Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Okay, I now call this close. I now call this meeting of the ZBA to order. Uh 7:00 sharp. Uh Kim, can I get a roll call, please? Sorry, what? Sorry. That helps. Member Baronei here. Am I pronouncing that correctly? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Member Rosco present. Member Troutman here. Member Williams here. Member Wilson here. Anybody else? I think that's it. I think so. Thank you. Moving on to item two, approval of the agenda. Place forth a motion to approve the agenda as written in its written form. Support. We have a motion in support. May I get a roll call, please? I hope I'm right. It was um member Rosco. Yes. Yes. Member Williams. Yes. Member Barcone. Yes. Member Troutman. Yes. Member Wilson. Yes. Motion carries. Next item, first hearing of the public. Is there anyone that wishes to speak? And not today. Moving on to approval of the minutes of the last meeting is published. Any Mr. Chair, if I may, I don't think we have anything. It's It's been several years, sir. It's It's been a while. Okay. I think we can omit item four. Moving on to the preface. Do we still have to read that out loud? Yes, matter of course, in case there's anybody watching. Very well, sir. I will

do it. The city of East Point Zoning Board of Appeals primarily addresses practical difficulties based on lot size, location, shape, or contour, and or locations of existing buildings. Article 17 of the East Point Zoning Ordinance guides our decisions. There are seven members on a ZBA plus two alternates. Four members constitute constitutes a quorum. A majority vote of those present and voting is required for a motion of appeal or denial. Each appeal before the CBA will first have a public hearing at which time the appellant will first present their case and then any public comment regarding that issue will follow. During this time, members of the board may ask questions of clarification. If a particular point gets belated, the chair has the right to limit comments. When public hearing is closed, the board will move on to deliberation phase. If the if the appellant should disagree with the board's decision, they have the right to appeal to the Mcome County Circuit Court within a time frame established by statute or ordinance. When the agenda items concludes, the applicant is welcome to leave or stay for the remainder of the meeting. Moving on to new business. Uh we have election of officers. Uh it is normal operations that we have a full board of seven members before we conduct a uh election. I make a motion that we table new business item A until such time as these chairs are filled. I'll second. We have a motion and a second. Uh, may I please get There we go. May I please get a vote? Chair Wilson? Yes. Member uh, member

Troutman? Yes. Member Bone? Yes. Member Rosco? Yes. Member Williams? Yes. And the motion carries. Uh that is tabled till a further time. Uh item B, adoption of the 2025 meeting schedule which is in our packet. Are there any questions or comments on the uh appeal schedule? None here. Here we go. Mr. Chair. Yes. If I may put a suggestion on the table for our amendments, I mean our schedule. Um, we'd like to make sure that this board going forward meets at least three slash4 times a year. It's man mandatory. And if that would be the case, I'd like us to be able to consider the first month of the quarter being a mandatory meeting that we know even if we don't have an agenda on the table, it'll give us training time, discussion time, planning time, particularly in this next seven uh 12 to 18 months as we get into a new five-year master plan and there'll be conversation that we'll be able to have in that. So if that would be the case, today is the May, which would be in the AP the April, May, and June quarter. We already have that one. So we get to July, that should be um our a mandate one. Our October should be a mandate one. Excuse me. Our Yes, our October should be a mandate one. And then January would be our next on. So every three months, we should have one. If we do it the first month of each

quarter, then we'll get inside our our qual our mandate, even if we don't have anything. And if for any reason the building department drives the city crazy and we get a lot of zoning board of review appeals, then we can eliminate any of the mandatory document dates. That would be my recommendation. Okay. It is. Yeah, it is within uh the chair's recommendation to call for meetings. So, uh councelor, are we within our rights and the code to do that? Yes. Uh would you recommend a vote on the item? Yes, I would. Very well. I make a motion that going forward the zoning board of appeals has at least one meeting per quarter. support. And Mr. Chair, do we want to just specify for purposes of the motion what what those dates include? You can again. Yes, I would recommend that. Chair. Okay. Chairman, can I get those months again? I know it's January and July. January, April, January, October, October. January, excuse me, July. Yeah, that's what January. That's what I'm talking. Thank you. Okay. So uh January, April. Okay. Okay. Moving forward that we have a regular meeting in July, April, March and October. No, it should be January January, April. April and June, July and October. That is correct. Yeah. Yes. Moving forward, we'll have meetings on those days regardless if there is an item for appeal or not.

I so move. And okay, we've got a motion and support. May I get a vote, please? Uh uh, Chair Wilson, yes. Member Troutman, yes. Member Barcone, yes. Member Rosco, yes. Member Williams, yes. Motion carries. By all means. So, are we not meeting next one? Is that or is that just not mandatory? It's not mandatory. What it is is the ZBA historically has only met when there was an item up for appeal. Uh we have a new building official that will probably have us meeting more often, but would like to uh get together four times a year. Okay. Just to discuss what's going on, even if there isn't anything. I got you. because we haven't had a meeting three years. Three years, something like that. Almost. It's been a minute. Yeah. Since the change the fencing ordinance for some odd reason, it's been quiet. And chair, we do have a candidate that's on the docks for the next one if he gets in in time to get the public hearing in. There is a marijuana uh sign ordinance request for an appeal and there is another one appealing fence issue. So, if they get their their dockets in in time, then it may be next month, but if nothing else, it certainly will be the following month that we'll have several cases on the dome. Okay. Okay. Very well. Okay. And then I guess we would need a motion to adopt the 2025 meeting schedule as amended. I Mr. President, I so move. I support or Mr. Chair, excuse me. I'm sorry, Mr. Chair. I I didn't catch who uh made the motion. Was that the

motion to accept the uh correct the uh meeting schedule as amended with additional meetings? Mr. Chair, I I believe we already voted and that that passed. We voted and it passed. The next item I think it was just for the It was just for the four meetings, right? We never approved the schedule as written, right? Oh, I thought it was the schedule as written with the with the amended. I don't think I worded it such. He did not. Just covering making sure that we've got the additional meetings covered and uh the schedule as submitted. Okay. So, I'm going to go with um member Troutman. Yes. Chair Wilson. Yes. Member Bone. Yes. Member Rasco? Yes. Member Williams? Yes. Thank you. Motion carries. So schedule is all set up. Moving on. Item C, review of ZBA roles and responsibilities. I believe this is a presentation. It is. Um we don't have use of the screen. So if you could just um you can follow along in the in the smaller versions in your packets. Um would it be helpful if I stood up there? Are you okay? Whatever you're comfortable with. Okay. Yeah, we can hear you. I'll go over there. John wants me to go over there. I would encourage members, new members of the board, if you have any questions, uh, please raise your hand and ask. Good evening. Good evening. So, since we my understanding is we have a mix of seasoned veterans and newcomers to this board. Um, Since we don't yet have any business, we thought it'd be a good idea to just sort of uh set the tone and get you all started again and review some very basics about

um what you do as a zoning board of appeals and uh the sorts of cases that you will hear and some guidelines for for doing the business that you will be doing. Um I will go through this really quick. There's a lot of slides in there, but um I can talk fast. Please, at any time if you'd like to talk about something or if you have a question, just stop me. Um, so I'm on slide three. There's a couple state laws, state of Michigan laws that enable the work of planning and zoning in a municipality. Uh, the one that we're focusing on or that is most relevant to you as the zoning board of appeals is the zoning enabling act, which allows municipalities to zone the land in their community. It allows municipalities with some restrictions to uh control where uses are located. Um how dense the community is, how what development looks like, things like that. Um and so that is the guidance that we use to draft the zoning ordinance that we use to amend it. Um there's case there's um always case law and litigation that affects how land use law is practiced. So, um, we make every effort to make sure that you are, um, that the guidance that the staff is providing you is considering all of that. Um, slide five is just to make the point that there is a large team that administers and works to make sure that the right kind of development happens in the city. Um, there's three of us here and um, there's many other people uh both here and then your fellow boards and commissions. Um you you in these chairs you see one particular part of this process um when people believe or

allege they're being treated unfairly or um for some reason the ordinance is not granting them rights that other people have. Um but there's a large team that keeps everything moving and this board is an important part of it. Um, the other thing to point out about this team is that the staff um are here to advise and to give you the best information possible, but you have to decide. Um, you don't have to accept recommendations if you're not convinced by them. We try to make them as sound and as uh as correct as possible based on what we understand about the situation in the law, but the ultimately the decision is yours. Um so the planning commission sets the master plan. Uh they do the work of um guiding amendments and writing for the for the zoning ordinance itself. They do development reviews and they are in that sense on the front line of processing development. Um city council has some role in in um approving some uses and some things that have some discretion, some possible discretion. Some things the ordinance says if if physically they're what the city wants, then it has to be approved. There are other things, there are other uses in certain places that um are not necessarily permitted by right, they they could be appropriate for place if certain conditions are met. And for all those uses and all those uh uh things where the ordinance allows, the legislative body has some discretion. you as a zoning board of appeals come in when um either someone reads a zoning ordinance and thinks that there's an inappropriate regulation that is going

to prevent them from developing the way they do or they apply to do something and someone on staff says the zoning ordinance says you cannot do that so I deny your permit application. Um the this board has the function of making sure that the administration is not being arbitrary or being incorrect in interpreting the zoning ordinance. Um and also to to the other responsibility is to hear in a public forum um discussions about when the zoning ordinance makes blanket statements all over the place. Um it treats many many parcels in the same way as you know because of the way streets are laid out because of the way topography and and uh natural resources go. Um parcels and pieces of land and different land that might be zoned similarly is not situated similarly. And sometimes property owners do get treated unfairly by a regulation that um is across the board or across very many parcels. Um the zoning ordinance the fundamental purpose of that is to protect public health, safety and welfare. It's the means by which the city ensures orderly development and growth. Um and it provides for a way to enforce the rules essentially to make sure that land use is moving in the direction of um what is defined in the master plan and what the community aspires to. Um section two of this presentation about zoning board of appeals. The I just wanted to review really quick. There's three types of things that the zoning board by the ordinance has the responsibility to do um or has the authority to consider. Primarily what

you'll get, most of what you'll get is variances, variance requests. And a variance is a permanent and officially approved deviation from the zoning ordinance. Um it means that someone who want someone wants to do something that is not allowed in the black and white text of the zoning ordinance that um if they are granted that right on that piece of property they will be able to ignore that particular rule. Um there in East Point the only variances that can be granted are called dimensional variances or non-use variances which um allows an area or a setback or a height or some other um area or bulk uh characteristic of a development that would not otherwise be allowed or doesn't comply with ordinance regulations. Um the other type of variance is called the use variance. Um that is when in some communities if if a piece of land is zoned for residential only and someone um because the market is because the the market is not functioning or because they they think that um they think that they can make a project work in in on a piece of land that does not allow that use. um they can apply for what's called a use variance and that essentially changes the zoning map at the zoning board. Um for that reason it's not a it's not a common practice because it's taking the power of deciding what the zoning map is and what the zoning ordinance is out of the legislative body and puts it at this table in East Point. The ordinance says that you cannot grant use variances. So, the variances that you'll get are from um the physical characteristics of the requirements in the zoning ordinance and um someone is asking to not have to

abide by that rule. In order to grant them permission to do that, they should present to you evidence that they have a practical difficulty with complying with with that ordinance. Um practical difficulty is a is jargon. Um but it's it's the the standard that you have to clear before you get um that that should be proven in order to get a variance no matter what. The East Point zoning ordinance also includes a set of five or six specific standards um that are listed on page 12 or I'm sorry page 10. Um, and as the East Point ordinance is written, the applicant should prove to you that each one of these check marks are are evident. Um, and we can as we go, we can go through these and, uh, if you have any questions about what these words mean, just really quickly, um, if if a variance is warranted, something should be unique. some conditions or circumstances should be unique to this property compared to the other properties in the zoning district that um can comply with it for reasons other than what uh apply to this one. Um yes sir. Um it stays it stays with the land. It it it partially depends on how you word the motion. Um uh sometimes the variances are granted based on the very particular set of drawings that is presented to you. Um but without that wording and Mr. Albbright can correct me or or add detail if there's some that's there. Uh it will run with the land uh

as it changes property owners etc. So if if a setback is reduced from 10 feet to five feet and the next owner buys the property or two buildings later someone does it um unless it's specified to to occur for one specific development that setback is always five feet. Um the the second standard is that the special conditions are not self-created. There's often a lot of confusion about the term self-created, but self-created means that the prop the current property owner or any previous property owner has not taken an affirmative step or designed something that is causing the problem that they're receiving relief from. Um so if if a house is built to the maximum that is allowed by ordinance and then someone is asking for a variance to reduce the setback because the house built out and they can't built any anywhere else. That is an example of a self-created difficulty because there was an affirmative design decision taken. Um and the the condition that is being caused isn't because something is unique about the land. It's just that the property was developed in that way. Um so there's there's often a lot of confusion about that and um at least in in this instance or when this comes up I will do my best to sort of put in the reports and the reviews. Um, just reminders of that. The third one is that uh lit literal interpretation of the ordinance or strict compliance would deprive the applicant of rights enjoyed by other property owners in the same district um or would render render conformity with those restrictions unnecessarily burdensome. And there's some aspect of someone is being treated unfairly and

all the other parcels because they're orthogonal and rectangular can can you know have this particular setback but because the last one is triangular there's no way to make that work then a variance might be warranted. Um the next one is the variance will not confer special privilege that's denied to other lands. So that's trying to avoid uh setting a precedent that you grant a this special permission to one person and then all the people that complied or all the people that have not yet tried to make it work. Um if they don't have that permission then there's some unfairness that's built into that. Um the variance requested is the minimum necessary for reasonable use. So um a good thing to think about in the back of your mind is is there an alternative to this? Is there a way that um if if the applicant has proven that they're being treated unfairly, is there another solution or an alternative that um changes or impairs the ordinance less than what the applicant is asking? And sometimes there's not and sometimes there is. Um but if there is, then it's appropriate to um seek that as the to not approve the the the larger And um we would also counel the applicant to seek their one. Um and then the last one is that the that the variance will not be injurious to the neighborhood public safety or otherwise detrimental to the public interest just not causing a problem um by granting this permission even if all these other things are met. So the the majority of the business that you will get will be these variances. There are times when um someone is trying to develop a piece of property and the language in the ordinance is not clear or the administration isn't administering and

interpreting the ordinance in a way that someone disagrees with and um those people or the staff could bring to you a request to interpret the language in the ordinance. Um, in these cases, they're they're more rare, I would say, but um, in these cases, it's important to remember that the, uh, when you're interpreting text, you should interpret it narrowly. Interpret only only the thing only the clause or the item that is in question. Um, it the the decision that you make should be considering the history of the language use and how it has been interpreted in the the ordinance allow uh provides rules about how to interpret maps uh or questions about the map. It's not so much an issue. I I don't think there will be many issues about that in East Point as it's already built out. Um but if there's a question about whether a line falls on one side of the road or another or if it splits a parcel in half, um there are times if there's a dispute about that that you might be asked to consider and a decision about um does the line follow the river or not. Um bad example here, but um and the last point in there is just um we will all keep records to make sure that as you said that president it's it carries over further. Um and then the last thing that you are authorized to do by the zoning ordinance that you might be asked to do is to appeal an administrative decision. So um someone comes and applies for a um assigned permit or in there's a recent case where a property owner was cited for having storage improperly in the backyard of their property.

Um, and if if it happens that e that the staff either misinterprets the ordinance and makes a mistake or if they are just not enforcing it fairly um I don't think that would ever happen, but um hopefully it won't ever happen. But if if something just arbitrarily if if someone is being treated differently than every other person in the city, um that applicant could come to you and say, "I think I think there has been a mistake made or I think I am being um mistreated and ask you to overturn that decision." It's different from a variance. It's um just a decision about whether or not a mistake was made or if um if the staff is truly mistreating in a way that um they don't treat other people. Um so in the in the East Point zoning ordinance, the actual language that gu there's language that guides that decision. Um and it says that you you should the decision should be appealed if the ZBA finds that the decision or the requirement or the determination was arbitrary or capriccious based on an erroneous finding of material fact, it constituted an abuse of discretion or is based on an erroneous interpretation of the zoning ordinance. So again, like mistakes or really egregious uh differences in standards, that second one really both of them hopefully you'll never get an appeal like that. Um but certainly hopefully never the the arbitrary capriccious part I had. in these in the printed slides that for each decision after after the applicant presents their case to you, you deliberate, you ask

questions of the applicant and the staff, if um you decide that the applicant has or has not met the standards that they're required to meet, um you'll vote to approve it. I had put in the in your printed slides that uh votes are based on the entirety of the board, meaning seven members, which would mean that you would need a majority of seven instead of a majority of the of the uh members that are here. Um I in preparing for this, I reread the ordinance. That's the situation I'm more used to. But um in East Point, it's actually the majority of the members that are here in voting are authorized to make decision, which is a it will help do business faster. Um in communities where the entire board is required or majority of the entire board is required, those communities are often forced to offer uh the applicants another meeting and postpone the matter until they can see the full board. So this in this situation that that. Um, so just if if you were following along on page 13, I had put in what I thought was always the case, but in East Point, it's not the case. It's um to approve a measure, you only need the majority of the people that are at the meeting. On slide 14, there are some examples of um or there's a little quiz question about which of the following reasons are to approve a variance. Um I've already been talking a while, so I'll skip to the fact that it's a trick question and that none of those are appropriate reasons. Really the only thing that you should be considering is whether or not the applicant has proven to you that each standard that they have a practical difficulty and that each standard in the ordinance um is met based on what they put in writing in the application plus

what they tell you at the hearing and you know and answer your questions. Um all of those things on slide 14 are reasons that sometimes frankly varian are granted, but by law and just by basic fairness, it really shouldn't be. Um, I would say that there are many more variances that are applied for than than are justified. The this system is here for a reason and um it it definitely happens that the regulations are too broad or for some reason there are special cases that uh warrant relief. Um, but it's also the only way that someone can can ask again if they get an answer they don't like. So sometimes um you might receive uh applications that are not necessarily justified. Um but they have a right to be heard. We we try to counsel people honestly about what the standards are and what they have to prove. Um but in my experience that doesn't always dissuade anyone because they that if they can just get up and and talk, they can convince people. So, um the end of it, I won't I won't dwell on the end of the presentation. There's just some pointers about risk management. um in doing in in conducting this business, you can't really avoid litigation. But uh if you follow all the procedures that are laid out for you in your bylaws, in the zoning ordinance, use sound decision-m principles, and you don't uh participate in decisions in which you have a conflict of interest, then you can really minimize um your risk. Um those decision principles, I think, are good reference. uh the the the board you are bound by the standards

in the ordinance. Uh property owners have rights to utilize their property but those rights are limited by the by the ordinance. Um and justification for variances must be related to the conditions of the land. Um there are cases where the ordinances are unnecessarily burdensome. Um that is a little bit in the weeds. But I I think the first part of that is that uh it's just a very basic decision or a filter about whether or not you might consider granting a variance. Is is this something that is happening because of the way the land is situated or because of something the applicant affirmatively did. Um the responsibility of the ZBA is to really to uphold the requirements of the zoning ordinance except in those unusual circumstances. Um it's not the job of the ZBA to help the applicant find a way around the requirements um because they're inconvenient or because there's a compelling reason. There really sometimes might be a compelling reason or a reason that you want to grant a variance, but really um in order for the whole thing to work correctly um it should only be granted at those five standards or those six standards. Um, another common thing that happens is trying to solve the problem for the applicant or suggesting things. Really, you should only be considering what the applicant brings to you. Um, and not it's in on the slide is a design from the day. just, you know, saying, well, maybe if you maybe you wouldn't need a variance if you turned it this way and brought it back 10 ft. Because again, the burden is on the applicant to prove to you that he's he or she is being treated unfairly. Um, some dos and don'ts on page 20. Some of this is just uh Robert's rules of order. Um

but conduct deliberations in the open, work through the chairperson. Uh the uh if you if when when you express your opinions, it's a good idea to sort of state your reasoning. Uh that's helpful in setting precedent and in um making the the decisions defensible if people want to challenge them later. Uh if there's mistakes, we'll just to correct them immediately. Um, you should not confer with your fellow members outside of the meeting about the decision of the pl of the case. Um, you are no under no obligation to act hastily or um take action before you if you have any doubts. You can always ask the staff for more information. You can ask the applicant for more information and um save the decision for another time. Um just some Yes. Yeah, if you should feel the need to see the property yourself before the meeting and you want to go look at it and have a a see what's going on, do not engage the owner and any conversation, debate, or about it at all. You cannot talk to other board members before the meeting. You cannot talk to the owner. That opens us up for liability and failure. That is a great point. Um, anything that has to do with your decision making should be discussed in this room only or just in your own private prep. Yeah, Mr. Chair. Yeah, because this is a board subject to the open meetings act. Uh, that's why you want to avoid any type of conversations amongst uh members too. Um

I would ask this on our application for um an appeal variance. Is there something on there? Is there a waiver and consent that allows or gives consent of the board members to enter upon the property? Uh by signing that you give consent to the board members to do that. It wasn't originally when I got here, but now that I'm here, we've got Jackie and Rosanne rewriting that and putting that waiver in. Okay, good. Because we feel that that would be viable going forward that you have eyes on it and have the right to be there. Okay, thank you. Okay, thanks. Um there there are a few slides just of some uh cliff notes or maybe things to reference about dos uh dos and don'ts during meetings and about making decisions. The we've covered most of them already. Uh really the important ones are don't discuss with anyone um before the meeting is in session. Um the you'll be provided hopefully all the provided all everything from the applicant um and some uh collection of those facts from the administration. Uh a good thing to do before the meeting is to review all the standards that'll be used for that decision. Um and then again just some dos and don'ts about uh during meetings and sound decisions. And finally on slide 25 um you will sometimes you will often find yourself in the position of turning down a request.

Um it might help you to think about the uh hundreds of thousands of property owners that do comply with the rules that someone is asking for uh lenience from. uh zoning ordinances take a lot of time and effort on the entire municipalities uh um on behalf of the entire municipality to create. So to the extent that we can make them work um as long as they are recent and accurate and and really reflecting the wishes of the community um everything works better if if it's enforced consistently. um if you get into a pattern of making concessions, then you sort of lose the ability to stand up for the ordinance provisions when you want to. So, it's just something else to think about. Um and the master plan, there's another master plan that's just started. Um when those processes happen, they involve lots and lots of public input and are are trans they translate that public input into policy that then theoretically um everyone is trying to realize. Um there's something at the end quick about conflicts of interest. Um if you have a financial uh interest in the matter or you have a relative or a close friend that is the applicant um or you are somehow representing the applicant, not so much for an appointee. Um the it's important to identify those for yourself and to to make them known as soon as you possibly can or as soon as you understand that there is that and then you should really refrain from voting on that matter just to keep everything above board and so there's not even the appearance of any propriety. Um there's questions on page uh 28 about what constitutes a conflict of

interest. Um the uh if you're the applicant, yes, there is a conflict of interest and you should not be voting on it. Um if the applicant is a relative, probably, but maybe not. You know, you kind of have to evaluate each decision for yourself separately. Um if the applicant is a neighbor, it might be possible for you to be impartial about that, but you really should disclose it to the rest of the board so the entire board knows that you have that relationship with that person. Um similarly, if your works for the applicant or if the applicant is a business associate then you might well have a conflict of interest. You might well because you work in a different side of the company or you there's no financial there's nothing financial to be gained or there's no relationship to be impacted based on how you decide. Um maybe it's possible that you can do that without having a conflict. Um if there's a business competitor then that's pretty clear conf conflict of interest. Um, and if you just don't want to vote contrary to the public comment, um, if you're not comfortable doing that, then that is also a conflict of interest and you should probably step back at that point. Thank you very much. Um, we haven't answered any other questions, but looking forward to working with you. Uh thank you very much for the training Paul. Moving on to uh the next item, unfinished business. Being none, we will move on to the second hearing of the public. Does anyone wish to speak? Anyone? Being none, we will move on to the board member comments. Mr. Chair, if I may, before we start, if we could add admin before we

start. Um, no, public comment is done. You already closed that. No, I'm not the public. Um, Mr. Chair, um, just so particularly people who are new know, um, the building official and the planner will always be providing recommendations and documentation. You are more than welcome in advance of the meetings. you are more than welcome to reach out with questions um at any time individually again because of OMA um you don't want to you know uh do it as a group but they will always be um providing recommendations and similarly like tonight with the chair the city attorney will always be here for the meetings to let you know he is also available going to be available for questions um again individually should you have anything like that um I do want to point out that they're um I want to make sure everybody has a roster of the the individual. I make sure everybody has the contact info. This is private to you guys. This is not public. We only put your email addresses on the website. So, these are phone numbers and um emails just between this group um that are that are just with us and uh with Roseanne who's the clerk for this this committee, this board. Um there are training opportunities. Um I put um with each of you you have the binder of all kinds of things. I think Mr. Myers will talk about that. Um but there is Michigan State University has a number of different opportunities for training planning zoning different things. Citizen planner is a great initial course if no one's taken it. I believe um Mr. Wilson, Mr. Rosco, Mr. Williams have taken that. Um but there's also new ones for uh ZBA. There are trainings um that are in person. Um there are

trainings that are online at your own that are online um on a schedule with other uh virtual and then there are also trainings that you can take on your own time. Um city will cover your training. Obviously preferences are given to those who have not had training yet. Um but we also do get scholarships or group discounts. So for those of you who are new in particular, um these courses are are really interesting um to to learn. Uh so the the plane the general citizen planner is a great one because it covers both. Um but this packet I gave you has also um the zoning board of appeals. So please please reach out to um Mr. Myers or myself um or Rosanne if you're interested and we will sign you up for those trainings. Um, and then I think if I may, Mr. Chair, um, Mr. Myers, we have a new company that we have a new consultant for a master plan. It's time for the city to do its new master plan update. Um, the state requires a focus on housing. So, we're going to focus on that. And then, but we also got we have a grant. We also have a second grant that focuses on economic development and placemaking strategy um for the commercial corridors and we have another grant for that. So we are about to kick that off. So I think Mr. Myers will talk about that because we are looking for some volunteers. We're not about to kick it off. Um two on May 2nd was the first launching date officially and we had our first administration meeting today. We will have uh every two weeks administrative meetings uh with that selective team uh as we go forward. They already have projected months and dates scheduled for coming into the city and doing public hearings and meetings and reviews of the

city uh coming here in the near future. Um but in this master plan um I'm trying to not be too excited about it. I'm thrilled. Uh, and I hope you get so excited about what you're doing sitting on a ZBA board. Um, if you feel like you're going to get in the next 18 months your plate full of of cases to review, it's because of him. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. No, I'm just kidding. It's because your staff hasn't folded and just said, "Okay, you can do it. We've set on the standards. The new zoning board of appeal, the zoning ordinance was established November of 23 and our job is to stay on top of it as cleanly as possible with no variables. And if they want the variable, we cannot talk them off the ledge, they're coming to you. So when you all of a sudden see a larger number of cases of of variances being asked, it's because you know your staff hasn't moved the needle of what has been written. And we want everybody to be equally treated across all the lines of all of our zoning districts. And to do that, they need to come and speak to people like yourself who live, operate, and function as a ZBA board to hear a bipartisan guideline. So, when we talk about if you need to see the property, we've done this in other cities, we'll talk about this in our our our administrative office, but a board like this that has to go on somebody's property. It may not be too unheard of to actually give you a zoning board of appeals board identification so that you are identified going on that you belong to the city's responsible parties and you're not there violating the legal

requests that we're granted to do. So, we'll try to put those in your hands so that you're really comfortable going where you want. Again, it's been spoken. Um, you can when you get to this public hearing, that's listening to them and listening to us. This this zoning board has to then talk out loud all your opinions about what you heard. And we have fortunate that the city attorney is going to sit here and catch you every time you step across the line and do something illegal that we shouldn't be doing. So that means you should feel really comfortable saying whatever you got to say out loud so everybody hears it as you discuss. Your discussion isn't the vote. Your discussion just the open discussion. It's not a closed session conversation. It's an open one. But he'll be here to make sure that we don't cross any lines just like we're going to be on the other side of the administration telling you why we brought this case because we are not crossing any lines. We're excited about that. But that brings us to this master plan. And we don't see a major major overhaul in the mapping of our master plan, but we do have a a company coming in and we do are looking at the issue of how do we revitalize the city of East Point and and these are topics that haven't been officially put on the docket yet. The question was how do we increase the population from what we have consistently for the last 10 years to something higher over the next five then the next 10 into the 2040 era. Number three too is how do we increase the population of families that move in that actually have children that go to our schools and and increase that population. Next subject in this master plan is what strategies can we do that we can reduce the household rental properties and bring it back to homeowner occupied community again and what's the goals for that will be so

much of an involvement of what you guys are going to hear learn and do as a ZVA that you'll have a a a footprint in doing that with us over the next 18 months that's the excitement of seeing can I see what we should be looking like in 15 years instead of hope it works out and something gets done by accident. We want to plan that, we want to implement that and then we want to see the resolve of that. So, one of the things if you can get excited about this visionary development for the city of East Point over the next 18 months, if you have an interest to be on any of our structural boards, one being a search, I mean, uh, the steering committee, we can't have, we can't have 30 or 40, but we have to have a broad approach of multiple types of people. So, if you'd like to sit on that steering board, I can't promise you'll get on it, but if you're interested, give it a message to me or to Kim or Rosanne and we'll put your name on that list and go, let's see if we can get this as a as a multicomplex group of people that can have a very strong voice. That steering committee will speak very loudly to the company that we brought in, asking them to keep giving us direction of what we're asking for. And so, that's the excitement about being on some of these commissions. this committee or well known is um what they call stock stakeholding uh organizational pieces. Uh obviously the planning commission will have a piece in it uh as they look at some of the things at the details before they get to council. But if you'd love to understand that we're not just talking about how do we remap the city. We're wanting to know how do we revitalize it? How do we change the economic status of our city's population right now household to a higher number? How do we create a a a healthy place for the large population of retirement to still be here and and

finish here and net have their homes and houses ready for the next generation? How do we do those kind of things? That's this year cycle of mice master planning and we're got to hit the marker today, this coming cycle so that we're planning for 2015 2040 15 years out. So, I'm excited about being here for the idea of helping bring new fresh life not only just to the business districts and what we really work hard with Paul in in the economic district neighbors, but what are we going to do with our neighborhood? What are we going to do with each of our neighborhoods? Where's our our our worn out neighborhoods and how do we help revitalize it intentionally so we can change some of these dynamics? So, I'm excited about the master just a little bit and um We can tell and and and I can't imagine why anybody wouldn't love to be able to sit down and be a part of writing a vision statement that says we know where we want to go and we're where we'd like to be in 15 years even if no none of us may be here at that time. That would be the fun of setting. The only thing I tell my children I can leave is the history of what I've done. I can't leave all the money. I don't I'm not going to be overwhel. The only thing we can leave to the city is the quality of things we leave behind for them to use. And this is why we do master plans to bring freshness and hope and vitality to the future generation, not to ours. And so what can we do to leave it there? So if you have an interest to put a little bit of time in over the next year, 18 months on this master planning, would love to hear from you so we can already plug you in and get you started. Any questions for me? If you haven't figured it out, I am the new building official. Uh next week I will finish my first full year first full year here and uh I have given a lot of people probably my bosses a headache

and uh but we're excited to be a part of of bringing light to to the city and um I think you're going to see a little bit more action over the next 18 months because people are used to being told do whatever you want and we're going to go no we have a design program in our mass in our zoning ordinance and we need to figure out why we should or shouldn't be keeping it. All right. Anything else? Thank you for giving me a minute, sir. But of course. Okay. Uh, back on the track. Are we moving on to board member comments, Cam? Okay. Uh, forgive me, but I'm a little rusty. How do we do that again? Mr. Mr. Chair, I think you can ask uh each of the members if they have anything to comment. I know it's been a long time. I forgot to I could remember if we asked individually or there's no if we just kind of there's no particular order. You can change it up every single meeting. If I could just make a comment though just in touching on what city administration said. Um in my 15 and yes um I do attend all of the uh ZBA meetings. So I will always be uh in this chair. uh in my 15 years of attending these meetings um uh there hasn't been one case uh appealed in the circuit court that uh from any decision that this board has made. So uh previous boards have done a really really good job of uh coming up with um well-reasoned decisions and one of the best ways to prevent uh litigation is having a very very solid record. So uh if uh a member is going to make a decision either to approve or deny going through the factors uh that the planner discuss and then giving their reasons for why u the maker of the motion believes uh those factors have either been established or they have not been established. And then if of course

there's a second for the motion and there's a vote and it passes um it's a very very good way to prevent uh an agrieved party from then taking it a step further and filing an action in the uh in the circuit court. Um and I also wanted to say uh I am here at all the meetings and you can certainly ask me questions prior to the meeting. Uh but you're not limited to that. If you have a question uh and you want to contact me during the week in the evening uh please don't hesitate to give me a call. That's what that's why we're here. Thank you, chair. Thank you. And uh thank you very much for being there. I appreciate being able to look over in council. Could you clarify? I appreciate that so very much. Okay. Uh Mr. Fisher, um thank you for the opportunity. I'm well the mayor and the city council. uh thank them and I'm looking forward to working with my fellow committee members for the next year at least year or so. Um and I'm looking forward to it. Thank you, Mr. RCO. I'll piggy back off of my fellow cohort there. Uh it's going to be opportunity to learn the various uh um things in in this in this uh venue here and to just um thank for the opportunity and my cohorts working with me and I'm working with them as a team. Mr. Edwards first name last name Williams. There we go. That's okay. Um thank you Mr. Chairman, thank you board. Um, I'm excited to uh be a part of the zoning board. It's I think since I've

been on it, this is second meeting. So, yeah, I'm not new, but I'm kind of new. But yeah, I uh I enjoy taking the classes with Michigan State, and it was we learned a lot. And um I'm just looking forward to, you know, getting my feet wet and, you know, finally actually doing something. I was like, Robert, does this board really exist? But yeah, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Sparkony. Um hello everyone. I'm I am excited to be here, excited to learn. Um and I am interested in those um classes by the way. Um, I just I'm just happy to be here and just ready to just get started. There we go. Well, I'd like to thank everybody for being here. I'd like to thank uh the old members for coming back and the new members for taking the time out of your schedule and giving an hour or two to help the city run smoother. It is appreciated. It sounds like Mr. Myers has some interesting, exciting things coming up for us. So, I look forward to uh seeing what's going to happen and thank you all for serving the city. Thank you. Comments being finished. Uh Mr. Chairman, uh I move we adjourn. Mr. Troutman uh made a motion. Mr. Rosco supported. We have a motion on the floor to adjourn the meeting. May I get a vote, please? Second. I think we're good. Um, member Troutman, yes. Member Rosco, yes. Member Vicron,

yes. Member Williams, yes. And Chair Wilson, yes. Thank you very much. We'll see you all uh 8 o'clock. Yeah. Uh, we may have one in June, but we will have one in July.