View Agenda for this meeting

REGULAR MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NOVI
 MONDAY, JULY 24, 2006 AT 7:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS – NOVI CIVIC CENTER – 45175 W. TEN MILE ROAD

Mayor Landry called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Mayor Landry asked everyone to remain standing while observing a moment of silence for fallen Novi soldier Duane Dreasky, Michigan National Guard, who gave his life in defense of our Country in Iraq.

ROLL CALL: Mayor Landry, Mayor Pro Tem Capello-absent/excused, Council Members Gatt, Margolis, Mutch, Nagy, Paul

ALSO PRESENT: Clay Pearson, City Manager

Tom Schultz, City Attorney

Barbara Mc Beth, Director of Planning

Rob Hayes, City Engineer

Mayor Landry noted the return of one of Novi’s finest employees, Cindy Uglow, Director of Neighborhood Services, and welcomed her back.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

CM-06-07-194 Moved by Nagy, seconded by Paul; CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY:

To approve the agenda as presented.

Roll call vote on CM-06-07-194 Yeas: Gatt, Margolis, Mutch, Nagy, Paul

Landry

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

PRESENTATIONS - None

PUBLIC HEARING

1. Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) Grant Application for land acquisition of 16 acres located adjacent to the Singh Trail property.

John Liadis, Managing Member with Heritage Shoppes LLC, was present and noted that they were the parties involved in the sale of the land that was part of this grant. He said it was their intent that this parcel, which he believed was contiguous to the other property that Novi had, would be acquired by the City of Novi at no additional cost to the City. Mr. Liadis said they had also elected to donate any participation costs that the City would have on this parcel to help the City accomplish this. He said they were big believers that this was a nice thing that they would like to see the City have. He commented he was an outdoorsman, former Scout Master, and he would like to see the land go there.

Mayor Landry closed the public hearing as there were no other respondents.

REPORTS

1. SPECIAL/COMMITTEE - None

2. CITY MANAGER - None

3. DEPARTMENTAL - None

4. ATTORNEY - None

 

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

Cindy Uglow was present to thank Mayor Landry, Council and all her friends and acquaintances for the numerous get well cards and well wishes during her time off. She said she wanted Council to know that her fellow City employees are truly a family, and never let a day go by without a call, card, or stopping by to say hello. She wanted to make sure they knew that, although kindness and compassion probably weren’t part of the City Manager’s evaluation, Clay Pearson made a number of trips to the hospital to make sure that she and her family were doing well. She said she needed to let Mayor Landry and Council know this because this part of the new City Manager’s character was something they might not be aware of.

CONSENT AGENDA (Approval/Removals)

CM-06-07-195 Moved by Gatt, seconded by Nagy; CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY:

To approve the Consent Agenda as presented.

Roll call vote on CM-06-07-195 Yeas: Margolis, Mutch, Nagy, Paul, Landry, Gatt

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

A. Approve Minutes of:

1. July 10, 2006 Regular meeting

B. Enter Executive Session immediately following the regular meeting of July 24, 2006 in the Council Annex for the purpose of discussing pending litigation, privileged correspondence from legal counsel and labor negotiations.

C. Approval of the final balancing change order and final payment to Cadillac Asphalt, LLC for the 2005 Neighborhood Asphalt Street Reconstruction, Rehabilitation & Repaving project in the amount of $74,265.09.

D. Acceptance of Sam’s Club site water main and sanitary sewer as public utilities, and approval of the Sam’s Club site storm drainage facility maintenance easement agreement.

E. Approval of Traffic Control Order 06-04 – Left Turn Only 1:50 p.m.-2:30 p.m. School Days – All Exits from High School Parking Lot onto Wild Cat Drive.

F. Acceptance of a Conservation Easement for Taft Knolls II, located on the east side of Taft Road between Ten Mile Road and Eleven Mile Road.

G. Approval to extend the towing contract (1st renewal) with Varsity Towing, Inc. and Keford Collision for a period of one (1) year at the same terms, conditions, and pricing as the original bid of 3-21-05.

H. Approval to purchase two (2) Ford Taurus vehicles from Signature Ford through the Macomb County cooperative purchasing program, in the amount of $25,790 for Police Department Investigative Section.

I. Approval to award bid for the installation of the Grinder Pump and associated force main for the Building Department satellite office at 25804 Beck Road to C & E Construction, Inc. the low bidder, in the amount of $17,376.

J. Approval of License Agreement from Alfred Moschetta for the placement of stamped concrete within the right-of-way at 42696 Faulkner.

K. Approval of the final balancing change order and final payment to Pro-Line Asphalt Paving Corporation for the Meadowbrook Road Rehabilitation project between Cherry Hill Road and Grand River Avenue in the amount of $17,465.56.

L. Approval of Claims and Accounts – Warrant No. 725

MATTERS FOR COUNCIL ACTION – Part I

1. Approval of Resolution authorizing submission of a Michigan Natural Resources

Trust Fund (MNRTF) grant application for land acquisition of 16 acres (Heritage

Shoppes, L.L.C. property) located adjacent to the Singh Trail property.

CM-06-07-196 Moved by Mutch, seconded by Gatt; CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY:

To approve Resolution authorizing submission of a Michigan Natural

Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) grant application for land

acquisition of 16 acres (Heritage Shoppes, L.L.C. property) located

adjacent to the Singh Trail property.

DISCUSSION

Member Mutch commented he wanted to thank a few people who had been involved in the process of getting this grant ready to go to the State. He said first and foremost, he wanted to thank Mr. Liadis and his partners for the property. Member Mutch said he didn’t think they could ask much more of a generous property owner to not only donate the value of the land that he would have sold to the City to purchase with the grant, but also covering all of the City’s cost that would be associated with it.

Member Mutch said he also wanted to thank Jonathan Brateman who put the property owners and the City together, and had worked throughout this process to facilitate.

Member Mutch also thanked the City staff who worked a tremendous amount of time on this grant including Mr. Auler and Jack Lewis who helped coordinate this through Parks, Recreation and Forestry. He also thanked the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Commission who gave their blessings to this grant, and the Friends of Novi Parks who assisted with the floristic quality analysis of the site, which would be going with the grant, and helped to identify some of the high quality natural features on the site.

Member Mutch said he also wanted to thank groups like the Huron River Watershed Council, Michigan Nature Association, and the Oakland Land Conservancy, who were all sending letters of support. He also thanked County Commissioner Hugh Crawford, State Senator Nancy Cassis, Speaker of the House Craig DeRoche, City administration and Council for their support to move this along. Member Mutch thought this would be a win/win for everyone involved.

Member Paul said, while sitting on the Planning Commission, they had a map that showed where the core reserve was, and from Detroit to Novi we are the only lasting core reserve and it was this area. She said the more they preserved was most important, it was designated by a red zone, and was the only one in a very large radius around the City of Detroit. She said she was very happy they were all supporting this, and thanked Mr. Liadis for his generosity.

Member Nagy said this was very important to the City of Novi, and appreciated everyone who was involved, and especially the donor of the land. She said she also wanted to thank Member Mutch who had been working with everyone regarding this acreage. She said they were successful once before with the 51 acres, and hoped this effort would also be successful.

Roll call vote on CM-06-07-196 Yeas: Mutch, Nagy, Paul, Landry, Gatt, Margolis

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

2. Recommendation of the Economic Development Corporation input regarding City Council economic development goals.

Jon Dostal, EDC Chairman, said the EDC was very pleased and thanked the Mayor and Council for bringing them in and asking for their input into the recommendations. He said they had resubmitted, to Council, twelve additional recommendations from Council’s initial proposal for their review. In addition, they submitted a letter asking for certain things to be looked at in order to assist the development of Novi with the economic development projects, and would be using the EDC to enhance that. Mr. Dostal said there were restrictions that he thought everyone was aware of, and now in front of Council was the original letter plus the additions they put in. He said he was open for any comments or questions Council might have.

Mr. Pearson said this started with Council initiative to adopt the first ever goals as a Council relative to that kind of development. He said this was something that was a long time coming, and the recognition of the Council was putting a priority on it. He said, just for background, the Council asked the EDC for some input, and they spent considerable time with staff people in developing their input on these. Mr. Pearson said it was now in Council’s court as to how they wanted to proceed, in terms of flushing these out and making assignments. He said possibly Council would want staff to help them put some parameters on who might follow up on some of these items, if Council wasn’t going to tweak these any further.

Member Margolis thanked the EDC for their comments, and said they had obviously put a great deal of work into this. She said this kind of cooperative process was what she had envisioned, because the more people involved in this the more they could push it forward, and the more success they would have in the community. She noted that some of their recommendations were excellent in terms of flushing this out. Member Margolis said one of the things she strongly believed about any initiative, and especially something like this where they are putting their face to the outside business community, was they had to make sure that it was a coordinated effort, and they were all speaking with one voice. She thought this should be sent to the staff and the City Manager to review and bring back to Council. She believed what they had to do, after they had goals, was set real specific measurable objectives that Council could hold the City Manager and staff accountable for. Also, make recommendations on how to coordinate all the bodies that were involved, make sure that was all going in the same direction, and bring that information back to Council so they could move forward. Member Margolis said she wanted to stress again that she had worked with a lot of organizations through strategic plans, and the more measurable they could get the action steps and the outcomes the better off they would be, and it would be more than a bunch of goals on a piece of paper.

CM-06-07-197 Moved by Margolis, seconded by Gatt; CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY:

To ensure the EDC goals are a coordinated effort, and that this be

sent to the staff and the City Manager to review and return to Council

with specific measurable objectives that Council could hold the City

Manager and staff accountable for, and that the City Manager and

staff make recommendations on how to coordinate everyone.

Discussion

Member Gatt thanked the EDC for doing a tremendous amount of work on this and providing some great innovative ideas. He concurred with Member Margolis and thought it had to go back to the City Manager, get flushed out by the staff, and brought back in a recommendation form.

Member Nagy said she appreciated the work that had gone into this and the recommendations that had been made by the EDC. She said she saw that the EDC recommended a full time economic development coordinator. She agreed with Member Margolis that they had to speak with one voice, and while she wanted to give the EDC latitude she wanted to be sure that everything fell under the administrative level, whether the economic development coordinator, or if an Assistant Manager was hired who was strong in EDC. She felt that sometimes there were too many chiefs and not enough Indians, everyone had to be on the same page, and communicating through one person. She thought this was a very good group, and was looking forward to a very active, solid committee.

Member Paul said in #1 they looked for the transition and they looked for a Council member to be present. She said she didn’t know if anyone was interested, but they were recommending that possibly a Council member would be a part of some of their transitions to the EDC, as well as a staff person. Member Paul said she would look to Mr. Pearson for that suggestion. Also, she said, on page 1 of the Goals and Objectives, regarding the recommendation for support of a full time economic development coordinator, she wondered if an outside resource person could be hired, and given incentives if they brought in businesses instead of a Novi staff member.

Member Paul said #2 under retention, said there would be a biannual survey of existing Novi businesses so they would have a regular plan of recognition for local businesses, they would ask what their objectives were, and what could be improved. She thought that was really important for them to feel important, and that they have a voice, because a lot of those people are not residents of the City. She said this and the whole plan was very good. She thanked everybody for their work, and said it was exciting to see the EDC come to life.

Mayor Landry said other than creating a full time economic development coordinator, he agreed with every single one of the suggestions from the EDC, and felt they should be followed up on in an effort to attract businesses to Novi. He said the question was who would do what role, and who followed through with what. He said we have staff, a couple Chambers of Commerce, and an EDC. Mayor Landry said in the past few years the EDC had not been involved in this kind of stuff. He said in his opinion, he thought the EDC should be very actively involved in attracting, and retaining businesses in the City, and he would be all for that. Mayor Landry said if the role of the EDC was simply going to be to oversee bonds then, in his opinion, they should disband it, and he thought the City could handle that. Mayor Landry said he was not disparaging of the existing EDC at all, and asked that they not interpret his comments as that. He said they have Articles of Incorporation and he understood that, but he saw the role as clearly wider than that. He said if the EDC was looking for direction from Council, absolutely, because he thought the EDC should be very active in attracting and retaining businesses. However, he agreed with his colleagues that they couldn’t have different groups charging off in different directions, and felt this had to be coordinated. Mayor Landry commented, he agreed with the motion, would support it, and would like to see the administrations suggestion on how they should parse out the different tasks, and who should do what. He said if they find they have to amend the Articles of the EDC then let’s do it. He said whatever they needed to do to coordinate efforts and go forward, he would be in favor of. He thought it would be a wonderful idea to utilize every resource they have and involve more people. He would be happy to support the motion. He asked Mr. Pearson, if the motion passed, how long it would take the administration to come back with some suggestions so Council could decide how to go and in what direction.

Mr. Pearson said this was a priority, but at the same time there was a couple of staffing open positions, and he wanted to get ready for Council Goals session possibly in the fall, so he asked for 60 to 90 days, if that was acceptable to Council. He thought they could do it justice with that kind of a time frame.

Mayor Landry said this was very important, and he didn’t want to lose the momentum, so he would be more interested in the 60 than the 90. However, he understood the staffing concerns, and they wanted to do this correctly.

Roll call vote on CM-06-07-197 Yeas: Nagy, Paul, Landry, Gatt, Margolis, Mutch

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

 

3. Approval to award a construction contract for the 2006 Neighborhood Streets– Concrete (including Argyle, Windridge, Davenport, Amherst, Chesterfield Ct, and Picadilly Drive, Picadilly Circle, and Civic Center curb replacement) to Hard Rock Concrete of Westland, MI, the lowest bidder, in the amount of $939,560.00.

CM-06-07-198 Moved by Paul, seconded by Nagy; CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY:

To approve award of construction contract for the 2006

Neighborhood Streets–Concrete (including Argyle, Windridge,

Davenport, Amherst, Chesterfield Ct, and Picadilly Drive, Picadilly

Circle, and Civic Center curb replacement) to Hard Rock Concrete of

Westland, MI, the lowest bidder, in the amount of $939,560.00.

Roll call vote on CM-06-07-198 Yeas: Paul, Landry, Gatt, Margolis, Mutch, Nagy

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

4. Approval to award a construction contract for the 2006 Neighborhood Streets–

Asphalt (including Birchwoods, Woodworth, Nottingham, Kent Ct, Thornbury,

Willow, LeBost, Mill Stream and Border Hill) to Cadillac Asphalt, LLC, the

lowest bidder, in the amount of $345,521.00.

CM-06-07-199 Moved by Nagy, seconded by Margolis; CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY:

To approve award of construction contract for the 2006

Neighborhood Streets–Asphalt (including Birchwoods, Woodworth,

Nottingham, Kent Ct, Thornbury, Willow, LeBost, Mill Stream and

Border Hill) to Cadillac Asphalt, LLC, the lowest bidder, in the

amount of $345,521.00.

DISCUSSION

Member Paul said this was the asphalt section but when looking at the location map for the Neighborhood Street programs she noticed that Argyle, which was a concrete road, was on the map as well as Picadilly and some others. She thought the map was confusing.

Mr. Pearson said they did one map to cover both.

Member Mutch asked Mr. Pearson, for the benefit of the public, to give a timeline when street construction would start and how long it would run.

Mr. Pearson said the process from this point was to get the contract documents reviewed and approved with the contractor, presuming the contracts were approved, there would be a notice to proceed, and a pre-construction meeting in about three weeks. He said the time frame would be to have this all completed by the end of October at the latest. He noted that was the way it had been running for the last couple of years. It puts it up to the limits but they had been successful in getting it done. He said this was a program that was certainly digestible, and they thought they could deliver in that time frame.

Member Nagy asked if he meant the actual construction of the road would be done by October, and he responded absolutely. She asked, since this was asphalt, were the borings done already. Mr. Pearson said the engineering had already been done, and that was a part of it. He said these had already been designed and should have those borings.

Member Nagy said this was the same company used for Village Oaks, and there were problems there.

Mr. Hayes said the borings were completed, and a significant part of the engineering effort was to scope some geo-technical work that included borings so they knew what the soil conditions were, as well as what the existing pavement and base conditions were. Member Nagy appreciated the fact that this was going to get done on a timely basis.

Member Paul asked what the weight limit was on residential roads, how they would be carrying all of the weight of the crumbled roads out of the subdivision, and what the pathway would be.

Mr. Hayes said he didn’t know the allowable axle loads off the top of his head, but the City’s Design and Construction Standards for local streets were pretty stringent. So, we know that the design carries those standards, so assuming the construction meets or exceeds those standards, they would be able to handle the load of the heavy construction traffic. He said they had also included construction in the plans so the contractor minimized the disturbance to the neighborhoods.

Roll call vote on CM-06-07-199 Yeas: Landry, Gatt, Margolis, Mutch, Nagy, Paul

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

5. Approval to award a contract for Design and Construction Engineering for 2006 Sidewalk Program to Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick for a not-to-exceed design fee of $27,525 and a construction engineering fee equal to a fixed 8.7% of construction cost (estimated to be $20,010) for a total of $47,535.

CM-06-07-200 Moved by Margolis, seconded by Nagy; CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY:

To award contract for Design and Construction Engineering for 2006

Sidewalk Program to Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick for a not-to-

exceed design fee of $27,525 and a construction engineering fee

equal to a fixed 8.7% of construction cost (estimated to be $20,010)

for a total of $47,535.

DISCUSSION

Member Paul said when she looked at the firms that were chosen, she looked at the not to exceed design fee of $27,000 with a $200 difference between the #1 and #2 engineering companies. She said looking at the fixed percentage of construction, Anderson was considerably higher at 8.7, which was about $5,000 more. She said that concerned her because she would rather look at Fishbeck at a lower cost in total number. She wanted to know why their proposal was ranked a little lower, and why wouldn’t Council try to save $5,000 in this case.

Mr. Hayes said this was a pretty straight forward project. He said if she looked at their decision matrix used for rating the firms, the rate of fee was the highest weight. So, even despite that, Anderson Eckstein’s proposal was so superior it overcame the fact that Fishbeck’s fee was a little lower. Mr. Hayes said they felt that since they had a clear, concise understanding of the project they would get a better design product that would go out for bid, and give a better constructed product if they went with Anderson Eckstein. Member Paul said then they chose them because they felt their engineering would be superior to Fishbeck. Mr. Hayes said in this project, yes.

Member Mutch said he had the same concern as Member Paul regarding the difference in price. However, what did impress him was reading through the submittal from Anderson Eckstein, and the attention to detail that they were giving to the sidewalk segments. He said that demonstrated to him they were definitely paying attention to the issues that were going to be a challenge. Member Mutch said some of these sidewalk segments would be challenging, not necessarily from an engineering perspective, but from their location, and the adjacency to the existing homes, and homeowners landscaping. He said he would strongly encourage both the City engineering staff and the consultants to look at all the alternatives in the field to minimize the impact on residents. He thought if the sidewalks were done correctly, and they were sensitive to what was in front of people’s homes, they would be seen as a great amenity to the homeowners and to the community. He also recalled Nine Mile Road, Meadowbrook Road, and Haggerty Road where a sidewalk project went down in flames because the engineers designed what was the best route from an engineering perspective, but the absolute worst route from a homeowner perspective. He encouraged them to be sensitive to the homeowners, and said Council was open to alternatives, and if they ran into issues he hoped they would come back to Council so they could address those before they became a problem.

Member Paul said she walked down Taft Road and west on Nine Mile and between gap two and Taft Road there were two segments that were falling in. She said there are five pads of concrete and each one was falling into a wetland, and one was by a sanitary sewer. She said instead of having the DPW go out at a later time, it might be cost effective to look at that at the same time. She said she would like to see the problem rectified, and noted it would complete the whole section in an inexpensive fashion. Mr. Hayes said they could add that to the engineer’s scope, it would be a minor effort, and maybe make it an alternate in the bid to see if the City could afford it.

Roll call vote on CM-06-07-200 Yeas: Gatt, Margolis, Mutch, Nagy, Paul, Landry

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

6. Consideration of the request of Novi Town Center Investors for Preliminary Site

Plan approval for SP06-26, Novi Town Center Outlots. The subject property is

located in Sections 14 and 23, at the northeast corner of Novi Road and Grand

River Avenue, in the TC, Town Center District. The applicant is proposing to

construct retail and restaurant space on four outlots, totaling approximately

26,000 square feet.

Mr. Quinn was present representing Madison Marquette, the Managers of the Novi Town Center Mall. He said it was exciting that one of the early malls that had survived many years had made a decision to expand their product base and around their perimeter. He said they had been working for a long time with the Planning Department to make sure that the major corner of Novi and Grand River looked as downtown, aesthetically, as it could by bringing all of the buildings closer to the road, as they are in the old downtown across the street on Grand River, and the Fidelity building on Novi Road to the west. He said they were present tonight to request final approval of the preliminary site plan to the addition of the four buildings that were referenced. Mr. Quinn displayed their plan for Council, and pointed out Grand River and Novi Road. He said Building #1 and 2 were on the corner, Building #3 was on the corner of Town Center Drive, and Building #4 was in the middle near Sony Drive. He said Building #3, on the corner of Town Center Drive, was a commercial building with access from two points that would be used by two users, more than likely. He commented that Building #4 was the Sony Drive building and would access from Sony drive, and had its own interior parking, which was allowed. He said there were also variances required from Council for front and side yard setbacks caused partly by the buildings being moved as close as possible to Grand River, Town Center Drive, and Novi Road. Mr. Quinn said all the requested variances were given a positive recommendation by the Planning staff and the Planning Commission.

Mr. Quinn said there was just one variance left that they would have to go to the ZBA for, and that was on Building #3 on the corner of Town Center Drive, because they were lacking some of the loading zone area. He said because of the unusual configuration of the parcel they believed the ZBA would agree that it was a practical difficulty, and grant the variance. He said the other major buildings are on the corner of Novi Road, and would be two multiple use buildings. He noted they had sufficient parking within the site, but they would also have a cross easement parking agreement between the two parcels. He showed an overview of what the park setting would be like. He explained the fence and wall that would be around the perimeter of the property, and pedestrian accesses into the property going all the way through. Mr. Quinn said both of the buildings on the corner would have outdoor seating during the summer months. He said the fence around the perimeter was a combination of solid brick and a little wrought iron fencing that allowed people to see into the project easily. He showed Council the green spaces, walking areas and outdoor seating areas. Mr. Quinn displayed another view of the park where they had added some of the trees and shrubs that would be within the park. He said on the outside perimeter on the wall area they have Novi Town Center to identify where they are. They would be adding two water curtain features, and columns on each side of the major wall, and these monument walls would be 6 feet tall, the water curtain would be about 2 feet wide, and stick out from the wall about 20 inches towards the street. The water would run during the normal months the same as the other fountain at Novi Town Center on the Crescent Blvd. entranceway. The water would not puddle as it would run into a concrete basin so there would be no worry about mosquitoes in the area, or safety issues with children trying to get into the water. It would go underneath the grate and recycle. He offered an area for the City seal if Council wanted it, and if the City didn’t want to use it then the Town Center would add some additional decoration along with the Town Center logo.

Mr. Quinn said once the Town Center purchased this corner from the City they had to donate most of the property to the county for the widening of Grand River and for Novi Road. He said .15 acres was all that was left for them to use within the park, and for the additional properties for the outdoor cafes, etc. He said they tried to maximize the amount of green and plantings, while realizing there still needed to be visibility through the wall, and the fencing to see what businesses, etc. were there. Mr. Quinn said with the water feature and the ability for people to see over and through the wall, once they saw there were two outdoor seating areas, and people sitting and walking around this area, perhaps there might be something that would invite a person to walk, bike, or come from across the street to get to the park. He said with the colors and plantings it would be a very attractive place to be, would be visible for passing traffic, and they would know this was downtown Novi, the main four corners.

Mr. Quinn thought the variances outlined in Council packets would be very easy for this Council to agree to, and they are on the ZBA agenda for August 1st. He said everyone involved was present to answer Council’s questions.

Mr. Pearson said the park area was private property, and would be part of their commercial development, and the entryway features would be privately owned and maintained, which would be a classic win/win. He said corners were very important for visibility and creating perceptions, and he thought they had given a great deal of diligence, and it was exciting to see Town Center making a reinvestment like this.

Ms. Mc Beth said Mr. Quinn did such a fine job presenting the details of the plan that she would not reiterate them. She said the Planning Commission did hear this at a recent public hearing, and recommended favorably to Council for this plan. She commented they did not get a chance to look at or make a recommendation on the water feature on the corner, but had strongly encouraged the applicant to provide something before it came to Council. She said there were a number of things in the staff and consultants review letters that would need to be addressed at the time of final site plan review. Ms. Mc Beth said there was the ZBA waiver that had to do with the loading zone for Building #3 at the corner of Town Center Dr. and Grand River. She said Council was authorized to make adaptation to the setback requirements, and noted that 50 feet of setback was typically required in the Zoning District from the R.O.W.’s. In this case, the applicants were proposing buildings as close as 20 to 22 feet from the R.O.W. She said the staff and the Planning Commission were in support of that in an effort to create a more pedestrian environment, and to mirror the Fidelity building and the old historic building on the southeast corner of Grand River.

Ms. Mc Beth said Council was also asked to provide direction on the feature proposed on the northeast corner of the property, which was once owned by the City, and sold to the applicant last year.

Member Nagy commented she appreciated their investment in Town Center and really liked the plan. She asked about Building #4 being commercial, and Mr. Quinn said he meant it would be either a restaurant or other retail use. She said if they switch Building #3 and #4 they would still have the same problem with the loading zone. Member Nagy said she liked this, liked the water feature, and thought the City logo was a very nice gesture, but was not sure it was required. She said if Council didn’t recommend the City logo, she would like to see something interesting there like art or something. She thought this would be a major improvement to the corner, and would invite more people with the setback.

CM-06-07-201 Moved by Nagy, seconded by Paul; CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY:

To approve the request of Novi Town Center Investors for

Preliminary Site Plan approval for SP06-26, Novi Town Center

Outlots, and that City Council grant a waiver for lack of building

setbacks throughout the site to allow buildings closer to Grand River

and Novi Road, and that the applicant provide details of water feature and pedestrian plans at the intersection of Novi Road and Grand

River at the time of final site plan submittal, and there should be

compliance with all conditions and requirements listed in the staff

and consultant review letters at the time of final site plan submittal,

and that approval would be subject to ZBA variance for lack of

loading zone for Building #3.

Mayor Landry asked if the motion was also that approval would be subject to ZBA variance for lack of loading zone for Building #3. Ms. Nagy said yes. She thanked the applicant for their commitment, investment and improvement in Novi, and thought it would do wonders for that area.

DISCUSSION

Member Gatt concurred with Member Nagy. He said he wished the EDC people were present, because this kind of investment in the City was exactly what they were looking for, and what the City and State needed. He thanked them all for their efforts and Mr. Quinn for doing a great job explaining this to Council tonight. Member Gatt stated this had his full support.

Member Margolis said she agreed and thought this was a wonderful development. She said this was the second meeting in a row where one of the businesses had come forward with a plan to redevelop their business, and to move the City forward. She thought it was impressive with how the economic times in Michigan were now that this City was attracting that kind of development. She commented that she really liked the feature on the corner of Grand River and Novi and thought it looked great.

Member Paul said she also appreciated the development. She asked if brick pavers would be around the entire water feature.

Ralph Nunez, Land Design Team Limited, said what was represented was the brick that would be consistent throughout the project. He said the base was a wet pre-cast stone through the center course as far as the water mark, and then for the cap. He said this was a curtain wall so it was designed at 24 inches, and dropped three feet into a grate. He said this area was below grade and that wouldn’t be seen. However, they didn’t want an open pool of water that close to the R.O.W., so there was a grate that the water would cascade into, it would be enclosed so no one could tamper with it, and then it would re-circulate and come back through.

Member Paul said they had two sidewalks coming into the center, and the Novi logo, and asked if they were thinking about an artist statue or clock in that area. Mr. Nunez said not at this time. He said they were looking at the way Novi Town Center maintained their current fountain and the landscaping. He said they really wanted it to be a showplace for landscaping so they had a raised seat wall, circular bed, which concrete similar to what the City Hall had. Mr. Nunez said they had standard benches on the perimeter, and would have the circular wall so if a lot of people came they could sit around the area. He said that area was raised with flower plant material and large shade trees.

Member Paul thought it would be very successful. She said she had never seen anyone on any bench in the northeast corner. Mr. Nunez agreed, but hopefully with the energy, commercial, and restaurants people would come.

Member Mutch asked about the different renderings they had been given. He said Council had been given a set of color renderings and the typical site plan renderings, and there were differences between them. He said the most significant one was the sidewalk along Novi Road.

Mr. Nunez said when the road commission came in and did some of their improvements they matched up with what was existing, and the sidewalk came up and around and went to the back of the curb about 18 inches away, and the brick splash guard was there. He said the City’s requirement was to place that one foot in the R.O.W. straight up, and that was what they proposed. He said they went around the existing Crab Apple tree, but it presented a hazard to anyone on a bike or walking. If someone was walking southbound and tripped they would fall in front of a car. He said they proposed on the landscape plans to place that where it was supposed to be, at the back of the R.O.W., and adjusted accordingly. Mr. Nunez said engineering showed it as existing so engineering had to match it with what they were proposing.

Member Mutch said he agreed with everything Mr. Nunez had said, especially in light of the fact that a building would be where the landscaping was now. Member Mutch commented he wanted to be sure that Council was approving the design Mr. Nunez was talking about versus what was shown on the plan. Mr. Nunez believed the staff had contacted his office, and they agreed that the engineering had to match the landscape plan as far as the sidewalks. Mr. Nunez said there was also an issue on the sidewalk in front of one of the other existing buildings that only had a 6 foot walk, and they were proposing that also had to meet the City’s requirement and it would be eight feet. Member Mutch asked if it was at Building #3, and Mr. Nunez said it was. Member Mutch asked if the sidewalk would be moved back when it was widened and reconstructed, or would it stay in the current location adjacent to the roadway. Mr. Nunez said they were going to try to make it as far away from the existing back of curb as possible within the R.O.W.

Member Mutch said he understood that the sign, landscaping, and sidewalk was at the corner, but when Grand River was eventually widened to five lanes, he was concerned about having the sidewalk that close to a five lane road. He said he realized there was existing sidewalk to the west that they had to meet up with, but were getting as much clearance between the two for the situation Mr. Nunez outlined. Member Mutch said on Building #3 on the landscape plan they showed the interior/exterior connection of the sidewalk, but it was not shown on the engineering plans, and asked if that would be resolved. Mr. Nunez said it would be there as well as on Building #4.

Member Mutch asked if there had been resolution to his question regarding the R.O.W. at the northeast corner, and whether there was a full 60 ft. R.O.W. dedicated. Ms. Mc Beth said they had discussed whether there was a full 60 ft. R.O.W. at the corner for Novi and Grand River, 60 ft. half R.O.W. She said the drawings seemed to show a slight discrepancy there, and they would like to ask the applicant, at the time of final site plan, to confirm that the City would maintain the full 60 ft. of half R.O.W. at both Novi Road and Grand River. Member Mutch said since Council would be providing the waiver for the setback, adding a foot or two either way would not affect their plans at that location. Ms. Mc Beth replied that the setbacks were based on the future 60 ft. R.O.W. Member Mutch commented he appreciated the applicant resolving the sidewalk issues, and he liked the landscaping plan, and was glad those would be in sync.

Member Mutch said he had two comments to make. One was the issue of the setbacks in Town Center. He knew it came up at a past meeting when discussing Town Center zoning in general, and the fact that in the TC District it was mandated that buildings be set back quite a distance from the road. He said in the TC-1 District nothing was really mandated except buildings were allowed to come right up to the road. He said as the applicant stated in their

proposal that was the vision Council had for the City. He said one of the comments when this was discussed earlier was that those two had to be in sync, and whether it meant dumping the TC District and going to the TC-1 District for all areas currently zoned TC, or incorporating that vision into the TC District. Member Mutch said he would absolutely support a waiver for those setbacks but it was the City’s ordinances that were creating the problem, and they were not consistent with the vision Council had for Town Center. He said he would like that addressed in the future.

Member Mutch said he liked the water element, and liked tying into the idea of the fountain at the other entrance. He said regarding the logo, one of the things he thought people would find confusing was that it wasn’t a City park, it was a commercial development that had a nice open area. He said he was leaning in the direction of Member Nagy and having something more artistic. He said it was an element that had been in other areas of the Town Center, and he would like to see a developer be creative with that. He said if it had the applicant’s logo that wasn’t so bad, it was their center, and it would help identify it. Member Mutch thought the City logo should be saved for City items, and they should do their thing on their property. Member Mutch said he was pleased with the additions, and was looking forward to the improvements at that corner.

Mayor Landry stated he was in full support of this, and would wholeheartedly support the motion. He thought it was a wonderful plan, would do wonders for that corner, and the applicant was to be commended for reinvesting in the City. Mayor Landry said, personally, he would like the City logo there. He said they were working on entranceway signs for the City, and would use that logo, and he thought it would look great. He said he liked "Novi Town Center" on the semi circular because the Town Center was their development. Mayor Landry thought the two logos would look outstanding. He commended them for making the offer, and would support taking them up on it. Mayor Landry said Mr. Clear was to be commended for hosting the Fifties Festival at the Novi Town Center, and Madison Marquette Realty Services had been wonderful. He noted Mr. Clear had been wonderful to work with this past year, and had been a great corporate citizen. Mayor Landry thanked Mr. Clear for allowing the festival to be at the Novi Town Center, and encouraged everyone to come out. It would start Wednesday evening, would be a great time, and the Town Center would be a wonderful location.

Roll call vote CM-06-07-201 Yeas: Margolis, Mutch, Nagy, Paul, Landry, Gatt

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

Luanne Kozma, 23837 W. Le Bost, Friends of Novi Parks, said she was pleased that the City and staff were going forward with the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant proposal.

She thanked Council for approving it tonight, and for pursuing acquiring additional park land in the City. Ms. Kozma commented that Friends of Novi Parks commissioned an environmental study of the property with the land-owners permission, and they hired Brian Klatt, of Klatt

Environmental Associates of Brighton, to do an assessment of the plants of the area, which was what they had done for Meadowbrook Park. She said these were very important baseline studies to use when the Trust Fund Board was making their decisions. She said she went out to the potential park land with Mr. Klatt, and they both took some pictures. She said it was beautiful property, densely wooded, lush, and would make a good buffer for the additional park

land and for the Singh Trail. She thought it would benefit the users of the trail, and the trail would be of benefit to everyone in Novi, and not just people near by. She said Mr. Klatt said "it was significant to note that the vegetation of this Heritage property basically consists of a single plant community, namely southern swamp." She said it was pretty much throughout the entire property. She said they found 72 different species and 64 of them were native to Michigan, which was about 89% for a Floristic Quality Index (FQI), of 28.38, which may be higher if he went out during other times of the year when other plants were flowering. She said the plant community on the Heritage property really fit the idealized description of a southern swamp, and was a perfect example of it. She said it was in great condition and considered rare by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory, but he said "in his experience it was unusual to find, in an urban area, an un-fragmented plant community of this extent and in such good condition as is found on this property." She stated she was glad they could provide that for the City’s application.

MATTERS FOR COUNCIL ACTION – Part II

7. Approval of Ordinance No. 06-174, An Ordinance to Amend the City of Novi Code

of Ordinances to Make Violations of Sections A 22-46(a), 22-66, 22-67, 22-69, 22-

73, 22-76, 22-77, 22-78, Punishable by Imprisonment for not more than ninety-

three (93) days and/or a fine of not more than five-hundred dollars ($500.00).

Second Reading

CM-06-07-202 Moved by Gatt, seconded by Nagy; CARRIED UNAMIMOUSLY:

To approve Ordinance No. 06-174, An Ordinance to Amend the City

of Novi Code of Ordinances to Make Violations of Sections A 22-

46(a), 22-66, 22-67, 22-69, 22-73, 22-76, 22-77, 22-78, Punishable by

Imprisonment for not more than ninety-three (93) days and/or a fine

of not more than five-hundred dollars ($500.00). Second Reading

Roll call vote on CM-06-07-202 Yeas: Mutch, Nagy, Paul, Landry, Gatt, Margolis

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

8. Consideration of Ordinance 06-100.36, and referral to the Planning Commission for public hearing and recommendation for the proposed amendments to Chapter 28, Signs, of the City of Novi Code of Ordinances, as amended, in order to modify the standards for signage throughout the City of Novi. First Reading

CM-06-07-203 Moved by Nagy, seconded by Margolis; CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY:

To approve the First Reading of Ordinance 06-100.36, and referral to

the Planning Commission for public hearing and recommendation

for the proposed amendments to Chapter 28, Signs, of the City of

Novi Code of Ordinances, as amended, in order to modify the

standards for signage throughout the City of Novi.

DISCUSSION

Member Gatt said it was mentioned in the packet that this should be reviewed by both Chambers of Commerce, and he was very interested in hearing their feedback.

Mr. Pearson said it had been a while since he had seen an ordinance with this many strike outs, and thought a lot of credit went to Mayor Landry, Member Mutch and Member Capello, who worked a lot of hours on this. He said this was a significant undertaking, and when the City Clerk counted the meetings there were 14 that occurred to go through this paragraph by paragraph. He thought this would make a lot of strides to meet the needs of businesses opening up some areas, modernizing, and generally cleaning it up.

Roll call vote on CM-06-07-203 Yeas: Nagy, Paul, Landry, Gatt, Margolis, Mutch

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

9. Consideration of Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment 18.206 to amend Ordinance No. 97-18, as amended, the City of Novi Zoning Ordinance, to modify drive-through aisle requirements for specific uses under Section 2506. First Reading

CM-06-07-204 Moved by Nagy, seconded by Margolis; CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY:

To approve the First Reading of Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment

18.206 to amend Ordinance No. 97-18, as amended, the City of

Novi Zoning Ordinance, to modify drive-through aisle requirements

for specific uses under Section 2506.

DISCUSSION

Member Mutch commented that he was pleased to see this come forward because it was a good example of the City looking at changing conditions, and the fact that people aren’t using the bank drive-through like they did in the past. He said requiring banks to have additional parking and driveway space was not only unnecessary but wasn’t benefiting the community from economic and environmental viewpoints. He was glad to see the City being proactive in that regard, and commended the Planning Commission and the Implementation Committee who had a number of discussions about this. Member Mutch encouraged them to continue looking at the ordinances and finding ways to make them better, and bring them up to current standards and uses.

Roll call vote on CM-06-07-204 Yeas: Paul, Landry, Gatt, Margolis, Mutch, Nagy

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

10. Consideration of proposed revisions to Chapter 34 (Utilities), Ordinance 06-28.56, of the Novi Code of Ordinances pertaining to regulation of private and public sewage disposal systems. First Reading

CM-06-07-205 Moved by Nagy, seconded by Margolis; CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY:

To approve the First Reading of Ordinance 06-28.56, proposed

revisions to Chapter 34 (Utilities), Ordinance 06-28.56, of the Novi

Code of Ordinances pertaining to regulation of private and public

sewage disposal systems. First Reading

DISCUSSION

Member Mutch said he had submitted a number of questions to the City attorney and staff regarding the impact of this ordinance change. He said he would not reiterate the questions as the answers were lengthy. The questions were along the lines that what this ordinance did was bring the ordinances into compliance with standards that the City of Detroit ordinances have for water and sewer. He thought it raised potential legal questions in terms of who would be responsible for enforcement, what kind of enforcement would take place, whether there would be retroactive application of this ordinance to users in the community, what the fiscal impact of these changes would be, as well as the scope, and whether it just applied to the Detroit system or also to the Walled Lake and Commerce Township segments that have their own waste water treatment plants. He asked if the Administration and the City Attorney could provide Council with the information provided to him, probably in a more formal feedback, before it returned for a second reading. Then everyone on Council would have the same information, and would be aware of the impact of these ordinance changes.

Member Paul asked, for the second reading, what part of the City was not on the City sewer.

She noted she knew sewer studies had been done, and they were looking to improve some of the areas that had leakage, and some storm water systems that get into our sewage area. She asked if Mr. Hayes could give Council a general use all around the lakes, and whether different areas of the City were on leach systems or other kinds of systems.

Mr. Hayes said the majority of the changes in the Chapter 34 revisions pertained to commercial entities that had industrial pretreatment programs. He said that was where the bulk of any penalties that might be assessed might occur. Mr. Hayes said there were also a lot of provisions that pertained to sewage disposal in general, whether talking about a private or public sewer.

Member Paul asked if, when Council had the second reading, Mr. Hayes would be able to provide Council with a map of the sewer system and where it went. Mr. Hayes said he could provide that, but to answer her first concern, it would be difficult to show what parcels were not on the public sewer because it was kind of hodge-podge throughout the City. He said there were individual parcels still on septic systems all over the City. He said he might have a list of parcel ID numbers that have septic systems. Member Paul said her concern was mainly around the water ways, and the seepage into the water ways. She said she knew that several times in the last ten years the Walled Lake area beach had been closed because of E-coli, and she wanted to look into where there were problems and address those.

Roll call vote on CM-06-07-205 Yeas: Landry, Gatt, Margolis, Mutch, Nagy, Paul

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

 

11. Approval to purchase one (1) Pierce pumper truck from Halt Fire, Inc. through MITN Purchasing Cooperative in the amount of $370,065.

CM-06-07-206 Moved by Paul, seconded by Margolis; CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY:

To approve purchase of one (1) Pierce pumper truck from Halt Fire,

Inc. through MITN Purchasing Cooperative in the amount of

$386,938.

DISCUSSION

Member Paul said the amount was $386,938, not $370,065, and Mayor Landry asked what the correct amount was. Mr. Pearson said the $386,938 amount was correct. He said they were looking at the pay in advance discount, and after talking with the Finance Director they couldn’t recommend that, and would rather have the equipment and then pay them out.

Roll call vote on CM 06-07-206 Yeas: Gatt, Margolis, Mutch, Nagy, Paul, Landry

Nays: None

Absent: Capello

CONSENT AGENDA REMOVALS FOR COUNCIL ACTION - None

MAYOR AND COUNCIL ISSUES

1. Streamlining Temporary Use Permits – Member Margolis

Member Margolis said she had a discussion with Mr. Pearson about the amount of time between when the applicant applied for a Temporary Use Permit, and when it was actually approved. She said it had to do with the process of going to staff and then to Council, and she also wanted Outdoor Gathering Permits, and Utility Acceptance reviewed. She said these were three areas where it seemed like there was a looping system in the process where people had to wait an inordinate amount of time. She asked for consensus of Council for the staff to look at this and come back with a better process, administrative review, and approval of these items.

Mr. Pearson said they would love to look at all those, and thought it would help both the applicants and the staff. He said the timing was perfect with this Zoning MEA, and all the extra things that had to be done for a Temporary Use Permit.

2. Review Restaurant Outdoor Seating Requirements – Member Mutch

Member Mutch said for restaurants in the City that want or have outdoor seating, unless it was requested up front they have to go through the ZBA for a variance. He said fortunately for most of these restaurants the ZBA had been giving two to three year variances for that, but he thought that was completely unnecessary and too subjective. He said for a business it should be a straight forward process with standards. The applicant applies, it’s reviewed and approved if the standards are met. He said it was the same concept Member Margolis requested to streamline this. Member Mutch said another item on the agenda tonight was the issue of license agreements for doing brick pavers in R.O.W. He asked why this process had to come all the way up to Council if it was not required by the Charter. It didn’t make sense that someone would have to wait to get on a Council agenda before they could do an improvement to their property. He asked for Council’s support to send both those items to Administration to review.

Mayor Landry said Mr. Pearson had his direction, and Mr. Pearson agreed.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION - None

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to come before Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:18 P.M.

 

________________________________ ________________________________

David Landry, Mayor Maryanne Cornelius, City Clerk

 

________________________________ Date approved: August 14, 2006

Transcribed by Charlene Mc Lean