775 South Christopher Columbus Boulevard, also known as Pier 40, which is being shown on the
screen. My client is the now owner of the property, which will be operating at CubeSmart
self-storage. We will be taking this Pier 40 self-storage sign, removing it, and replacing it
with assigning the exact location.
Again, that is why we are here.
The property is located in the CMX3 zoning district
and is subject to multiple overlay districts.
As part of the application,
we did meet the Queen Village Neighbors Association
on March 13th, 2024,
which has issued a letter of support
for the sign with the understanding
that the sign will not be illuminated
between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.,
which is shown on the notes that had been submitted, shown on the plans that had been submitted to this board.
Again, this is the existing Pier 40 self-storage sign.
We are just replacing that with the shown CubeSmart self-storage.
Again, will not be illuminated between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Again, will not be illuminated between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
And again, that is consistent to the letter of support, which was issued by the Queen Village Neighbors Association.
That is essentially it. Mr. Chairman, it's pretty straightforward, self-explanatory.
I do have our sign manufacturer on the line, Michelle Forse, if she wants to be called on for me to have my testimony adopted by her, unless there's any questions from the board.
Why don't we do that? Why don't we bring everyone to adopt your testimony?
michelle flores has been allowed to speak good morning could you state your name please and
spell for the court stenographer sure good morning my name is michelle flores first name is m-i-c-h-e-l-l-e
last name is flores f-o-r-y-s and i am with parvin klaus sign company the manufacturer for the
project do you swear or affirm to tell the truth to hold truth nothing but the truth i do please
proceed counsel thank you very much good morning michelle how are you good morning good morning
michelle were you on the call when i went through the presentation yes i was and did you hear
everything that i presented to the board i did and to your knowledge information and belief is
everything true and accurate that is correct and had i called on you to testify would you have
given the same testimony yes i would until you adopt my testimony as your own i do thank you
much mr chairman i have no further questions questions from the board no chair no chair
i'm heading off to a career questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
um just to clarify um mr altieri you said you represented the owner you said but they were
the self storage company however the owner and the deed that was submitted is pier 40 property owner
LLC? That is correct, Ms. Emerson. So, that was an internal file name, so I apologize for that,
but we do, in fact, represent Pier 40 Property Owner LLC. I forgot to correct that.
Okay, no problem. Just wanted to verify. Thank you.
Why should there are comments from the virtual audience?
I have a hand up by the name of Peter Spinner. He's been allowed to vote.
Okay. Yep.
Good morning, sir. Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Peter?
Chair, he's been unmuted. I'm not sure if he's having a technical issue.
Peter?
Well, he's the Queen Village Zoning Committee.
And we do have the we do have their letter. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
I see no hands here. Hi, planning commission. Thank you, sir. David Fechter with the city
planning commission, chairman and board members. The comprehensive plan recommends no change
to the commercial mixed use of zoning at this location. In 2013, the city changed the zoning
of this property from I-2 medium industrial to CMX-3 commercial mixed use. The proposal to
replace an existing sign at the same location on the building will not injure the use of adjacent
properties. The City Planning Commission recommends the board grant the proposed sign variants.
Thank you. MI 2024, 000799, 775 South, Christopher Columbus Boulevard, number TA205746. I vote yes, with proviso. Hours of elimination, 6A to 11P.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes, with proviso.
James Snell, my vote is yes, with proviso.
It's Mel Shaheed. My vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members of the board.
Number six, MI 2023-005-622-137 West Seymour Street, Vern Anastasio.
Vern Anastasio is coming back in as a penalist.
Good morning. So you're I think you're ready to go now. Am I correct?
I certainly hope so. Please proceed. Thank you.
137 West Seymour Street, as I was stating earlier at the beginning of my presentation,
this is a corner property on a block with lots of vacant lots. And in 1960, when the building was
built, it was built as a three family dwelling, one dwelling, one unit on each floor. Sometime
Sometime around 1975, and all of this, by the way, is in the zoning history that I've submitted today.
around 1975, and all of this, by the way, is in the
Sometimes around 1975, the building was demolished.
It has been a vacant lot since 1975.
And we also submitted aerial shots going all the way back that showing that this has been a vacant lot for that long without the investment or the improvement that my client is suggesting that we do today.
I first want to mention that we did in fact meet with the community three times. We had three separate RCO meetings. At the first two times, no one from the immediate neighbors showed up. At the third and final meeting, one immediate neighbor did in fact show up.
And that immediate neighbor, as it shows here on this page two of the RCO letter, voted to support the application because after 45 years, she believed it would be nice to have a multifamily return to the site there to bring some much needed density to the area.
The two committee members, of course, voted to oppose.
Those committee members don't live anywhere near this particular property.
so that's the nature of the letter that you've received also we want to make sure that it's
very clear that the committee members talked about the building setback
and the building facade and the building size and i want to make sure that it's clear because
i don't believe after three meetings we were able to make it clear to the membership
Excuse me for one second while I
Here's the block in question
As you can see
There's the vacant lot
Let me get into some of the plans
There is no height variance that we're seeking.
It's only 38 feet.
There are no setback variances or anything of the like.
The only variance that we seek is for the use and we'll be able to show you.
I think I lost the image.
We saw it.
I did see it.
Yeah, me too.
I think there's some kind of technical issue with this today with my computer, and I do apologize.
The plans that I submitted to you, the setback is identical to all the other homes on the block.
It's identical to the adjacent property.
The cornices are identical to all other homes on the block. Cornices are identical to the adjacent property. And the height is identical to all other properties on the block, including the adjacent property.
so the size the setback and the height of the property are exactly the same as every other
property on the block uh the only variance we seek here is a three-family dwelling i want to
ask if uh architect ian toner happens to be in the audience like nothing's happening when i hit
that. And if I go to put the arrow there, it's not enough.
Is Mr. Toner in the audience, Mr. Chair?
Toner. Yes, Mr. Toner has been allowed to talk.
Thank you. I'm wondering if Mr. Toner might have the plans to pull up if I stop sharing.
Yeah, I'm bringing them up now. Okay, Mr. Toner, just for their, well, he's just going to show the
plans you're going to speak, right, Vern? That's correct. Okay, good. I'm going to stop sharing so
that he can share the plans. And I apologize for the technical difficulty today. I'm not quite sure
what's going on. But all of this, 70 pages of this exhibit has already been submitted and I
move it into evidence. Again, it shows the vote of the immediate neighbor supporting this. It shows
the very long history of three family use since 1960 and it shows the documented vacancy on this
site since 1975 and mr toner is going to pull up the plan so that we can then show you and demonstrate
We can then show you and demonstrate that the scale, scope, height, and setback of the property are identical to the adjacent home and all other properties on the block.
that the scale, scope,
Are you able to hear me?
Are you prepared to share your screen?
Yeah, I think I need to be made a presenter in order to do that.
and I need to get sworn in, I think.
Can we make him that?
Is he promoted subpoena list?
Vern, he's not going to testify, am I correct?
Well, do you mind swearing him in just in case?
Yeah, state your name and spell for the court sonography.
Ian Toner from Toner Architects.
Spell your name just a little.
I-A-N-T-O-N-E-R.
do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes please proceed
thank you mr chair thank you mr toner for coming to my rescue with these plans uh please share
your screen so we can uh walk them through the plans no problem can everybody see this yes great
okay so um do you want me to just walk through verne or do you have please that'll be fine thank
you okay so um the lot's a little bit of an odd shape you can see the property line it's a little
wider at the back than it is in the front um we are setting back to align with the neighbors
here we have a front porch that is dimension to match the neighbors and then the bulk of the
building follows we have a a projection on the side um and so we um we have one unit on the
first floor, which extends to the basement. We have one unit on the second floor and one on the
third. They're all, these upper ones are two bedrooms, flats. This is two bedrooms and a den
in the basement. And then there's a storage room in the front of the basement. I'm sorry,
not storage, but utilities. So for the, you know, the meters and water heaters and that sort of
And I do have Vern, I could share the rendering if that's helpful.
Yes, it is. Thank you.
So this is the view from the front. This is our building here.
And our intention is that we match the proportions and materials as closely as possible as the neighbors.
The neighbors are these pairs of twins, and so we're filling in this missing twin to its lonely neighbor next door.
And the setback is identical to everybody else on the block. Is that right?
That's correct. And one thing I did want to say, we do have a we do have, I think, two other refusals besides use, just to make sure everyone's clear, one for parking and one for lot coverage.
so we are slightly over on lock coverage but we are matching the footprint of the building next
door to us so while we are a little bit over we are matching the the depth and the front setback
of the neighboring building and the parking is it's still further in the rear of the property
as well impacting no no traffic or living that's right i mean we the code says we're supposed to
have one space per unit, but we are providing just one space to reduce the length of the curb cut
and just have a little bit less of an impact on the neighboring properties and leave a little
bit of space in the rear for trash storage and that sort of thing. And in your survey, Mr. Toner,
of the 100 block of West Seymour, there are in fact at least half a dozen vacant lots just on
this side of the street itself, is there not? I believe there are. Yeah. Thank you. Mr. Chair,
we have evidence of those vacant lots all submitted in the 70-page exhibit. So let me ask
this. The adjoining property, the property you'll be adjoining to, is that multiple unit? That is a
single-family home. There are multi-units on the block, though. How many are on the block? Do you
have any idea? About less than five. Okay. Thank you. And again, this is a corner property with
access for parking. So, and with a long history of multifamily on this site, it certainly makes
sense. And again, we're dealing, it's not like we're dealing with a structure that we can rehab,
right? What the code would require my client to do here is build from the ground up a brand new
single-family home, which in this particular area would be cost prohibitive.
which in this particular area would be cost prohibitive,
not only for him, but for anyone who wanted to purchase the property.
So for those reasons,
why don't you bring your owner on and adopt your testimony?
For those reasons, I'm going to ask Mr. Campbell to come in.
Mr. Campbell?
He's been allowed to speak.
Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Ibrahim Campbell, first name I-B-R-A-H-E-I-M, last name Campbell, C-A-M-P-E-L-L.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Mr. Campbell, did you hear my presentation to the board today?
Yes, I did.
Was it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, it was.
Do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Based on your understanding of this block, are there at least six vacant lots on this side of the street itself?
And is there a large institutional use directly across the street in addition to multifamily?
And would building a single family residence at this vacant lot be cost prohibitive both to you and to any potential purchaser?
That is correct.
Okay. Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Chair.
No, Chair.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I have a hand up by the name of Pamela Bracey.