Planning Commission

   

The meeting was called to order by Vice Chairman Amerman at 7:30 p.m. A quorum was present.

 

PRESENT

 

Vice Chairman Kathy Amerman; Commissioners David Ebert, Gary Goodenow, Craig Johnston, Timothy Juidici, Larry Keef, Bill Serchak, Karen Worrell

 

ABSENT

 

Chairman John Heidt

 

ALSO PRESENT

 

Zoning Administrator, Randy Sapelak; Planning Consultant, Nickolas Lomako; DDA Director, Ann Barnette

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

 

Regular Meeting March 11, 2010

 

PC-10-17 Goodenow moved, Ebert seconded, to accept the minutes of the Regular Planning Commission meeting of March 11, 2010, as amended:

Page 1-5, Third paragraph, 2nd line, “…placed of approved…” change to “…placed on the approved…” Motion CARRIED

 

CALL TO PUBLIC

 

Martin Ludecke, was present to state that he and his wife have signed a purchase agreement to purchase the home located at 314 S. Main, for their family to live, but will first need to rezone the property from Commercial to Residential.

 

Mark Pfau, owner of McDonalds, 120 S. Milford Rd., was present and submitted to the Commissioners correspondence dated 6/10/10, (on file at Village office) in which he states he would like to extend the operating hours of the drive-thru to allow it to be open 24 hours. Also attached to the correspondence is a “sound level test” of the Auto Greeter, conducted by W. Shepherd.

 

The Commissioners agreed that for the Public Hearing Mr. Pfau should ask Mr. Shepherd to be available to answer any questions the Public may have regarding noise levels.

 

Mr. Lomako informed the Commissioners that they would be reviewing the same site plan that was previously approved with only the change in the hours of operation being noted on the plan.

 

PC-10-18 Goodenow moved, Worrell seconded, to set a Public Hearing for the July 8, 2010l Planning commission meeting, for SUP-10-03, relative to the drive-thru operating hours of the McDonalds restaurant, located at 120 S. Milford Road. Motion CARRIED

 

Barbara Clark, 339 W. Commerce was present to ask Planning Commission to ask Village Council to consult with them first before approving an extension of the Milford Trail along E. Commerce to Main Street. She said that at the 6/7/10 Council meeting, Council approved a conceptual plan to use the Village right-of-way, for the extension of the Milford Trail. She stated that she did not understand why the DDA (Downtown Development Authority) was involved when the south side of E. Commerce is not in the DDA District. She expressed her concerns of pedestrian safety issues with E. Commerce being a busy street and suggested that Village Council cease and desist their actions. She stated that if the trail needs to extend to Main Street, the north side of E. Commerce should be used since it is located in the DDA District. Ms. Clark stated her dissatisfaction when trying to get answers at the 5/17/10 Council meeting when she spoke regarding the extension of the trail under “Call To The Public”. She provided to Mr. Lomako information she had gathered from attending the 6/7/10 Council meeting. This information was also given to administration to distribute to each of the Commissioners, (on file at Village office).

 

Mr. Lomako summed Ms. Clark’s concerns of:

1. Improvements proposed in the Village right-of-way that may not be safe;

2. Funding coming from the DDA for improvements not within the DDA District; and

3. Maintenance of the project once completed.

 

Mr. Lomako stated he would take the information provided, conduct research and report to the Commissioners at the July meeting. He explained that typically approval of a conceptual plan would mean that an investigation would take place of what would be the best route.

 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

 

 

 

Mr. Lomako introduced Martin Parker, Traffic Engineer from Wade Trim.

 

Mr. Lomako reviewed his letter dated 6/2/10, (on file at Village office) in which he recommended Planning Commission recommend to Village Council approval of the special conditional use request, SUP-10-01, with conditions; denial of the special use request for land banking for off-street parking, SUP 10-02; and, conditional approval of SP-10-01.

 

Mr. Parker reviewed his letter dated 6/2/10, (on file at Village office) in which he recommended approval of the site plan.

 

William Curry, Professional Engineer with SSOE; Chris Rogers, Real Estate Manager for Kroger; Dave Wienczak, Project Manager, Kelly Forencz, Traffic Engineer with Bergman Associates, and; Marc Weinbaum, owner of Prospect Hill, were each present to answer any questions from the Commissioners.

 

Mr. Curry gave a brief presentation and overview of the proposed fuel center to the Commissioners, indicating the changes that have been made to the site plan, based upon review letters from Mr. Lomako. He explained that the revised site plan has less access points to the fuel station and will cause less congestion. Trucks delivering fuel will access the fuel station from Highland Road and not use Commerce. Improved layouts of the plan were made to separate the gas station traffic from shopping center traffic.

 

Ms. Ferencz explained to the Commissioners that the focus of the study was on the intersections of Highland & Commerce, Highland & Summit, and all three site driveways as well as Commerce and Main St. The study included review of a p.m. weekday peak hour and a Saturday mid-day peak hour, which are the two higher traffic generator times for the shopping center. She stated that based upon the addition of the fuel station and the expansion of the Kroger store the traffic study results showed that there would be little or no change to the current traffic flow. She said there would be minimal increases in delay and the level of service at the approaches which operate at a level of service “D” which is what is considered acceptable. Ms. Ferencz further explained that a queuing analysis was done for the entrance on Highland and it was found that the queue would be between one and two cars.

 

Mr. Curry explained that the size of truck used to do the analysis was a WB62, which is bigger than a typical delivery truck for the site. This sized truck was used to ensure that the design was good and that there would be adequate access to the site.

 

Mr. Rogers explained that there would be 8-10 deliveries a week with a maximum of 2 deliveries of fuel per day between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. He told the Commissioners that the environmental agreement between the Village and Kreoger has been finalized and executed with the Village. The hours of operation of the fuel station will be from 6:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. and the fuel station will not be in operation when Kroger is closed.

 

The Commisisoners, Mr. Lomako, Mr. Parker, Mr. Curry, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Wienczak, Ms. Ferencz and Mr. Weinbaum discussed the following: What the traffic impact may be if the gas station on Main St., & Commerce were to close. Traffic coming and leaving the main entrances of the shopping center. Parking. Truck deliveries for other businesses.

 

Some of the Commissioners felt the planned center island which would separate fuel station traffic from general traffic should be closed off completely.

 

Mr. Parker stated that closing the island will have little or no affect on traffic scenarios.

 

Commissioner Serchak stated that he felt if there were a release of fuel into the ground the contaminants would be further from the wells than if there was a leak at the existing fuel stations in the Village. He said he believed if a leak occurred there would be a minimal affect on the Village wells.

 

SUP-10-01, Kroger Corporation, 16-10-227-020, 670 Highland, Proposed Fuel Center to be Located Within Existing Parking Lot

 

PC-10-19 Goodenow moved, Ebert seconded, to recommend to Village Council the approval of SUP-10-01, subject to final site plan approval being granted by Planning Commission and Planning Commission agrees with the hours of operation, including fuel deliveries to be from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Motion CARRIED

 

SUP-10-02, Kroger Corporation, 16-10-227-020, 670 Highland, Proposed Additional Parking Spaces as Necessary to Meet Ordinance

 

PC-10-20 Ebert moved, Goodenow seconded, to recommend Village Council deny approval of SUP-10-02, under authority of Sec. 49-339, (14) and 94-388 without prejudice, since it is calculated that sufficient off-street parking spaces will remain on-site to accommodate all Prospect Hill Shopping Center tenants. Motion CARRIED

 

The Commissioners, Mr. Lomako, Mr. Parker, Mr. Curry, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Weinczak and Mr. Weinbaum further discussed the following: The center island being completely closed off, landscaping, irrigation, traffic signs for the site, and if there are future plans of installing TV monitors for the tops of the pumps which could be considered signage.

 

Mr. Parker stated again that there would not be an affect on traffic if the center island were closed completely; he stated by closing it completely it would force potential patrons attempting to enter the fuel station to go around to the front.

 

Mr. Rogers said that Kroger would prefer to have the center island left as presented tonight.

 

It was agreed that two trees on each side of the center island would be removed from the site plan to allow for site clearance.

 

Mr. Weinbaum stated that the entire parking lot was going to be resurfaced and irrigation would be put in place for all of the islands.

 

Mr. Weinczak stated that TV monitors for the fuel pumps are not part of Kroger’s current plan.

 

Mr. Sapelak reminded the Commissioners that he had asked them previously when the monitors were installed at Speedway what their opinion was and it was indicated to him by the Commissioners that there was not really a concern.

 

Commissioner Worrell said she would consider the monitors a type of signage and believes other businesses may be interested in doing something similar.

 

A note will be added to the site plan that outside storage requirements would be followed.

 

Commissioner Worrell informed the applicant that the variance given to Kroger for outside storage is currently being violated with many items that have been placed in front of the store on more than half the sidewalk.

 

Mr. Rogers said he would speak to the store manager and have it taken care of.

 

Commissioner Juidici asked if it should be noted on the site plan that truck access to and from the site is restricted to only using Highland Road.

 

Mr. Lomako said that Planning Commission could do that.

 

Commissioner Goodenow asked if each individual document that has been submitted would need to be referenced as part of site plan approval.

 

Mr. Lomako explained that most of the additional documents are primarily engineering related and that the environmental agreement was a function of the use approval.

 

Mr. Curry explained that most of the additional documents are part of the environmental agreement.

 

The Commissioners, Mr. Lomako, Mr. Parker, Mr. Curry, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Weinczak and Mr. Weinbaum discussed the fuel delivery truck route and restricting the use of Commerce Road.

 

Mr. Weinbaum stated that if Commerce Road was legal to be used by other fuel delivery trucks, he did not understand how Planning Commission could specifically restrict Kroger fuel trucks from using Commerce Road.

 

Mr. Lomako referred to the Hazardous Substance Overlay Zone in Sec. 94-310, (l), Exemptions and waivers, in which it states, “The transportation of any hazardous substance or polluting material shall be exempt from the provisions of this section provided that transporting motor vehicle or railcar is in continuous transit, or that it is transporting substances to or from a properly licensed solid or hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility”. Mr. Lomako stated that if there is pass through traffic, Commerce Road can be used, but when there is a delivery to a site specific, like a fuel station, it is not exempt from the Hazardous Substance Overlay Zone.

 

SP-10-01, Kroger Corporation, 16-10-227-020, 670 Highland, Proposed Fuel Center to be Located Within Existing Parking Lot

 

PC-10-21 Goodenow moved, Ebert seconded, to approve SP-10-01, by the documents prepared by SSOE, dated 5/18/10, including all accompanying documents, reports, letters, and estimates of cost. Also, the fuel truck route as shown on SP1 is to be incorporated as part of the site plan approval. Two Linden trees immediately north and south of the center opening in the island ingress/egress to the fuel pumps are to be eliminated. The pharmacy drive-thru access is to be revised as shown on sheet SP-2A, dated 5/18/10.

 

DISCUSSION

 

Commissioner Johnston said the 20% addition to the Kroger store alone would bring an additional 20% more people to the site and stated that he believed the addition of the fuel station was too big for the size of the property.

 

ROLL CALL VOTE

YES – Goodenow, Keef, Ebert, Amerman, Juidici

NO – Johnston, Worrell, Serchak

ABSENT – Heidt Motion CARRIED

 

CONSULTANT COMMENTS

 

Mr. Lomako said that he would have a draft copy of the proposed Home Occupation ordinance for review at the July meeting. He informed the Commissioners that he will be attending a conference July 26th, which will address medical Marijuana and will report back to the Commissioners with information.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE COMMENTS

 

Mr. Sapelak reported that site plan extensions would be on the July agenda. He told the Commissioners that the Zoning Board of Appeals is in need of two alternates to serve on the Board when necessary.

 

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS

 

Commissioner Goodenow asked if there has been any feedback now that the Recreational Vehicle Storage ordinance is in affect.

 

Mr. Sapelak informed the Commissioners that letters to make homeowners with recreational vehicles aware of the new ordinance were sent out. He said it was necessary to go to court with one resident who had their boat stored in their driveway. He said the boat has been removed.

 

Commissioner Goodenow said he thought it would be a good idea to have the Chairman speak to either the Council President or Village Manager about what the position of the Planning Commission is. He said that he was really upset to hear about the extension of the trail in the paper. He said Planning Commission needs to be aware of what their role is as a Commissioner.

 

Ann Barnette, DDA Director, reminded the Commissioners that the proposed extension of the trail was included in the Master Plan and approved by the Commissioners. She explained that during her years of working in the Village and within the municipal system, she has learned that Village Council generally feels if something is proposed in the right-of-way, it is their purview to review and approve or deny, and any private site plans are to be reviewed by Planning Commission.

 

Commissioner Goodenow said that in the past some items that were in the right-of-way have come before Planning Commission either as a courtesy or for approval and he believes it is good to have such proposals come before the Commission so they have the opportunity to provide input and know what is going on within the Village.

 

Commissioner Johnston said that over Memorial weekend there was a truck parked in Holden’s parking lot and furniture was being sold from it. He said as a citizen he found it offensive and that it was a disservice to local furniture stores in Milford. He said he called the non-emergency number of the Police Department and was told there was a permit to allow the sale of furniture at Holden’s. He said allowing this to happen has no positive impact on the economy of Milford, but was told it is allowed each year. He said he has brought it up on behalf of local furniture businesses in Milford and stated that it should be addressed and stopped.

 

Commissioner Serchak stated that reading about the proposed extension on the trail in the paper today was the first he had heard about it as well and said he did not see why Planning Commission could not have the opportunity to look at the plans.

 

Commissioner Worrell said that regardless of what Planning Commission has approved in the Master Plan, when something is proposed like an extension of the trail, maybe Ms. Barnette could ask Village Manger, Arthur Shufflebarger to allow some type of a presentation be made to Planning Commission so it would not appear as though they were being left out or that they are not competent to their job as Commissioners. She said it would have been nice to haven known about it before reading it in the paper.

 

ADJOURN

 

The meeting adjourned at 10:17 p.m.

 

Nancy Scott, CMC

Milford Village Deputy Clerk