Good evening.
I'd like to call the order a regular meeting
of the zoning Board of appeals on Wednesday,
May 28th at 7:30 PM Please
rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the republic for which it stands.
One nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
This takes us to roll call
Mr. Perry. Present.
Mr. Lindsay Present. Mr. Green Present.
Mr. Cliff Present? Mr. Watts is absent.
Mr. Assessor present. Mr. Sto present. Mr. Jersey's present.
Chairman Faye Present. Mr.
Chairman, I'd like to make a motion to excuse, uh, Mr. Watts
Support. We
have a motion by Secretary Jersey.
Um, I'm sorry, that was, uh, support by Mr. Assessor. Yep.
To excuse Mr. Watts. All in favor a
Aye. Mr. Watts
has been excused.
This brings us to the approval
of the regular meeting minutes of April 23rd
and May 14th. I don't believe those.
Agenda. Agenda.
Oh, I'm sorry. I skipped.
Uh, item four, the adoption of the agenda. Mr.
Chair, I'd like to make a motion
to adopt the agenda as written. Support
The motion by Secretary Jersey.
Support by Mr. Neitz to adopt the agenda as written.
All in favor? Aye.
The agenda has been adopted now, now we're at item five,
approval of the meeting minutes of April 23rd and May 14th.
I don't believe those have gone out yet. Nope.
Come on, leave a motion to
I'd like to make a motion, Mr.
Chair, to, um, move the approval of the minutes
for both meetings.
April 23rd, 2025,
and May 14th, 2025 to the June 11th meeting. So
We have a motion by Secretary Jersey.
I believe I heard Mr. Perry. Yes.
Uh, to postpone the approval of the meeting minutes
of April 23rd and May 14th.
All in favor? Aye.
Aye. The two meeting minute
approvals have been postponed.
This brings us to item six.
Item six, applicant James Augh, representative Aaron Cook,
cement construction, LLC.
Common description, 2 3 1 4 0 boem variance.
Requested permission to construct a eight foot
by 10 foot 80 square foot deck entirely within the rear
setback to within nine feet of the rear property line.
Is the petitioner present for item six?
Before you start, I do wanna make
an announcement to the audience.
We are down one member tonight.
Uh, traditional variance requires five yes votes.
A use variance, which is item nine, requires six yes votes.
Uh, having an, uh, you know,
one being down one member tonight puts
you at a slight disadvantage.
So I'm gonna give the anyone the opportunity at this time
to reschedule to a future date with a full board.
Um, would anyone like to reschedule
or table for a full board?
I'm not seeing anyone. If you could please proceed
with your name and address for the record.
We'll move on with item six,
Property, where we're Building the deck. Either or?
Either. Okay. My name's Aaron Cook, representative of,
uh, Clement Construction.
Um, the address for the project is 2 3 1 4 0 Boham Avenue,
Warren, Michigan, 4 8 0 8 9.
Thank you. Please tell us about your request.
Yes. So we would like to build a structure
that is only gonna be roughly eight inches off the ground.
So we will not be visible by any other, uh, neighbor, um,
anyone else in the surrounding area.
Uh, and is only gonna be 80 square feet right up next
to, um, Mr.
EBAs garage. Um, this is gonna be used for, uh, you know,
grilling entertainment purposes, things like that.
Thank you for those comments. This is a public hearing.
Is there anyone in the audience
who wishes to speak on this item?
Not seeing anyone. I close the public portion of the meeting
and turn it over to the board for discussion.
Uh, Mr. Chair, uh, real quick, I just looking at this, um,
this proposed project, I don't, I don't really see anything
that, that sticks out.
It looks like the shed's gonna be out of line of sight
behind the building line.
Um, it doesn't seem like it's that over imposing
for the size of the property either.
Um, and just like most of our,
the board members up here, you know, we,
we like seeing people be able to do what they want
with their property to, to some extent, uh, within reason.
And, uh, to me, I, I feel like this is within reason.
I think this is really thought through plan. Pretty amazing.
It's only gonna be, what, eight inches from the ground?
I don't think, I don't think I've ever heard
of something like that come before us before.
But, um, but yeah, this is something I think I could get
behind unless, uh, somebody else could sway me otherwise.
Thank You. Mr. Did you have a comment?
Uh, yes. Just to clarify, something Mr.
J said a um, a shed. It is only a deck.
Oh, a deck. Okay. It's Only a deck, so
Thank you.
I misspoke. My apologies for misspeaking.
Yes, it is a deck.
I just,
If no other board members have anything else
to say, I'd like to make a motion.
Um, like to make a motion to grant the petitioner permission
to construct an eight foot by 10 foot 80 square foot deck
entirely within the rear setback
to within nine feet of the rear property line.
Due to the fact the size and shape of the lot,
and it's not a detriment to the area. Support,
Support Work, we have a motion
by Secretary Jersey support by Mr.
Cliff to approve the request as read
Mr. Jersey votes? Yes.
For the reason.
Stand the motion. Mr. Cliff?
Yes. For the reason stated in the motion. Mr.
Starch Yes. For reason stated in motion Mr. Perry?
Yes. For the reason stated in a motion.
Mr. Green? Yes. For the reason stated in the
motion. Mr. Assessor?
Yes. For the reason stated in
The motion. Mr. Lindsay?
Yes.
For the reason stated in the Motion and Chairman sfa?
Yes. For the reasons stated in the motion
request has been approved.
Thank you. Thank you. This brings us to item seven.
Item seven. Applicant Felix Washington,
representative Felix Washington.
Common description, 3 2 5 2 3.
Cambridge Variances requested permission to one,
install a five foot by 10 foot, 50 square foot shed
and wave requirement of a rat wall shed
to be placed on concrete patio
to retain a 10 foot by 10 foot.
100 square foot gazebo that is not placed against
another accessory structure
and wave requirement of a rat wall.
Gazebo is installed.
Um, concrete gazebo is installed on a concrete patio.
Accessory structures listed above would be in addition
to a 440 square foot attached garage
and 286 square foot covered rear porch for a total
of 876 square feet of accessory structure floor area.
Good evening. Good evening.
If you could please start with your name and address.
Felix Washington. 3 2 5 2 3 K Cambridge Drive.
Thank you. Please tell us about your request.
I would like to request to put the five
by tent shed on the concrete pad behind the garage
and wave the rat wall due to storage
for my pool equipment.
'cause I have an inground pool.
And, uh, the reason for the waving a rat wall
because it's going to be a, a metal shed.
And the surrounding area around it, as you can see
of pictures is all concrete.
Thank you for those comments. This is a public hearing.
Is there anyone in the audience
who wishes to speak on this item?
Not seeing anyone. I closed the public portion
of the meeting and turn it over to the board for discussion.
Mr. Chairman. Mr. Cliff
To the petitioner, sir, the, what's the floor
of the shed going to be comprised of?
That concrete pad. Just metal walls set
Down on the metal concrete.
It's gonna be walls, metal flooring with
wood flooring on top of the metal.
Okay. And anchored to the concrete.
I can't get behind something like that with a wood floor
that's inviting harborage of rats.
I could put something different. I was just,
I I I could get behind something like
that if you were putting the shed walls up
and leaving the floor concrete
and open so that there's nothing that they can crawl
underneath as
Far as Yeah, I still just put the metal down
Without the, I could get behind putting
a shed down on a concrete pad walls with a concrete
Floor. Okay. I can do that.
But, uh, historic, I,
I work in the code enforcement business,
what you're talking about.
I see time and time again.
If they're gonna get in there, they're gonna get in there
and they're going to harbor between the wood floor
and that metal floor that usually comes with those
Sheds. I I could just leave
a metal floor down.
But if you leave it, if you don't give 'em anywhere
to hide in there, then you shouldn't have a
problem with them.
But you gotta keep a close eye just
to make sure they don't sneak in
somewhere and take a harborage.
But 90% of the cases I've investigated with rat harbridge,
with sheds that aren't, that do not have a, a rat wall.
That they're between that they're between that either the,
whatever they, the, the thing is setting on be it wood or c
or metal in the wood floor.
That usually comes in those sheds.
I just wanted to point that out. I have nothing further. Mr.
Chairman,
Any other comments from the board?
Mr. Chair? I think Mr. Cliff brings up a good point.
Um, you know, I think if we did make a motion,
maybe make a motion to, to something to that degree, Mr.
Cliff, um, you know, where
We Yeah, we'd have to amend the motion to reflect
that right walls with the, with the concrete floor,
whatever he's mounting that shed on.
That should be the floor. Right?
So that should Be the floor.
So not just saying to make sure it's not a
wood composite. Make sure it's
Concrete. Concrete.
So, um,
I want to talk for a second. If
I could retain the floor, Mr. Chair for just a second.
The allowed the gazebo, sir, is that, is your gazebo, uh,
uh, one of those metal framed gazebos
with cloth sides kind of a deal? Yes.
It's the metal gazebo at anchor in on the concrete
Side. Okay. But
not, it's not enclosed. It's open and free form.
Yep. Yes. We've talked about these a dozen times
so far this year also.
And those things mounted on a concrete pad.
I've never had, I've never had experience with, uh,
animal harborage underneath one of those, um, birds.
Like to steal the stuffing outta
your cushions every now and then.
That's about the most I've seen worse, but Okay.
I yield the floor now, sir.
Any other comments from the board?
Not Mr. Chair not seeing any other
comments? I'd like to make a motion.
Please do. Uh,
so I'd like to make, I'd like to make a motion to
Allow the petition to one, install a five by five
by 10 foot 50 square foot shed
and waive the requirement of a wrap wall.
The shed is to be placed on concrete patio
and the flooring of the shed should be concrete also that,
that concrete to retain a 10 by 10 gazebo
that is not placed against another accessory structure
and waive the requirement of a wrap wall.
The gazebo is also anchored into a concrete patio.
Um, that's in addition to the
existing attached garage on the rear porch.
So, so they have a total of 876 square feet
of accessory structure, floor space, reasons being the size
and shape of the lot, not a detriment
to the neighborhood. I'll
Support that.
A motion by Mr. Neitz, support by Mr.
Cliff to approve the modified request.
Mr. Starch? Yes. For the reason stated in the motion.
Mr. Cliff? Yes. For the reasons
Stated in the motion. Mr. Green?
Yes.
For the reason stated in the motion Mr. Lindsay? Yes.
For the reason stated in the motion
Mr. Perry? Yes.
For the reason stated in the motion Mr.
Assessor? Yes. For
The reason stated in the motion
Mr. Jersey votes Yes.
For the reason stated
in the motion Chairman Aya?
Yes. For the reasons stated in the motion
request has been approved.
Thank You very much. Thank
you. You have a very beautiful ER too, by the way.
Thank you. Forgot to head that too. So,
Uh, This brings us to item eight.
Item eight, applicant, strictly DBA
twos SP sports representative Kirk Neal.
Common description, 7,001 Chicago Road.
Various, has requested permission
to retain 100% sign coverage on 14 panes
of translucent window siding on the south elevation
of the building for 480.46 square feet of window signage.
Good evening. Evening.
If you could please start with your name and address.
My name is Kirk Neal.
The address in in question is 7 0 0 1 Chicago, uh,
4 8 0 9 2.
If you need mine, it's 4 3 4 co view drive in Waterford.
Thank you. Please tell us about your request.
Uh, we have the windows that are, they're not,
they're not clear windows.
What they are is, uh, clear panes of, uh, fiberglass.
And when we moved into the building, it was, uh,
it's very bright in the wintertime with the southern sun
and you can't see that end of the building.
Originally, that building was the, uh, one of the ice arenas
and all the equipment was in there.
So that windows were just lighting the equipment area,
but now they like the whole thing.
And we went over it with signage.
And that signage is not, not clear,
but it does, uh, deflect the sun during the winter.
And that's why we did that.
And then we found out we were in violation, which we're,
we want to be without violations in our focus.
Thank you for those comments. This is a public hearing.
Is there anyone in the audience
who wishes to speak on this item?
Not seeing anyone. I close the public portion of the meeting
and turn it over to the board for discussion.
Mr. Chair, I have a real quick question
for Steve, if you could.
So I, I know, I know it's considered signage,
but it almost looks like a design element type thing too.
So I guess the question to you is, would this be granted
going forward with the property forevermore?
Um, or is it just for, I mean,
I know most variances are granted it goes along
with the property, but I know it's a different thing with
design elements like the harbor freight that we did and
Stuff like that. Um,
it would go with it. Okay.
Um, if for some reason he sold it
and someone else went in there
and they got rid of those translucent window thing
and, and put it, made it a wall, they would lose
that signage because it's written as window signage here.
Okay. Which Is one of the reasons we did that
to make it a little bit more strict in case there is any,
um, work done
to get rid of those there. Gotcha.
And I know the old pick nut had had signage there too and,
and things of that nature too. And the,
The wine place. Yeah. Couldn't
find any variances for anything there. So
Really shocker.
Thanks Steve.
Um,
Any other comments from the board?
I personally don't have a problem with it.
I think it's tastefully done, Mr.
Not to mention they could have 50%
of the window covered anyway.
Mm-hmm. Mr. Cliff,
The, the drawing that was included,
that's for half, right?
Yeah, it's, it, so I got exactly,
it's the same on either side.
I just didn't have room in the drawing to put it
In here. Okay. So it's
a total, basically it's a total of, uh,
480.46 square feet of signage.
I get Windows sign.
Yeah. There's 14 panes in there. Yeah. 14. I get it.
This is a plastic and that's what we cover.
I don't personally have an issue with it either.
Um, whoever comes in behind you, if they decide to kind
of try to do the same thing,
Well hopefully nobody's gonna come in
behind us anytime soon. Well,
We're, I didn't mean any, you know.
No. You know what I mean?
Because, because again, when we grant something like this,
it go, it stays forever.
Well, actually that's not painted.
Those are, those are decals
And they Yeah. But it allows
your next tenant
or next person that owns a building
or buys a building to, to
Come in. See, honest, if we bought the
building, I block it,
lease the building so I'm not blocking it.
I would be Ridiculous,
but I could save a lot of heat by doing that
As well. I go along with
the chair,
I don't really see an issue
with this thing either. I'll yield the floor.
This, this drawing brings me back to geometry class.
Very well done too. Yeah. 50 years ago. Yeah.
Any other comments or possible motions? Nope.
The one, the other one thing just driving by the property
and you know, I know he is, he's still in compliance
with doing so, but, you know, between the pole sign
and this, this sign that sounds like we might probably be,
be granting, um, maybe try to remove some of the signs
around the, the, the,
the front of the building, the little ones. We,
We've already, uh, made the permit and,
and changed the signs to 50%.
Yeah. In the, in the front. Okay.
Or whoever you can see it. Right.
So my personal opinion would be zero, but I mean,
but you're free to do with your property what you wish.
But, um, but yeah, I do, uh,
understand you're still in compliance with that.
So that's just my 2 cents.
But, um, if nobody else has anything else
to say, I'd like to make a motion.
Um, I'd like to make a motion to grant
the petitioner permission to retain 100% sign coverage
of 14 panes of train translucent window siding on the south
elevation of the building for 480.46 square feet
of window signage due to the fact the size
and shape of the lot, and it's not a detriment to the area.
I'll support that for a motion by Secretary Jersey.
Support by Mr. Cliff to approve the request is read
Mr. Jersey votes. Yes.
For the reason State
of motion. Mr. Cliff? Yes.
For the reasons stated in the motion.
Mr. Green? Yes. For the reasons stated in the motion.
Mr. Perry? Yes.
For the reason stated in The motion Mr. Lindsay? Yes.
For the reason stated in the Motion Mr. Assessor? Yes.
For the reason stated in
The motion. Mr. Star?
Yes.
For the reason stated in the motion. Chairman Siah? Yes.
For the reason stated in the motion,
your request has been approved.
Thank you. Thank you.
This brings us to item nine.
Item nine. Applicant Timothy Wise representative
Alicia Caron.
I'm sorry if I got that wrong. Common description.
4 1 2 9 Kendall variances request requested permission
to allow a eight foot
by 20 foot 160 square foot storage container
and an eight foot by 22 foot, 176 square foot dumpster
for a total of 336 square feet of open storage
and an R one P zoning district into
to waive screening while around the dumpster.
Good evening. Good evening. My name's Timothy Wise.
Uh, property address is 4 1 2 9.
Kendall, uh, Warren, Michigan 4 8 0 9 1.
It's come to my attention that the pictures that
Alicia was supposed to turn in have not gone to you.
I brought one set with me. Thank goodness.
Can I give these pictures to you?
You gimme Nicole. Yeah. Great.
My apologies. Alicia's usually much better than I am.
And so what you'll see is I've got a, uh, a metal structure,
which is very clean.
And what we do is I'm a service master fire flood
mitigation contractor.
Uh, just bought a building in Warren, happily looking
to grow with Warren.
And in this fac this building,
you'll see the first picture that's up there.
This structure is only for fire damaged furniture
or, uh, Trinkets
that are gonna be replaced by the insurance company.
I can't throw out until they gimme the approval.
And as well, we've put mold moldy contents in there as well.
They're just a health hazard to bring into my building.
Uh, it's a sealed unit, so once we put 'em in there,
there's no smells getting out
and there's no issues with that.
But what I'd like to do is take that unit
and if you can see on the plans, that box will sit
and cover the northwest view.
You won't see that from the road at all.
And if you see, I believe it's, is it the northwest view
where you see all the, I might have got northwest,
northeast mixed up, but my neighbor,
you can see all the dumpsters and such.
That's what will be exposed to the view of my dumpster.
Uh, that box will block the view of the other side,
the roadside Kendall Street, if you will make it easy on me.
So it's basically a wall.
Uh, and with, with the the other side,
to build a six foot tall wall, it's hard to, to throw
anything away in the dumpster, to be honest with you,
when they, when they drop the dumpster in the opening door,
the way these trucks work is actually
put against the back wall.
So I can't get to the door.
Uh, we just have to drive up with our trucks,
offload the garbage, and then take off with the truck.
Dumpster has changed up pretty much every other week,
Steven.
I don't, will you anyone drive by and see that?
Has anyone come by to look at the property at all? Oh yeah.
Okay. Okay. Good.
Um, but again, that, that, that building is what I'm using
as a wall to, uh, hide the dumpster from the,
um, Kendall Street.
Thank you. Any other comments before I,
No. Any questions you've
got for me? Anything I can do?
Like I say, I, I definitely, uh, need help.
I, I didn't know this when I bought the building.
Of course, realtor doesn't want to express anything.
That might be a problem. I know I can move the dumpster up
closer to my building, um,
which would be more towards the roadside.
I could still build the six foot walls, which it just having
that dumpster closed to my front door wouldn't be
a, a good idea. That's all.
Thank you for those comments. This is a public hearing.
Is there anyone in the audience
who wishes to speak on this item?
Not seeing anyone. I close the public portion of the meeting
and turn it over to the board for discussion.
Mr. Chair. Mr. Green.
So the dumpster's there already?
Oh, yeah. And the container's there already? Yes.
What do you put in a dumpster?
Uh, we just put drywall, carpeting, uh,
standard furniture's been,
So stuff from fire removal,
Uh, fire removal, water damage removal.
Okay. So, so my concern is this,
as I look at your backup, it says that
to handle contents that are structurally compromised
or biologically hazardous,
Well that means mold.
Many of these materials pose health risks due
to mold spores, smoke residue and water contaminants.
Then you go on to say that
at the time, you, you, you've got the property,
you were unaware of the restrictions.
Well, that's not on us. That's not you
Understood.
Making steps to minimize.
So your purpose is to make,
and I'm just reading your backup.
It says, we understand the proximity
to residential neighbors and it's right there.
It's right up against the wall right by the house, uh,
taking steps to minimize the visual impact, the odor,
and any disruption, specifically items affected by mold,
fire and water damage pose,
potential health and safety risk.
And then it goes on to say that we've been,
that this exposure includes mold, fire,
and sewage, all of which pose serious health risk.
So that leads me to my first question.
So you're, you're putting these items that you refer to
as serious health risk, some of 'em in a dumpster that,
so it's a serious health risk just for your employees.
It must be a serious health risk
for the people whose houses back up to there.
So, previ to, so previous to this, this is how you,
so state and federal regulations.
So how, how, how often is that stuff picked up?
Uh, weekly. Weekly.
I, I have a concern that if it's a health hazard for people
who work in there, how can it not be a health hazard
for the people that live five feet
from where these things are stored?
I would like to interject, I think Sure. Go ahead.
Over overstate a little bit crazy
to be honest with you. Well,
Actually, I'm actually, sir, I'm reading your
backup that you gave us.
Yeah, that would be Alicia wrote that up for me.
That's up, that's on you. Okay.
That's, I understand. So what the idea is this,
you have a water damaged home mold spores can occur.
Mold is, it's really a thing
where it can affect you but not affect me.
And again, those spores are in the ar the
environment where we live.
When you walk out that door, penicillium, aspergillus,
stachy boxes, it's all right there.
It's breathable. It just depends on susceptibility.
Um, when it comes to the dumpster, it's,
there's no state law prohibiting anything,
throwing out any of that waste.
And the idea is it's not asbestos, it's not toxic, it's far
as any kind of toxicity.
It's only fire and flood moldy contents.
The idea of the building is because of the smell.
I put it into a sealed unit.
That sealed unit, no smells come out.
I wanna make sure I have good, happy neighbors,
which I've been there for about six months now.
Not one complaint. Everyone's very happy.
Um, when we get the approval, dumpster's being picked up,
we drop everything into that,
dumpster gets picked up and taken away.
Well, let me remind my board member colleagues,
that if you read your backup in three specific places
that said these materials pose health risk
and that's why they're,
they don't want 'em inside their building.
So keep that in mind when you, when you, uh,
Look at this. And I appreciate
that. But I, I want you
to understand if I need to rewrite it, I will.
She being a little bit overzealous.
These are standard everyday water, fire, flood damages.
Both. I mean, the same, the same people such as statewide
Jarvis, uh, service masters, ServPro,
this is going on every day in Michigan.
And there's nothing state law wise, I can't throw
that out into a dumpster without any problem
whatsoever. Again, not asbestos.
So you're saying state and federal
regulations allow you to do this? Yes,
Of course. I'm
a franchise. I don't,
I don't do anything that's not by the book.
That's interesting. Odor is my board members
that look at this closely.
Thank you.
I'd like to hear from Mr. Pont.
I'm just curious if, if there is some type of enforcement
or, or how
that would work if the neighbors complaint of some type
of odor or
We do have, uh, obnoxious odor ordinance.
So if that was there, we would inspect it on that.
Um, and go from there.
Okay. Just due to an, an unpleasant smell,
not necessarily something that's toxic or Right.
A contaminant. Yeah.
Okay. If it was toxic
or something like that, we'd probably call the fire
department and have hazmat take a look at it first
before we do anything.
Okay, Thank you. Which we've done a couple times.
So thank you for clarifying. Did,
Was anyone there, were you there
To inspect?
I, I was not. Who came,
Who came to the location?
They ba basically during your,
um, CFCI think it was noticed.
And that's where we started the enforcement on it
because it was noticed, had no complaint
or anything that brought it to us.
It was during going through his certificate of compliance.
The dumpster Was there. The dumpster was there,
But not an order.
I I didn't, no odors were noted on anything I saw.
Okay. Thank you for clarifying.
Mr. Chair. Chair Mr. Neitz first and then Mr. Cliff?
Yes, sir.
See, one of the problems I have about things like not
for dumpsters being open and not enclosed, and
because, you know, there's residential homes, uh,
behind, you know, next to this property.
And even at, you know, their screen wall is not that tall.
I mean, you can see right over it.
And in that back area, it goes into a chain link fence,
which again, you can see right through the chain link fence.
And you know, I don't think,
I mean, I know if I was a neighbor, I would not want
to be looking at an open dumpster.
That's not enclosed. That's just my comment.
Did you see the pictures? Yes.
Do you see the neighbor, Uh, uh, the,
the business neighbor next to you is another story?
Yeah, it's like, that's,
that's also my opinion, that acceptable. But
I'm, I'm just saying that when you put that building up,
you will not see that dumpster from any residential area.
You, you, I would like to meet someone on site
and be happy to, but, uh, you're not gonna see that,
that dumpster, it's blocked from Kendall Road.
Uh, and when we first came over, uh, that was the idea.
Now I can still move the dumpster up next to the building.
That zoning is correct.
It's gonna be actually closer to the residential area.
I'll put up a chain link fence that has the, the blocking
of, of the view of it.
But it's gonna be closer to residential.
If I move it to where I can legally move it.
I'd rather not do that. I'd rather work with the city, uh,
and do something that's much more, uh, comparable situation
to work together to do something a little bit more
convenient for the neighbors as well as for myself.
Mr. Chair, Mr. Lindsey? Mr. Cliff. Oh, I'm sorry. Mr.
Cliff, were you still reviewing those photos
or would you like to make a comment now?
I Thought I had a question,
but, um, I'm gonna retract my request
for floor time at this time, sir.
Um, when I look at this, I'm not, I'm not sure about,
you know, the, the actual biological health risks.
I mean, obviously if, if this carpet and
and stuff was left in your house, obviously
that would be a health detriment.
You know, when it's outside, I don't know that the particles
just floating in the air are, are,
are gonna be super dangerous.
I don't know enough about it. I would,
I would assume probably not.
Um, but I'm, I'm still leaning towards not approving this,
uh, at least for my vote.
Um, I don't like the open storage, uh,
in the residential neighborhood.
I don't, I don't think it's a good fit.
Um, I definitely do think it's a detriment.
I don't know if it's a serious health hazard,
but it's, it's definitely a detriment to the,
the surrounding neighborhood.
If I move the dumpster to where it would be,
it's okay. It's, it is zoned
My, I I didn't, I didn't have a question there.
That was a comment to the board.
Okay,
Mr. Cliff, do you still have
those photographs?
We're on the way back Now. Okay.
I'd like to look at 'em one more time
To, to the petitioner real quick.
Um, the storage container that you have on site
that sits right by, um, right by Kendall.
Um, what's stored in there is that, uh,
Just it's, it's just fire damage contents.
The insurance company has to give me the approval
to throw them out, which means
they've gotta pay the homeowner for
So that's where you're storing all
the, all the stuff. I just,
It's, it's just, yeah, it's just Gotcha, gotcha.
Content. And then, and I've been totally
clear with the city.
There will be no signage put on that structure.
One thing, um, that, a couple things that stick out to me.
You know, I i, for a dumpster that you're throwing,
you know, mold moldy stuff away,
and toxic, toxic materials according
to your backup statement.
I mean, if we were gonna wave the screening while I would
like to, have you ever explored a covered dumpster
or something that's covered in nature to
where you just lift it up,
flap it back down, store it that way,
They make 30 or 40 yard dumpsters in that style?
No,
I'm just confused where true this storage container
right now on, on the,
It's basically like in the landscaping area
or basically right here.
Right. So, and the wall tapers off there too.
So you got a six foot wall
and it tapers down to like a maybe four foot
towards the end of the property.
Be Nice. And this is the,
The store, the dumpster's gonna be right here.
It, it sits right here parallel
with the fence line currently.
This, this here, right? Yep.
And this shipping container is here. It's here.
Correct. But we're talking about
That and, but this Moving the too,
You wanna move it For open storage.
So up next to my building, it will hide the dumpster,
move the dumpster up next to the building as well.
And then what you'll have is it's open to that
neighbor's dumpsters and everything else,
but not to the residential area.
And the container, the storage container blocks the view,
uh, of the residential side of, uh, Kendall Road.
I mean, I would love to see that,
that storage container move to the, like, like
where you're saying in the back corner, property line is a,
where it sits now you get the wind blown west to east,
you know it's
Gonna go, It's gonna go right
through there. Right? So if
It's back, I don't, I don't
like the storage container at all,
But Id rather so out here, it's going
through there versus coming right through.
Right at at least if you're gonna have the storage
container be tucked in the, in, in the back.
And these things aren't super, I mean, I,
I've had experience with storage containers.
They, they are permeable.
I mean, there's, they get cracks,
they get leaks, they get things like that.
So to say that it's a foolproof, complete sealed system,
it may be currently, but to say it's going to continue
that way, I kind of have have my doubts.
Um, so those are my concerns about it.
And I a hundred percent agree. Paul.
What I would like to do again is move that up next
to my building, get it away from the residential area,
and move that dumpster up next to my building.
If you look at the site clean, you'll see I'm,
I'm moving everything back away.
Now it's here. Yeah.
Mr. Chair, can I shoot you a quick
question while you guys are looking at that?
Have you considered offsite storage
There? It's, it's literally
impossible
because of the insurance company when they, uh,
engage in the fire damage materials
or water damage contents, uh, they come
and inspect everything At my office.
We have inside storage as well
for contents we're cleaning and holding onto.
So it gets to be a real complication.
I'm just Where do you, where do I take it? I mean, it's,
It's, thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Cliff. Sir, I just
for the purposes of my understanding, your intent is to move
both of these articles
and they will remain in the confines of
where they're located on the site
plan I'm seeing in front of me. Is that correct?
Yes, sir.
They're not gonna wander off.
They're not gonna end up somewhere else.
They're gonna be there.
Oh, no sir. I'm the owner
of the company. They're staying there
Dumpster showing against the building.
I have gone, not that it matters, I went next door
to the neighbor who has the other dumpsters, et cetera.
Asked him if they were getting problem with
what my thoughts are, he could care less.
Uh, I went to the one neighbors around the corner,
asked them about if I could take part of the tree down.
Are they have any issues with smells Completely, no problem.
But again, I would be moving
that all the way away from them.
Mr. Cliff, to the far side away from them.
Mr. Wa pop please?
I think I know the answer, but I
want to hear it from you, sir.
Please. Yes, sir.
If we amend this motion to include the phrasing
within the confines as outlined on the site plan dated,
whatever this thing is dated that makes it enforceable
for you guys, that if this stuff wanders off somewhere else
into the lot eventually, that we can do an enforcement on
that to bring it back to where it needs to be.
Uh, I'm unsure.
Are you talking about it being moved right now
from what's on the site
Plan? The picture, the pictures
show
that these articles aren't anywhere close to
where they're depicted on this site plan picture.
And that's where I think some of the
confusions coming in at.
Okay. My question to the petitioner was,
is it his intent if he's granted this variance,
if they're gonna park
and live in these two little gray spots that what's that?
The north, northeast, north.
Is that the north, uh, northeast, I think northeast,
northeast corner of the building.
Facing, facing east. Right.
I to make it enforceable, I would just ask that you say
as indicated on the, as
Indicated in the site plan. And,
And that would give us meet on the enforcement.
Okay. I just wanna make sure we weren't moving it,
because then it doesn't give us much meat at all. So
I understand and in my some experience
with this kind of stuff too,
and I understand the business that he is in
and what he's doing and, and the stuff is bagged
for the most part in the dumpster.
Mm-hmm. And I like to see that the bigger bulkier things.
I get it. You can't put a couch in a,
well, you could, but you can.
But for some of the smaller articles,
it looks like incidentals,
it looks like there's bags in the dumpster.
Um, I understand,
I understand having 'em in the sealed container
until the insurance people do whatever it is
that they gotta do with the modern marbles of technology,
why a picture just doesn't suffice.
And, but I'm not gonna go into all that.
I see you shaking your head. I, I get it. Um,
And we do pretty much bag everything in six mill bags.
I've seen that on the work site.
And just so you know, transport, I'm a franchise,
so I'm inspected yearly Okay.
By the franchise. Or I have responsibility to live up to.
If I don't, they cut me off. I'm done.
The dumpster's emptied weekly religiously. Yes, sir.
We're not gonna go by there and find it.
Four feet sticking out of the top.
Oh gosh, no. Okay.
And I would implore to come by, please.
I, um, I just wanted to hit some of the things to,
I'm on the fence about this also only
because of the re the, the, the, the sheer closeness
to the residential area abutting your property,
but nobody showed up tonight in, in contest with this thing.
And you're, you're doing the right thing by coming here
and asking for what you need to ask for to operate properly.
Um, It's a, it's a business
that, it's the type of business that we have to have.
And the stuff going in that dumpster
is no different than the 500 cubic yards of trash
that was put out at the curbs
during the floods when we had 'em here in number
of years ago and just recently in Detroit.
Um, I like the idea that it's picked up weekly.
That doesn't allow it to sit
around any longer than it needs to.
And, uh, we do understand that there is a
smell ordinance for better words,
that if there's a problem in the neighborhood,
somebody can make the appropriate calls and,
and that can be addressed from, from that standpoint.
So if, um, if, if you're willing to, if you're willing to
put assurances on that, the phrase
as indicated in the site plan is written into the motion,
I don't have a problem really supporting
this. I'll yield the floor.
I would like to guarantee it on record.
Great. It took me a second to understand this.
'cause the pictures were throwing me off
because they don't match what's on the site plan.
Exactly. Um,
I just wanted you to see the
actual structures. I apologize.
Okay, I get it now. I mean, I don't having it, you're,
you're putting it as close as possible
to your building, which is a good thing.
It's pulling it away from the neighbors.
Um, I I just wanna reiterate, I'll get behind this
and support it if there's a motion for it,
but I, I don't wanna see it coming back in a few months
or years asking for another container or two.
Um, because I'm already on the, on the line about,
about the one, but I could see your need for it.
Are there other comments from the board tonight, Mr. Chair?
Likely Mr. Lindsey make one more comment.
Um, I'm really hung up just on,
on the open storage container.
I don't have an issue.
Um, well, not the open storage, the open dumpster.
I don't have really an issue with the storage container.
Um, we see, I have these things that at my company
and we get rain water and we get snow melt
and it, it, I mean we keep metal lids on ours, um,
to, to prevent that.
'cause we have roll off containers
and we can get chemical spills and things like that.
Um, I'm not so much concerned about any chemical spills from
your dumpsters, but I mean, snow melt in these open,
you know, dumpsters, it can be quite extensive, um,
in the amount of, you know, snow that melts
and how much liquid.
That's, I'm just really, really not happy about seeing
that right up next to a residential home.
Um, despite how well you might intend to take care of it,
it, the weather's gonna be outta your control.
I'd really like to see this have a cover on it.
And it's possible you can get a
high low, you can get metal covers.
They make 'em for these things.
Um, I'm just, I'm not in favor of,
of the open storage right next to a house.
Mr. Pon, if I, if we can ask you a question,
what kind of dumpster is the
petitioner entitled to?
If, if, if, let's say there was a screen
around this open type dumpster, would, would
that be permitted?
Basically, the major issue is it's in the R
one P of his property.
Okay. If he put it up in where that little L shape is,
it would just be site plan and would not need a variance
because it'd be allowed, it's less than 50% of the building
and this and that, which is closer to
where the actual house is along Kendall.
Is it? Yes, sir.
So the issue is just being in the R one P. Okay.
The fact that it, it started going through planning.
I think they sent it because it's a use variance
for the R one P before they decided anything,
it was suggested to ask for this,
this way and go from there.
Uh, if there was an enclosure in there, it would be, uh,
port concrete, um, a pad enclosure.
It, it, I think it still will need a pad,
even though it's a roll off dumpster, it still will need the
six or eight inch pad there.
Um, and go from there.
So that's, that's under planning's purview though.
Okay. So in other words, if he moved the,
the dumpster out, this, he could still be,
he would be allowed to have this dumpster in
that designated L area as long as there was a pad
and a proper screen around it?
Correct. Okay. Does that help Mr. Lindsey?
I would like to interject on that. Again.
That is a, a a lot closer to that residential area. Right?
That's, and that's why I'm moving it all back. Okay.
Any, any other comments from the board?
So I'll vote yes to approve this item.
Just personally, um, just on the fact
that it's pulling it from the neighbors.
If we don't approve the dumpster for, you know,
further away from the neighbors,
he's still entitled to the dumpster.
It'll just be closer to the neighbors
and he'll have it to put some type of screen wall around it.
But I, I think, um, it's better to get it away as far
as possible from the neighbors. But that's just my
Thought. Mr.
Chair, Mr. Cliff,
Nobody else has anything.
I'll make this amended motion.
Please do Make the motion to grant permission
to allow a eight foot
by 20 foot 160 square foot storage container
and an eight foot by 22 foot,
176 square foot dumpster for a total
of 336 square feet
of open storage in an R one P zoning district.
And to wave screening wall around the dumpster
with placement as indicated on the site plan.
Due to the size of shape of a lot, I don't believe it
to be a detriment in the area.
Actually, it's gonna keep the dumpster further away
from the residential area. Support.
We have a motion by Mr.
Cliff, support by Mr. Perry
to approve the modified request is read.
Mr. Clifft? Yes. For the reasons stated in the motion.
Mr. Perry? Yes. For the reason stated in motion.
Mr. Lindsay? Yes. For the reason stated in the motion.
Mr. Green? No.
Based on the backup
and it's the detriment to the neighborhood.
Mr. Assessor? Yes. For the reason stated in the motion.
Mr. Starve? I'm,
I'm voting No, mainly because, not
Because I, I like the location,
but I like better screening.
I don't want to, I think that's a detriment.
Mr. Jersey votes No as well.
I believe that the lack
of screening is also also a detriment
to the area Chairman sfa?
Yes, for the reasons stated And the motion.
Five Votes, I believe that's only five. Five to three.
So the item was still denied, unfortunately.
So can I come back when you have another member
and see if I can get through again?
No, I mean, so just move it to closer
to the residential area. Okay.
You can submit a modified request or plan at any time.
No, no, it's okay. If you want to close
to the residential, that's what we'll do.
This brings us to item 10, new business.
Mr. Chair. Mr. Cliff
Ruing through our procedure manual over the weekend.
I noticed the, um, well if anybody has it
with them, I'd like you to refer to our manual
of procedures Article two, section two.
Um, I had the, I had the secretary double check.
I, I mean, Nicole double check.
Um, I don't recall us holding elections in September.
First meeting in September is when this board is supposed
to elect its officers
and I don't believe that happened this past September.
Um, anybody who wants to speak up in dispute on that, I'm,
I'm welcoming it, but I couldn't find it when I read
through the minutes and I had another set
of eyes on it as well.
And, uh, I kind of perused through
and I don't, I don't think we've held elections in, um,
in the appropriate timeframe
that we were supposed to hold them.
So I think we need to come to a remedy on how to,
I don't know if it's worthwhile doing it for just a couple
of more months left in the calendar year,
but, um, it's a little concerning
because that makes it, that makes this board operating
outside of its own procedures.
And I just want us to be above board
and straight on everything that we're doing here
to not leave any cracks
or holes in things where they don't need to be.
So I just wanted to bring that
to the board's attention to the chair's attention.
I'll yield the floor. Thank
You. Thank you for bringing that
to my attention.
I didn't realize that. Um, I'll seek the guidance of, uh,
the council's office
and the city attorney to see if we should, um, do elections
now and if we can keep that election cycle for a year
or if we'll have to redo it again.
Um, I dunno if you have the information now
or if you wanna take a look at it and let us know next week.
Um, I mean, I believe it says if, if they're postponed
for any reason that the current officers shall, um,
I believe it says that if if the elections are postponed
for any reason, um,
the existing officer shall remain in office
until a successor is elected.
So, um, I
There wasn't a reason it was just overlooked
as in my estimation.
Oh, I would, I would guess. Yeah.
So I, I mean, if, if no one here has any objections,
I think you guys can wait until September.
Okay. Now, When were you elected?
It's been over a year. Okay.
Mr. Pon, you have,
did you have something you wanted to add
Candidates?
No, this is just for,
you could certainly do it right now if you wanted to, um,
I mean, if you want, but
What would be the result of that election?
Just to August or September? Or would it be a one
Year? Yes, I, I would say
we would have
to redo it again in September. Okay. I
Don't, I don't think that's,
to me personally, I don't think that's fair.
'cause we only have a full board today.
Um, with Mr was being present.
I think we should have a full board to do this as well.
That makes that, that makes sense.
I think a vote from the board would be appropriate
to let things kind of remain as they are everybody agreeing
to it until the next cycle comes up
for the first meeting in September.
I'm sorry, did you say it was the cycle
ends in August or September? So
September the first meeting in September is when we're
supposed to hold elections.
Normally nominations would go out the month
before that so people could put their hat in the ring,
talk about things, et cetera, et cetera.
So.
Okay. That makes sense. Well,
Why don't, I just don't want something coming back on us
because we're out of procedure
and I wanted to acknowledge it on the record make
Motion. Same officers.
So I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'll present,
I'll absolutely present that to the board to, to acknowledge
that we had missed our due process of elections in September
and to, uh, make the motion
to let the officers continue serving
until the next election cycle,
which would be the first meeting of September of 2025.
Support. We have a motion by Mr.
Cliff, and that was support by Mr. Green, uh, to continue
with our same officers until our election
and well nominations in August
and the election and the last,
The first meeting of September.
'cause there's still two in September. All in favor?
Aye. The motion has been approved.
I just wanna remind everyone
of the special meeting next Wednesday at seven
30, uh, that was called.
We had a quorum for that, um, with Nicole.
Um, I think that's it. Is there any other new,
I also want to, uh, personally thank Mr.
Assessor for being the only one
to represent the zoning board of appeals
that the Council Commissions dinner.
And, um, thanks for getting our, um,
our rewards to us, our
Participation. You're so welcome.
Where's my candy bar?
You, I think you gotta take that up
with, it's the Mayor's office.
I just wanted to say thank, thank you.
You know, and a shame on me,
this should have been the first order of new business.
I wanted to express a heartfelt condolence
to Mr. Watts on the passing of his daughter.
I was just notified, um, right before this meeting.
Um, obviously, you know, he has our thoughts and prayers
and we, you know, we, we give him, we wish him strength
during this difficult time.
Um, and we hope that he, um, is able
to make peace with that.
And I think there's no other new business tonight. Motion
To Adjourn. Motion
to adjourn. Support. Support. Support.
Motion by Mr. Cliff, support by Secretary Jersey to adjourn.
All in favor? Aye. Aye. Meeting adjourn. 8 25.
Aye.