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CITY OF MUSKEGON
PLANNING COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
DATE OF MEETING: Thursday, October 12, 2017
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 special meeting of September 14, 2017.
III. Public Hearings
a. Hearing, Case 2017-26: Request for a Special Land Use Permit for outside aggregate storage
in an I-2, General Industrial District at 1221 E Barney Ave, by Melching, Inc.
b. Hearing, Case 2017-27: Request to amend the final Planned Unit Development at 1740 E
Sherman Blvd to allow construction of a new outbuilding, by Pacifica Companies.
IV. New Business
V. Old Business
VI. Other
a. Imagine Muskegon Lake update
VII. Adjourn
AMERICAN DISABILITY ACT POLICY FOR ACCESS TO OPEN MEETING OF THE
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 Meisch, 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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STAFF REPORT
OCTOBER 12, 2017
Hearing, Case 2017-26: Request for a Special Land Use Permit for outside aggregate storage in an I-2,
General Industrial District at 1221 E Barney Ave, by Melching, Inc.
SUMMARY
1. The property measures 23.5 acres and is zoned I-2, General Industrial. This zoning district allows for
aggregate storage as a Special Use Permitted.
2. This property is the former location of ESCO, which manufactured chemicals as part of its paper
products.
3. Melching, Inc. intends to move its operations from the Sappi site to this location along with its offices
that are currently in Nunica.
4. The property currently has 12 buildings and a tank farm on site. Five of the buildings would be kept
for future use, while the rest would be demolished. There is also about 16.5 acres of open
undeveloped land on site. About half of it is low land with heavy vegetation that is planned to remain
untouched. About 7.7 acres of this area is planned to be used for aggregate crushing operations and
aggregate storage. They would screen this area with a privacy fence. Just to the west of this area,
closer towards Roberts St, they intend to store trucks and excavators. The plan does not show this
area to be screened, but staff recommends that it should since they will be storing equipment. Please
see the included site plan. The plan is broken into two sections-- one section is for the portion of the
property north of Barney Ave and the other is for the section south of Barney Ave.
5. Notice was sent to all property owners/tenants within 300 feet of this property. At the time of this
writing, staff has been in contact with a couple companies who are concerned over what type of
aggregate will be stored on site. A complete listing of those in favor/against the proposal will be
presented at the meeting.
Administrative offices at 1221 E Barney (building to remain)
Undeveloped area proposed for aggregate storage
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Zoning Map
Aerial Map
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STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff will be evaluating the proposal more in the next week and will have a recommendation at the meeting.
There are concerns as to whether or not this is the highest and best use of the site, given the minimal amount
of developable industrial land available in the city.
MOTION FOR CONSIDERATION
I move that the request for a Special Land Use Permit for outside aggregate storage in an I-2, General
Industrial District at 1221 E Barney Ave be (approve/denied) with the following condition(s):
1. All outdoor storage uses, including aggregate and equipment, be screened from adjacent properties
and public roads with privacy fencing.
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Hearing, Case 2017-27: Request to amend the final Planned Unit Development at 1740 E Sherman Blvd to
allow construction of a new outbuilding, by Pacifica Companies.
SUMMARY
1. The property at 1740 E Sherman Blvd measures just under seven acres and is owned by Pacifica
Muskegon, LLC. It is part of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) that also includes about 10.5 acres
of retail development owned by RCG-Muskegon, LLC. CRC Muskegon, LLC also owns about 0.7
acres of property, which is the Fazoli’s restaurant. These three property owners are all under the
same PUD. Pacifica Muskegon, LLC is proposing to construct a new “outbuilding” on its property,
which would be located just east of the existing Fazoli’s building.
2. The parking lot would be reconfigured and four new landscaping islands would be added. The new
traffic pattern created will allow for a drive thru window for the new building. Parking spaces would
be restriped and there would be 36 parking spaces available for the new building. A landscaping plan
has not been included.
3. The building would be set up for two separate tenants. The tenant closest to Sherman would have
2,595 sq ft of space and the back tenant would have 2,995 sq ft of space.
4. Notice was sent to all property owners/tenants within 300 feet of this property. At the time of this
writing, staff received a call from RCG-Muskegon-LLC who said that there is an agreement between
all owners in the PUD that they must get approval from each other for any new buildings. Staff does
not have a copy of this agreement, but feels that it is a private matter between the entities.
Area where new out-building would be located at 1740 E Sherman Blvd
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Zoning Map
Aerial Map
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STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends approval of the new outbuilding as long as a landscaping plan is submitted and approved
by staff.
MOTION FOR CONSIDERATION
I move that the request to amend the final Planned Unit Development at 1740 E Sherman Blvd to allow the
construction of a new outbuilding be recommended to the City Commission for (approval/denial) with the
following condition(s):
1. A landscaping plan is submitted and approved by staff.
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