Minutes of the regular meeting of the Georgetown Township Planning Commission, held Wednesday, August 17, 2005

 

Meeting called to order by Chairman Honderd at 7:30 p.m.

 

Present:            Honderd, Poskey, DeGood, Pearson, South, Huizinga

Absent: Stasiak

 

#050817-01 - Agenda for August 17, 2005

 

Moved by DeGood, seconded by South, to approve the agenda for August 17, 2005, as presented.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

#050817-02 - Minutes of the July 20, 2005 regular meeting and the August 3, 2005 work session

meeting

 

Moved by DeGood, seconded South, to approve the minutes of the July 20, 2005 regular meeting, as submitted.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

Moved by South, seconded by Pearson, to approve the minutes of the August 3, 2005 work session meeting, as submitted.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

#050817-03 - Unfinished Business Special Use Permit (SUP0504) Wizard Wash Ventures, LLC-550

Baldwin St.

 

Bill Bussey represented the applicant and presented the request.  He said that sidewalk has been provided to Chicago Dr., cross hatching has been shown on the drives for the pedestrian walkways, two signs have been eliminated, landscaping provided and the building moved back to accommodate setbacks.

 

The planner presented a review and said that there have been no revisions since the last meeting.  He recommended placing signs to direct specific times for turning movements.

 

Poskey said that the car wash would be too intense for the area and would cause too much congestion.  He said that the proposal did meet the requirements and that no signs would be necessary because people would police themselves and it would happen automatically.

 

The chairman opened the public hearing.  No one was present to comment on this item.  The chairman closed the public hearing.

 

The applicant said that interior signage might not be effective and the turning movements would depend on traffic.  He said that according to the traffic study by Ed Swanson there would not be long lines for a wait.  He said that if cars can’t get out one way they would turn right.  He said that he could work out the installation of speed bumps with Meijer because this was not his property.  He said that he would have a problem restricting traffic on the drive because Meijer was not agreeable to it.  He said that they have already agreed to take out the asphalt to put in greenspace and they would not be willing to take out more.  He said that this proposal would control and direct traffic, as well as provide more greenspace and sidewalks.  He said that he can’t promise to deliver more since this is Meijer property.  He said that 90% of the business was already there and the objective was to capture the huge amount of traffic that was already there for Meijer.

 

The planner said that elements should be used to manage the traffic circulation and to discourage traffic that was not using the car wash from accessing this exit.

 

Pearson asked about the right-in-right-out exit.

 

Moved by Pearson, seconded by South, to recommend to the Township Board approval of Special Use Permit (SUP0504) Wizard Wash Ventures, LLC, 4346 Leonard NW, Grand Rapids, to have a vehicle wash establishment under Sec. 15.3(C), on a parcel of land described as P.P. # 70-14-13-300-075, located at 550 Baldwin St., in a (CS) Community Service Commercial district (links), with the following conditions:

1.      Limit the east access drive on the south side of the leased property to right-in traffic movement, and limit the west exit drive from the car wash to right-out traffic movement;

2.      Install signage to direct internal traffic to utilize the internal service roads to enter and exit the development site.

 

Yeas:    Pearson, Huizinga, DeGood

Nays:   Poskey, Honderd, South

Absent: Stasiak

 

TIED-NO MOTION

 

Moved by Poskey, seconded by Huizinga, to recommend to the Township Board approval of Special Use Permit (SUP0504) Wizard Wash Ventures, LLC, 4346 Leonard NW, Grand Rapids, to have a vehicle wash establishment under Sec. 15.3(C), on a parcel of land described as P.P. # 70-14-13-300-075, located at 550 Baldwin St., in a (CS) Community Service Commercial district (links), as presented.

 

Yeas:    Pearson, Huizinga, DeGood, Poskey, South

Nays:   Honderd

Absent: Stasiak

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

Moved by DeGood, seconded by Huizinga, to approve the site plan dated July 5, 2005, as presented.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

#050817-04 – Unfinished Business-Preliminary Plat of Georgetown Shores No. 6 connection view, no

connection view

 

At the Township Board meeting on Monday, July 25, 2005, Georgetown Shores No. 6 was tabled and referred back to the Planning Commission.  At the August 3, 2005 meeting, the Planning Commission tabled the item after a tied vote of 3 to 3.  Therefore, both plans are presented for another recommendation by the Planning Commission.  No new information has been provided.

 

Todd Stuive, Exxel Engineering, said that a petition had been submitted by the property owners in previous phases who are opposed to the connection to 18th Ave.

 

The planner said that no new information has been submitted and that a letter has been submitted by the Fire Department in favor of the connection to 18th Ave.  He said that Langworth Strader LeBlanc supports the connection.

 

DeGood said that he has observed traffic and that some went west.  He was not sure how the intersection would be controlled.

 

The petition that had been submitted and various emails that had been received by the Township were distributed to Planning Commissioners.

 

Pearson said that the main issue was safety and how traffic moves.  He said that he drove the area from the Fire Department and made it in two minutes.  He said that the connection would be dangerous and the proposal without the connection would satisfy the will of the people.

 

South said that he supports the connection.  He said that he has observed traffic at various times of the day and most of the traffic is from residents, not drive-through traffic has indicated by the residents.  He said that the traffic mostly consists of the people who live there and he did not want to make them detour through the additional subdivision and subject all those additional residents to all the traffic from the existing subdivisions.  He said that he was worried and concerned for the safety of those who would live in the proposed subdivision, not just concerned with the current residents.

 

Moved by Poskey, seconded by DeGood, to remove the item from the table.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

Moved by South, seconded by Huizinga, to open the floor to comments provided new information was given.

 

Yeas:    Pearson, Huizinga, DeGood, South, Poskey

Nays:   Honderd

Absent: Stasiak

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

Randy Plaisier, 1742 North Bay Dr., said that he wanted to reply to comments made.  He said that it was untrue that nothing was on the other side of VanBuren.  He said that there was a subdivision with 100 homes and it was only about 1/3rd complete.  He said that he sees those residents driving by and taking a short cut.  He said that his street was not supposed to be a cut-through.

 

The chairman said that the subdivision that Randy Plaisier referenced was Rozeveld Ridge and it was already nearly completely built.  He also said that the traffic was generated because 8th Ave. was closed due to construction.

 

Al VanDyke, 1629 North Bay Dr., said that it is used as a cut-through from about 6 or 7 p.m. until 10 p.m., mostly evenings rather than at 7:00 a.m.  He said that he has a three-year-old and he wants to reduce speeds any way that he can.

 

Mike Ply, 5693 16th Ave., said that he spoke with the Fire Chief and that he had been neutral in regards to the connection because it was only a 45 second difference, which is not significant.  He said that he sat at the construction gate and watched 20 cars and two went to Edson while the rest went to North Bay Dr. and came through.  He said that he knows that some are from his subdivision, but most are not.  He said that he watches 16th Ave. and sees cars coming from VanBuren.  He is concerned that when the construction on 8th Ave. is complete, there might be more through traffic.  He said that a petition was submitted and that people would use the shortest route.

 

Dr. Rooks, 5649 18th Ave., said that he wanted to comment on a Planning Commissioner’s comments regarding one road dumping traffic to another.  He said that the main issue was that there were not sidewalks on this street and that people were in the street because there was no where else to walk.  He said that the new subdivision would have sidewalks and this was a safety issue.

 

John VanDyke, 1721 East Shore Ct., said that he would like to hear the rebuttal of the points that the residents had presented in emails and in the petition.  He said that he has not heard a strong rebuttal.

 

Poskey said that it is not the roll of the Planning Commissioners to present information to the audience and explain their view; rather it is the responsibility of the Planning Commission to obtain input from the audience.

 

Honderd said that he supports the connection and will give his reasons when the vote is taken.

 

South said that the road is used for a cut-through now because 8th Ave. is closed for construction and extra traffic would be alleviated when it is reopened.  He said that he viewed traffic at the intersection at all times of the day and residents had probably seen his van parking in the area as he observed the traffic.

 

The chairman closed the floor to public comments.

 

Moved by Poskey, seconded by Pearson, to recommend to the Township Board to grant tentative preliminary plat approval of Georgetown Shores No. 6, as shown on the drawing dated 7-19-05 without the connection to 18th Ave.

 

Honderd said that he was opposed to the motion because he was in favor of the connection to 18th Ave.  He said that the reason that there was traffic now from McClelland St. was because 8th Ave. was closed for construction.  He said that he believed that the Planning Commission had to look at the traffic flow for the whole area, not just how it would affect this one area.  He said that the Planning Commission had to look at the effect this would have on the whole traffic flow through both subdivisions and there should be a balance.  He said that there could be a three-way stop sign or just a stop sign at Edson.  He said that a majority of the traffic would head down 14th Ave. and not take the cut-through at 16th Ave.

 

South said that he preferred the connection to 18th Ave.

 

Yeas:    Poskey, Pearson

Nays:   South, Honderd, DeGood, Huizinga

Absent: Stasiak

 

MOTION DEFEATED.

 

Moved by DeGood, seconded by Huizinga, to recommend to the Township Board to grant tentative preliminary plat approval of Georgetown Shores No. 6, as shown on the drawing dated 7-19-05, with the connection to 18th Ave.

 

Yeas:    DeGood, Huizinga, Honderd, South

Nays:   Poskey, Pearson

Absent: Stasiak

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

#050817-05 - Site Plan (ST0511) Serviscreen -1765 Chicago Dr.

 

The following items have been corrected:

·        The dimensions of the building have been corrected to be shown as 6,000 square feet.

·        Parking calculations have been shown correctly on the parking chart (but the number is still listed incorrectly as 16 under number 3 of the General Notes.

·        The permanent parcel number is now correctly shown.

·        Sidewalks have been shown.

·        A narrative has been provided showing compliance with the industrial performance stands in Chapter 23.

·        An elevation has been provided and under “General Notes” note 14 indicates that the construction materials will be the same as the existing buildings.

·        The 20-foot access road and turn around area have been provided as required by the Fire Department.

·        A Storm Water Drain Permit would be required with approval from the Ottawa County Drain Commissioner at the time the building permit is submitted.

 

Tom Miedema, Miedema Metal Buildings, represented the applicant and presented the request.

 

The planner presented a review.

 

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.

 

Moved by Pearson, seconded by Poskey, to approve the site plan dated 8/9/05, as submitted.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

#050817-06 – Rezoning (REZ0503) To change from (I) Industrial to (HS) Highway Service Commercial

a parcel of land described as P.P. # 70-14-22-450-016, located at 1720 Chicago Dr. and (REZ0504) To change from (I) Industrial to (HS) Highway Service Commercial a parcel of land described as P.P. # 70-14-22-450-017, located at 1720 Chicago Dr.

 

Todd Stuive, Exxel Engineering, represented the applicant and presented the request.  He said that the sites had been in the floodplain and were previously unbuildable, but now had been filled above the floodplain and were buildable.  The west site is two acres and the east site is 1.8 acres.  He said that the area is capable of supporting this zoning district and the uses were compatible with the other districts as a transition.

 

The planner presented a review and listed the uses that would be permitted in the various commercial and industrial zoning districts.

 

The zoning administrator said that the Planning Commission had the authority to recommend approval of a zoning district equal to or less than requested.  She also said that if a recommendation is made that is not consistent with the Master Plan, the reasons should be stated and a record kept of future revisions when the Master Plan is amended.

 

Poskey said that the reason 18th Ave. was constructed was to help with the traffic flow to help residents reach Chicago Dr. and 44th St. easier.  He said that a gas station or other intense uses caused a concern because they could create too much congestion in the area.  He said that there was some control with the special use process with such issues as where to put the driveway.  He said that HS was too intense and would not be in favor of recommending HS.  He said that he could consider CS.

 

Pearson asked if fast food restaurants and gas stations were allowed in the CS and was told that they were allowed in CS and HS.

 

South said that the area should not be zoned Industrial, but HS or CS may be too intense even though some uses could be controlled with special use permits.

 

DeGood said that service stations and drive-in restaurants were too intense.

 

Honderd said that we were fortunate to have 18th Ave. connect to 44th St. as a way to move traffic and that the uses allowed at these areas should have limited access, as well as not produce a lot of extra traffic.  He said that 18th Ave. provided a way in and out of Georgetown Township and few obstructions should be allowed, otherwise it defeats the purpose.  He said that he would not want a gas station at either of these locations.  He said that the primary customers would be the people from Georgetown Shores and it would create a lot of extra traffic.  He said offices, such as medical offices would be appropriate to service the close clientele in the surrounding area and Sunset Manor.  He said that medical offices were not allowed in the Industrial even though regular offices were allowed.  He said that he preferred to see Office Service Commercial or else leave the zoning as Industrial.

 

Huizinga said that he agreed that it should be less intense than HS.  He said that if this was zoned HS that neighboring properties might also ask to be rezoned.

 

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

 

The applicant said that these were buildable two acre sites and the uses were limited by the size.  He said that these were not huge sites.  He said that the other property to the east was permanent open space for Sunset Manor and to the west was Sunset Manor.  He said that further to the west of Sunset properties were adjacent to business and were in the floodplain.  He said that property to the west was zoned HS and he said that there should be a concern with uses that could be allowed in the Industrial district.  He said that they should look at the small leased buildings going in on DeWent Dr.  He said that the Township would not want a pole building going in on those corners.  He said that even though this corridor was used for access, the Township could not restrict people’s rights to use the property and expect this area to remain unencumbered.  He said that there was a stop light there and uses could be controlled with special use permits.  He said that no driveways would be located off Chicago Dr. and would be off 18th Ave.

 

Moved by Poskey, seconded by South, to recommend to the Township Board Rezoning (REZ0503) To change from (I) Industrial to (OS) Office Service a parcel of land described as P.P. # 70-14-22-450-016, located at 1720 Chicago Dr. and (REZ0504) To change from (I) Industrial to (OS) Office Service a parcel of land described as P.P. # 70-14-22-450-017, located at 1720 Chicago Dr. because more intense uses would increase traffic and slow traffic on the corridor, and better uses for the area would be medical offices or other such uses that would not generate large amounts of traffic.

 

South said that OS would be appropriate and I, HS or CS would not be appropriate.

 

Honderd asked what would happen if the applicant did not want the OS, but rather would like the Industrial zoning to remain and about the Master Plan.

 

The zoning administrator said that the applicant could submit a letter asking the Board to accept a withdrawal of the request if they decided that they wanted the parcel to remain Industrial.

 

The planner presented his reasons for recommending HS.

 

Poskey said that as far as the Master Plan was concerned, at the meeting when it was being formulated, the reason this area was left as Industrial was because at the time they all had thought that the property was unbuildable because it was in a floodway.  He said that it had not even crossed their minds that the property would become buildable.  He said that such a reason would be appropriate for making a recommendation that is not consistent with the Master Plan.

 

Honderd said that it was unlikely that any use with heavy manufacturing would go in this location.

 

Yeas:    Poskey, Huizinga, Honderd, DeGood, South

Nays:   Pearson

Absent: Stasiak

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

#050817-07 - (PUD0403-1) Sunset Manor (Waterford Place) Final Development Plan-1672 Chicago

Dr., view 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

 

Todd Stuive, Exxel Engineering, represented the applicant and presented the request.  He said that the plans had been revised as per the comments made at the work session.  He said that the open space agreement had been provided.

 

The planner presented a review.

 

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.

 

Moved by Pearson, seconded by Poskey, to approve the Final Development Plan for (PUD0403-1) Sunset Manor (Waterford Place), as shown on the plan dated revised August 9, 2005, as submitted.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

#050817-08 – Other Business

 

The Planning Commission decided that they were in favor of a joint meeting with the Board to discuss goals for the Township, rather than a learning seminar.  The date decided upon was September 14, 2005.

 

#050817-09 – Adjournment

 

The chairman adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m.