| non-residential uses and to provide protection for less intense residential uses. Placing |
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| the line farther into the residential area than recommended by the Master Plan would |
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| not be consistent with the need to protect adjacent residential uses. The consultant |
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| believed the proposed B-2, General Business zoning would be inconsistent with the |
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| Master Plan's recommendation regarding the subject site, and he summarized the |
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| principal uses permitted by right and those subject to conditions to emphasize the |
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| point. While the subject site at 0.065 acres in size and the adjacent shopping center |
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| driveway to the south would be too shallow to accommodate most of the uses |
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| permitted in the B-2, General Business district, other than what the applicant proposes |
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| as a driveway and required parking and buffer, the current parcel configuration is not |
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| set in stone and could change. The gas station parcel on the corner of Livernois and |
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| Walton is actually quite large for an automotive service use and includes a lot of |
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| undeveloped, underused area. If the parcel lines were adjusted for some reason, the |
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| subject area could potentially accommodate many of the permitted uses in the B-2, |
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| General Business district. The Environmental Impact Statement has been submitted |
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| and conforms to the city's guidelines. Mr. Kagler stated that the Statement suggests |
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| that the proposed rezoning would have a positive impact on adjacent land uses in the |
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| surrounding area by accommodating a landscaped buffer between existing commercial |
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| and residential uses. Mr. Kagler stated that this type of positive impact, however, |
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| could occur even without the proposed rezoning. Mr. Kagler noted that the |
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| Statement fails to recognize and state that the Zoning Ordinance includes review |
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| standards by which a required buffer can be modified, and to his knowledge that |
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| option has not been explored by the applicant. He noted that the subject site is part of |
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| a noncontiguous historic district in the city, and, as such, the city's Historic District |
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| Ordinance would govern any kind of work on resources within an historic district. A |
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| certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Districts Commission could be |
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| required. Pursuant to the Historic Districts Ordinance the Planning Commission could |
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| request information or a recommendation from the Historic Districts Commission. The |
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| consultant is recommending that the Planning Commission recommend disapproval of |
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| the rezoning request based on the six reasons stated in his report. |
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| Mr. Becker explained that the existing shopping center on Walton Boulevard with the |
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| existing strip of land onto Livernois has provided 19 parking spaces, which is not a |
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| requirement of the city but he has just had them since 1974 when he built the shopping |
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| center. Mr. Becker originally had 92 parking spaces, and now he is down to 73 |
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| parking spaces. This resulted from the widening of Livernois Road and the Road |
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| Commission's desire to provide access to the home at 71 North Livernois. Mr. |
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| Becker explained that he negotiated a land swap, which was part of a previous |
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| rezoning request, with the hope of gaining a few extra parking spaces. Whether or not |
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| he received the extra parking spaces was not the key issue. The key issue was to just |
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