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CITY OF MUSKEGON
PLANNING COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES
September 10, 2009
Chairman T. Michalski called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. and roll was taken.
MEMBERS PRESENT: T. Michalski, B. Larson, T. Harryman, B. Turnquist,
S. Warmington, L. Spataro, B. Mazade, B. Smith
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: L. Anguilm, D. Leafers
OTHERS PRESENT: G. Rinard, 2362 Crozier; P. Lundwall, 17676 W. Spring Lake Rd;
C. Brady, 1820 Edgewater; S. Warmington, 1983 Lakeshore Dr.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion that the minutes of the regular meeting of July 16, 2009 be approved, was made by B.
Turnquist, supported by S. Warmington and unanimously approved.
B. Mazade arrived at 4:03 p.m.
B. Smith arrived at 4:04 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Hearing; Case 2009-11: Request to vacate the southerly 159.5 feet of the alley located in Block
427 of the City of Muskegon Revised Plat of 1903, bounded by W. Forest Avenue, Sixth Street,
W. Southern Avenue, and Fifth Street, by Al and Tracy Hairston, 236 W. Forest Avenue. A
request has been submitted by Al and Tracy Hairston, the homeowners at 236 W. Forest, which
is adjacent to this alley. They feel the alley is very dangerous, due to cars speeding through the
alley and not stopping before pulling out onto Forest Avenue. There are also a lot of kids
hanging out in the alley doing various mischievous activities. The applicants and their neighbor
across the alley have no other access to their parking area located at the rear of their properties.
The applicants say that if the alley is vacated, they will share the property with their neighbor for
joint access to their parking areas. Parking is not allowed in a front yard, so they must have
access to their parking areas in the back yard. Staff recommends that as a condition of approval,
the two parties be required to have joint easement agreements recorded with the Register of
Deeds for each of their properties. This avoids problems in the future if new owners purchase
either of the properties. The Public Works and Fire Departments have no issues with the alley
vacation. Staff has received no other comments regarding this request and recommends
approval.
Board members had some questions regarding this request. Since the applicants were not
present, the case was tabled.
Planning Commission Minutes – 9/10/09 1
A motion to table this request until the next Planning Commission meeting so that the applicants
can be present to answer questions, was made by T. Harryman, supported by B. Larson and
unanimously approved.
Hearing; Case 2009-12: Request for a Special Land Use Permit, per section 1201 #4 of Article
XII of the Zoning Ordinance to allow a Christian Science Reading Room and Church in a B-3,
Central Business zoning district at 500 W. Western Avenue, by Ardis M. Peters, First Church of
Christ Scientist, 280 W. Muskegon Avenue. L. Anguilm presented the staff report. This
property is known as the Noble Building and has a “storefront” appearance on Western Avenue.
A special land use permit was granted at this location in November 2005 at the request of
Gordon Rinard, who represented the church at that time. The use was not established within the
one year time limit so became null and void. The church is making the same request again, due
to the impending sale of their building on Webster Avenue. The applicant would like to locate
the Christian Science Reading Room in the Western Avenue storefront area, and the church
services would be held in the rear area of the building. The southwesterly storefront houses an
attorney’s office. Zoning of the subject property is B-3, Central Business, as are all properties
surrounding it. The property is located in the “Downtown Parking Overlay District’, so up to
30% of the parking requirements could be accommodated with on-street parking within 1,000
feet of the property. The building is located across Western Avenue from the City’s parking lot,
which could provide any additional parking required for the site. The B-3, Central Business
District is “intended to provide for and regulate land and building uses so as to continue to create
a shopping, living, cultural, governmental, office, heritage, and institutional focal point for the
City of Muskegon and the Muskegon Area.” Staff has received no comments regarding this
request and recommends approval, based on compliance with the 1997 Master Plan and City
Zoning Ordinance, with the conditions listed in the staff report.
G. Rinard provided some details on the sale of the church on Webster Ave. They will be moving
out of there and need a new place to meet. L. Spataro asked if there was any difference between
this request and the earlier one. G. Rinard didn’t believe so. L. Spataro asked if this could affect
the liquor license of the neighboring CIO hall. B. Larson stated that the CIO would need an
approval letter from the church when applying for a liquor license. G. Rinard stated that the
church could not stop an event from occurring, they could only state their opinion. They had
supported Parties in the Park in the past, and wanted to be a good neighbor.
A motion to close the public hearing was made by S. Warmington, supported by B. Smith and
unanimously approved.
A motion that the special land use permit, per section 1201 (1) of Article XII of the Zoning
Ordinance, to allow a Christian Science Reading Room and a church in a B-3, Central Business
zoning district at 500 W. Western Avenue, by Ardis Peters, First Church of Christ Scientist, be
approved, based on compliance with the City’s Master Land Use Plan and conditions set forth in
Section 2332 of the City of Muskegon Zoning Ordinance with the conditions that 1) The owner
shall permit the Zoning Administrator or other zoning staff in the premises at reasonable times to
review compliance with this permit, 2) The Special Land Use permit document shall be recorded
with the Register of Deeds prior to establishment of the use, and 3) The special land use permit
shall become null and void within one year of the public hearing if the use has not been
established or there is a violation of conditions 1 & 2, was made by L. Spataro, supported by T.
Harryman and unanimously approved.
Planning Commission Minutes – 9/10/09 2
NEW BUSINESS
Case 2009-13: Request for Site Plan Review for property located at 3198 Edgewater Street, by
Phillip Lundwall, Muskegon Yacht Club. L. Anguilm presented the staff report. The subject
property is 2.62 acres of waterfront property zoned WM, Waterfront Marine, and includes a
clubhouse, pool with changing rooms and a boat house. Properties to the east are zoned WM,
and properties to the north, west, and south are zoned R-1, Single Family Residential. There are
presently 71 existing boat slips. The Yacht Club plans to replace those slips with new ones, and
add 16 new slips and a protective wave attenuating breakwall. The construction of the new boat
slips requires additional parking. There is adequate paved area shown on the site plan to
accommodate a good portion of the required parking spaces. However, the parking areas will
need to be striped in order for additional spaces to be added and more orderly parking to take
place. There are several areas where the maneuvering lanes shown between parking spaces is
too narrow. A minimum of 22 feet is required for two-way traffic, or 12 feet for one-way traffic.
Although an adequate number of spaces are included on the site plan, some rearrangement will
be necessary to fit them on the site. Staff can work with the applicant to get the site plan in
compliance. The Planning Department requires the following amendments to the site plan as
conditions of approval: a) all maneuvering lanes must meet minimum requirements in the
parking lots, and b) curb stops or rolled curbing is required for all parking spaces. The
Engineering Department has the following conditions of approval: a) no work to be done in the
public right-of-way, such as drive approaches or sidewalks, and b) any dredged/excavated
materials must be stockpiled and protected against erosion, per the required permit from
Muskegon County DPW. The Department of Public Works has no outstanding issues with the
site plan. The Fire Department has following conditions of approval: a) fire protection required
per International Fire Code 2006 Edition, Section 905.3.7 and NFPA 303 Standards, b) shop
drawings shall be submitted to the Fire Marshall and Building Inspections Department for
approval, and c) fire protection contractor for this project shall contact the local Fire Marshall.
Staff recommends approval of the request for site plan approval for 16 additional boat slips, new
attenuating breakwall, and reconfiguring the current parking lots, subject to the conditions listed
in the staff report. Staff received 2 letters from neighboring property owners regarding this
request. J. Tripp of 3182 Edgewater is opposed, as is J. Schiller of 3172 Edgewater.
L. Anguilm provided board members with an area map showing where the neighbors were in
relation to the yacht club. B. Mazade disclosed that he was a member of the Muskegon Yacht
Club, but that he would not benefit financially from this case. B. Larson requested that he recuse
himself from hearing this case. B. Turnquist asked how the number of required parking spots
were calculated. L. Anguilm explained the process. T. Michalski asked who would determine
whether or not the yacht club was intruding on the neighbor’s riparian rights, as claimed in their
letter. L. Anguilm stated that it would be the DEQ. B. Larson asked P. Lundwall if the parking
agreement between himself and Torresen Marine was a “gentleman’s agreement” or if it was in
writing. P. Lundwall stated that it was a “gentleman’s agreement”. He stated that they have
always had a good relationship with Torresen’s. He stated that the yacht club would provide a
shuttle from the satellite parking area to the club. B. Turnquist asked if approval of the floating
breakwall mentioned in the staff report was under the Planning Commission’s jurisdiction. L.
Anguilm stated that the breakwall would be under the DEQ’s authority, and it was her
understanding that they had already given approval. B. Larson asked why the expansion was
needed. P. Lundwall stated that the docks were in poor repair and needed to be replaced. He
also stated that the existing slips could not accommodate larger boats. T. Harryman asked what
the club’s capacity was currently at. P. Lundwall stated that they were at 100% capacity. L.
Planning Commission Minutes – 9/10/09 3
Spataro asked if the proposed project would expand the yacht club’s space beyond where it
currently was. P. Lundwall stated that it would not; it would affect a couple of moorings, but it
would not expand further into the lake. T. Michalski asked how many moorings would be lost.
P. Lundwall estimated that they would lose two or three. S. Warmington asked what specifically
the Planning Commission was being asked to approve. L. Anguilm stated that it was the
additional docks and the necessary parking spaces that would be required. S. Warmington asked
if the Planning Commission had any say over the use of the water. L. Anguilm stated that they
did not; however, any additional dock spaces would require more parking. S. Warmington and
L. Anguilm concurred that if there were no additional parking issue, the Planning Commission
would have no say on how far out into the lake the expansion could go. S. Warmington
addressed the letters of opposition submitted by two of the neighboring property owners. He
stated that the riparian rights would be a legal issue, over which the Planning Commission had
no authority. B. Larson asked what the wave attenuating breakwall was, and what size it would
be. P. Lundwall explained the breakwall and stated that it would be a couple of feet above the
water line, the same as the docks. He also stated that they had reduced the number of dock
spaces from what they had originally planned, in order to comply with parking requirements. P.
Lundwall stated that it was a substantial project that would bring money into the community.
C. Brady spoke in opposition to the request on behalf of herself and the Bluffton Bay
Association. She stated that the DEQ had denied this permit back in 2002, and it had been a
contested issue between the neighbors, the Bluffton Bay Association and the yacht club since
that time. She stated that the Association was opposed to any expansion. Their reasons included
yacht club infringement on lake space that belonged to the entire Association, increased traffic
and noise, congested parking spilling into neighborhood streets and grassy areas, and difficulty
with emergency vehicles being able to navigate narrow streets crowded with parked cars. B.
Larson stated that property owners had previously turned down proposals to upgrade the roads in
that area. He asked P. Lundwall about the statement in the previous DEQ permit from 2002
stating that it would be the last expansion by the yacht club. P. Lundwall stated that he was not
at the yacht club then and was not aware of that statement. S. Warmington asked B. Mazade
why the DEQ didn’t hold a public hearing on the permit. B. Mazade stated that he wasn’t sure of
what the DEQ’s criteria was for holding a public hearing, but he knew that there was another
DEQ case recently where a public hearing was not held. S. Warmington asked if the City could
request a public hearing. B. Mazade stated that they could, but he believed that a permit had
already been issued in this case. C. Brady stated that that permit was for a different project.
Board members discussed the DEQ permits for the yacht club.
A motion to table this case until a determination could be made on whether the DEQ had already
issued a permit for this work, was made by S. Warmington, supported by T. Harryman and
unanimously approved.
Case 2009-14: Request for Site Plan Review for property located at 2969 Lakeshore Drive, by
Brian Torresen, Torresen Marine Inc. L. Anguilm presented the staff report. The subject
property is 7.8 acres on the southeast side of Lakeshore Drive, which formerly housed the old
Norge Plant. It currently includes the Marine Ship Store in one portion of the large building.
The remainder of the buildings are used for storage. The applicant wishes to construct a 60 x 45-
foot building on the rear of the property to be used for additional boat storage. The setback from
the rear property line will be 10 feet per Kathleen Torresen, and is so indicated on the staff copy
of the site plan. The subject property is zoned WM, Waterfront Marine, as are properties to the
northwest and northeast. Properties to the southeast are zoned R-1, Single Family Residential,
Planning Commission Minutes – 9/10/09 4
and there is a narrow strip of land to the south zoned I-2. The Planning Department has no
outstanding issues with the site plan. The Public Works and Engineering Departments have no
comments regarding the site plan. L. Anguilm read the Fire Department’s comments. Staff has
received no other comments regarding this request and recommends approval, subject to the
conditions listed in the staff report.
L. Spataro asked what the building would look like. L. Anguilm stated that it would look similar
to the other buildings on the site. It would be located to the rear of the property and would not be
easily visible from the street.
A motion that the site plan for a 60 x 45-foot boat storage building for Brian Torresen, Torresen
Marine, Inc., be approved, based on the condition that all conditions of the Fire Department are
met, was made by S. Warmington, supported by B. Mazade and unanimously approved.
OLD BUSINESS
Hearing; Case 2009-08: Staff-initiated request to amend Section 2311, #10 (Accessory Structures
& Buildings) of Article XXIII, to include “Wind Turbines” as permitted structures. This case
was tabled from the July meeting. Since that time, board members were provided with
additional information on wind turbines and related ordinances.
Staff has received many questions and inquiries regarding both residential and commercial wind
turbines. With the public gaining more interest in “going green”, companies are working to
develop more usable wind turbines. The Frauenthal Theater had installed one on top of their
building, and some grant money has been available to other organizations to facilitate installation
on top of other buildings in the City. Presently our zoning ordinance deals pretty well with wind
turbines mounted on structures, such as buildings. However, more interest is being shown in
freestanding units. Proposed language for wind turbines as accessory structures was provided in
the staff report, and the following two cases deal with “wind turbine facilities” and the
definitions for both. The language allows wind turbines only in commercial and industrial
zoning districts and requires site plan approval from the Planning Commission. Minimum parcel
size is 2 acres. Although the amendments were written by staff, the City Attorney’s office
reviewed the language and gave suggestions and input. Residential wind turbines will continue
to be addressed through Section 2309, Height Regulations, #3.
A motion that the amendment to Section 2311 of the City of Muskegon Zoning Ordinance,
Article XXIII, #10, General Provisions, to include “wind turbines” as permitted structures with
Planning Commission approval, be recommended to the City Commission for approval, was
made by L. Spataro, supported by T. Harryman and unanimously approved.
Hearing; Case 2009-09: Staff-initiated request to amend Section 2310, Article XXIII of the City
of Muskegon Zoning Ordinance to add “Wind Turbine Facilities”. This case was also tabled
from the July meeting. Although no wind turbine facilities have been proposed in the City, some
inquiries have been made as to where they would be allowed and under what conditions.
Therefore, staff feels it would be better to put some language in place to deal with any
applications that are received for these facilities. Under this language, “wind turbine facilities”
would be allowed as special land uses in B-2, B-3, B-4, and B-5 zones, as well as I-1 and I-2
zones. Applications would be received and considered by the Planning Commission, which also
involves approval of proposed site plans. Minimum parcel size is 10 acres. As with both of
Planning Commission Minutes – 9/10/09 5
these cases, amendments may be needed in the future as development takes place and
unforeseeable issues arise. If this amendment is approved by the Planning Commission and City
Commission, amendments to the Business and Industrial districts to include “wind turbine
facilities” as special land uses will be brought to the Planning Commission in the near future.
A motion that the amendment to Section 2310 of Article XXIII, General Provisions, of the City
of Muskegon Zoning Ordinance to add requirements for “wind turbine facilities” be
recommended to the City Commission for approval, was made by T. Harryman, supported by S.
Warmington and unanimously approved.
Hearing; Case 2009-10: Staff-initiated request to amend Article II, Definitions, to add
definitions for “Wind Turbine” and “Wind Turbine Facility”. Proposed definitions were
included in the staff report.
A motion that the amendment to Article II, Definitions, of the City of Muskegon Zoning
Ordinance to add definitions for “wind turbine” and “wind turbine facility” be recommended to
the City Commission for approval, was made by T. Harryman, supported by S. Warmington and
unanimously approved.
OTHER
Kirksey Investments Corporation – L. Anguilm provided board members with information on the
project at 1204 W. Western Ave. The site plan was approved by staff, but she wanted the board
members to be aware of it.
Great Lakes Naval Museum – S. Warmington spoke as a Great Lakes Naval Museum board
member. Their board was not clear about the regulations imposed by the Planning Commission
concerning events at their museum facility. They had several questions and concerns. L.
Anguilm, S. Warmington, and T. Michalski agreed to form a sub-committee to meet with Naval
Museum personnel and discuss the issues.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:34 p.m.
9/10/09
dml
Planning Commission Minutes – 9/10/09 6
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