A meeting of the Algoma Township Planning Commission was held on, at 7:00 P.M. The meeting was held at the Algoma Township Hall located at 10531 Algoma Ave., Rockford, MI 49341. Chairman Lecceadone called the meeting to ORDER at 7:00 P.M. and led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. PRESENT: Chairman Lecceadone, Vice-Chairman Newberger, Secretary Kane, Members Alderman, Ellenwood and Waugh. Absent: Member Wilson. Also Present: Supervisor Clary, Zoning Administrator Sjogren, Township Attorney Brown, Township Engineer Bruggink, and 1 citizen. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Under 7, New Business, the item of Sewer District Discussion was added. Vice-Chairman Newberger motioned to APPROVE the agenda as amended, seconded by Member Alderman. The motion PASSED. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes of the July 21, 2015, Regular meeting Vice-Chairman Newberger motioned to APPROVE the minutes of the July 21, 2015, meeting as presented, seconded by Member Alderman. The motion PASSED. PUBLIC COMMENTS: There were no comments given. TABLED BUSINESS: SITE PLAN #1504 (SITE CONDOMINIUM) SABLE DEVELOPING Mailing Address: 3631 13 Mile Rd. 11575 Edgerton Ave. Rockford, MI 49341 Rockford, MI 49341 Parcel #41-06-14-400-048 (Part of) Chairman Lecceadone excused himself from the meeting room due to a conflict of interest in that the company he is employed at does work with Sable Developing. Vice-Chairman Newberger took the Chair.
Page 2 John Bitely with Sable Developing addressed the Site Plan Review Committee s report dated August 17, 2015. He explained under number 1 of the report that Unit 1 had to be a part of the Site Condominium due to the number of splits that were available and it can t stand alone. Member Ellenwood stated at one time that all parcels were required to come off the private street. Mr. Bitely said the Site Condominium allows Unit 1 to be a part of the condominium but to be recluse from having to have access off the private street or have the same rights as the other owners of the remaining units. He said Unit 1 faces 13 Mile Rd. Member Ellenwood said she was just bringing up the legality of it and also that it is fully stated within the Condominium documents. Mr. Bitely stated he agreed and this would be included in the documents as mentioned under number 2 of the report. Vice-Chairman Newberger said it appeared number 3 of the report was taken care of now and Unit 3 now meets the ordinance requirements. Mr. Bitely addressed number 4 and said the square footage was covered by another engineering note but he would have this fixed on the final copy and he submitted the shot of the unit to show it does meet square footage requirements. Engineer Bruggink presented a second report dated August 18, 2015, stating it was a summary of what he had last time requested such as a road profile drawing and that the applicant needs road permits and storm water control approvals. He said he was requesting both ponds to be sized for a 100 year rain event because there is an outlet for the one pond that runs across several properties and they will not be accustom to the additional flow so he wants more storage so the condition will not change across the street. He needs Minimum Building Opening elevations and a detail of the proposed pond outlet control devices. Mr. Bitely requested that the board reconsider the sidewalk issue. He said he didn t believe these would be a value to his consumers and it is a challenge to take care of them. He said it is an amenity that the homeowners just see as something they have to take care of and there is no merit to requiring them in this type of neighborhood. Member Waugh said she didn t see the need for them. Member Alderman said he was still in favor of sidewalks.
Page 3 Vice-Chairman Newberger said they considered there were 17 units and they looked at lot widths but there is the question as to where do you draw the line on the number of units that should be required to have sidewalks. He said in this case, the Commission decided they would be worthwhile. Member Alderman asked what the ordinance said; it says sidewalks are required and he feels they should be in all the developments in the township. He said on a farm, not required. Vice-Chairman Newberger said he didn t feel there should be sidewalks in every development and the Commission has seen many site condos with various numbers but there are some scenarios where they should not be required. Member Ellenwood said this is zoned Rural Residential with higher density so we understand you will get families here and they need sidewalks. Mr. Bitely disagreed and said it would be similar to Crowning Edge development across the street and that is an older demographic with not many families. He said the lots are larger and location is key with the expressway nearby. He said the ordinance states that the Planning Commission can make the determination that they are not mandated and it can be brought up per development. Member Alderman said that the larger lots should have a bike trail. Vice-Chairman Newberger asked the members their opinion. Member Ellenwood said yes, she wants sidewalks. Member Waugh said no, they don t need them and she wouldn t want sidewalks onto Edgerton Ave. She said this development has fewer houses and is not as large as a Saddle Ridge development. Secretary Kane said he has never been a fan of sidewalks and the maintenance of them. It s a distraction and he lives where he does so he doesn t have to take care of them. Member Ellenwood asked how the ordinance can be arbitrary to choose who needs them and who doesn t. Vice-Chairman Newberger said this was designed on purpose to allow the Commission to take all under consideration and allow flexibility; otherwise, it s black and white. He said he supports the flexibility and he thinks it s worthwhile to have the provision included in the language for discussion. Member Ellenwood suggested that it be more definitive to help with the discussions. Attorney Brown stated the procedures were added to the chapter to give the Township Board the ability to alter the requirements if recommended by the Planning Commission but if that is requested it needs
Page 4 to be a part of the public hearing and held at the same time as the Site Condominium public hearing with the fact of no sidewalks to be listed. Ordinance requires it to be a separate hearing and even if the Planning Commission recommends installed or not, it goes to the Township Board and they decide on the standards. He read that portion of the ordinance. He said the Township Board did accept a strict procedure for situations when sidewalks are not needed or appropriate. Vice-Chairman Newberger noted that this was discussed last month but it was not noticed at the time and he doesn t believe there are the majority of Commission members to support not requiring them. Mr. Bitely stated that they must realize that the cost of the sidewalks is also passed onto the consumer. Member Ellenwood motioned to recommend APPROVAL of Site Plan #1504, dated August 12, 2015, to the Township Board based on the Site Plan Review Committee s report dated August 17, 2015, and those items being finalized and the engineer s report dated August 18, 2015, seconded by Member Alderman. The motion PASSED. Chairman Lecceadone rejoined the meeting and took Chair. NEW BUSINESS: SEWER DISTRICT DISCUSSION - Township Engineer Bruggink gave a brief presentation on the North Kent Sewer District in regards to Algoma Township because the township has had interested parties inquiring to develop properties in the 10 Mile Road Corridor. He explained Plainfield Township representatives met with Supervisor Clary, Member Ellenwood, Zoning Administrator Sjogren, and himself this morning to discuss the sewer system infrastructure. He said there may need to be adjustments in the district because the larger the area the township wants to serve the larger they need to make the system. He presented a map of the water and sewer districts. He said the current system for the Meijer development isn t working as well as they had expected and now with the senior living facility it will be full so Plainfield is looking at upgrading. Township Engineer Bruggink also talked about Wellington Ridge PUD and that there have been some septic system failures there which he is blaming on storm water saturations but if at some point should they experience failures that area might want to be considered within this sewer and water district for down the road at some point. This would be extremely expensive and there are many steps to build through the private streets and lots. He said that now with developers coming in with plans for condos/apartments and commercial they are going to Plainfield Township to discuss hooking up to the systems and finding they can t. Plainfield Township wants to start talking now to see how large the improvements to the system might need to be based on what Algoma Township sees for the future.
Page 5 Township Engineer Bruggink said this could be done in a step fashion, the Meijer property is already in and the Lam Farms property will have something in a higher use so it makes sense to include that. He said Wellington Ridge PUD should be included because of the smaller lots and they are on individual wells and septic systems. He said once the boundary map is done for a Utility Service District then it is important to consider township ordinance language that requires developments within that area to be reviewed during the developing process and be required to extend utilities to their property lines to make it available for the next. He said first, they need to decide on the service area. It could also potentially go to the west of US131 also but they want customers to bring fees down and make it more cost effective. He said he is not sure how this will work out but there will be another meeting with Plainfield and this township needs to think about this and it will be discussed by the Township Board and Planning Commission again at their September meetings. Zoning Administrator Sjogren was asked to find out who was the current President of the Wellington Ridge PUD development. INFORMATIONAL UPDATES AND ADJOURNMENT: Member Alderman motioned to ADJOURN the meeting at 8:16 P.M., seconded by Secretary Kane. The meeting was ADJOURNED. Peter Kane, Secretary Julie M. Sjogren, Recording Secretary