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CITY OF MUSKEGON
PLANNING COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES
December 11, 2008
Chairman T. Michalski called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. and roll was taken.
MEMBERS PRESENT: B. Turnquist, L. Spataro, T. Harryman, S. Warmington, B. Larson,
T. Michalski
MEMBERS ABSENT: J. Aslakson, excused; B. Smith, excused; B. Mazade, excused
STAFF PRESENT: L. Anguilm, H. Mitchell, D. Leafers
OTHERS PRESENT: T. Pastoor, 1291 Terrace St.; R. DeVries, 1305 Terrace St.; J. Rooks,
Parkland Muskegon LLC
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion that the minutes of the regular meeting of November 13, 2008 be approved, was made by
S. Warmington, supported by T. Harryman and unanimously approved.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Hearing; Case 2008-31: Request to rezone the properties located at 1264 Terrace Street and 185
E. Isabella Avenue from R-1, Single Family Residential District to OSR, Open Space Recreation
District, by Tom Pastoor, 1291 Terrace Street, McLaughlin Neighborhood Association. L.
Anguilm presented the staff report. The properties that are the subject of this request are
presently vacant, but being used by the McLaughlin Neighborhood Association for neighborhood
gatherings. They have a long term lease with the City for 1264 Terrace, and a maintenance
agreement with the City for 185 E. Isabella. Since the McLaughlin Neighborhood does not have
their own park, they wish to develop the property into a neighborhood park. Their plans include
erecting a picnic shelter, as well as adding other upgrades to the property. Since those
improvements aren’t allowed on a lot without a principal structure in an R-1 zone, rezoning to
OSR seems to be a good solution. The Zoning Ordinance allows “parks, playgrounds and
playfields” in the OSR zoning district as principal uses, and the district language states that these
districts “are intended for permanent open spaces in the City”. The 1997 Master Plan Future
Land Use Map identified this property as “Residential”, however since parks are meant to serve
residential area, this use is complementary. Minimum size for a lot in OSR is 21,780 square feet,
with 75 feet of frontage on a street. These two lots together are 22,704 square feet, and have
more than the required frontage. The areas surrounding these two properties are all zoned R-1.
However, staff does not believe this request would result in a spot zone, since it isn’t inconsistent
with other uses in the area, and it would not benefit an individual land owner rather than the
broad public interest. Staff has received no comments regarding this request and recommends
approval.
Planning Commission Minutes – 12/11/08 1
B. Larson asked who was responsible for maintenance of the lots covered by the long term lease.
L. Anguilm stated that the neighborhood association was. B. Larson asked what the City’s
liability would be. L. Anguilm believed that the neighborhood association would have to have
liability insurance to cover the property. B. Turnquist asked what the hours of use were going to
be. L. Anguilm stated that it would be up to the neighborhood association. Board members
discussed which properties were the ones in question. H. Mitchell pointed them out on a map of
the area. B. Larson asked about bathrooms on site. L. Anguilm stated that it was not required,
however the neighborhood association was providing port-a-johns for special events. This is
allowed in other parks in the City, as well.
T. Pastoor was the neighborhood association president and provided a brief history of the area.
He hoped that the park would provide an area to bring the neighbors together. He had spoken to
several City staff regarding different possibilities for the park. He would like to erect a picnic
pavilion, playground equipment, and a water feature. B. Turnquist asked how many families
there were in the neighborhood. T. Pastoor provided some demographics for the area. L.
Anguilm stated that since the site was under 2 acres, any site plans submitted would go through
staff review, rather than through the Planning Commission. R. DeVries of 1305 Terrace stated
that he supported the request.
A motion to close the public hearing was made by T. Harryman, supported by S. Warmington
and unanimously approved.
A motion that the request to rezone the properties located at 1264 Terrace Street and 185 E.
Isabella Avenue from R-1, Single Family Residential district to OSR, Open Space Recreation
district, as described in the public notice, be recommended for approval to the City Commission
pursuant to the City of Muskegon Zoning Ordinance and the determination of compliance with
the intent of the City Master Land Use and zoning district intent, was made by S. Warmington,
supported by L. Spataro and unanimously approved.
Hearing; Case 2008-32: Request to amend the Final PUD for 100 Muskegon Mall for the
properties located at 241, 255 and 285 W. Western Avenue, to allow for a residential
development, by Jonathan Rooks, Parkland Muskegon LLC. L. Anguilm presented the staff
report. The properties in question include the former Hackley/Comerica Bank building and two
vacant parcels to the northeast, facing W. Western Avenue between First and Jefferson Streets.
The original request was for a mixed use commercial and residential development that will
involve the rehabilitation of the former bank building and the construction of a two-story
addition facing W. Western Avenue. The change proposed will eliminate the commercial
element from the two-story addition. Instead the residential units planned for the first floor will
be enlarged to include the front area, originally proposed for commercial. Where the units
would have been efficiency units, they will now be expanded to one-bedroom units. The entire
building addition will also be set back from Western Avenue 8 feet to allow for small gardens
and front gates to be installed. This request is made due to the financing difficulties in these hard
economic times. DMDC has approved this change to the development. The zoning of the
property is B-3, Central Business with a PUD overlay. The properties surrounding the site are all
zoned B-3. The building is an 8-story building that previously housed a bank on the first floor
and offices on the other floors. The addition will consist of 2 stories, with a total of 70 units
between the current building and the addition. The number of units has not changed from the
original request. The parking numbers have changed. There were originally 18 garages and 39
Planning Commission Minutes – 12/11/08 2
surface parking spaces. The new plan has eliminated 3 garages and 4 other parking spaces for a
total of 50 spaces. A total of 105 residential spaces are required. The remaining spaces will be
covered with a shared parking agreement for an additional 60 spaces, a copy of which has been
submitted to the Planning Department. The Planning Department has the following conditions of
approval: a) Proposed decorative fencing and gate heights must be indicated on plan. Height
limitation in residential front yards is 3 feet, unless an open fence, such as chain link or picket
fencing is used, in which case it may be a maximum of 4 feet, b) Indicate zoning classifications
of abutting properties, c) Outdoor lighting must be indicated on site plan as 100% cut-off; pole
height limit is 25 feet, and d) A sign permit will be required. No comments were available from
Fire, DPW, and Engineering at the time of this staff report. Staff has received no comments
regarding this request and recommends approval, subject to the conditions listed in the staff
report.
L. Spataro asked which lot the parking agreement referred to. L. Anguilm stated that it was 350
Morris. L. Spataro asked what assurance there was that the project would move forward if this
request was approved. J. Rooks stated that he had chosen a construction company and already
had 33 non-binding reservations for the condominium units. His concern was the condo buyers
and their ability to obtain financing. Due to the current condition of the financial markets, banks
are not lending for mixed-use developments like they used to. L. Spataro asked if there was a
possibility of having the street-level units be mixed use. J. Rooks stated that the original design
had that, but that was what banks considered the “retail” component, which made financing
difficult. He stated that in the time that the 33 condominium deposits were collected, there had
been no interest in the retail space. T. Harryman felt that the retail aspect was an important part
of the project, and asked what efforts had been made to retain the retail portion. J. Rooks
explained several things he had done.
A motion to close the public hearing was made by S. Warmington, supported by L. Spataro and
unanimously approved.
A motion that the minor amendment to the Final PUD for 100 Muskegon Mall for properties at
241, 255, & 285 W. Western Avenue be approved, pursuant to the determination of compliance
with the intent of the City Zoning Ordinance and City Master Land Use Plan, with the conditions
that 1) All revisions to the site plan listed in #8 of the staff report are completed and approved by
the Planning Department, and 2) All conditions of the Fire Department, DPW, or Engineering
Department are met, was made by B. Turnquist, supported by S. Warmington and unanimously
approved.
Hearing; Case 2008-33: Staff-initiated request to amend Section 2334, #1 (Temporary
Buildings, Structures, and Uses) of Article XXIII, to include “movie production” structures as
permitted temporary buildings. L. Anguilm presented the staff report. With recent tax
abatements passed by the State of Michigan, the West Michigan area, including Muskegon, is
beginning to experience movie industry interest. For example, the Watermark is in the planning
process for a large movie studio. When movie companies come to a location to shoot films, they
often need to erect temporary buildings of some sort as part of their sets, or to provide shelter
and protection for equipment. Our present zoning ordinance does allow for temporary buildings
for many kinds of temporary uses, such as classrooms, Christmas tree sales, and real estate
offices. However, it does not provide for temporary buildings for movie production. Temporary
structures require a “Temporary Zoning Permit”, which is issued by the Zoning Administrator
Planning Commission Minutes – 12/11/08 3
and signed by either the property owner, the property lessee, or in this case someone authorized
to sign from the production company. Proposed new ordinance language to include movie
production was provided.
A motion to close the public hearing was made by S. Warmington, supported by L. Spataro and
unanimously approved.
A motion that the amendment to Section 2324, #1, of Article XXIII, General Provisions, of the
City of Muskegon Zoning Ordinance to include “movie production” structures as permitted
temporary buildings, be recommended to the City Commission for approval, was made by T.
Harryman, supported by S. Warmington and unanimously approved.
OTHER
Downtown Parking – S. Warmington discussed some developments regarding parking in the
downtown area.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:03 p.m.
Planning Commission Minutes – 12/11/08 4
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