ZBA Minutes

MEETING
CITY OF WALKER
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
Thursday, September 28, 2006
7:00 p.m.

The meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals was called to order by Robert Marz, Chairman at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall 4243 Remembrance Rd., N.W., Walker, Michigan.

Members present: Robert Marz, Chairman; Roger Crabtree; Beth Rogers, Alternate; Rebecca Haven; Charles Deshaine; Ken Fex; and Tyler Korfhage. Also present: Jeff Nelson, Building Department; John Stuyfzand, Building Department; and Bonnie Antcliff, Recording Secretary.

Property located at 3225 Alpine, NW also known on the tax rolls as 41-13-02-270-024. Hearing requested by Burkett Signs.

The applicant’s request is to install a 48 in. x 96 in. electronic message center under the proposed Qdoba Mexican Grill sign which will provide an additional 30.5 sq. ft. of signage than allowed.

Robert Marz, Chairman reviewed the application and site plan submitted. No other citizen appeared with respect to this request.

The applicant stated that the sign is further back than the rest of the signs along that corridor. The sign was 233 sq. ft. and if we are granted this variance, we are still less than the 91 sq. ft. that we had before.

Robert Marz stated that there is no off site advertising allowed only for civic purposes.

Ken Fex stated the new sign is 112.5 sq. ft. now. When was that changed?

The applicant replied it was put up about 30 days ago.

Ken Fex replied that there is a safety factor involved here. There is a lot of traffic between 3 Mile and 4 Mile and with a sign changing every 30 seconds, it is not good.

The applicant stated we are looking for the square footage of the sign and not the type of sign.

Roger Crabtree commented that we felt that the 111 sq. ft. that they are proposing tells who they are, and he felt that is all they need.

Rebecca Haven stated that McDonalds and Burger King in the area have similar signs to the one the applicant is proposing.

Roger Crabtree stated that this sign proposed is within the limits of the ordinance and if McDonalds has more frontage and is allowed more square footage they are allowed more signage.

Robert Marz stated that he did not see this proposed sign as being distractive at all.

Tyler Korfhage agreed with Roger Crabtree. He stated they are within the ordinance with 111 sq. ft. and did not feel they needed a variance for a larger sign.

The applicant stated that they could have just put new panels in the sign that is already there and that would have been 233 sq. ft. and that would have been immensely over what is allowed. We are asking for a slight concession since this is a narrow lot with limited viewing with the sign to be set back.

Beth Rogers does not see this as a hazard and sees no problem with what is being asked for.

Charles Deshaine concurs with Ms. Rogers and sees no problem here.

Rebecca Haven moved and Beth Rogers supported the motion to grant the applicant’s request to install a 48 in. x 96 in. electronic message center under the proposed Qdoba Mexican Grill sign which will provide an additional 30.5 sq. ft. of signage than allowed.

There are exceptional or extraordinary circumstances applicable to the property in question as to the intended use of the property that do not apply generally to other properties in the same zoning district. The original Clock sign that is being removed, was 233 sq. ft. The allowed signage now is 112.5 sq. ft. for this particular lot of 75 ft. Qdoba is asking for only 30.5 sq. ft. more signage to go on the same poles.

The variance is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a substantial property right similar to that possessed by other properties in the same zoning district and in the vicinity. The original Clock restaurant burned down and is not rebuilding. Similar signs are located at McDonalds, Millennium Car Wash, Burger King, and a dental office

Authorization of the variance will not be of a substantial detriment to adjacent property and will not materially impair the intent and purpose of the ordinance or public interest in that the ID sign sits slightly further back than the other ones on that section of Alpine Ave. It would not take away from viewing other establishments and their signage.

The variance is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a substantial property right similar to that possessed by other properties in the same zoning district and in the vicinity. This is not a general problem in that the ordinance should be changed.

Does not apply.

Motion carried 4 to 3. Tyler Korfhage, Ken Fex, and Roger Crabtree opposed.

Property located at 2727 Kinney, NW also known on the tax rolls as 41-13-07-226-041. Hearing requested by H.B. Fuller Co.

The applicant’s request is to install a 6 ft. tall decorative concrete screen wall along a portion of Kinney Ave. which exceeds the 30 in. allowed for solid screening.

Robert Marz, Chairman reviewed the application and site plan submitted. No other citizen appeared with respect to this request.

Craig Hondorp, Progressive AE stated that we are dealing with a very confined space here and we are trying to be cognizant of some of the future development in the area and trying to provide better screening not only of the parking but the outdoor storage of material outside of the building. We are trying to be a good neighbor. There is also a homeland security aspect of this.

Shane Roach, H. B. Fuller Co. stated that because we are a chemical facility, and we do have bulk storage, we come under the homeland security act to provide site security. Currently the tank farm is fenced and is in the northwest corner of the facility. It is currently fenced but anyone can drive thru the area at any time. It is H.B. Fuller’s stand that it is not adequately secure for the facility or the chemicals. Providing the screen along Kinney Ave. as well as other plans for fencing the facility, will provide that security. This will meet the federal guidelines we must adhere to.

Ken Fex asked what a decorative concrete screen wall looks like?

Mr. Hondorp replied that will be some kind of notching in the wall to make it look more decorative and create some shade and pattern markings on the wall. That would be on the main portion of the wall and on the top and bottom there will be a band. The wall will be textured and not just flat.

Beth Rogers asked if there would be a hazard for cars pulling out onto the sidewalk and people walking along there. With that high a fence, pedestrians will not be visible, and will trucks be coming in and out of that area?

Mr. Roach replied that current truck traffic into the facility is off of 3 Mile. There is a one way exit on the northeast corner.

Beth Rogers stated that she is concerned about visibility for traffic on that corner as this is a very busy corner.

Mr. Hondorp felt that the sidewalk could be bumped out at a mid point between the street and property line so that when you do get to the gate entrances there will be more of an offset between the wall and the sidewalk.

Charles Deshaine asked what is driving this variance? Because this is in a residential area, we want this fence to fit in. Putting up a 6 ft. wall with gates, really changes that whole corner.

Mr. Roach replied that a 3 ft. wall would not provide enough security. There are two factors that are driving this fence. We need to provide security for the facility, and another aspect is a sound barrier. We have a concern for noise for the few neighbors that we do have. The gates would only be open during use. There will be someone there 24 hours a day.

Rebecca Haven asked Jeff Nelson to clarify what is meant in the ordinance about screening.

Mr. Nelson replied that it is referring to when a parking area abuts or faces a public street. They are not allowed outdoor storage in a front yard. We have two front yards here.

Charles Deshaine stated that this is going to change the whole view of this corner. We want it to be aesthetically pleasing.

Tyler Korfhage stated that he felt the Board should take into consideration that there are condos slated to go across the street from this facility and we want this to look nice.

Jeff Nelson stated that the applicant will have to see the City Engineer about the sidewalk placement in the right-of-way.

Charles Deshaine stated that he would like to see this application tabled to have more staff input.

Jeff Nelson stated that the staff could do some preliminary site planning and then come back to the Board.

Robert Marz felt that there were issues here that need addressing before the variance is granted.

Charles Deshaine moved and Tyler Korfhage supported the motion to table the applicant’s request to install a 6 ft. tall decorative concrete screen wall along a portion of Kinney Ave. which exceeds the 30 in. allowed for solid screening until October 12, 2006 for more staff input.

Motion carried 7 to 0.

Property located at 2425 Alpine also known on the tax rolls as 41-13-11-278-018. Hearing requested by Meijer, Inc.

The applicant’s request is to construct a building addition and outdoor garden center which will be partially in the 200 ft. front yard setback from Hillside Dr. for Meijer, Inc.

Robert Marz, Chairman reviewed the application and site plan submitted.

Mike Kinstle, Meijer Real Estate Division stated that Meijer is proposing a major remodel with this store. This store was opened in l964 and over the years we have done a number of remodels and building expansions. We want to continue to be a viable, competitive store at this location. This store will be the new prototype standard. The Alpine store is the only one in the chain where the garden center is on the same side of the store as the grocery part of the business. We need to add square footage to the building and relocate the garden center. We want to bring this store up to date with our other stores.

Brian Pearson 2326 Cornelia Ct. is concerned on where the new access and entrances will be to the store. He went on to say that there were numerous thefts at the store and the juveniles run across our backyard so he is interested on where the doors will be located.

Margaret Kaminski 2338 Cornelia Ct. wants to know where the entrances to the store will be located. She stated that now it is a big problem. Kids jump the fence and there is liquor involved. The police are there at least once or twice a week.

Ann Kaminski 2338 Cornelia Ct. stated that her backyard is right there. She is tired of playing policeman and having people jump the fence constantly. People pound on her door trying to get in after they have stolen things. The security is terrible there.

Dwight Huskey, Paradigm Design stated that none of the curb cuts that exist today are proposed to change. Right now there are a total of 3 curb cuts that come off of Hillside and there are other curb cuts off Alpine. As far as entrances into the store, there are entrances on the south side of the store now and parking. The new plan is to remove all of the primary customer entrances and exits so that the store is fully accessed from the east side. 75 to 80% of the vehicular traffic on the south side of the store will be gone. There will be a single row of parking left along the extreme south end of the paving and that will be utilized during peak seasons, such as Christmas time. The garden center will be closed at that time as it is about a six month operation. During the time of year that the garden center is in business, this will be a convenient place for customers to park. The access will be through the store into the garden center and then out. This will significantly reduce the amount of traffic on the south side of the store. Because we are on a corner lot that fronts on both Hillside and Alpine, we have a setback of 200 ft on both streets. The road on Hillside has a significant rise vertically. There is an embankment looking out from the front line of the store that rises and increases as you go farther to the west. Across Hillside there are 3 areas of fencing. The modifications will not impact our neighbors to the south. There should be an improvement as we are taking a lot of customer traffic off of the south side of the store. The only egress on the south side of the store will be emergency egress.

Ken Fex asked where the parking is going to go from the south side of the building once the addition is finished?

Mr. Kinstle replied that a lot of that parking will be replaced once the garden center is taken out. There will be added parking on the other side of the store. Once the remodeling is done, there will be significantly less traffic on the south side of the store.

Charles Deshaine felt that this expansion will be a positive thing. He felt that some of the security issues at the store should be worked on.

The neighbors would like to see a 6 ft. fence erected across the street on Hillside down to the U-Haul property.

The Board felt that Meijer should provide some screening on Hillside across the street from the store.

Mr. Kinstle replied that they will look into this.

Roger Crabtree asked the applicant if they felt that the garden center will be large enough to accommodate the garden sales without having garden sales in the parking lot anymore?

Mr. Kinstle replied that the garden sales in the parking lot is part of the merchandising program that we do every spring in all of our stores. We have a temporary, seasonal corral in the parking lot.

Charles Deshaine moved and Tyler Korfhage supported the motion to approve the applicant’s request to construct a building addition and outdoor garden center which will be partially in the 200 ft. front yard setback from Hillside Dr. for Meijer, Inc.

There are exceptional or extraordinary circumstances or conditions applicable to the property in question as to the intended use of the property that do not apply generally to other properties in the same zoning district. The zoning ordinance requires front setbacks along both streets for a corner lot but in this case Alpine Ave. is clearly the dominant frontage, and the required front yard is met along Alpine Ave. This project will close existing building entrances along Hillside Dr. so that the building entries are all fronting Alpine Ave. further defining the true front yard.

The variance is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a substantial property right similar to that possessed by other properties in the same zoning district and in the vicinity. This request asks for the same right as other commercial sites along Alpine Ave. which will provide for sufficient area to provide the most efficient building layout and be consistent with other upgraded Meijer stores.

Authorization of the variance will not be of a substantial detriment to adjacent property and will not materially impair the intent and purpose of the ordinance or public interest in that due to the significant hill between this property and residential south of Hillside Dr., the existing (and proposed) building is not visible from residential areas. Also, the area of proposed building expansion is already a paved parking area, and the proposed building expansion will decrease traffic and vehicle activity in this area adjacent to a residential district.

The condition or the situation of the piece of property or the intended use of the property for which the variance is sought is not of so general or recurrent a nature as to make reasonably practicable for the formulation of a general regulation. As stated above, the proposed expansion is into an area of existing parking, and there is a significant hill side slope between the project and Hillside Dr. These items will not typically both be found in commercial zones. In addition, the difference in road classifications between Alpine Ave. (major aerterial) and Hillside (local collector) is not very common in corner lots.

Does not apply.

Recommendation to Planing Commission:

Look at having a solid fence placed on Hillside Dr. across the street.

Motion carried 6 to 1. Ken Fex opposed.

Charles Deshaine moved and Ken Fex supported the motion to approve the Zoning Board of Appeals minutes of August 24, 2006.

Motion carried 7 to 0.

Beth Rogers moved and Ken Fex supported the motion to adjourn the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting at 8:55 p.m.

Motion carried 7 to 0.

_______________________

Roger Crabtree, Secretary

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