeing no one wishing to address the Board, Mr. Hollister closed the public comment period. 6. RECESS was not taken by the Board. 7. BUSINESS SESSION A. Consent Items 1. Minutes for Approval: January 9, 2007 The minutes of November 1, 2006 were APPROVED w/corrections: ?LANNING BOARD MINUTES February 6, 2007 Page 2 Pg. 1, under Item 2, Mr. Bruch s/b Ms. Bruch. Pg. 14, 2►,d para., 11 th line, "how" s/b "home" Pg. 15, under section 7.13.2, Mr. Frederick is Chair of UDC. 2. Proposed Objectives, Goals and Projected Use of Community Development Block Grant HOME and Emergency Shelter Grant, Action Plan 2008 Dr. Bruch asked who reviews the numbers. Mr. Rieske stated that the numbers are proposed by the Development Office and a public hearing was held in January for the needs. The numbers are amended and then it is presented to the Urban Development Committee for review. HUD also reserves the right to change the funding. Staff recommended approval of the Proposed Objectives, Goals and Projected Use of Community Development Block Grant HOME and Emergency Shelter Grant, Action Plan 2008. In Committee, the request was also recommended for approval and the motion carried unanimously (2-0). APPROVED w/o Objections. 3. Z-17-2006, Part of 715 W. Willow Street, "B" Residential District to "DM-1" Residential District This is a request by LHC Nonprofit Development Corporation to rezone 6.8 acres of the former Michigan School for the Blind property located at 715 W. Willow Street from "B" Residential District to "DM-1" Residential District. The purpose of the rezoning is to permit the former Administration Building on the site to be used for up to fifty (50) units of senior citizen housing. APPROVED w/o Objections. 4. Riverbend/Whitehall Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) This is a request by Richard Ferguson and Thomas Knoy that the City establish a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) for the 200 and 300 Blocks of East Main Street. The application letter describes this area as being located on the south side of E. Main Street, extending eastward to Pennsylvania Avenue. The attached map and the comprehensive plan map show eastern boundary of the subject area as lining up with River Street, as extended southward from the Cherry Hill neighborhood. rLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 6, 2007 Page 3 The project involves the conversion of the Whitehall Manor Apartments (approx. 58 units) and the Riverbend Apartments (approx. 54 units) into owner occupied condominiums. A discussion ensued, in which committee members suggested speed reductions on Main Street or other enhancements be made to make the area more pedestrian friendly. Main Street serves as the access road for eastbound 1-496, and is under MDOT jurisdiction. The City would benefit by a reduction in the number of rental units and an increase in home ownership. The River Island Comprehensive Plan designates this area for medium density residential (20-50 units/acre). Staff recommended approval of the Riverbend/Whitehall Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) proposal. In Committee, the proposal was also recommended for approval and further recommended that the City work with the applicants, residents, and MDOT to enhance the pedestrian-friendliness of the immediate area. The motion carried unanimously (2-0). Dr. Bruch stated that the Board has talked at some point about establishing some of the enterprise zones and she asked if this was to reduce the tax relief. Mr. Anderson, EDC, stated that there has to be 10 contiguous parcels to set up an NEZ. The area is basically that chunk of land between the river and Main Street, Washington and the river. The incentive for home ownership or a rental where there is rehab and making an investment, the taxable value of that property is frozen. As the improvements are made, they do not have to pay taxes on those improvements. For this particular project, Whitehall Manor, which is 58 units, will be condominiumized into 58 individual condominiums that will then have the frozen base value, based on what it is today. So when there is an investment made in each one of the individual condominiums, the higher tax rate will not be passed on to the condominium owners. For the time being, there will be one certificate over Riverbend which will be a frozen value on that apartment complex that will have 54 units. These incentives are for twelve years. Dr. Bruch asked why not make one enterprise zone and let everyone go under it. The historical part of Lansing could use it. Mr. Anderson stated that there are stipulations in the law about how much of the City's total acreage can be used. It is currently at approximately 15%. The City has to be a little bit strategic. We want to make sure when they do this that there is a project. In the past, they have done things like the Baker Donora neighborhood, an area that obviously needed some investment. They set up an ?LANNING BOARD MINUTES February 6, 2007 Page 4 NEZ in single family neighborhoods to try to spur some redevelopment (i.e. Cherry Hill, Kingsley neighborhood). In this case because there is a specific development going on, they try to keep it just to the immediate area. As projects develop, the Riverpoint neighborhood just to the south could be another one that is right for an NEZ, should the right conditions arise. This is something the EDC will definitely look at as we get further along. For this specific NEZ, there are contiguity issues with jumping the river. To go farther south, they do not necessarily like to consider it part of the 10 contiguous parcels. This NEZ is four parcels and was originally platted at eleven parcels. So they can actually go back and say the original plat from the City allows us to say that there were eleven parcels at one time. Therefore it qualifies as an NEZ. Mr. Hollister asked if this includes the Deluxe Inn. The EDC has been working with the owner of the Deluxe Inn and possible purchasers to redevelop the site. This NEZ is solely for the Riverbend/Whitehall project. There is nothing going on right now with the Deluxe Inn. Ms. Cordill asked about the boundaries and if the applicant was incorrect in his letter about expanding to Pennsylvania Avenue from Washington Avenue. Mr. Anderson stated that when he drafted the resolutions he made sure that the border was the east line of the parcel that includes Whitehall Manor, Washington Avenue being the west line, Main Street to the north and the river to the south. Mr. Frederick stated that he did receive a suggestion for this area when it gets to the development stage that there needs to be some traffic calming or something done with the service drive for the freeway entrance to make it pedestrian friendly. Currently, it is a pretty good barrier and people who do cross there have a tough time. Mr. Anderson stated that he has spoken with the property owners. Some of those barriers actually have been helpful to them considering the type of traffic there is around the Deluxe Inn. This has kind of insolated them from having to much bleed over. The owners would like to purchase the Deluxe Inn if it was the right price. The owner of the Deluxe Inn is asking $1.8 million for that site which is not reasonable. There is a little print shop in there also doing some things to kind of connect the area a little bit better should some redevelopment come about. Just from working with the EDC, they thought about S. Washington Avenue connecting ReoTown, downtown and even up to Old Town, using whether it be TIFA funds or other funds to streetscape. Things like that have definitely been thought about. From a developer stand point, the Deluxe Inn likes the fact that they are insolated right now. There is going to have to be better PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 6, 2007 Page 5 connectivity to the downtown to make this accessible because it needs to be walkable. He knows of some investors who are going to the Cherry Hill neighborhood and are looking to make some pretty good improvements in that area with rental properties. Printer's Row, this development and the Cherry Hill neighborhood are three nicely connected neighborhoods and three different market sectors for potential home ownership or rentals whether they are Cooley students, downtown workers or empty nesters who are coming back into the City. The City needs to be able to connect them to the downtown to make them viable as downtown residences. They would like to see a little bit more in the pipeline before they start coming to the table with it. Mr. Frederick stated that his contact said that in order for this development to be a success, the traffic along both sides of the expressway is going to have to be controlled better than it is now. Mr. Frederick stated that the other suggestion he received was to get some sort of easement access to the river trail rather than having people walk all the way down and around to the park and have it on the other side of the bridge. Mr. Frederick suggested improving the access from the NEZ area down to the little road that comes off the service drive and circles around to the park area on the other side by Cherry Hill. It would make that much more pedestrian friendly than it currently is. Mr. Anderson stated that he would talk to the building owners about it. Mr. Frederick made a motion, seconded by Dr. Bruch to place the Riverbend/Whitehall Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) back under the Urban Development Committee report. On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously (5-0). B. Committee Reports 1. ZONING AND ORDINANCE COMMITTEE, Mr. Ruge, Chair Next meeting, Wednesday, February 14, 2007, at 4 p.m. 316 N. Capitol Avenue, Department Conference Room. 2. URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, Mr. Frederick, Chair a. Riverbend/Whitehall Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) Mr. Frederick stated that NEZ was discussed and recommended for approval, incorporating the previous comments under the Consent Items agenda. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 6, 2007 Page 6 Ms. Cordilll stated that there is the pedestrian aspect and asked if landscaping could be done because it is a harsh view. Ms. Stachowiak stated that at this point, it does not sound like they are doing anything that would get them in to the Planning Office for a site plan review. Mr. Hollister stated that it is zoned correctly but it is just an issue because they were asking for the NEZ, which is a tax break essentially. He stated that it is zoned appropriately for what the use is and the applicant does not have to come before the Board for any exceptions. Mr. Frederick stated that part of the landscaping in the improvement of the site plan should be better access to the river itself. There are some old bridge piers there that were from the original Jackson road that went from Lansing to Jackson across there long ago. Main Street was the main street of downtown. That was where downtown was and right across the river at the riverbend there was the first non- native constructed shelter. A woman who is on the Historic District Commission, either her grandfather or great- grandfather came out west from New York state and ended up in this area. He and his friend who came with him built a lean-to on that point and stayed there for the summer and before winter came, they headed back for New York. The next summer they came back but before they reached the area, they heard about gold being struck in California and went out there. The guy did eventually come back and develop part of that area into the original downtown Lansing. This was long ago. After the Capitol building was built in its present location, everything started to migrate north. This particular area is kind of getting back to its roots. Mr. Frederick made a motion, seconded by Ms. Cordill, to recommend approval of the Riverbend/Whitehall Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ). On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously (5-0). APPROVED. b. Master Plan Project Mr. Frederick stated that the Master Plan project and a neighborhood pattern book were discussed. No action was taken. Next meeting, Tuesday, February 27, 2007, at 4:00 p.m. 316 N. Capitol Ave., Department Conference Room. 3. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 6, 2007 Page 7 4. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE C. Old Business — None. D. Report from Planning Manager— None. E. Pending Items: Future action required 1. Zoning and Ordinance Committee a. Z-1-2006, 310/312 Chestnut b. Z-3-2006,W. Edgewood C. Z-17-2005, Polly& Benjamin d. SLU-4-2006, 3215 W. Mt. Hope e. Z-12-2006&SLU-7-2006 2727 Lyons Avenue f. PRD-1-2006, New Faith Gardens,5304 Wise Road 2. Urban Development Committee a. Master Plan Project 3. Committee of the Whole 4. Planning Board 8. NEW BUSINESS — None. 9. COMMENTS FROM CHAIRPERSON Mr. Hollister asked about new members. Mr. Rieske stated that he has not heard anything. 10. COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS Ms. Cordill requested an excused absence for the February 20th meeting. Mr. Frederick made a motion, seconded by Dr. Bruch to approve an excused absence request from Ms. Cordill for the February 20th meeting. On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously (5-0). 11. BOARD MEMBER CODE ENFORCEMENT NOTIFICATION REPORTS a. Dollar Store-Willow Street& MLK Blvd.- landscaping &buffering (May 20, 2003) b. Grovenburg property-dumpster in ROW (July 1,2003) c. 2714 W.Jolly Road-church with large statue in front yard (January 20,2004) d. W.Willow Street-Grace Tabernacle Church-no landscaping (May 4,2004) e. Michigan Ave&Shepard Street-sign business-several banner signs nailed to the outside of building (May 4, 2004) f. 2702 S. Cedar Street- no landscaping (May 18, 2004) g. 2410 S. Pennsylvania Ave.-no landscaping (November 3,2004) h. 2200 W. Holmes Road- Bad Habits-excessive signs (May 3, 2005) i. 2618 Cavanaugh Road.- registered rental &front yard paved, used for parking (October 4,2005) j. 1712 W. Saginaw Street,W.of Sparrow's St. Lawrence campus—rogue used car salesman operating in a print shop (April 18,2006) k. Keeps Party Store-Aurelius Road-illegal signs(July 5,2006, July 18,2006& September 5, 2006) I. Southeast Corner of Cavanaugh and Dunkel Roads—selling luxury cars at a residence (September 5, 2006) m. Clarion Hotel—two big signs advertising Great Lakes Condominiums (December 5, 2006) n. The Firm—review requirements for fenced outdoor patio(December 5, 2006) PLANNING BOARD MINUTES February 6, 2007 Page 8 With item I, Mr. Frederick stated that owner was evicted and is no longer selling cars and the house is up for sale. Mr. Frederick stated that at 928 Pacific Street, a fence needs to be looked at. It is a corner lot and the way the house is situated, the fence is in the front yard and is 6 feet tall. It looks pretty new. 12. ADJOURNMENT - Meeting was adjourned at 7:27 p.m. Respectfully submitted, William C. Rieske, Secretary, Planning Board PBMinutes.020607.doc VPROVED WITH CORRECTIONS: Draft to Clerk January 19,2007 Pg 1, under item 2,"Mr." Bruch s/b"Ms." Bruch Approved February 6,2007 Pg. 14,2"d para., 11th line, "how"s/b"home", Pg. 15, under section 7.13.2, To Clerk February 9,2007 Mr. Frederick is Chair of UDC. Minutes of the Regular Meeting > LANSING PLANNING BOARD 4 7:00 p.m., Tenth Floor, Council Chambers Lansing City Hall Tuesday, January 9, 2007 ;n 1. OPENING SESSION r, rq The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mr. Czekai, Chair. r' A. Roll call: Present: Frederick, Ruge, Bruch, Cordill, Czekai, Hollister. B. Staff Attending: Stachowiak, Rieske, Witherspoon, Boone. C. Excused absences: None. D. Absent: None. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA W. Ms. Bruch made a motion, seconded by Mr. Hollister to approve the agenda. On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously (6-0). 3. COMMUNICATIONS A. Letter from Habitat for Humanity regarding the CDBG funding. 4. HEARINGS A. Proposed Objectives, Goals and Projected Use of Community Development Block Grant HOME and Emergency Shelter Grant, Action Plan 2008 Ms. Kate Koskinen, Representative of Allen Neighborhood Center (ANC), 1619 E. Kalamazoo, stated that she administers the economic development program. The ANC receives a small grant of CDBG funds to do business revitalization and corridor improvement work on the east side. This consists of administrating a facade improvement grant program, developing joint promotion and marketing initiatives for the east side, participation in City hosted collaboratives and way finding, district branding, mapping and promoting integration of mutual support between the commercial and residential sectors of the east side, and linking business to a wide range of resources and services. She thanked the Board for its continued support of ANC's mission to serve as a hub for capacity building, neighborhood revitalization and other activities that promote the health, safety, and stability of people if they live, work, study, or play in Lansing's east side neighborhoods. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 2 Mr. Jason Weller, resident of 625 N. Hayford Avenue and Housing Services Coordinator of the Allen Neighborhood Center, stated that his position is not funded by CDBG funds. The housing services program at Allen Neighborhood Center in conjunction with MSHDA certified housing counseling programs in the City of Lansing, who also serve with Ingham County, have been working in conjunction with the City Planning Department on a number of housing related projects. Most importantly, he has been dealing with the issue of foreclosure prevention. Last year, he identified through the Development office that there were approximately 1,200 foreclosures in Ingham County and the task force that he is a part of would very much like to see some increased funding for housing services for the City of Lansing. He knows that it is a problem that the rest of the state and also nationally is being recognized. Obviously there are dire economic consequences for not only the families who are going through foreclosures but also the greater economy and the well being of the City as a whole. Ms. Dorothy Jones, resident of 426 W. Barnes and representative of the Moores Park Neighborhood Association, stated that she is interested in knowing how many neighborhoods are going to be benefited by the $25,000 cleanup designation. She would like to have it expanded beyond the CDBG area. Ms. Boone stated that she cannot answer as to how many because it depends upon the size of the neighborhood associations. They tend to run from as little as $350 dollars to as much at $6,000. The number of organizations served would depend on the size of the ones that actually applied. Ms. Jones asked about how to apply. Ms. Boone stated through the Lansing Neighborhood Council. Mr. Dan Stouffer, Representative of the Foundation of Child Development located at 230 Bingham Street, stated that the foundation has a building that they have had since 1995. The first floor houses a preschool that will house 30 children and is a non-profit preschool. There are two apartments upstairs that are rented out that help the foundation pay the mortgage on the building. This last year, the foundation ran into a problem which they had to patch with a very old sewer line that ran from the building out to Bingham Street. The foundation is looking at a couple of different options as much as $15,000 all the way up to $31,000 to repair the sewer line. He will be talking with the Public Service Department this next week and believes that the foundation can replace that sewer line a chunk of which is probably original to the building which is 103 years old. The foundation would like to keep this in service. Unfortunately, they do not have the funds to actually replace that line. There is enough work with replacing the break and maintaining the building as it is. Mr. Stouffer stated that there are a couple of sections in the program that talk about historic preservation. The foundation has been doing a lot of PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 3 that since 1995 and previous owners since 1973 have been doing the same. The foundation has managed to keep the building going. Mr. Stouffer stated that the preschool employs two full time and two part time people. It is a mixed bag with the two apartments upstairs, which the foundation pays property taxes on and then about 50 or 60% of the building the foundation does not pay property taxes on because the rest of it is used for a non-profit use. There are a lot of low to moderate income kids that come to the preschool, which is located over on Bingham Street in the Bingham neighborhood. Mr. Stouffer stated that he would like the Board to at least consider the possibility of assisting the foundation with a partial fund for replacing the sewer line. The foundation is approaching a couple of grant organizations who hopefully will help. In the guidelines, he asked the Board to take a look and see where this may fit. This is a mixed bag; it does not fit in one or the other. It crosses lines a little bit. If the Board could take a look at it, the foundation would really appreciate some sort of assistance in replacing the sewer line. Mr. Darnell Oldham, Sr., stated that he has a question regarding the Public Services Department financing of two police officers positions. He was wondering what those two positions are. He has not been aware that Police officers positions are funded under the CDBG program. He stated that every year during this time, the homeowner rehab program includes loans and grants for rehabilitation of owner occupied housing units. $26,604 was spent. He asked how many homes in the City of Lansing are going to be able to be refurbished or have some type of work done on it. There is an awful lot of need out here for additional funding in this area each year. He has asked this question time and time again at the Lansing City Council. Does the City of Lansing warehouse and stock pile red tagged homes in order to keep a certain amount of Federal funding coming in because of the number of red tagged homes that the City has? He stated that no one has ever answered that question and certainly $26,604 is not a drop in the bucket as far as the need out there in the community. There is so much blight in the community because people cannot always afford to keep up their homes. That is why there are so many red tags. People have come before City Council because of the shabby work by these contractors that the City makes a list of to do the work out here on these homes under the rehab program. He stated that something needs to be done about that and certainly, more money needs to be put into this area to help improve the housing stock in the City. There is just a great need out there and people are being fined $600 a day. Mr. Czekai stated that the City has had the Community Police Officers and has been a part of the program for a long time. Ms. Boone stated that she is not sure how long but it has been very long standing. She stated that PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 4 there are two community Police officers at this point, only partially funded through this program because the funding has been shrinking. The allocation to cover the cost of these police officers has been diminished over the last two years. One officer works in the North precinct and the other one works in the ReoTown area. This has been that way for several years. Ms. Bruch asked if there was a possibility to increase the amount of dollars for this owner rehab program and asked how this number is established. Ms. Boone stated that home owner rehab program is funded both out of CDBG and HOME. It is much easier for the Development Office to qualify projects using CDBG funds than it is with the more stringent home funding source. The difference being that when working with CDBG funding, a leaking roof can be replaced. With the HOME funding, if a leaking roof is replaced and there is also other Code problems with that structure, the entire structure must be brought up to code or the roof cannot be funded. The is the reason that the Development Office is not proposing to put a lot more money from the HOME source into the home owner rehab program. The Development Office is proposing to continue a strong emphasis on the home owner rehab program using CDBG funds, which will be augmented by this new grant that her office just received for lead hazard reduction. There is a Federal requirement that every time you touch one of these structures, the lead hazards have to be removed. That has been an expense that has been solely born out of the HOME or CDBG funds. Now with this lead grant, the Development Office can cover those costs. Councilmember Kathy Dunbar stated that the City has a pot of almost $1.3 million that is used to rehab homes, and a tiny fraction of it is set aside under the HOME program. But it does not mean that it is the only money set aside to actually repair the houses. There is still this $1,263,000 that is available. It is just because of the stringent requirements that the City only funds that little piece. She did not want anyone thinking that it was all the money the City had for home improvements. Seeing no one else wishing to speak, Mr. Czekai closed the public hearing for Proposed Objectives, Goals and Projected Use of Community Development Block Grant HOME and Emergency Shelter Grant, Action Plan 2008 and was referred to the next Urban Development Committee meeting scheduled to meet on January 30, 2007 at 4:00 in the Planning and Neighborhood Development Conference Room at 316 N. Capitol Avenue. B. PRD-1-2006, New Faith Gardens, 5304 Wise Road This is a request by New Faith Gardens, LLC for approval of a Planned Residential Development on the south 5.88 acres of the Lansing Church of God in Christ property at 5304 Wise Road. The applicant is proposing the construction of 24 townhouses and 24 senior citizen apartments. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 5 Ms. Stachowiak gave a brief overview. Ms. Cordill stated that she would like to see an enlarged site plan for the packet next time. She had difficulty seeing the reduced site plan. Ms. Bruch stated that she would like to see the plan encompassing a little bit more of the neighborhood, especially to the east so that the Board can see the street layout and how it is going to connect to the neighborhood. Ms. Stachowiak stated that it will not be connected to the neighborhood and that is not the way it was proposed right now. If she is correct, that is the way the neighbors want it. Mr. Ruge asked if the project designer consulted anyone before proposing these snout houses. Ms. Stachowiak said no and that even if the current ordinance was in affect, this would not fall under that because these are not public streets; they are private streets. The only way it would not be permitted is if one or more of these units face Wise Road because that is the only public street frontage. The ordinance has no affect on facing private streets because it is treated no differently as if it were a private driveway. Mr. Ruge stated that he does not think that snout houses would be able to give the neighborhood a very neighborly feel. It cuts you off from your neighbor. Mr. Frederick asked what ordinances are applicable to this. Ms. Stachowiak stated that it would be that the porch cannot extend any closer to a public street than the front of the house. Mr. Frederick stated what you are saying is that there is no opportunity for input whatsoever. Ms. Stachowiak stated even if the current ordinance was in effect, it would not prevent this situation. Mr. Samuel Duncan, Jr., applicant and Pastor of the Lansing Church of God in Christ, stated that they have been at the current location since the mid 1970s and the proposed development is adjacent to the current church. Basically, they have gone through quite a bit of planning and preparation. They have met with the neighborhood association on several occasions to address any concerns or considerations that they may have had. They feel that these have been addressed quite adequately in their planning phase. Mr. Duncan stated that these are not Section 8 housing units. They are targeting working class families and seniors. They have gone through some diligent efforts to make sure that the elevations of the units are no higher than those of the present homes in that area and neighborhood. Any of the concerns that were raised during the meetings with the neighborhood association have been addressed and resolved in one form or another. Again, this is a unique situation where they are not a developer somewhere in California or New York. They have a personal interest in this project and they take pride in what they do. As a ministry, PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 6 they feel that they should be more than just about the spiritual person but as far as the natural person as well in providing decent, safe and affordable housing or working class families and senior citizens as well. He stated that the units in size are two and three bedrooms in the townhouse units, two bedrooms in the ranch style cottages, and the square footage runs anywhere from 1,150 square feet to just under 1,300 square feet on some of the units. The configuration, the size and even the average cost per unit he believes will be an asset and will fit right in with the neighborhood. He stated that being a non-profit, they are not money oriented or motivated. That is not their primary purpose or drive for this but is part of their focus for their ministry to be able to have an umbrella of services. This happens to be one of those facets that they are endeavoring to go forth with. He asked for the Board's favorable consideration. He stated that the rents will range anywhere from $730 to just over $1,000 per month. He feels that everyone is entitled to decent, safe and affordable housing. They take a very personal vested interest in what they are doing there and take much pride in being a part of the Wexford Heights subdivision and community. He is a former resident of that neighborhood and is very familiar with that area. He would certainly not attempt to do anything that would be a derogatory statement or move in that particular community. They take much pride in being the church in that community and extending a collaborative effort with the Wexford Heights Association there in the neighborhood. Ms. Bruch stated that it looks like only part of the lot is getting developed and asked if there are future plans for that? Mr. Duncan stated that is for possible future plans for expansion of the church. Ms. Bruch stated that she was just trying to see how the development might connect to the other parcel as well. Mr. Ruge gave the Reverend a heads up so that he doesn't feel ambushed at the Zoning and Ordinance Committee meeting. He stated that traditionally several members of the committee had looked negatively on the type of design that was proposed with the garages in the front. They feel that having the garages in the front detracts from a neighborhood feel because people are not encouraged to be on their porch or interact with each other because the garage is blocking the view of the front of the house. He asked the Reverend to consider seeing what kinds of designs can be done to alleviate that problem. Reverend Duncan stated that Mr. Du Russell could better address this. Mr. Frederick stated that he is concerned that there are no sidewalks in the plan which is another detriment to the neighborhood in the same vein as the snout houses. He would like the architect and the applicant to consider making the community a little bit more walkable. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 7 Mr. Brett Stockhill, Design Engineer, stated that there is a sidewalk running throughout the interior of the site and on the interior of the circle. Per the Lansing ordinance, there is a sidewalk that will have to be installed along the whole frontage of Wise Road. There is connectivity from this site to Wise Road and to the neighboring communities. The property to the immediate east, is all undeveloped and is both the park and BWL power station. Farther to the north is actually getting into residences. There is nothing to the east which is why they show less of it. Mr. Stockhill stated that they are proposing a berm along the entire perimeter per some of the neighborhood meetings, planting those berms for some screening to break the buildings. The building is a two-story building which is quite similar to a lot of the residences in there. There were a lot of complaints like it is an 8 story monstrosity. He stated that it is not and with breaks in the roof line which can be seen in the architectural renderings, it is very community oriented. Councilmember Dunbar asked if these would be sold for single family. Mr. Czekai stated they are rentals. She assumed that fair housing issues were not an issue and asked if they were looking to restrict the rentals to members of the congregation in general. Reverend Duncan stated that it would be open, and MSHDA has guidelines on how a lot of that transpires. He stated they will not restrict it to just the members of the congregation. On the same token, he is not precluded from being a resident there. To him, that is an ideal situation to have congregational members right next door. This is another added benefit and feature. Mr. Mike Sears, resident of 16910 Black Walnut, East Lansing, stated that he just moved out to East Lansing not long ago. This neighborhood was his home and he went to Harry Hill. He grew up in this neighborhood. He owns a substantial chuck of real estate around that neighborhood. This development is a bad deal. These guys are getting tax breaks and the City is in the middle of closing down a senior center on the north side of town. This is just not right for them to get a tax break and then rent out as income property where they are probably not going to be paying income taxes because the church owns it. So we all lose and they win. There is probably about 5% of the City up for sale right now. He has been doing real estate for around 20 years and that about 5% of every single parcel is for sale, ball park figure. That is a lot of houses, and to add in 48 more units, these guys are getting a tax break and the little old lady around the corner does not get anything. This is just wrong. He stated that this proposal should be turned down. Ms. Meggean Bos, resident of 3115 Nonette Drive, stated that she moved to the Wexford Heights neighborhood just over six years ago and she likes the fact that the neighborhood was quiet and had space. So many of the houses she looked for in Lansing were on top of each other. She finally found a house that was part of the City but yet she had a yard PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 8 with woods in the back. If this housing project is approved, what attracted her to buy this home in Lansing will be taken away. She stated that after doing some research, she had concerns. The median age in the 48911 area is 31.2 with the average household size being 2.52 and an income of just under $40,000. The majority of the houses were built between 1970 and 1979. The City has less than 1,000 houses built between 1999 and 2000. The Lansing School District is losing students to area districts. Over 80% of Holt school of choice students are from the south side of Lansing. She asked why put more rental property in the area. If the City is trying to attract families to stay in Lansing, why put up more complexes, like town homes and senior apartments. The City already has lots of problem areas with town house communities on the south side. The Jolly and Waverly neighborhoods are pretty notorious with crime in these complexes. Why add more? She stated that the Development Office states on their mission that they want to promote and maintain good and healthy neighborhoods in Lansing. If this project is approved, it will go against the Development Office's statement entirely. She thanked the Board for its time. Mr. Roger Gross, Attorney at Law and resident of 5313 Catalpa, stated that he has over 300 feet of frontage with the church property. He has lived in the area for over 20 years and raised his family there. Reverend Duncan and the church have done their level best to create a positive environment. They have cleaned up trash, taken vacant land and added drainage, and have literally made a park behind the church. Reverend Duncan and the church have been extremely responsible to any issue raised by the community. When it came time to clean up a lot that had bottles and concrete, it was cleaned up. It was one complaint to Reverend Duncan. He stated that they have addressed how the place will be managed. There can be town houses and rental housing that is not going to be crime ridden. There are town houses all around Lansing in particularly on the south side that have strict management rules. He stated that we have been told and assured that there will be strict management rules. This is one of the issues. People need housing and hearing people come down here and indicate "well, not in my back yard" is disheartening. We have to move past this. He thinks that the church has extreme credibility and has demonstrated that they can live within the community and enhance the community. He has more frontage than anybody in here except the gentleman who has this big vacant land. He stated that it needs to be cleaned up and the owner has not done it. The church has cleaned up their property. He stated that the Board needs to approve this. People need a place to live and the whole attitude of "not in my back yard", as far as the Planning Board, you have to look past that. This is a credible body, non-profit, and has lived well within the community. He stated that Reverend Duncan has done an excellent job. He hopes that the Board approves this and provides a place for people to live. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 9 Ms. Monica Dungey, resident 3563 Coachlight and President of Coachlight Neighborhood Association, introduced herself to Reverend Duncan and stated that there are almost 1,500 rental units in a three mile radius of Coachlight and that is a lot. She stated that the community is overwhelmed with rentals. Traditions was just built that has a tax credit and has 169 units. Georgetown has an income limit and has 160 units. Pinebrook has 136 units. She was not able to get a hold of Silverstone, or Summers Place. Waverly Park has 504 units at $475 a month for rent. Southbrook Villa is Section 8 housing and has 129 units, with 50 units being senior units. She thinks that on the southwest side there is plenty of rental units and said it would be nice to see the housing stats. She does not think more rentals are needed. She stated that Ms. Boone mentioned that the City has the highest rental vacancies going. She asked why would the City make more. She stated let's get some home ownership over here. Mr. Dan Goff, resident of 3120 Nonette Drive, stated that his property is adjacent to the proposed property. He thanked Reverend Duncan for his comments. Reverend Duncan and the church have done a good job, from his perspective, in keeping the grass cut and maintaining a credible and sound organization. He asked how close would the berm be to the property lines and how close would it be to the residential property lines. He also asked how much jurisdiction, more specifically, is the church going to play in their input as far as this housing is concerned. Ms. Stachowiak stated that she cannot answer the berm question yet. It is a good question but she cannot answer it because she does not have enough information. First, it would have to be reviewed by the City Engineers to determine if it is even a good location for it. They have to look at it to make sure that the water that drains off of that berm is not going to adversely affect the neighbors who live on the side of it. How the drainage pattern and the topography is in that area will depend also on how far away or how close that berm can be to the property lines. Ms. Stachowiak stated that the church has indicated to the City that they will manage the property. It will not be an absentee landlord type situation. Mr. Goff asked if by managing it that would mean collecting rent and taking care of the grounds. Ms. Stachowiak said yes and that they would do all the things that a typical property management company would do. Ms. Brenda Cowles, resident of 3301 Nonette Drive, stated that she has lived in this area for about 15 years. She does not know the Pastor because she never knew that he was a part of the community and never saw him. She went to the last Planning Committee meeting with them. She was not very pleased that within a one to three mile walking distance, there is Arbor at Georgetown with 160 units. Aspen Hollow, Georgetown, Highland Coop, Pinebrook Manor, duplexes owned by Bruce Kruger on Wise Road, duplexes owned by Bruce Kruger on Jolly Road, Stonecrest, Arbor Point, Summer Place, Willow Wood Apartments are all low income PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 10 and Section 8 housing. They all have vacancies right now. It took her two days to do this homework. She does not really feel that there needs to be more rentals there. She thinks that the apartments that are available really need to be filled right now. When she called, the vacancies for the rentals were 90% open and people could move in. She thinks they need to keep the green space. When you put that many people in such a small area, there is a high crime rate there and they all know that. She stated that Jolly and Waverly are the worst. There is a lot of drug problems there and the homeowners are really trying to keep it nice. They get a lot of problems from some of the rental properties. The crime rate has gone up, taxes have gone up, and the value of the properties has gone down. She feels like they are pushing the home owners out and it is like they are turning the south side into rental apartments. They are forcing home owners to move away and sell their homes. Ms. Cowles has witnessed drive by shootings and stated that it was her grandson who was shot at. For two years, her grandson would not come to her home and visit her. She had to go visit him. She believes that she lost her God given right because of the crime in that area. She lost her right as a grand parent because of the crime rate. She stated that they do not need more rentals. They need to think about improving the houses over there. She thanked the Board. Mr. Darnell Oldham, Sr., resident of 3815 Berwick Drive, stated that he was not part of any community meetings but is very active in the Churchhill Downs Community Association and rarely misses meetings. He checked with his neighborhood association president today and he has not received any notice of any hearings concerning this project. Churchhill Downs is one of the largest neighborhood associations in southwest Lansing. He stated that there is enough tax credits being given away to the rich and famous in these upscale developments that are going on around the City of Lansing. Certainly he thinks his neighborhood and his community in southwest Lansing has an abundance of rental properties. These complexes all have problems. New management comes in, the City meets with them, the Police Department meets with them, and after a few months of those meetings, the crime rate still continues. Southwest Lansing needs more than just rental properties around this area. Here, they are going to bring additional people in and they do no have a south side community center, which a number of people have been fighting for and speaking about for a number years. What will be done with the people coming into this area? Where are their kids going to play? Is there going to be a playground provided? He stated that the church is going to manage this property but it says that an organization accredited by MSHDA on its approved management company list will be the selected manager of the development for a compliance period with MSHDA Mortgage for 35 years. Is the church one PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 11 of those listed managers that is going to meet the MSHDA requirements? He stated that is a good question. He asked about the property taxes and that taxes are needed in the City of Lansing. He stated that the City gives away the store each Monday night in these abatements and tax credits to the rich and famous. His concern is Wolverine Pipeline is still lingering over the south side of Lansing. Should we increase the number of people whose lives are going to be threatened? Mr. Mark Simon, resident 3313 Radford and representative of Coachlight, stated that he has not heard anything about this hearing. He lives in the adjacent neighborhood. He knows that there are more than enough apartment complexes on the south end. What is really needed right now more than anything else is single family owner occupied units being established, built and developed to draw more permanent residents to this area who are going to have a greater concern and awareness for what is going on in the south end and the improvement. He stated that there is an issue right now. They have a hard time of getting enough police representation in the south end in that particular section. With an abrupt addition of 48 units, he asked about the Police section that they patrol and if there was going to be more police representation down there with this or will it stay the same. Ms. Janice Gross, resident of 5313 Catalpa, stated that she shares a boundary line with the church. She raised her children in this area at the Catalpa residence and has always felt safe walking around there with them or by herself. Her grandchildren love coming over to grandma's house because they have a nice back yard. They see a lot of kids playing in what is called the turtle lot, which is right next door to her. She knows there is a lot of crime in adjacent neighborhoods. The crime rate around the immediate neighborhood that is closest to the church has been kept down. She feels that a lot of the things being said about where the children play are unfounded as she has always found places to play with Benjamin Davis Park being next door and a lot of the community activities there at the Boys and Girls Club which is not too far away. She does see the rental facilities and stated that there are a lot of them around there. She said it might be nice to see a rental facility that is committed to doing it well. She feels like the church is committed to doing it well and maybe could be an example for others. She thanked the Board. Mr. Czekai stated that there is a lot of discussion regarding vacancies and the different rates in the City. As a part of getting any MSHDA financing, any applicant has to get a market study. He asked if it would be possible to have this present at the Committee meeting. Ms. Stachowiak said sure. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 12 Mr. Jay Moon, resident of 5423 Catalpa, stated that he is not the actual home owner but sister Cathy Broker is and he has lived with her for the past 15 or more years. He is fairly familiar with the neighborhood and the surrounding areas. He agrees with the comments that were made on the rental properties. His property abuts the proposed property and is unique in that area. It is the lowest area as far as land. Right outside the back property line the elevation of the field or the property to be developed immediately goes up approximately 4 to 5 feet at this point. He actually built a 60 foot flower bed along the back of the property about 10 or 15 yeas ago because just the natural run off from that area flooded his back yard at least half way to three quarters to the foundation of the house. He has major concerns about the berm being built there and how far away from the property lines that it is going to be. He stated that they mentioned they want to put landscaping trees on top of that berm and he has major concerns about what type of foliage will be put there such as leaf trees verses evergreens. With the maintenance of those trees and the removal of the leaves, obviously it is going to blow a lot over the property lines, it creates more work for the adjacent home owners along those lines. If there was going to be a development and if it was approved, he would like to at least see some kind of a non- maintenance tree that would provide privacy and some kind of a noise barrier year round verses a leaf tree that would only be good for 4 to 5 months. He stated that putting that many units into a small area like this, if there has been any planning or consideration on this additional stress on sewer, water, and electric in the area. Again, there are numerous multiple unit houses in the complexes in that area. Wise Road was just recently repaved. It used to be a four lane road with two lanes in each direction. Now it is a two lane road in each direction with a bike path and a parking area. To add that many units onto Wise Road could extremely add stress as far as with the Hill Academy being there and two other elementary schools. The traffic that it could create could also cause a lot of problems on Wise Road. With schools being where they are located around Wexford Heights subdivision, it creates a lot of traffic. A lot of people take a short cut through the subdivision to get over to Waverly and Jolly instead of going up and waiting in line to make the turn. Since they have redone Wise Road and made only a two lane road, that is going to exasperate the problem even more. Seeing no one else wishing to speak, Mr. Czekai closed the public hearing for PRD-1-2006, New Faith Gardens, 5304 Wise Road and was referred to the next Zoning and Ordinance Committee meeting scheduled to meet on January 17, 2007 at 4:00 in the Planning and Neighborhood Development Conference Room at 316 N. Capitol Avenue. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 13 C. Z-17-2006, Part of 715 W. Willow Street, "B" Residential District to "DM-1" Residential District This is a request by LHC Nonprofit Development Corporation to rezone 6.8 acres of the former Michigan School for the Blind property located at 715 W. Willow Street from "B" Residential District to "DM-1" Residential District. The purpose of the rezoning is to permit the former Administration Building on the site to be used for up to fifty (50) units of senior citizen housing. Ms. Stachowiak gave a brief overview. Mr. Hollister asked if this would be senior housing. Ms. Stachowiak said it would be senior citizen housing. He asked if care would be provided. Ms. Stachowiak stated no care provided and that it is not a residential care facility. It is just housing and would be managed by the Housing Commission. Mr. Ruge stated that it is quite a big parcel and asked how many units the applicant could put on this much property and how much is being proposed in terms of density. Ms. Stachowiak stated it comes out to 7.35 units per acre with 50 units on 6.8 acres of land. The "DM-1" district will allow up to 19.8 units per acres. The applicant has no intentions of building any additional units. She stated that Chris Stuchell, Director of the Housing Commission, mentioned something in the latest meeting about having some type of restriction on the property that would prevent any additional buildings from being constructed. They already have that covered. Mr. Ruge asked what kinds of restrictions. Mr. Stuchell stated that it is a historic covenant and is on all of the green space and the east side of the campus. Mr. Hollister asked instead of rezoning 6.8, could something smaller be rezoned. Ms. Stachowiak stated that something smaller could be rezoned as long as the density is within the "DM-1" district limits. Mr. Stuchell stated that as long as it met the requirements for the 50 units. Mr. Chris Stuchell, Director of the Housing Commission, stated that he does appreciate the Board's consideration of the zoning change. They have some very exciting plans drawn up for this building. It is the main focal point of the campus. If you are on Grand River and Pine and see the building with all the pillars, that entire parcel (6.88 acres) will remain as is except for directly behind the Administration building. The old service building will be demolished for parking because of the parking requirements they will have for the Administrative building. Basically, the entire east side of the campus stays. They have approximately 50 elderly only apartments and the administrative offices will be moving there as well and be taking up the PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 14 entire first floor. The building will become the Housing Commission's new home. Mr. Walter Brown, resident of 1310 Knollwood, President of the Knollwood/Willow Neighborhood Association, and Executive Director of the North Network Center, stated that he is right across the street from this property. He has lived there for 23 years and founded the neighborhood association at the request of the residents in the area because they wanted him to help them get rid of the drugs in the neighborhood. He is quite concerned with the rezoning. The North Network Center has been located on that property for nine years. He has been there for almost seven years as the director. He stated that the City is in the process of evicting the North Network Center from the property. What they do is provide services for senior citizens and residents, and an after school program and different programs for citizens in that area. He has not heard one thing about any safety net to protect these citizens from all these drugs and different things that go on in that community around this property. Having lived there for 23 years, he is well aware of what goes on around that property. There are mostly low income people in that area. There are some #yew home owners. There is a lot of rental properties and that is how the drugs are able to stay infested in that area. These drug dealers prey on old people and people that come to the store. He is wondering what type of safety net that the Housing Commission is willing to provide for these people they are going to stick in there right in the middle of these negative activities that are going on in that area. He has not heard anything about this. To stick these people in there just to get revenues coming in to the Housing Commission, he does not think is a good idea. He does not object to the proposal if they are going to have some type of safety net in there. They are kicking us out and that is what they do. He thinks that the Board should take careful consideration into granting the Housing Commission this change because he is going to keep close track of what goes on with that property. Seeing no one else wishing to speak, Mr. Czekai closed the public hearing for Z-17-2006, Part of 715 W. Willow Street, "B" Residential District to "DM-1" Residential District and was referred to the next Zoning and Ordinance Committee meeting scheduled to meet on January 17, 2007 at 4:00 in the Planning and Neighborhood Development Conference Room at 316 N. Capitol Avenue. 5. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE (3 minutes each) Seeing no one wishing to address the Board, Mr. Czekai closed the public comment period. PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 15 6. RECESS was not taken by the Board. 7. BUSINESS SESSION A. Consent Items 1. Minutes for Approval: November 1, 2006 The minutes of November 1, 2006 were APPROVED w/corrections: Pg. 11, 2 d para., Mr. Hollister closed the public comment period. Minutes for Approval: November 14, 2006 The minutes of November 14, 2006 were APPROVED. Minutes for Approval: December 5, 2006 The minutes of December 5, 2006 were APPROVED. B. Committee Reports 1. ZONING AND ORDINANCE COMMITTEE, Mr. Ruge, Chair Ms. Stachowiak asked who would be on the Committee this semester. Ms. Bruch stated that she would be back on the Committee. Next meeting, Wednesday, January 17, 2007, at 4 p.m. 316 N. Capitol Avenue, Department Conference Room. 2. URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, Mr. Frederick, Vise Chair Next meeting, Tuesday, January 30, 2007, at 4:00 p.m. 316 N. Capitol Ave., Department Conference Room. 3. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Mr. Hollister stated that the Committee of the Whole met earlier this evening. Mr. Rieske made a presentation concerning the Master Plan and gave an update on the Grand Vision. He stated that no action was taken. 4. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 16 C. Old Business — None. D. Report from Planning Manager— None. E. Pending Items: Future action required 1. Zoning and Ordinance Committee a. Z-1-2006, 310/312 Chestnut b. Z-3-2006,W. Edgewood c. Z-17-2005, Polly& Benjamin d. SLU-4-2006, 3215 W. Mt. Hope e. Z-12-2006&SLU-7-2006 2727 Lyons Avenue f. PRD-1-2006, New Faith Gardens,5304 Wise Road 2. Urban Development Committee a. Master Plan Project 3. Committee of the Whole 4. Planning Board 8. NEW BUSINESS — None. 9. COMMENTS FROM CHAIRPERSON Mr. Czekai stated that he is a renter and not only is he a renter but he makes a living as an asset manager for a national non-profit that specifically works with low income housing tax credits. He stated that it is very frustrating to sit here and listen to individuals and everybody was talking about getting the renters out. They refer to renters with such disdain (i.e. causing crime, selling drugs). He does not think he is doing anything illegal. It is just very frustrating. Mr. Czekai stated that in his almost three years on the Board, has never seen a Councilmember sit up here with the Board and participate actively with them. The Board has seen the occasional Councilmember in the back of the room but never participating. He just wanted to thank Councilmember Dunbar for participating and attending the meeting. 10. COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS Mr. Frederick stated that with regards to the attitude toward the renters, it is projecting derogatory or negative activities that other renters may or may not have taken on someone who is applying to develop some land at the same density they would be allowed if they built single family homes, assuming that they are going to be poor managers and are not going to let anything in but drug dealers. He has to really congratulate the applicant for sitting here and taking all of that. His appreciation goes to the applicant for not getting up and getting angry. Mr. Czekai stated that it is a disappointment to all those individuals that spoke out against low income housing tax credits for one public hearing but not for the other. Ms. Bruch stated that her class will be doing Grand River corridors again and they are going to try and participate with the Grand Vision team. Again, at the PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 17 end of the semester everyone is going to be welcomed to see the projects. Hopefully they will have a tighter route. Mr. Frederick said feel free to call on him anytime to participate in the class since he is on the ReoTown vision. Ms. Bruch stated that if anyone wanted to participate in the class, let her know and she would be happy to bring them in to talk to the students. Mr. Ruge inquired about the Teen Challenge project. Ms. Stachowiak stated that the proposal was sent to Mayor's Office after the last meeting. Councilmember Dunbar asked if all the public hearings have to occur in front of Council. Ms. Stachowiak stated that the only issues that Council does not have to hold a public hearings on are PRDs and Lot Splits. Hearings have to be held for rezonings and special land use permits. Councilmember Dunbar asked if the hearings had to be held during Monday nights meetings. Ms. Stachowiak stated that she thinks the Charter requires it. Mr. Czekai stated that Councilmember Dunbar had a really good idea of not to create more work, but it actually might help just touching base with her outside of the meeting and kind of going over what the process is currently, what it has been, and what are some successful ways of getting things through the system a little bit more quickly. Ms. Cordill welcomed Councilmember Dunbar to the meeting and just wanted her to also realize that she is seeing about three fourths of what the Board's strength could be because there are two vacancies. The Board has been at this level for some time. Councilmember Dunbar said she imagined that it affects the Committees. Ms. Cordill stated that unfortunately at times, especially in the summer with vacations, applicants have had to wait. The Board has had to reschedule some meetings because it was not able to make quorum. During the rest of the year, it has been more successful. She stated that the Board is hoping to get new Board members. 11. BOARD MEMBER CODE ENFORCEMENT NOTIFICATION REPORTS a. Dollar Store-Willow Street& MLK Blvd.- landscaping & buffering (May 20, 2003) b. Grovenburg property-dumpster in ROW (July 1,2003) c. 2714 W.Jolly Road-church with large statue in front yard (January 20,2004) d. W.Willow Street-Grace Tabernacle Church-no landscaping (May 4,2004) e. Michigan Ave&Shepard Street-sign business-several banner signs nailed to the outside of building (May 4, 2004) f. 2702 S. Cedar Street- no landscaping (May 18, 2004) g. 2410 S. Pennsylvania Ave.- no landscaping (November 3,2004) h. 2200 W. Holmes Road- Bad Habits-excessive signs(May 3, 2005) i. 2618 Cavanaugh Road.- registered rental &front yard paved, used for parking (October 4,2005) j. 3027 Aurelius Road—fence in front yard (April 18,2006) k. 1712 W. Saginaw Street,W.of Sparrow's St. Lawrence campus—rogue used car salesman operating in a print shop (April 18, 2006) I. Keeps Party Store-Aurelius Road- illegal signs (July 5,2006, July 18,2006&September 5, 2006) m. Southeast Corner of Cavanaugh and Dunkel Roads—selling luxury cars at a residence (September 5, 2006) n. Clarion Hotel—two big signs advertising Great Lakes Condominiums (December 5, 2006) o. The Firm—review requirements for fenced outdoor patio (December 5, 2006) With item n, Mr. Frederick stated that it is actually the Red Cedar Lodge condominiums. What they are apparently doing, is selling some of their rooms or PLANNING BOARD MINUTES January 9, 2007 Page 18 suites in the hotel as condominiums. He said presumably that is legal. Ms. Stachowiak stated that it is legal. Councilmember Dunbar inquired about the Deluxe Inn and stated that it not a permanent residential system. It has electric cooking units and some of them are plugged into walls. People are living in these rooms and this needs to be addressed. She asked if this would go though the Planning Office. Ms. Stachowiak stated that it would be Code Compliance. It is not zoned for a hotel but is zoned for multiple family. It is zoned for what they are using it for. Ms. Stachowiak stated that she would contact the Code Compliance Office. 12. ADJOURNMENT - Meeting was adjourned at 8:34 p.m. Respecjfplly submitted, �,J J 6 William C. Rieske, Secretary, Planning Board PBMinutes.010907.doc