First name is spelled D-O-N-A-L-D. Last name is Yu. That spells Y-U. Do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. And your father was Dr. Yu? Yes,
that's correct. I think I should recuse myself. I might have been on his board at one point.
Hey, Mr. Bergman. Well, I would like, afterwards, I would love to connect with you. You're not the
only person that has surprised me and things like that okay
i'm sorry that's okay where we leave off at did he um not yet okay go ahead
it's okay where we leave off at did he um not yet okay go ahead i don't know well i guess he
was i think he was sworn in um okay don did you hear my testimony today i did was it true and
correct yes and you adopted as your own i do thank you okay questions from the board who has access
to the uh um garage is it just the first floor unit just the first floor unit they don't have a
car so in reality no one no one uses it okay and then what's the plan for the two units for trash
so currently the trash is stored at the front of the property because that's where they both go in
and out there's space there on a small concrete pad in front of the building structure the cans
are there now the property is closely managed and trash hasn't been an issue i think we'd be willing
and happy to have an enclosure there for the cans to go inside of you know if the board is inclined
to ask that of us okay i i would because it you know trash the cans in the front let's make the
broccoli i know that that's not the preferred but this for aesthetic sure okay um any other
questions from the board questions from our attorney oh i did have another question there
is a basement to the property right it's it's so we're kind of built on a slope so the the garage
is kind of in the basement um it's sort of lower down oh for the utilities though for the second
floor unit do they have access to the meters i believe that both meters are in the basement um
don do you know i know and don's property manager arian white is is in the virtual audience so if
don doesn't know we can ask him i don't know i don't know the answer off top of head but yes
our affordable housing director is on the zoom arian do you know wait a minute we have to bring
her in square right what's the name arian white a-r-i-o-n
can you see arian white has been allowed to speak
Erin did you hear that question I think wait a minute we have to square in
Arionne White please turn your camera okay
hi can you hear me yes can you guys wait a minute could you state your name and spell
for the record my name is arian white a-r-i-o-n-w-h-y-t-e okay do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes okay good okay um arian i'm not sure
if you heard but board member win asked a question about access to utilities for each respective
unit. Do you know, I guess, do you want to restate? Sure. I think the question was understanding that
the first floor unit had access to the, or has exclusive access to the garage. My question was
about access to utilities and meters for the second floor unit. Yeah, so the, there's a electrical
panel on the second floor so all the breakers can be reset exclusively for the second floor
the the meters and such for like the gas and there's another entryway around rear so the
garage entry also has a fire door at it's accessible for all the rest of the hot water
tank and two boilers. The two hot water tanks and two boilers.
So both tenants do have access at the rear to the basement.
Pardon?
So both tenants do have, or tenants from both units do have access to the basement?
Yes, both cannot have access. However, the first floor tenant has a
doorway, a locked door that can go downstairs and enter, yes.
okay okay thank you questions from our attorney no questions hi okay questions from our audience
or uh questions from our virtual audience i see no hands up at this time okay planning commission
ina solomano for the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the
existing rsa 5 residential single family attached zoning the appellant has not shown that the
property cannot possibly be used in strict conformity with the zoning code and that a
variance is necessary the planning commission recommends the board deny the requested use
variance for two-family dwelling so just to quickly respond i mean the two units are there
i think there's a clear hardship in reverting it back to single-family use after uh a rental
after a rental license stating that the use began in 03.
license stating that the use began in 03
Thank you.
So I do believe that, you know, they're strictly conforming with the code, there would be a hardship.
Okay. Thank you. MI 2026001140, 148 West Fisher Avenue. My vote is yes.
for the trash um can you provide a trash enclosure or a trash inside oh interior treasure okay i'm
sorry let's do it again mi2026001140148 west fisher drive avenue my vote is just with proviso
interior trash storage uh michael johns my vote is yes with proviso ryan mcadams my vote is yes
with proviso sorry when my vote is yes with proviso thank you counsel thank you nice nice
meeting nice meeting you too okay sure number five m m i 2026 001 141 516
west lycoming avenue alan knockamson is the attorney
alan you were here this morning am i correct yes all right we just lose track after a while here
could you please just state your name alan knockamson and could you identify your client
in relationship to the property my client is steven morris the owner of the property and our
vice chair has just a few questions good afternoon have you submitted your documents and exhibits
five days in advance of this hearing yes we have and do you waive the read another refusal and
stipulate to his accuracy we do okay thank you you can show your screen and proceed with your case
it's almost a carbon copy of the previous uh matter that mr goldberg argued just now
we have a we're trying to legalize a two-unit uh dwelling um you know we'll i i i suspect you'll
have the same proviso in terms of garbage storage as well um and we don't have uh basement use or
or bedrooms in the basement so during my presentation we'll review the 12 exhibits
and then at the conclusion of it i'll ask mr morris to virtually raise his hand and being sworn in
this is an rsa5 property it has a long history of this multi-family use my client bought it this
way he bought it in 2023 it was advertised as two-family dwelling only when he got the rental
license that he realized that it wasn't legally to family dwelling so it's a classic example of
like it would be nice if you know some people who purchase investment properties hire legal counsel
and you know rather than rely on what's on uh the mls uh so we have a letter of non-opposition it
was overwhelming uh non-opposition excuse me non-opposition not support but non-opposition
for this project we also have a petition of nearby neighbors uh we have the listing which shows that
this was advertised as a two-family dwelling. So, again, my client didn't do this on purpose.
Trust me. I don't think anyone would want to go through this six-month process voluntarily.
And, you know, maps to the area, we also have, you know, diversity of zoning classifications.
We are RSA 5, but we're near RM1 and ICMX and CMX 2. Not out of character to have a nearby
multifamily. This is Reese Street. I have 4101 North Reese Street, 4110 North Reese Street,
and then nearby 4063 North 6th Street are all, my understanding, non-RM1 properties,
which are RSA 5. They're a multifamily in nature. So here's actually Reese Street,
and then here's 6th Street, just as an example. Photographs of the property. This is the front
of the property um i'll have my client confirm this but i do believe that garbage is stored on
the porch in the front so i heard you know board members grams comments not surprising so i'm just
you know i understand the proviso that will be proposed uh but well let's confirm with mr morris
this is uh the proof of our posting for today's hearing uh like homing to the right of the
property to the left of the property our interior photos i just try to take a picture of every single
uh room there is uh and including the basement so you'll see here this is lived in uh the rents are
like for if there's a one bedroom one and a half bath for the lower first floor in the lower level
which is unfinished uh that's 875 and the one bedroom one bath is 800 for the two uh for the
second and third floors uh but this is the lower level here there's a toilet here there's a washer
and dryer i do believe at least in the floor plans it looks like there's an office set up down there
but again everything is unfinished this is and it's very small and narrow too so it's not like
meant you know to be like permanent living down there and then our plans and drawings
And then our plans and drawings are pretty straightforward. You walk in, the porch area, make a left. This is unit number one, where you have a living room, a huge open area, and actually, I think it's two bedrooms here, two bedrooms here, back here as well.
for pretty straightforward to walk in
and then you go down the flight of steps and it's just that open floor plan and it looks like there
may be an office down there of some sort at least in some area where it could be an office instead
of unit number one you go up to unit number two and again it's just one bedroom here the bedroom
has like a window and then you know have the dining room and living room and there's also
windows here and then there's a secondary well there's the living area where more windows where
the bay window is rco meeting notice it was well attended meeting on june 23rd we notified 181
addresses of the meeting proof of mailing of those to those addresses our application for zoning
variance along with the notice of refusal and the project information form the deed to the property
shown that stephen morris jr is the owner of the property he purchased it in 2023 and then finally
or certificate of tax clearance.
I would ask that Mr. Morris be sworn in.
Mr. Morris.
Mr. Morris, if you are in the virtual audience,
please raise your virtual hand.
the fimmers will be promoted to penalists
Stephen Morris, S-T-E-P-H-E-N-M-O-R-R-I-S.
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes counsel yeah steven you heard everything i had to state today about your zoning matter
yes is it you're incorrect um for the first floor it's not two bedrooms that back was a bathroom
okay so my apologies it looked like a bed in there so yes no the back was the bathroom and
we did discuss about the trash the first floor unit where they're going to start putting it in
the backyard that they have access to and then the second floor we have a storage upstairs for that
okay so you have no objection to no not at all uh trash inside and then finally my third question
you heard everything i said and now you do you adopt it as your own testimony yes i do okay
thank you questions from the board yes for that upstairs trash storage is the plan to do a
ventilated closet yes there's a closet up there yes I am not sure about that but
it could be done yes and then I saw that the first unit or the lower unit lower
floor unit had washer dry in the basement is there a washer and dryer for
the second floor unit and if not do they have access to the basement um so there is no washer
and dryer currently in the second floor unit we don't have tenants in there currently uh i wouldn't
be opposed to putting a washer dryer up there for them but there's also right across the street um
a laundromat and then around the block another laundromat all right well i mean we're not
dictating it yeah okay i was just yes and so is there this uh this office space at the basement
what what was that about oh that's just like a room that's in the basement it's currently not
being used the basement is for like the first floor unit they have access to the basement
just like an extra extra room so so so you're not opposed to no household living in the basement
oh yeah absolutely not okay all the questions questions from our attorney
not at this time mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience or the
current audience here i see no hands at this time chair leaning commission
nina solomonic the planning commission in 2019 the zoning map was amended from rm1
residential multifamily to RSA 5 residential single-family attached at this location in
accord with recommendations from the comprehensive plan and with support from the community. The
appellant has not shown that the property cannot possibly be used in strict conformity with the
strict conformity with the zoning code and that a variance is therefore necessary planning commission
zoning code and that a variance is therefore necessary. Planning Commission
recommends the board deny the requested use variance for two family dwelling mi2026001
141516 west lycoming street i vote yes with proviso trash stored inside no household living
in basement michael johns my vote is yes with provisos tennetta graham my vote is yes with
Ryan Adams, my vote is yes with provisos.
My vote is yes with provisos.
Okay, thank you. Number 6.
Thank you so much. All right. Thank you. Number 6, MI 2026001, 288-6506, Frankfort Avenue. Okay. You got the one after that?
Yeah, I got the one after that.
counsel you already been sworn in could you just state your name for the record alex goldberg um
could you identify your client a relationship to the property sure my client is for marigold
investments llc and its representative mike millis is sitting to my left and our vice
chair has a few questions for you good afternoon have you submitted your documents and exhibits
five days in advance of this hearing i have and do you waive the read know the refusal and stipulate
to its accuracy i do okay thank you you can share your screen and you have a letter of support from
mayfair business association and i the the coordinating rco submitted one as well okay
yep rack is that rack that is mayfair oh i'm sorry what their name uh the name is escaped
Yeah, it's Mayfair Business Association.
Mr. Chairman, we didn't get the RCO one.
You did not?
Interesting.
It's Mayfair Civic Association, I think.
It's in the materials that were submitted, but I'll send, I can forward you.
The Mayfair Business Improvement District.
But not the Mayfair Civic Association.
Okay, so this is the proposed adaptive reuse of a closed Wawa for use as personal vehicle sales and rental.
My client, Mike, owns a business called Rolls Auto.
On this specific block, he has two other Rolls Auto locations, including across the street and directly next door.
Despite this being a CMX two and a half zone property, that zone and classification does not permit this type of use.
um it also did not permit the wawa use which obtained a variance uh in 2003 for a retail
convenience store prior to that there was a 1985 variance for oil change and gas and a gas station
that wawa closed at some point in 2025 and it's been sitting vacant um since then my client is
going to keep the shell of the building structure and got the interior and um and have you know
essentially a car sales showroom and sales uh business that's going to be complementary to his
business across the street and next door you can see that that is the only uh refusal that we're
that we're seeking here's the letter of support from the rco which i'll forward over at the
conclusion of my presentation my apologies it was unanimous support it was not to be honest it was
not a well-attended meeting, but there were three community stakeholders there. They knew Mike
from his community engagement over the years and from his successful businesses on this commercial
corridor. It was a positive conversation, and they were in support, as was the business
improvement district, as this is going to revitalize a commercial property that has been
vacant there are comparable uses nearby for the most part they're rolls autos they're his business
6530 frankfurt ave 6553 and 6601 which are all car sales here's a zoning map corner of frankfurt
and mcgee photos so this is the front of the property again we're just proposing to keep
the building structure as is. He'll put his signage on the structure that was built for
the Wawa signage. His proposed hours are 9.30 a.m. to 7, Monday through Saturday, closed on Sunday.
He's planning to have 10 to 15 employees here. He has trash storage in the rear, proposed,
just similar to how Wawa kept their trash in the rear. I imagine his business will produce a lot