Minutes of the work session of the Georgetown Township Planning Commission held Wednesday, March 3, 2004

 

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Honderd at 7:30 p.m.

 

Present:            Honderd, Stasiak, Poskey, Huizinga, Jansma, South

Absent: DeGood

 

The work session, which formulated the agenda for March 17, 2004, included the following items to be placed on the agenda, discussion, and action:

 

I.                    Approval of agenda

 

II.                 Approval of minutes of the February 18, 2004 regular meeting and the March 3, 2004 work session meeting

 

III.       Unfinished Business

#040303-01 - (PUD0303) Arena Development LLC, 2551 VanOmmen Dr., Holland, is

requesting a Planned Unit Development for a mixed use development with various types of residential housing and various commercial uses, under Chapter 22, on a parcel of land described as PP#70-14-07-100-012, located at 8658 48th Ave.

 

Moved by Jansma, seconded by South, to remove the item from the table.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

Rick Pulaski, Nederveld Associates Inc., represented the applicant and presented the request.  He addressed issues that had been raised at previous meetings.  There will be a residential mix of two and three bedroom units.  Lighting and dumpster locations are shown.  Loading and unloading areas are expanded.  Cross walks, parking counts, pond safety issues, and site excavation are noted.  The open spaces were calculated and the 20% area requirement is still met, even with the strictest interpretation.

 

The planner presented a review.

 

The applicant stated that the loading areas had been moved away from patron areas and the pond slopes of 1 to 6 were extended for six feet, which is double the requirements of the county.

 

Jansma said that problems could exist with semi’s and the turning radius. 

 

The applicant said that the 48th Ave. entrance to the north would be constructed after 42% of the condos were constructed.

 

The chairman opened the floor to public comments.

 

Sam Hansen, 8486 40th Ave., said that the Planning Commissioners had been concerned with the amount of commercial and that it had not been mentioned at this meeting.  He asked if the public could dictate what the uses would be because he did not want pornography like what s available at the new Family Video store on Cottonwood and Bauer Rd.

The Zoning Administrator said that the ordinance defines a sexually oriented business as one with 40% or more of sexually oriented products and could only be regulated if the business met that criterion.  She said that the Township received other complaints and researched the issue.  She said that the Township could not regulate that use at that location because they had less than 40%.

 

Joel Bowens said that he represented Arena Development and that the amount of commercial was appropriate for the location and flexible with potential for the future.  He said to look at the impact on the neighborhood and that is would not be detrimental to the community because the spot was isolated with a substantial right-of-way for the transmission lines.  He said that in addition, the area was bordered by the ice rink that had been put in by the Township, which had regional appeal.  He said that the area was bordered by 48th Ave., which has been designated as a major corridor and was busy.  He said that this was an ideal area to meet the commercial needs that were determined by the market.  He said that it was an attractive plan with pedestrian access, substantial building setbacks, and attractive architecture for the buildings.

 

The chairman closed the floor to public comments.

 

The planner stated that his recommendation included that items 1 through 10 in his report be addressed.

 

The applicant stated that they would address those items.

 

Members of the Planning Commission stated that they had made it clear that they considered the plan to have too much commercial and was not consistent with the Master Plan.

 

Stasiak stated that the amount of commercial was inconsistent with the Master Plan and that he was not necessarily opposed to the amount of commercial if the Master Plan would be changed.

 

Moved by Poskey, seconded by Jansma, to recommend to the Township Board denial of (PUD0303) Arena Development LLC, 2551 VanOmmen Dr., Holland, a Planned Unit Development for a mixed use development with various types of residential housing and various commercial uses, under Chapter 22, on a parcel of land described as PP#70-14-07-100-012, located at 8658 48th Ave., because it is not consistent with the Master Plan.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

#040303-02 - Preliminary Plat of Beechgrove

 

Rick Pulaski, Nederveld Associates Inc., represented the applicant and presented the request.  It was noted that the items raised at the work session had been addressed.

 

Moved by Jansma, seconded by South, to remove the item from the table.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

The chairman opened the floor to public comments.  No one was present to speak on this topic.  The chairman closed the floor to public comments.

 

It was noted that although the proposed plat meets the requirements for lot area and width, and access and utilities, there is not much buildable space on lots 3, 4, 17, and 18 and it is likely that variances would be requested to build additions on these lots outside of the building envelopes. 

 

Direction was given by Planning Commissioners to have the record state that this information was supplied to the developer and that this situation is being self-created.  It was noted that the situation could be alleviated by reducing the number of lots to create bigger building envelopes.

 

Moved by Jansma, seconded by Poskey, to recommend to the Township Board to grant tentative preliminary plat approval of Beechgrove, as shown on the drawing dated revised 2/19/04, as submitted, subject to the record clearly indicating that the building areas for each lot result from the self-created actions of the applicant pursuant to the design of the plat and are not the result of the site’s (or the plat’s) unique land character and/or physical attributes.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

IV.       New Business

A.                 Site Plans

1.                  (ST0405) Georgetown Bible Church-4114 Baldwin St.

 

Roger Lamer, W.L. Perry Associates, represented the applicant and presented the request.

 

The Planning Commission approved the site plan for an addition to this existing church on 8-20-03 and a recommendation was made for approval for the special use permit (because there were no records that one had ever been approved for the church).  The Board approved the special use permit on 8-25-03.  A variance request was denied to have a driveway along the southeastern border without the 25 foot greenbelt.  So the drive along that property line was required to be used only for emergency access.  A request was granted to have a 15 foot greenbelt on the west property line, a variance of 10 feet from the 25 feet required in the ordinance.

 

The church has returned with a revised site plan that shows the building size increased from 17,000 to 20,218 square feet (an increase of 3,218 square feet) for the northern portion and from 11,428 to 12,942 square feet (an increase of 1,514 square feet) for the middle portion of the building, for a total increase of 4,732 square feet.

 

The plan notes that 243 parking spaces are required for 730 seats (730 divided by 3) and that 246 parking spaces are provided.  The plan notes that the streetscape requirement has been met.

 

The applicant stated that the church wanted to expand from what was previously approved and to be done with the educational wing.  He said that they kept the streetscape and put in two drives off Baldwin.  He said that they had received a letter from the Ottawa County Road Commission approving the two drives.  He said that they would still show the fire lane blocked with cables.  He said that a letter had been received from Al Feenstra, the Fire Inspector, and they would modify the plan accordingly.

 

The planner presented a review.

 

It was noted that setbacks need to be dimensioned and uses of abutting property should be shown.  The exact lot area should be shown and borders should be clarified.  If the church owns more than one parcel, they should be combined.  It was noted that the variance for the side yard greenbelt would be in effect for one year, during which time construct must begin or the variance becomes null and void.  The applicant was instructed to provide a knox box for the Fire Department.

 

B.         Public Hearings

1.                  Special Use Permits-none

                              2.         Rezonings-none

5.                  PUDs-none

 

6.                  Plats

a.         Preliminary Plat of Cory Estates

 

No one was present to represent the applicant.

 

The planner presented a review.

 

The Code of Ordinances requires that the final preliminary plat be submitted to the Board within one year from the date of the tentative preliminary plat approval.  Sec. 50-29 states the following:

 

Sec. 50-29.  Final approval of preliminary plat.

The proprietor must resubmit the preliminary plat to the township board for final approval within one year from the date of tentative approval, unless such time has been extended by action of the township board.

 

The Board granted tentative preliminary plat approval on 5-28-02 and the applicant did not asked for the Board to extend the time frame prior to the expiration of the time period.  Therefore, the plat has been resubmitted for preliminary plat approval.  It appears to be the same plan that was previously approved.

 

5.         Ordinance Amendments-none

 

V.                 Other Business

 

A.        Master Plan

 

VI.       Commissioner Comments

VII.      Staff Comments

VIII.         Adjourn

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.