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Little Traverse Township Zoning Board March 5, 2007 7:30 P.M. Township Hall Chairman Joe Chattaway called the meeting to order. Roll call: Jean Beckley, absent Joe Chattaway, present John Johnson, present Ed Shepherd, present Marty Van Berlo, present Also present: Bill Dohm, Randy Frykberg, Jane Taylor, Eliza Seltzer, Bart Wangeman, Paul Glahn , and Robert Hagerman. Minutes: John Johnson motioned to approve the minutes of January 8, 2007 as presented. Support came from Ed Shepherd. Motion carried by voice vote. Chairman Chattaway heard no objection to the agenda as presented. Case #B-2-2007 Conduct a Public Hearing and review sit plan for the Emmet County DPW to expand the Recycle Center Bale Warehouse and make changes to internal access roads at 7363 S. Pleasantview Rd. Randy Frykberg reviewed the case saying the County DPW would like to expand the recycle center bale warehouse by 3,000 square feet and to add 125’of access road to connect to the current recycling truck apron to the existing road. The 30’X100’ building addition will add warehouse capacity for storage of baled recyclable materials such as paper and plastics. The existing building at 19,485 square feet, will be enlarged by 15%. The facility site size is approximately 40 acres with the closest setback being at 345 feet from the north property line. The existing entrance will not be altered. The current recycling truck apron will be connected to the existing road as a safety feature. There perimeter area to the west and south is bermed and wooded. The area to the north is heavily wooded. He felt this proposed warehouse addition appears to be in conformance with the County Solid Waste Plan and the Township Zoning Regulations. Chairman Chattaway opened the Public Hearing. Eliza Seltzer said this additional warehouse bale space would allow them to get into new grades of materials for recycling, like hard plastics. They are now nearly maxed out for bale storage space. She said the do send bales of material out daily and have about 31% of the waste going in the recycling program now. Bart Wangeman spoke up in favor the the current recycling program. It was noted that there has been no response from the neighbors to the notice for the Public Hearing. Randy Frykberg informed the Board that we now have a good survey site plan that shows footage.Joe Chattaway asked if the chipping and composting had begun yet and was told that it would most likely be in the fall but the chipping could be earlier, depending on how high we want the brush piles to get.John Johnson asked if they do water testing. Ms. Seltzer said they had to have monitor wells around the site but so far no problem. The water has been tested but not in the last couple of years. The Public Hearing was closed.Marty Van Berlo motioned to approve the site plan Case # B-2-2007 for the Emmet County DPW to expand the Recycle Center Bale Warehouse and make changes to the internal access roads at 7363 S. Pleasantview Road. The plan meets the Site Plan Conditional Use Standard of the Ordinance. Support came from John Johnson. Approved by roll call vote: Beckley, absent; Chattaway, yes; Johnson, yes; Shepherd, yes; Van Berlo, yes. Case#B-3-2007 Site Plan Review for a storage addition to the Sealex, Inc. facility at 8850 Moeller Drive. Randy Frykberg reviewed the case. Sealex Inc. would like to build a 30’X90’ addition on the south side of their existing 75’X150’ building on lot 5 and 6 in Little Traverse Industrial Park. The addition would be storage only and would cover two existing parking spaces, but an additional 8 spaces will be created. The company manufactures vulcanized silicone rubber products for the construction industry. The 2.5 acre parcel is zoned I-1, Light Industrial with manufacturing a use by right in that district. The setback from the east side property line (Maple Acres, zoned R-1) is 117’, which exceed the 60’ requirements. All other setbacks are also exceeded. With the proposed addition and the existing building the lot coverage will be at about 11%. Storm water will be handled on site by retention and circulation basins adequate to handle a 50-year storm (3’8” in 24 hours). The rear and south side of the property is moderate to heavily wooded with Poplar, Maple and scattered pine trees. 9 parking spaces exist (including 1 barrier free space) on the south side of the building. 2 of these will be covered by the addition but 8 additional spaces will be added. The ingress and egress to the lot, the landscaping in the front, the snow storage/management, etc. will not be altered by this addition to the southeast side of the building.Bart Wangemann, contractor for project noted the addition is for storage and will have a pass through garage size door.Robert Hagerman, owner, told the Board there are 7 employees, and that includes 3 family members. Sealex is a small business manufacturing a rubber gasket that is used to seal expansion joints in tall buildings. Dow Corning buys most of their product. He said the future outlook for the company looks good. Bill Dohm asked if there was HAZMAT on site and was told there are small quantities of chemicals and mineral spirits on site. Mr. Wangeman said the Building Department limits the quantities they can have.Bill Dohm felt it important relating to emergency response to inventory these things and inform the Fire Department. Mr. Hagerman said silicone will burn at a slow rate and is not self igniting. Johnson motioned to accept the plan dated 2-1-07 for a storage addition to the Sealex, Inc. facility at 8850 Moeller Drive.The plan meets all the Site Plan Review requirements of the Ordinance. Motion support came from Van Berlo. Approved by Roll Call vote: Beckley, absent; Shepherd, yes; Van Berlo, yes; Johnson, yes; Chattaway, yes. Review and comment of the Harbor Area Community Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Plan: Bill Dohm had given each Board member an updated copy of the Harbor Area Community Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Plan. They had previously received red lined corrections. Jean Beckley and Joe Chattaway had each submitted a letter to the Board stating their concerns with this plan. Letters attached. Mr. Dohm said the focus of the plan is on trails, open space, and waterfront property. He said what is before us is the question of supporting the implementation of the Plan. The grant covers legal work for the draft. A Recreation Authority may not be what we want. The terms need to be scrutinized carefully, how to fund the project. He said they are ready to sit down and draft a document, working together to work out issues of concern. And he felt future funding to be a big issue. He went on to tell this Board that they can make a recommendation to the Township Board and asked for Board comments.John Johnson was supportive and thought we need to be more specific than the group from Petoskey was.Joe Chattaway was concerned with duplication of efforts, and felt we should be working with our neighboring townships ourselves rather than through another group. He said this was just another layer we don’t need to go through. Bill Dohm said we need to be cautious we aren’t getting into a broad recreation or special interest plan. We need joint cooperation with other municipalities. He said he would not like to see this just sit on a shelf. He noted the group is asking for support to move forward. He went on to say the Authority, if established, could not come here and build a park. The Township will have control. He noted that he and Joe Chattaway are both on the committee and will convey your feelings to them. Joe Chattaway felt the ultimate goal of this group is an authority that they can control. Randy Frykberg didn’t feel it was the group’s intent to take control away from the local boards. Ed Shepherd asked if the other townships were in and was told that West Traverse opted out but they do attend the meetings and haven’t voted on this plan yet. Bill Dohm said it has to be unanimous consent or were won’t go with it. It is about working together and incorporates our recreation plan into a larger plan. A Resolution to support the implementation of the HARBOR Area Recreation, Trails and Open Space Plan was offered by Johnson and supported by Van Berlo. Approved by roll call vote; Beckley, absent; Chattaway, no; Shepherd, yes; Van Berlo, yes; Johnson, yes. Copy of resolution attached. Other business:Randy Frykberg brought a sign plan from the New Beginnings Thrift Shop that is using a portion of the existing PUMCO storage building for a resale shop. They had not filed an application prior to the meeting but want to open their shop on the 12th of March. They also had not gotten approval from the property owner, Tom Behan, authorizing the requested sign using the existing real estate sign frame on West Conway Road, He asked if a 30 day temporary sign could be approved. He said the sign over the door could be approved by the sign committee. Bill Dohm was concerned with this area having another sign as there are now 4 within a short distance. He would like to see one larger sign with tenants listed on that. Marty Van Berlo motioned to allow a temporary sign for 30 days pending approval of the property owner and they must come back to the Zoning Board next month with a sign plan. Ed Shepherd supported the motion. Approved by roll call vote: Beckley, absent; Chattaway, yes; Johnson, yes; Shepherd, yes; Van Berlo yes. Open Discussion for issues not on the agenda:a. Correspondence received- Zoning Bulletins and Planning Journalb. Zoning Board Members- Election of officers will be held at the next meeting. The Board decided to leave the meeting schedule as is for the first Monday of the month at 7:30 PM.c. Public Comment-none. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 9:00 P.M. Date Approved_______________________________ Respectfully Submitted,Secretary___________________________________ Jane Taylor
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