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Minutes for 07/10/2007APPROVED MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE KENTWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION
JULY 10, 2007, 7:30 P.M.
COMMISSION CHAMBERS
A. Chair McIntyre-Evenocheck called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
B. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Commissioner Sheldon.
C. Roll Call:
Members Present: Betsy Artz, Laurie Sheldon, Dan Holtrop, Abed Itani, Nancie McIntyre-Evenocheck, Ed Swanson, Frank Vander Hoff, and Chris Winczewski.
Members Absent: None
Others Present: City Attorney Jeff Sluggett, Community Development Director Terry Schweitzer, Planner Joe Pung, Staff Secretary Monique Collier, the press and the applicants.
D. Approval of the Minutes of June 26, 2007 and Findings of Fact for Case #4-07 Beacon Condominiums ? Major Change to a PUD Site Plan and Final Site Plan Review located at 2400 Forest Hills Avenue; Case #7-07 ? Beacon Condominiums ? Special Land Use for an assisted living facility located at 2400 Forest Hill Ave.
Motion by Commissioner VanderHoff, supported by Commissioner Sheldon, to approve the Minutes of June 26, 2007 and the Findings of Fact for: Case #4-07 Beacon Condominiums ? Major Change to a PUD Site Plan and Final Site Plan Review located at 2400 Forest Hills Avenue; Case #7-07 ? Beacon Condominiums ? Special Land Use for an assisted living facility located at 2400 Forest Hill Ave.
- Motion Carried (8-0) ?
E. Approval of the Agenda of July 10, 2007
Motion by Commissioner VanderHoff, supported by Commissioner Artz, to approve the agenda for the July 10, 2007 meeting.
- Motion Carried (8-0) ?
F. Acknowledge visitors wishing to speak to non-agenda items.
There was no public comment
G. Old Business
There was no Old Business
H. Public Hearing
There were no Public Hearings
I. Work Session
Case #8-07 - Bretonfield ? Rezoning of approximately 102 acres from R1-C Single Family Residential to R-PUD-2 Low Density Residential Planned Unit Development and Site Plan Review of a Preliminary PUD Plan located at 60th Street west of Wing Ave.
Planner Pung introduced the request. Pung discussed these key points:
Background History
? Property was rezoned to R1-C in 2002.
? Most recently a preliminary plat was approved in 2004.
? The area is Master Planned for Conservation Oriented Development, which for this area is for compact and mid-range single family homes with a minimum of 1,500 square feet of finished living area in a development style similar to Wildflower Creek (this proposal is consistent with this aspect of the Master Plan)
Development
? Request is to rezone 102 acres from R1-C to R-PUD-2 and to consider a preliminary PUD plan consisting of 311 site condominium lots, the smallest being 52 feet wide and 6,500 square feet in area. The density would be 3.66 units per acre.
? Minimum home size of 1,500 sq. feet finished living area (PUD minimum is 950 square feet.)
? All homes with a 2-stall garage (we will seek to clarify that garages will be in line with or be recessed from leading edge of house.)
? Path system to connect open space areas (which make up 31% of overall site) and to Paul Henry Trail (applicant has agreed to 8 foot wide; location & connections to be determined with staff).
? All lots will be sodded as part of the home construction with at least one tree per lot. (will be clarified in PUD Agreement, first to do so)
? Applicant willing to contribute: 1/3 of the cost of a traffic light at 60th Street & Breton; 1/3 of the cost of a bridge for Breton Avenue over the Paul Henry Trail; and willing to upgrade to concrete valley curbs with cost sharing with City for the upgrade. (details to be worked out with Departments as well as Service and Finance Committees)
? Breton Avenue to have 10 foot asphalt path on the west side.
? Proposed open space amenities (to be clarified in PUD Agreement as to type and when and who will construct)
Issues
? Amount of sidewalk, staff recommends sidewalk on both sides of all streets.
? Amend PUD agreement to include narratives on architectural features, walkability, open-space and Master Plan compatibility
? Some concern expressed with drive design (one lane at the street) but applicant has indicated that owner could pave more if needed (need to note that a permit would be required).
? Applicant to provide more architectural detail for rear elevations (decks, sliders, shutters etc)
? Final details to be worked out with final site plan and conditional review
Park & Recreation
? Spoke with the Recreation Department, Kendall Klinglesmith indicated that the development has the endorsement of the Parks & Recreation Commission regarding the open-space, parks and trail system.
Commissioner VanderHoff excused himself from the discussion for Case #8-07 ? Bretonfield, due to potential conflict of interest.
Applicant Troy Stahl, Allen Edwin Homes, 2186 E. Centre Street, Portage Michigan was there to represent the request. Mr. Stahl stated they are proposing 311 lots on 102 acres with 31% open space.
Commissioner Artz was concerned about the 10 foot width of the driveways at the right of way line the applicant is proposing. She feels it will encourage on-street parking. Dan Lewis, Prein and NewHoff, 7123 Stadium Drive Kalamazoo, MI stated they want the flexibility to build the 10 foot or 20 foot wide driveways so that the family with two or three vehicles has accessibility without anybody moving their vehicles to get in and out of the drive. Mr. Lewis stated this will be an option for the families that purchase the homes. Commissioner Artz suggested that the applicant visit Woodfield and Bloomfield Apartments in Kentwood in order to reconsider naming this development Bretonfield.
Commissioner Itani commended the developer. He stated he thinks it looks good and it covers the entire basis. Itani stated he looked at the traffic study and he found it acceptable. He stated he is in favor of the development and thinks it is good for the area.
Commissioner Holtrop asked about the sidewalks connecting the trails between the homes. Applicant Troy Stahl stated they will be in an easement in the space between the homes; it will be a common area. Holtrop stated that he believes both sides of the streets should have sidewalks. Holtrop stated he doesn?t care for the narrow lots, but they will be okay.
Applicant Troy Stahl addressed the issue of long cul-de-sacs. He stated the reason they have more cul-de-sacs than any other development is because they would like to keep as few entries off of Breton as possible. Mr. Stahl also stated because they have the smaller lots it gives them more room to create open space.
Commissioner Swanson stated he thinks that cul-de-sacs in modern developments are discouraged. He stated he would like to see more of the cul-de-sacs tied together for better access and circulation. He also suggested that the applicant meet with the land owners (the two on 60th Street that are surrounded by the site and the land owners on the east side of Breton) before the public hearing to get their input. Dan Lewis, Preins & NewHoff, stated that the topography in the area of some of the cul-de-sac terminal involve significant changes in grade and to provide connectivity would not be as safe. He stated that they looked at the connectivity relative to the wetlands and they did their best to mimic the old developer?s plan that had the cul-de-sacs in the same place. Mr. Lewis stated they didn?t go across the wetlands to preserve as much as possible. Mr. Lewis stated in minimizing the roadways off of Breton they trying to minimize the intersections where accidents may more likely occur.
Scott Sanderson, 2186 East Center in Portage, MI, stated they are currently building homes in the Woodbury Commons plat off 44th Street. He stated they are the same elevations, exterior options as the proposed, but they are offering a more sophisticated option package on the front of the homes. He stated they will have curb appeal packages with the brick and stone and vertical siding. He stated they have temporary model homes on Woodbury Ridge and within the Avalon Pointe development in Gaines Township the commissioners can also view.
Commissioner Swanson stated he looked at the proposed home construction specifications and one of the standards that bothered him is 24 inch on centers for interior walls. Mr. Sanderson stated that is a standard they go by on interior walls. Mr. Sanderson stated they build the conventional 16 inch on center on the exterior walls and none of the interior 24 inch on center walls are load bearing; anything load bearing is 16 inch on center.
Commissioner Winczewski agreed with Swanson regarding communication with adjacent land owners. Winczewski stated he thinks this plan doesn?t constitute conservation oriented development. He stated that this violates what the current zoning is. He stated that he would be open to accepting this if there were something in return, such as 40%-50% open space. Normally a PUD would have lots in the 80 foot wide range and include roughly 30% open space. With a conservation oriented development, the lots could shrink to 50-60 foot wide lots at the benefit of more open space.. Winczewski stated that this looks like a normal PUD in terms of open space but with more houses on smaller lots. He stated he doesn?t like the plan and doesn?t believe there is currently a market for this type of development. He stated he is going to have a problem with the lot sizes.
Commissioner Sheldon stated after going through the master planning of this area for conservation oriented development, she agrees this is not what she envisioned. She stated the proposed involves a lot of homes. She likes the homes, but, she would like to see fewer in number and more open space. She thinks they will definitely have to have sidewalks on both sides of the streets.
Commissioner McIntyre-Evenocheck concerns were in Section F, regarding the fire pits and wanted staff to look into it with the fire department. In Section J, memo from Pung to the applicants, she stated in the PUD, she doesn?t see anything regarding the house sizes, and she thinks they should start at 2,000 square feet. In Section I, regarding the architectural features of the homes, she stated they all have the same look and she has an issue with that. In Section M, Trees, she stated that on 60th Street there are a lot of existing mature trees lining the road and would like for the majority of those to stay as much as possible because it makes it a nice country type of setting. McIntyre-Evenocheck stated regarding the Breton Avenue streetscape, the trees are beautiful to look at but in the location relative to the street the matured trees would be immovable when someone hits one and thinks they need to consider taking a look at that again. McIntyre-Evenocheck stated she agrees with the commenting that this plan does not constitute conservation oriented development and feels this does not fit. She stated that maybe they can give up more homes in order to distinguish it from any other new development in Kentwood. McIntyre-Evenocheck stated the concerns that were discussed were: the sidewalks; conservation oriented development; driveways; minimum square footage of the house; and connecting the two northeastern cul-de-sacs. She stated if it is impossible interconnect the cul-de-sacs to provide a written explanation.
Community Development Director Schweitzer addressed the Breton Avenue streetscape. He stated over this past winter engineering planning and police staff devised a street tree policy. The policy addresses the minimum desirable distances of street trees relative to the edge of pavement, edge of sidewalk and proximity to street lights. He stated what they discussed was provided to the applicant. He stated they will be able to put the trees in the fashion that they have proposed. He stated that staff will provide the policy to the commissioners before the public hearing with a contrast. Schweitzer stated that the applicants have been following the conservation oriented development design concepts discussed for Section 34 as far as compressing the size of the lots to create open space areas.
Scott Sanderson stated they appreciated the opportunity to be able to come to the LUZ Committee as they developed this plan. He stated they talked about their target open space and some of the trades-offs they would make. Mr. Sanderson stated when they invested in the land; they knew that it had been rezoned from R1-B to R1-C. He stated one of the things they would be happy to consider would be to incorporate attached housing within their development design to aid in creating more open space is multi ?family in part of the project. Discussion ensued regarding density.
J. New Business
There was no New Business
K. Other Business
1. Commissioners? Comments
Holtrop stated he will be absent at the July 24, 2007 meeting.
2. Staff?s Comments
There was no staff comment.
L. Adjournment
Motion by Commissioner VanderHoff, supported by Commissioner Swanson, to adjourn the meeting.
- Motion Carried (8-0) ?
Meeting adjourned at 9:15p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Winczewski, Secretary
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