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CITY OF MUSKEGON
PLANNING COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
DATE OF MEETING: Thursday, February 11, 2016
TIME OF MEETING: 4:00 p.m.
PLACE OF MEETING: Commission Chambers, First Floor, Muskegon City Hall
AGENDA
I. Roll Call
II. Approval of Minutes from the regular meeting of January 14, 2016.
III. Public Hearings
A. Hearing, Case 2016-04: Request for two major departures from the zoning ordinance (window
glazing, doors) and site plan approval for the buildings at 981 3rd St and 396 W Clay Ave, by
Muskegon Community College.
B. Hearing, Case 2016-05: Request for a Special Use Permit to allow a 10 story building addition and
relocation of a helipad at 1500 E Sherman Blvd, by Mercy Health Partners.
IV. New Business
V. Old Business
VI. Other
VII. Adjourn
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CITY COMMISSION AND ANY OF ITS COMMITTEES OR SUBCOMMITTEES
The City of Muskegon will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and services, such as signers for the hearing impaired and audio tapes
of printed materials being considered at the meeting, to individuals with disabilities who want to attend the meeting, upon twenty-four hour
notice to the City of Muskegon. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact the City of Muskegon by
writing or calling the following:
Ann Marie Cummings, City Clerk
933 Terrace Street
Muskegon, MI 49440
(231) 724-6705
TTY/TDD: Dial 7-1-1 and request that a representative dial 231-724-6705
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CITY OF MUSKEGON
PLANNING COMMISSION
SPECIAL MEETING
MINUTES
January 14, 2016
Vice Chairman B. Larson called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. and roll was taken.
MEMBERS PRESENT: B. Mazade, J. Doyle, L. Spataro, B. Larson, J. Montgomery-Keast, S. Gawron
MEMBERS ABSENT: F. Peterson; B. Smith, excused; T. Michalski, excused
STAFF PRESENT: M. Franzak, D. Renkenberger
OTHERS PRESENT: Lorin Industries representative
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion that the minutes of the special meeting of December 10, 2015 be approved, was made by S.
Gawron, supported by J. Montgomery-Keast and unanimously approved.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Hearing, Case 2016-01: Request to vacate the remainder of the 16 ft. wide alley in Block 14 of Continental
Addition, north of Keating and South of vacated Nims (east of Vulcan (vacated) and west of Roberts Street).
M. Franzak provided a background on previous alley and street vacations in this area. In 2014, Newkirk
Electric petitioned and received approval to have Nims Street, Vulcan Street and the alley between
Brunswick and Vulcan vacated. In order to utilize the areas that were once publicly owned, they were
required to replat the area through Circuit Court. During that process, it came to the attention of the State
that there is still an alley on the books between the vacated Vulcan and Roberts Streets, even though there is
not a physical alley there. This “paper alley” is located in the parking lot of Lorin Industries. In order to
complete the replatting process, Lorin Industries has petitioned to vacate this alley and they will join
Newkirk Electric in their suit to replat the block.
A representative from Lorin Industries attended the meeting and concurred with M. Franzak’s assessment. A
motion to close the public hearing was made by J. Montgomery-Keast, supported by J. Doyle and
unanimously approved.
A motion that the vacation of the remainder of the 16-foot wide alley in Block 14 of Continental Addition,
north of Keating Avenue and south of vacated Nims Street [east of Vulcan Street (vacated) and west of
Roberts Street] be recommended to City Commission for approval, was made by J. Montgomery-Keast,
supported by J. Doyle and unanimously approved, with B. Mazade, J. Doyle, L. Spataro, B. Larson, J.
Montgomery-Keast, and S. Gawron voting aye.
Hearing, Case 2016-02: Staff-initiated request to amend the Master Land Use Plan to remove all references
to Fisherman’s Landing. M. Franzak explained the process of amending the City’s Master Plan. Staff
requested to remove all references to Fisherman’s Landing, so that the City could keep its options open in the
event of a land swap in the future. In September 2015, the Planning Commission started the amendment
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process by granting approval to make the amendments. In October, the City Commission approved
distribution of the proposed amended Master Plan to all of the regional entities, who were given 42 days to
comment on the amendments. Staff did not receive any comments during this time. The final step in the
process is to have Planning Commission hold a public hearing on the amendment, which must pass with at
least a two-thirds (2/3) vote. The staff report listed the areas of the Master Plan where Fisherman’s Landing
was mentioned.
J. Montgomery-Keast asked what protections were in place to ensure the future of Fisherman’s Landing. S.
Gawron stated that state grant requirements stated that if the park was removed from its current location, it
must be replicated elsewhere.
A motion to close the public hearing was made by B. Mazade, supported by J. Doyle and unanimously
approved.
A motion that the proposed amendments to the City of Muskegon’s Comprehensive Master Land Use Plan
be approved as presented, was made by J. Doyle, supported by S. Gawron and approved, with B. Mazade, J.
Doyle, L. Spataro, B. Larson, J. Montgomery-Keast, and S. Gawron voting aye.
NEW BUSINESS
None
OLD BUSINESS
None
OTHER
None
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m.
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STAFF REPORT
February 11, 2016
Hearing, Case 2016-04: Request for two major departures from the zoning ordinance (window glazing,
doors) and site plan approval for the buildings at 981 3rd St and 396 W Clay Ave, by Muskegon Community
College.
BACKGROUND
1. Muskegon Community College will be locating several of its academic programs into the former
Muskegon Chronicle and Masonic Temple buildings downtown.
2. These buildings are located in the Downtown (DT) context area of the Form Based Code (FBC)
zoning district. The proposed use is allowed, however, the site plan does not meet two requirements
of the code: window glazing and door placement.
3. The code requires all windows to have clear glazing. New windows are being proposed on the
building at 396 W Clay on the large stone material area facing Hackley Park. The clear window
glazing requirement is mostly being met here, however, the bottom and top portions of these windows
are proposed to have a 100% non-transparent coating to screen mechanical features. The rest of the
glass will have 100% transparency. Please see the site plan for the proposed windows. Please also
see below the examples of buildings without non-transparent coating. Staff does not consider this
request to be too far removed from the requirements of the ordinance because this screening could
also be accomplished with replacing this portion of the windows with another material, which would
meet the ordinance. However, it is possible to have 100% transparency the entire length of the
windows, as shown in the example below.
4. The code requires buildings to have a door every 75 feet. This requirement was put in place to make
buildings appear more welcoming and give downtown a more active feel. Long stretches of buildings
without entrances reduce the walkability experience downtown and staff recommends permanently
locking doors (if it is a matter of building function) rather than removing them. This plan proposes
the addition of one new door and the removal of three doors on the building at 396 W Clay Ave. This
will leave 112 feet of space between the new door on Clay Ave and the corner of the building at the
intersection of 3rd St and Western Ave. The existing glass door furthest to the east is of the most
importance in staff’s recommendation, as the removal of the other door entrances will not
significantly reduce the distance between doors.
5. It must be stated on the plan that all replacement windows with use clear glass.
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The three doors to be removed on Clay Ave. The new door will be located near the current door to the
left. The new windows will be located on the blank wall on the left.
Building in Grand Rapids with clear glass the entire length of floor.
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MOTION FOR CONSIDERATION
I move that the major departures from the ordinance regarding clear glass and door removal be
(approved/denied) as proposed with the following conditions (if any).
1. The plan must state that all replacement windows will use clear glass.
2. The new windows (may/may not) use black coating as presented.
3. The doors on Clay Ave (may/may not) be removed as presented.
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Hearing, Case 2016-05: Request for a Special Use Permit to allow a 10 story building addition and
relocation of a helipad at 1500 E Sherman Blvd, by Mercy Health Partners.
BACKGROUND
1. The site measures just over 37 acres (51 acres if you include all 4 parcels) and can be accessed off of
Sherman Blvd and Mercy Dr.
2. Mercy Health Partners is proposing a 10 story building addition at 1500 E Sherman. The zoning
ordinance states that all buildings over three stories in MC, Medical Care districts must receive a
special use permit. They are also proposing to relocate the helipad on site. This also requires a
Special Use Permit and both projects can be included on the same Special Use Permit.
3. The 10 story addition will connect to the southern end of the existing main hospital building. The
helipad will be moved to just south of the building addition.
4. It is suggested that the helipad be located at least 100 feet from all property lines, but a shorted
distance may be approved by Planning Commission. The proposed helipad does not meet the 100
foot setback on the east property line. The ordinance also states that the helipad must container
perimeter landscaping and fencing. The plan does not depict these requirements.
5. The parking lots will be reconfigured to make room for the new addition. The parking lot to the
south of the existing main building will be removed to make room for the addition. The parking lot
to the west of the existing main building will be reconfigured and the parking lot to the north of the
property will be enlarged. The parking lot to the north will have a new drive and sidewalk added for
ingress/egress. The existing drive (located to the east of the lot) to the parking lot does not currently
have a sidewalk. This could become an issue as the lot will see a lot more activity with the addition.
This lot will be going from 153 spaces to 715 spaces.
6. There will be a total of 1784 parking spaces on site.
7. The plan must be revised to state that all parking lot lighting will be 100% cutoff and downward
facing.
8. The existing sanitary line in Mercy Dr is a 10” sanitary, not a 12” as shown on the plan. The
Engineering Department is requiring that the applicant must confirm that the existing 10” sanitary
sewer on Mercy Dr can handle the new flow from the lift station.
9. The Fire Department is requiring that the following items be addressed before final approval can be
given:
a. Fire flow water supply shall be completed
b. List total fire area so that fire flow and hydrants can be determined
c. Additional hydrants required, hydrants shown on plans are unknown if they are existing or
new.
d. There is no water supply in or near the vehicle parking areas
e. Current water main shows hydrants on dead end. Water main shall be looped.
f. Must submit plan showing all hydrants, proposed and existing.
g. The farthest parking lot road width is 22 ft wide without a safety walk for pedestrians.
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Site Plan
Aerial Map
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MOTION FOR CONSIDERATION
I move that Special Use Permit for the 10 story addition and relocation of the helipad be approved with the
following conditions:
1. A new site shall be submitted to and approved by staff, which includes all of the comments from the
Engineering Department and Fire Department.
2. The perimeter of the helipad be fenced and landscaped.
3. A sidewalk be added to the existing drive leading to the northernmost parking lot.
4. The plan must be revised to state that all parking lot lighting will be 100% cutoff and downward
facing.
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