Belleville planners tie 4-4 on Davenports’ request for special use

The Belleville Planning Commission locked in a 4-4 tie, which meant Davenport Development LLC did not get approval to construct a building at 337 Main Street for two service businesses.
The ordinance calls for 50% retail and there was no retail proposed.
At its regular meeting on March 9, the commission considered Davenport’s application for special approval/use for the building and after more than an hour of discussion voted.
Commissioner John Juriga made the motion to grant Davenport a special use permit at 337 Main Street for professional administrative office uses. It was seconded by vice-chair Michael Hawkins. Voting yes were Juriga, Hawkins, Michael Renaud and Randy Priest. Voting no were Henry Kurczewski, Matthew Wagner, Becky Hasen, and chairman Jones.
At the last meeting, commissioner Kelly Bates announced she would not be at the March 9 meeting because she was going to Florida.
City Manager Diana Kollmeyer said Davenport could appeal the vote and ask for another vote at a meeting where all the members were present.
Davenport’s architect Wayde Hoppe presented the proposal for the 5,600 square foot building on .32 acre, which now is vacant. Davenport closed on the property purchase on Dec. 16, 2016 from Russell H. and Ada K. Minges for a total cost of $45,000.
The proposed use was 1,866 square feet for Edward Jones investment advisors and 3,734 square feet for Moving the Mitten real estate group. Number of employees on largest shift was three at Edward Jones and five at Moving the Mitten. Hours proposed were 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fourteen parking spaces are planned in the rear with the dumpster and its enclosure in one. Entry to parking is through the alley.
“We stuck to our master plan on other blocks,” said chairman Jones in beginning the discussion, adding the commission was reminded by the planning consultant of the dangers of spot zoning.
“How can that be spot zoning?” asked vice-chairman Hawkins. He pointed out the goal is a walkable downtown. He said all the retail stores downtown close at 6 p.m., “except for the liquor stores.”
“I’m concerned that we have vacant buildings downtown,” said commissioner Hasen.
DPW Director Rick Rutherford said Kassab’s place in uninhabitable right now and, “We have things going on with that.”
“In the ‘70s there was Ballard Florist, a car dealership and other buildings and then it was decided to put a big bank on the whole city block,” said Hasen. “Times have changed… I’d rather have Crafted on Main Street.”
The Davenport representative said a lot of Crafted’s customers come from those visiting the Secretary of State in that shopping strip.
“I sell houses, the most expensive item you can buy,” said Therese Antonelli of Moving the Mitten, suggesting real estate was retail.
“I don’t like one business moving from one spot to another on Main Street,” commissioner Juriga said, noting the Mitten is already on Main Street.
Architect Hoppe pointed out that this is a company that is tripling its space from 1,300 to 3,600 square feet.
“New construction tends to have a magnetizing effect,” Hoppe said.
Chairman Jones said he is hoping that another business, without a special use permit, will come along. With the new library coming, perhaps someone will want to be near the library.
“We have two tenants who want to move to Main Street,” Hoppe stressed.
“We granted special approval to Burhop,” Hawkins said, referring to Burhop’s expansion on Davis Street.
City Manager Kollmeyer asked Antonelli if she wants to expand and she replied that they really needed a lot more room. She now is at 245 Main.
“I heard that Safety Track, my neighbor, may be moving,” she replied, noting it turned out Safety Track is not moving and she is between a great chiropractor and Safety Track, with no room to expand.
Antonelli said she was searching Van Buren Township and talked to developers and went to Cherry Hill in Canton. Then someone told her to talk to Davenport and she did.
She said a retail company can’t afford the rent of this new building, but she can.
“There’s not even a little bit of retail in there,” Jones said. “For a special use, you’d have to be close.”
“We tried to get retail, tried to buy a franchise and we were turned down twice,” said the Davenport representative.
“This community will not support retail,” said a second woman from Moving the Mitten. “We are busting at the seams.”
She said people from out of town come to their business and rave about Belleville, which they didn’t know about before, and they go to the restaurants here.
“I appreciate you,” Jones said. “The problem is with Davenport. They have two offices and no retail. We gave them one story [instead of the required two stories]. Now they want it changed again.”
“It’s really not working as well as we hoped,” said commissioner Renaud, referring to the requirement for 50% retail per block. He suggested tweaking the definition for retail to include restaurants. “Holding it to that plan may not be the wisest thing in this city.”
Hawkins said the commission has control of what this building will look like and it could be retail in the future.
“Special use is forever,” Jones stated.
“Looking at Gary Snarski’s building [Century 21], it is big and he doesn’t need it that big,” Hasen said. “I hope you can stay downtown.”
“If I need less space, I’ll go to Davenport and ask to sublet 1,800 square feet for retail,” Antonelli said, noting it is being built for three businesses.
Hoppe said that lenders for construction projects need tenants for the buildings.
“We’ve got two tenants,” Hoppe said. “Do you want a new building?”
Jones said this would set a precedent and the next person who comes in might want, and might get, a special use approval.
“We haven’t had great success with this rule,” Renaud said. “These are two quality businesses. Edward Jones is not a flash in the pan and the Mitten is going strong and may cut back in the future.”
Commissioner Juriga said eight or nine years ago, Hoppe drew a plan for a building and the city wanted brick. The owner said no because it added too much cost and moved out of town. Juriga said he talked to the man and he said it was the brick that stopped the project.
Commissioner Priest said the commission should try to stay as flexible as it can.
Jones said the planning consultant said the commission could put conditional special use on it that expires after a few years.
Hoppe said it could be that if a tenant leaves it would revert to the original rules.
Jones said special use stays with the property. He used Five Points as an example that got special use approval to sell a few cars and “now there’s not such a nice group of cars.”
Rutherford said when that property goes vacant they can’t increase the nonconformity.
“You’re concerned about the loan,” Hawkins said to Hoppe.
“And, paying off the loan,” Hoppe replied.
“Would the planning commission be amiable to approving based on special use expiring when the tenant leaves?” Kollmeyer asked.
Commissioner Wagner, who is the chairman of the committee working on an updated master plan, referred to the master plan.
“People say what we tried didn’t work,” Wagner said. “With what the nation and community has been through recently … Rome wasn’t built in a day… Someone offers us a golden apple and says take it. The city is two square miles. We only have so many spaces.
“Not every town can be a Plymouth or a Royal Oak … We have the only lake in Wayne County … We’re close to two expressways, two airports … We have to think of the long-range effect … It’s not that we’re destitute for cash,” Wagner said.
Hoppe said it should have worked. He said he has been working here since 1998. The building at 337 Main burned in 2003. He said the owner wanted to rebuild and couldn’t afford to – and that was 14 years ago.
“Someone is willing to build and it will be beautiful,” Hoppe said.
Jones said he hasn’t seen what it’s going to look like and Hoppe said they haven’t been through the site plan review and haven’t done the drawing.
“I would urge you not to make a decision because you think it’s not going to be as beautiful as you think it should be,” Hoppe said.
Priest said the town has a new high school and a new library is coming.
“Maybe we haven’t hit the top of our game yet,” Priest said.
“That school has been up five years,” Hoppe pointed out.
Wagner said this is the second exception requested for the project and who knows what other exception will be needed, such as parking.
Hoppe said that was true and, “I agree we’re asking for concessions. We’ve seen what happened at Michigan Avenue and Belleville Road, sucking the development away.”
He said they couldn’t afford a two-story building and they can’t find retail.
Renaud said he’s been here 17 years and only one building has gone up and some have gone down.
“We need something,” Renaud said. “Both businesses will bring people to downtown. We should seize this opportunity to get more buildings on Main Street.
“It’s not a huge lot – one-third of an acre. It may have parking-related issues…” Renaud said.
“Caused by our ordinance,” Hawkins said.
“It’s not all of our downtown,” Renaud said. “It’s one-third of an acre.”
“I’m afraid it will set a precedent,” Jones said.
“We have the opportunity to get a building built,” Hawkins said. “We’ll stick with the aesthetics we want.”
“We’re talking about an office that closes at 5 p.m.,” Jones said.
“All these retail stores are closing because shopping now is being done on line,” Juriga said. “That’s my concern.”
Hoppe said they first came to the city in December and there were reports in the paper, but retailers did not contact them.
Juriga said there was enough talking and so he made the motion to approve, which ended in a stalemate.
Antonelli said her current lease is up in June and this decision could cost Davenport a tenant.
The second Mitten representative said Belle’s Resale found it’s hard for retail on Main Street and now is open only two days a week.
“New construction. The first in 17 years. I don’t understand why the community would put a stop on a beautiful building,” she said.
“Belleville’s losing another business,” said one of the disappointed Davenport representatives.
“It had no retail component at all,” Jones insisted.
Antonelli said she put in the popup shop to show Belleville what could be done and it was never for the money.
“I lost my ass in those popup shops,” Antonelli said.
At the end of the meeting, Renaud said while he knows some of the members were standing on principle, “I think we did an injustice to three local businesses. I hope we don’t lose them.”
“It’s always good to have a spirited discussion,” Jones said.
Also at the March 9 meeting, Kollmeyer announced that Ron Akers, Van Buren Township’s director of planning and economic development, will be present at the April 17 regular meeting to talk about the Lake Ordinance recently passed by the township.