Planning Commission Minutes

CITY OF GRANDVILLE
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
November 5, 2003

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Poll, in the Council Chambers at 7:02 p.m.

PRESENT: Jodie Sherman, Dave Zondervan, Bob Poll, Virgil Leatherman, William Timmer and Steve Maas

ABSENT: Craig Nicely

ALSO PRESENT: Ken Krombeen, City Manager
Dan Johnson, Assistant City Manager
Debby Descheneau, Personnel Assistant

Motion by Zondervan, seconded by Maas to approve the agenda as presented. The motion passed unanimously.

Motion by Zondervan, seconded by Leatherman, to approve the minutes of the October 1, 2003 meeting as presented. The motion passed unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS

1. Site Plan Review – 3367 28th Street – Storage Building

Dan Johnson reviewed the site plan comments and informed the Commissioners that the applicant had submitted two different plans, one with a 0-foot front yard setback with no landscaping and the other had a 5-foot setback. Both plans still fail to comply with comments previously submitted by Bob Bruggink. One in particular is the turning template.

Dave Zondervan stated that if the turning template could not be satisfied then the site is not ready. Chairman Poll agreed with these comments.

Jon Bratt came before the planning commission to state that traffic would not back out onto Wallace Avenue. They would back in to the site from Wallace. He also stated that he would resubmit the plans eliminating the cement wall for traffic maneuvering.

Motion by Zondervan, supported by Maas to table the Site Plan Review for 3367 28th Street until all site plan requirements are met. The motion passed unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING

1. Chairman Poll opened the public hearing at 7:15 p.m. to receive public comment on Grandville Christian School’s request for Special Land Use at 3934 Wilson Avenue.

Dan Johnson reviewed the special land use comments and noted that Grandville Christian is proposing to expand their current Educational Institution.

Chairman Poll asked if there was anyone in the audience who wished to speak to this issue.

Tim Steenstra, Principal of Grandville Christian, 3934 Wilson Ave, came before the Planning Commission to state that Grandville Christian purchased the additional property in order to build the Christian Learning Center, open the school’s visibility and to add more parking.

Richard Berends, Executive Director of the Christian Learning Center, 644 Hawthorne NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, came before the Planing Commission to provide a history of the Christian Learning Center program and operating facilities. Mr. Berends also stated that he would like to see Special Education Services available at Grandville Christian.

Dale Elders, member of the Grandville Christian School Board, 3891 Shorewood Ct., came before the Planning Commission in support of the expansion and to state that the program is good for the schools, good for the students and good for Grandville.

Bill Havercamp, Superintend for Calvin Christian Schools, came before the Planning Commission in support of the expansion and to state that like Grandville Christian, Calvin Christian is a member of the Christian Learning Center and benefits greatly from their services.

Carole Pettijohn, 3927 N. Big Spring, came before the Planning Commission in support of the expansion, stating that the use is a good fit for the neighborhood and the parking expansion is needed.

David Grace, 3948 Omaha, came before the Planning Commission for clarification on the plan. He is concerned about the parking lot that could replace the house that currently sits on the property. He also asked why the vacant property to the east of this site could not have been picked up for this expansion instead of the current location of 3934 Wilson.

Chairman Poll asked if there was anyone else in the audience who would like to speak to this issue. There was no one.

Motion by Maas, supported by Sherman to close the public hearing at 7:28 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.

Chairman Poll asked if there were any questions or comments to be made by Planning Commissioners.

Steve Maas asked Mr. Berends if students would be traveling to this location for services.

Mr. Berends stated yes but on a rotating schedule. The expansion is more for the administrative staff and diagnostic center. There are generally only 3 school psychiatrist at the school at one time, therefore there would only be 3 students receiving services at one time.

Chairman Poll asked what the typical hours of operation are and would there be any after school programs that may disturb the neighborhood.

Mr. Berends advised that there would be no after school services and that the typical hours are Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Steve Maas asked if Mr. Berends could address Mr. Grace’s question as to why the property to east was not considered for the expansion.

Mr. Berends confirmed that the only land to the east is the schools playground and within the Master Plan this space would not fit for the proposed expansion.

Dave Zondervan commented that when and if the site plan comes before the Planning Commission that sufficient buffering should be taken into consideration as to mitigate the impact on the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Chairman Poll agreed with these comments.

Motion by Mass, supported by Timmer to grant special land use to Grandville Christian Schools for the Christian Learning Center facility. The motion passed unanimously.

2. Chairman Poll opened the public hearing at 7:35 p.m. to receive public comment on Famous Dave’s Restaurant request for Special Land Use at 4505 Canal Avenue.

Dan Johnson reviewed the Special Land Use comments for the proposed construction of a 7,069 square foot standard restaurant to be situated in the C-5, Commercial Freeway-Interchange District and stated that the Special Land Use request appears to meet all requirements.

Chairman Poll asked if there was anyone in the audience who would like to speak on this issue. There was no comment to be made.

Motion by Leatherman, supported by Maas to close the public hearing at 7:38 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.

Motion by Leatherman, supported by Sherman to grant special land use to Famous Dave’s Restaurant. The motion passed unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Site Plan Review – 4505 Canal Avenue – Famous Dave’s Restaurant

Dan Johnson reviewed the site plan comments for the proposed restaurant. Dan informed the Commissioners that lighting should be consistent with the rest of the site, that exterior façade requirements should be met, parking stripping should be re-painted within the Grandville Marketplace site and delivery signage should be reduced.

Todd Olin, Project Manager for Williams & Works, came before the Planning Commission to submit revised landscaping plans. The new plans show the front yard parking setback reduced to 10 feet and more landscaping proposed. Todd also noted that new signage for deliveries would be incorporated.

Todd also noted that the revised plans add landscaping to the west and north of the equipment pad on the north side of site.

Todd passed around a sample of the exterior concrete siding that would be used on the building to show that it has the look of wood but carries a fifteen-year warranty, whereas a natural wood exterior only carries a five-year warranty.

Steve Maas stated that he liked the plan.

Chairman Poll asked if Famous Dave’s plans on building if the liquor license is not obtained. Larry Seedorf, representing Famous Dave’s, stated that they would not be able to build without the license.

Chairman Poll asked if the Commissioners were happy with the landscaping and also if they were comfortable with the concrete siding being more than 15% of the required amount according to the ordinance. All commissioners were agreed that the concrete siding was appropriate and that landscaping could be determined by city staff.

Motion by Leatherman, supported by Timmer to approve the site plan with following conditions: 1) Stripping around the perimeter of the site shall be remarked 2) Delivery sign shall be no more than 4 square feet in size 3) Separate permit required for signage 4) Final utility connections are subject to Department of Public Works and City Engineer approval 5) Landscaping approved by city staff 6) Lighting should be consistent with remainder of the Grandville Marketplace site 7) Concrete siding as presented at the meeting is approved for the site. The motion passed unanimously.

2. Site Plan Review – 2852 28th Street – Twice Nice Retail Store

Dan Johnson reviewed the site plan comments for 9,984 square foot retail store that would be in association with Calvin Christian School Association. The only areas of concern are landscaping, utilities and a driveway permit that needs to be obtained by MDOT. The Kent County Road Commission and MDOT have requested that the city require a cross access agreement to a neighboring lot.

Tim Vande Zande from the Architectural Group, 4165 Prairie SW, came before the Planning Commission to state that the water service line will be switched to either the 1" or 1 ½" in size as recommended by Bob Bruggink. Also that the sanitary sewer line would be corrected to match Bob Bruggink’s memo. Tim did mention that if a cross access agreement was put in place then the neighboring site would have to redo their drive in order to meet new taper requirements.

Motion by Leatherman, supported by Maas to approve the site plan with the following conditions: 1) separate sign permit required for site signage 2) Sidewalks shall be installed at owner’s expense when determined necessary by the city 3) All trees shall be at least 2 ½ inches in diameter 4) Comments from City Engineer and Department of Public Works shall be incorporated 5) Final utility connections are subject to Department of Public Works and City Engineer approval. The motion passed unanimously.

Virgil Leatherman left the meeting.

3. Discussion – Chicago Drive Center – Shared Parking

Dan Johnson reviewed the Chicago Drive Center history along with an overview of the businesses currently in the Center. Rietberg Companies is proposing a shared parking agreement in order to meet the parking requirements to add another beauty type salon to the Center.

Al Rietberg, part owner of the Chicago Drive Center, 4072 Chicago Drive, came before the Planning Commission to outline how the current parking operates with each individual business in the Center having different peak hours.

Steve Maas asked that he be allowed to abstain from the discussion and the vote due to the fact that he has a financial interest in the project.

Chairman Poll raised a concern that if one of the businesses in the Center were to close and the new business that takes it place had a higher traffic flow, then how could those parking issues be addressed when there is no more room for additional parking.

Dave Zondervan feels that the property owners have a vested interest to provide adequate parking for its tenants.

Ken Krombeen mentioned that this shared parking request is only for this proposed use. All other uses will have to come before the Planning Commission fore a similar request.

Motion by Sherman, supported by Zondervan to abstain Steve Maas from the discussion and vote of the shared parking proposal for the Chicago Drive Center.

Motion by Zondervan, supported by Timmer to approve the shared parking request for a nail salon requesting a lease on 1,350 square feet of the remaining 3,400 square feet of space. The motion passed by a vote of 3-1 with Zondervan, Timmer and Sherman supporting the request and Poll opposing the request.

4. Discussion – Zoning Ordinance Review

Dan presented some proposed language for the remaining zoning ordinance items to be considered for updating. These include: fences, seasonal outdoor sales of agricultural products, accessory buildings, building height, commercial uses and special land uses.

The Commissioner agreed on the new language for the seasonal outdoor sales of agricultural product sections. It was determined that the remaining sections would be discussed at next months Planning Commission meeting.

PUBLIC COMMENT

1. Chairman Poll asked if there were any public comments to be made. There were none.

OTHER BUSINESS

Chairman Poll asked if there was any other business to discuss. There was none.

Motion by Timmer, supported by Maas to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

Debby Descheneau
Recording Secretary

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