Commission allows overhead door facing public street for impound yard expansion at 920 DeMille Road with screening condition

The Lapeer City Planning Commission on May 8 approved a site-plan addition for BNL Towing at 920 DeMille (Mill) Road that includes an overhead door facing the public street, provided the applicant meets staff comments and screening requirements to moderate visual impact.

Planning staff told the commission the site is zoned B-2 (general business) and that the zoning chapter generally prohibits overhead doors facing a public street unless the planning commission or the building official determines there is no reasonable alternative and the visual impact will be mitigated with materials, architectural features or landscaping (section 7.15(o)(1)(c)). The applicant proposed a 653-square-foot expansion to an existing 2,753-square-foot building and offered an evergreen planting (arborvitae) buffer along the portion of DeMille where the door is visible.

Commissioners discussed the existing chain-link fence with barbed/razor wire that currently screens the lot, its recurring winter damage and the practical difficulties of continuous full-length replacement. The property owner said the fence is repaired annually and that additional shrubbery along the street has previously been removed by city crews where it created sight-line hazards for turning vehicles.

Planning staff said the chain-link fence is a legal nonconforming condition and that any replacement fence or changes would have to meet the ordinance’s fence materials and maintenance requirements; barbed wire and razor wire are not allowed on required fences. Staff and the owner agreed that a combination of targeted arborvitae planting (proposed by the applicant near the overhead door) and reasonable fence repairs would mitigate visual impact without requiring a full replacement of the perimeter fence that the owner says routinely sustains winter damage.

Commissioner [recorded] moved to approve the site plan including the overhead door, conditioned on the applicant meeting all staff comments (including tap fees and department sign-offs) and providing the proposed screening around the overhead door; the motion passed after recorded votes, with two commissioners recorded as voting no. The commission’s approval permits the expansion to proceed to building-permit review once the applicant satisfies the listed conditions.

The commission also discussed whether the ordinance’s prohibition on overhead doors facing a public street should be amended in the future to accommodate modern industrial and towing operations; staff noted that some similar approvals had been granted previously and that the planning commission or building official has discretion in individual cases.