CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CALEDONIA PLANNING COMMISSION Archie Warner, Chairman. Minutes of a meeting held on January 5, 2015

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1 1 CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CALEDONIA PLANNING COMMISSION Archie Warner, Chairman Minutes of a meeting held on A regular meeting of the Charter Township of Caledonia Planning Commission held at 7:00 p.m., on Monday,, at the Township Office, 8196 Broadmoor Ave. SE, Caledonia, Michigan. 1. CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL Chairman Archie Warner called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. with a quorum present. Members Present: A. Paarlberg, D. Gunnink, M. Kelly, D. Koopmans, R. Parent, J. Masefield, and A. Warner Members Absent: None Staff Present: Andy Moore, of Williams & Works, and A. Burnside, Planning Assistant Others Present: Representatives for Boondox Motorsports, Residents of the Township 2. CONSIDERATION OF THE MEETING AGENDA A. Warner added the Election of Officers for 2015 to the agenda as item7d. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS (BRIEF UP TO 2 MINUTES) A. Warner opened the floor to public comment at 7:05 p.m., and closed it at the same time, finding no comment. 4. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES A. Minutes of the November 17, 2014 meeting. A. Paarlberg made a motion to approve the minutes of November 17, 2014, as submitted. Motion was supported by D. Gunnink. VOICE VOTE: All ayes. Minutes of the November 17, 2014 meeting were approved. 5. INQUIRY OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST None. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None.

2 2 7. NEW BUSINESS A. Public Hearing Special Use Permit: Requested by Michael Ryder, to operate a meadery from his residence in the Copper Heights PUD. Property commonly known as 7750 Copper Heights Ct. SE, PP# ARCHIE WARNER ENTERTAINS A MOTION: Michael Ryder came forward to give an overview of his request. He would like to open a meadery in his garage, and plans to sell his product around the local area. A. Warner opened the floor to public comment at7:07. Tony Pearson, of 8242 Copper Heights Drive, came forward to state he is a neighbor and he is in support of this request. A. Warner closed public comment at 7:07, finding no further comment. A Warner asked M. Ryder about heating in the garage; he replied he will be installing a small furnace. A. Warner inquired if there was drainage from production; M. Ryder explained he will be installing a sink and tying into the existing drainage of the house, to the septic system. The bulk of the waste is yeast, proteins, and fruit, and he will have a compost heap for that. He plans to sell by the bottle, hoping to produce gallons per year, so about 1000 bottles. He has no plan for employees, but if all goes well, he will expand and relocate at that time. He agreed to comply with all conditions of the Planner s report. R. Parent asked about compliance with Health Department, and other State and Federal regulations. M. Ryder explained this approval is just the first piece; next steps are State and Federal approvals. He does not plan to have any sales on site; he will not have a tasting room. J. Masefield inquired about deliveries of supplies or distributions; M. Ryder replied that he would get his own supplies and make his own deliveries. D. Koopmans reiterated that M. Ryder would not be allowed to have employees at this location. He also would like the Fire Chief to take a look at the plans and to be made aware of where any hazardous material may be stored. A. Warner commented that condition #8 of the Planner s report addresses the issue of storage of materials. J. Masefield found from the applicant that the 3 rd stall of his garage would be completely walled off with a separate entrance, and would be locked. D. Koopmans commented that M. Ryder needs to be willing to work with neighbors and install ventilation if fumes or odors became a problem; M. Ryder agreed. D. Gunnink asked about the floor drain if a container broke; found that the drain is hooked up to the septic system. A. Paarlberg asked how large the compost heap would be, doesn t want it to be an eyesore to neighbors. M. Ryder replied it won t be a large amount of waste, maybe a few gallons, and stored in a self-contained barrel.

3 3 M. Kelly inquired if this is like the craft beer industry, where volume produced is controlled by licensing? M. Ryder informed them it is, and if he is granted a Small Wine Maker s License, it would allow him to produce up to 50,000 gallons, but there is no way he could make that much. ARCHIE WARNER ENTERTAINS A MOTION: R. Parent motioned to approve the Special Use Permit for Michal Ryder for a Home Based Business at 7750 Copper Heights Ct with the following conditions: 1) There shall be not more than one additional non-resident employee. 2) No mechanical equipment shall be installed on the premises, except such as normally used for domestic household purposes, in this case, a garage heater. 3) No more than 25% of the total floor area of the main floor shall be used for the home based business. 4) There shall be no outdoor storage of goods or materials. 5) There shall be no selling of goods or commodities sold on the premises. 6) The Zoning Administrator shall annually inspect the property to ensure that equipment from the home-based business is stored and used appropriately and to ensure consistency with the application. 7) There shall be no change in the outside appearance of the home, and there shall be no signage outside the home. 8) There shall be no toxic, combustible or hazardous materials used or stored on the premises. Mead is the combination of honey, water, and yeast (with fruit, fruit juice, herbs, spices, peppers, or other vegetables added). There may be CO2 tanks on the premises, which shall be safe and inspected canisters to carbonate or dispense mead. 9) The applicant shall develop an exit plan for the home-based business so that if/when the meadery grows to such a point that compliance with the standards of this Ordinance is no longer feasible, the home-based business does not become non-compliant. 10) The applicant shall submit to the Township planner all necessary permits from the State of Michigan. 11) The standards of Section pertaining to home-based businesses shall be met. 12) A site plan shall be submitted to the Fire Chief for his review, and any recommendations shall be complied with. The motion was supported by D. Koopmans. ROLL CALL VOTE: A. Paarlberg aye, D. Gunnink aye, M. Kelly aye, A. Warner aye, D. Koopmans aye, R. Parent aye, J. Masefield aye. Motion Carried. B. Public Hearing - Special Use Permit: Requested by Troy Rubey of Boondox Motorsports, for an additional sign on his property at 9864 Broadmoor Ave. SE, PP# Troy Rubey came forward, he is asking for an approval of his sign that is already installed, in violation of the ordinance as a 2 nd sign on one parcel, and also in violation of the setback requirements of the Broadmoor Overlay District. To comply with the Overlay District, T. Rubey stated the sign would need to be moved back 23 more feet, and that would put it in a thoroughfare of his parking lot.

4 4 A. Warner opened the floor to public comment at 7:21. Ross Martin, owner of Caledonia Hardware, came forward. He stated it doesn t make sense to move the sign that far back, it would obstruct through traffic for Boondox and for his own business. He feels T. Rubey has done a nice job upgrading the site, and supports him having both signs. Dick Suwyn, of 9675 Hanna Lake, owner of Dollar General, came forward. He stated he has no problem with the sign, businesses need signs to generate business, and he feels the sign ordinance in the Township is a problem. He has been before the Township about a sign at Dollar General. A. Warner closed public comment at 7:24, finding no further comment. A. Warner commented that Ken s Auto and Dollar General have been in before with signage requests and were denied. They had also been denied at the Zoning Board of Appeals. J. Masefield asked if the Planning Commission had approved the Caledonia Hardware sign, as the placement seemed similar to the Boondox sign. R. Parent commented he did not recall when that sign was placed, and he has been on the Commission for 17 years. R. Martin returned to the podium and explained that he had recently gotten approval for changing out the sign face; the sign is non-conforming but is grandfathered in. A. Warner asked T. Rubey why the sign was placed without a permit. T. Rubey explained that he thought it was approved along with the site plan approval; he thought that was his permit. A. Warner stated that the Planner had told T. Rubey he would need to get separate approval for the sign. T. Rubey didn t recall that conversation, and wasn t aware he was in violation until Ed Rusticus, the Township Zoning Administrator. came to the site and told him sign was in violation. D. Koopmans explained signs have always required separate permits; he noted they are trying to clean that area up, and get signs placed back farther off the road, since it will be widened at some point. A. Warner commented that the other issue was that this is a second sign; only one sign is allowed per parcel. T. Rubey explained that it was originally 2 parcels when he bought it, but the building he renovated was built on both parcels, so the building official required him to combine the parcels into one. A. Warner asked if he has considered just having the one sign and taking the other down. T. Rubey would like to turn it back into 2 parcels and lease out the north building as 5 separate retail spaces, and those businesses will need the pole sign. He intends to wrap the bottom of that sign with stone, clean up the face and make it look nice, with 5 spaces for tenants. A. Warner did agree with T. Rubey that it doesn t make sense for him to place his sign that far back in his parking lot. D. Koopmans commented on the Boondox van that is currently parked outside; T. Rubey replied that he intends to park it inside once renovations are finished in the building. D. Gunnink suggested he could move the sign back, but raise it up to make it visible. J. Masefield commented they had approved 2 signs on the site plan; A. Warner clarifed they had approved the site plan, not the signage. That is permitted separately. But the

5 5 applicant installed the sign without a permit. He has now submitted an application. M. Kelly suggested about splitting it into 2 parcels, but found from staff that the property doesn t have enough frontage to be divided back into 2 parcels. A. Warner commented if they approve this, they should be prepared to approve it for the neighbors. A. Paarlberg commented that the sign looks nice, but he is sensitive to the precedent that would be set to allow it. D. Koopmans suggested tabling the request, and going down there to see how things look, maybe combining all into one big sign. A. Warner suggested making it a wall sign; suggested working with the planner to see what his options are. D. Koopmans commented maybe he could install one monopole sign in his landscaping island. D. Gunnink commented that from a legal standpoint, T. Rubey has an approved site plan with the sign on it, and he thought that was approved. A. Warner stated the planner s report made the applicant aware that the sign needed a permit. M. Kelly felt it should be noted that they don t approve signs with site plans; that is a separate process. J. Marlink commented that the building looks really nice. The commissioners want T. Rubey to succeed, but he needs to be in compliance. D. Koopmans motioned to table the request, and that Planner L. Wells review the case file history and meet with T. Rubey to discuss his options. The motion was supported by M. Kelly. ROLL CALL VOTE: A. Paarlberg aye, D. Gunnink aye, M. Kelly aye, A. Warner aye, D. Koopmans aye, R. Parent aye, J. Masefield aye. Motion Carried. C. Discussion Item: Review memo from Planner Wells regarding residential uses in the HC designated areas on the Future Land Use Plan and Zoning Ordinance. A. Moore discussed the build-out analysis Williams & Works had prepared for the Township. They were asked to explore the potential total unit build-out of multiplefamily dwellings in the H-C and HDR Future Land Use categories, as well as vacant parcels currently zoned R-3. There is potential for 1866 new units in HC and HDR, which is quite a lot of housing. Based on the Township s rate of growth, 168 rental units would be needed in the next 10 years. A. Moore commented that the Master Plan is not really providing enough guidance about where those should go; perhaps to the Northwest side of the Township. The University is driving the development of rentals, and they may need more. A. Moore noted two things: 1) The Master Plan invites or permits more multi-family residential than we need; and 2) The future land use map has so much land in Medium Density Residential, he is concerned that developers may try for multi-family residential in those areas. The Zoning Ordinance has two medium density designations; a medium density single family designation, and a medium density multi-family designation. In the Master Plan and the on the future land use map, there is only one medium density designation. His concern is that a developer could potentially try to take advantage of that

6 6 ambiguity. The connection between the Zoning Ordinance/map and the Master Plan/future land use map needs to be more specific. A. Moore suggested multi-family housing would make the most sense around the village, where there are public utilities, walk ability, and infrastructure; or perhaps the northwest section of the Township. A. Paarlberg asked if first step would be cleaning up the language between the Master Plan and the ordinance. A. Moore suggested they could make changes to the Zoning Ordinance to allow multi-family residential in more controlled areas, perhaps take it out of some zoning districts, add it to others, make it follow a more predictable pattern. A. Warner asked what precipitated this analysis. The Commission is not required to open the Master Plan until 2018, but A. Warner asked about cost to open the whole Plan and have them review it. A. Moore replied that he would discuss options with L. Wells. A. Warner reiterated that the 203 acres that are currently zoned HC would never build out as all rentals, but they could still look into controlling the amount of high density housing allowed in HC. A. Moore responded that it would be good to provide more guidance and direction for this growth, and that there is more focus and attention on this because of the University. D. Koopmans said they could review it again, as the current growth of the University wasn t part of their original considerations in planning this area, as this was to be a remote campus of Davenport. For example, the property west of Kraft and North of 68 th is owned by Meijer; it was never the Commission s intention for that to be developed as high density residential. The commissioners agreed that there could be some unintended consequences. A. Moore said he would discuss their concerns and questions with L. Wells and figure out the next steps. D. Discussion Item: Election of Officers for 2015 A. Warner opened the floor to nominations for Chairman. R. Parent nominated A. Warner. No other nominations were made, so D. Gunnink moved to close the nominations. R. Parent seconded the motion; voice vote all ayes. D. Gunnink supported the nomination of A. Warner for Chairman. Voice vote all ayes. A. Warner is the Chairman for A. Warner opened the floor to nominations for Vice Chairman. D. Koopmans nominated M. Kelly. No other nominations were made, so D. Gunnink moved to close the nominations. A. Paarlberg seconded the motion; voice vote all ayes. R. Parent supported the nomination of M. Kelly for Vice Chairman. Voice vote all ayes. M. Kelly is the Vice Chairman for A. Warner opened the floor to nominations for Secretary. A. Warner nominated D. Gunnink. No other nominations were made, so A. Paarlberg moved to close the nominations. D. Koopmans seconded the motion; voice vote all ayes. R. Parent supported the nomination of D. Gunnink for Secretary. Voice vote all ayes. D. Gunnink is the Secretary for PUBLIC COMMENTS (EXTENDED UP TO 5 MINUTES)

7 7 A. Warner opened the floor to public comment at 8:18 p.m. and closed it at the same time, finding no comment. 9. COMMISSIONER S COMMENTS 10. ADJOURNMENT D. Gunnink commented that Rod Korhorn of Vriesman & Korhorn, had passed away; his son was a friend of Rod s, condolences to the family. A. Warner thanked everyone, appreciates their confidence in him as Chairman, and will work to keep it. D. Koopmans made a motion to adjourn. Motion was supported by R. Parent. VOICE VOTE all ayes Meeting adjourned at 8:19 p.m. CALEDONIA TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Duane Gunnink, Secretary Approved: February 16, 2015 Respectfully submitted, Angela Burnside Recorder