On Tuesday, August 19 at 7 p.m., the Rochester Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at the City of Rochester Hills Office (1000 Rochester Hills Drive, Rochester Hills) to address the issues listed below. The public is invited and encouraged to attend to make their voice heard:
New Truck Depot
Request: Conditional Land Use Recommendation. In accordance with the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, PA 110 of 2006, as amended, and Sections 138-1.203, 138-2.301 and 138-4.300 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Rochester Hills, a Public Hearing for a Conditional Land Use Recommendation is required with the review of an application to construct a trucking and storage facility at the northwest corner of Hamlin and Dequindre, zoned I, Industrial, Parcel No. 15-24-401-041 (City File 14-002).
Location: Northwest Corner of Hamlin and Dequindre
Applicant: JB Donaldson Company, 37610 Hills Tech Dr., Farmington Hills, MI 48331
7/7/2014 City Council Regular Meeting
Request to schedule a Public Hearing regarding the request for Approval of a Brownfield Redevelopment Plan for General Trucking, a proposed 40,000 square foot trucking facility on 10.9 acres, located at the northwest corner of Hamlin and Dequindre Roads, zoned I, Industrial, General Trucking, Applicant… Industrial, General Trucking is also asking for a $759,573 tax break.
Brownfield Redevelopment Authority June 19, 2014 Minutes
“Mr. Emil Jakupovic advised that General Trucking started as a new company in 2006. They had outgrown their existing facility, and they had been looking for two years for a site to expand their business and for future growth. They looked a numerous existing facilities and stumbled upon a former landfill in Rochester Hills. They were interested in building a 40,000 square-foot building, along with parking, for approximately 80 traffic/trailer combinations. Their current facility allowed 40 trucks, and they had 60 with the company. In order to grow, they needed extra space. They employed about 100 people between the office staff, drivers and contractors.”
Mobile Home Park
Request: An amendment to Chapter 138 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Rochester Hills, Oakland County, Michigan, to Rezone two parcels of land totaling approximately 77.7 acres (Parcel Nos. 15-24-326-008 and 15-24-302-007) from R-4, One Family Residential to RMH, Manufactured
RMH, Manufactured is code for Mobile Home Park or Trailer Park.
Location: East of John R, North of Hamlin
Applicant: Six Star Investments, LLC and DNL Property Holding, LLC 37000 Woodward Ave., Suite 250, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304, 25680 Shoreline Dr., Novi, MI 48374
About Sarah Hovis
Sarah… your the best thanks for the post… 🙂
Typo… You’re 🙁 sorry
Sarah… I’m a former member of the Rochester Hills City Council… also served as Council President… and also served as Council Representative to the Rochester Hills Planning Commission… my point I have been around the block a few times and my comments are always based on historical facts or past experience.
Mobile Home Park…
Sarah… It’s important for the residents and Planning Commissioners to know in a discussion regarding a rezoning you can not show plans of what you want to build. So you can’t use pretty pictures and drawings to sell what you want to do. You must only keep the discussion only to the new zoning use.
So if the applicant states they will a be double wide and were only going to build 450… those kind of comments must fall on deaf ears… industry standard is about 10 Mobile Homes per acer. If they can develop 77 acres that is 770 homes that is what a rezone would allow.
Sarah… we have discussed rezonings in Rochester Hills with conditions; but currently we have none of those planning tools on the books.
Mobile Home Park…
Sarah… egg before the chicken cart before the horse? Which comes first… A rezone should match a community’s master plan. The applicant should request the city revisit its master plan first, and if this area is suitable for the mobile home park the City would need to update the master plan first… that is the sound, traditional planning practice used throughout the country.
The current zoning and master plan for the area as something call R4 … R4 in Rochester Hills is single family residential or about 4 homes per acer.
Mobile Home Park…
Mobile Home Park always get a bad rap… Eminem grew up in a trailer park look what happened to him… LOL
BUT… put the fun comment aside; they do attract in general higher crime rates and transcendent residents… more than single family residential. So a new mobile home park will have a serious impact on surrounding residential home values… would you buy a house across the street or has a back yard the backs up to a mobile home park?
Before a YES vote from Planning Commission or City Council; we need to do a study on the negative property value loss of existing and future single family residential in the area first and then decide if this is really a good idea.
Mobile Home Park…
Sarah… We need: traffic, police protection, fire protection, school enrollment… all need unbiased studies done by the City and the City’s planning consultant… paid for by the applicant. This is a major change in density in this area of town; can current city services and or schools and roads etc. handle this new denensinity…? To make the smart decision we as a community need to review those studies first!
Mobile Home Park…
Sarah… Planning Commission is only the advisory board the City Council in rezoning decisions and the actual rezone is all in the power of City Council to make the final decision. In the United States of America you have the right to develop your property. BUT… Government has the right to protect others and can dictate what you can and can to do with the development of your property with in reason. A rezone is a discretionary decision… there are no laws or ordinances what would mandate a yes vote if you meet certain conditions. City Council can denied your request with out conditions just a simple NO vote.
Or they can say residents have spoke they don’t want it in their neighborhood so we don’t want it either… It can be that simple.
New Truck Depot…
Sarah… A completely different kind of movie. The property is zoned industrial, I personally thought industrial zoning was a bad idea 25+ years ago; but my thoughts fell on deaf ears at the Planning and City Council level. My idea Scotch Pine trees have shallow root growth… cover our old landfills with them, and let those areas of our town revert back to beautiful woodlands 🙂 and enhance the surrounding property values. My comments a buried on past minutes somewhere in the archives of City Hall.
New Truck Depot…
Sarah… back to the BAD movie… 🙁 Legally it could difficult to stop this development. The land is zoned industrial and truck depots are allowed on industrial zoned property… but because truck depot is a more intense use than typical light industrial manufacturing, you must hold a public hearing first before you can get your site plan approval… and you must meet certain conditions under the ordinance… and these our our conditions.
Chapter 3 Conditional Use Approval
A. Promote the intent and purpose of this ordinance.
B. Be designed, constructed, operated, maintained and managed so as to be compatible, harmonious and appropriate in appearance with the existing or planned character of the general vicinity, adjacent uses of land, the natural environment, the capacity of public services and facilities affected by the land use, and the community as a whole.
C. Be served adequately by essential public facilities and services, such as highways, streets, police and fire protection, drainageways, refuse disposal, or that the persons or agencies responsible for the establishment of the land use or activity shall be able to provide adequately any such service.
D. Not be detrimental, hazardous, or disturbing to existing or future neighboring uses, persons, property or the public welfare.
E. Not create additional requirements at public cost for public facilities and services that will be detrimental to the economic welfare of the community.
New Truck Depot…
Sarah… D. Not be detrimental, hazardous, or disturbing to existing or future neighboring uses, persons, property or the public welfare.
We need to better define “persons, property or the public welfare” does this also mean surrounding home values… which are going to take a huge hit on Hamlin Rd. across the street from the new truck depot. Sarah…think about it, we not talking or looking at a new cool high-tech firm… we talking truck depot; would you want 80+ big 18 wheeler trucks all at the same time in your residential neighborhood?
If the planning commission can prove loss of personal home value will be detrimental to the area and the new truck depot can not comply with condition “D” , than they should support the residents who live in area… sympathise with the loss of their money in home values, quality of life and vote NO!
New Truck Depot…
Sarah… If the the planning commission feels the truck depot complies with all conditions of the ordnance then they can add additional conditions to the site plan if the applicant will agree to them.
1. 25 trucks in and 25 trucks out every day… the applicant and city traffic study are based on those numbers. This should be added as a condition to site plan approval.
2. Hours of operation 6:00 am to 4:00 pm trucks in and out… the applicant and city traffic study is based on those hours. This this should be added as a condition to site plan approval.
3. No trucks carrying hazardous materials… don’t know if the applicant will agree to that, but it certainly worth a try.
4. No spending the night in the trucks…? Would not want the truck depot to attract escorts… LOL Don’t know if the applicant will agree to that, but it certainly worth a try.
5. An online camera at the entrance of the truck depot so the residents can watch the operation from their home computers… would be cheap for the applicant to install…? Don’t know if the applicant will agree to that, but it certainly worth a try.
6. No large storage of fuel for the trucks at the new truck depot. It’s a truck depot not a fuel depot. Don’t know if the applicant will agree to that, but it certainly worth a try.
7. I’m sure the planning commissioners and residents can come up with a dozen more…
New Truck Depot…
Sarah… The $759,573 property tax abatement is a City Council decision which will be another public hearing at a later date, and does not even have to come up at a planning commission level.
Sarah… I be real blunt with this comment… bad idea… vote NO!
Sarah…
Thanks for your time, and thanks for the post… I hope a lot of residents show up at these… important to the future development of their area… public hearings.
Typo… density… 🙁
Typo… Planning Commission is only the advisory board ‘to’ City Council in rezoning decisions… 🙁
Typo… can dictate what you can and can ‘not’ do… 🙁
Typo… there are no laws or ordinances ‘that’ would mandate a yes vote… 🙁
Sarah… It’s the little words that always kill me… must be do to… I was dyslexic when I was supposed to be learning spelling in grade school… 🙂 … please forgive.
Sarah… truck vote was 4 to 4 so they will have to bring it back…
Sarah… trailer park idea went down in flames unanimous vote not to rezone… 🙂