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-When did you buy the property? Mr. Li – Two years ago. The owner of Henry Cleaners <br />is now gone. The building had been undergoing some renovation work, but due to the <br />cold weather, that stopped. The reason for the petition is to legalize the use of the <br />building for residential purposes. Henry Cleaners uses the second floor for residential <br />use, but it was never approved by the City. We intend to improve the building including <br />installation of A/C and plumbing. The existing building is in bad shape. <br />-Was the residential use grandfathered in? Ms. Riganti – There is no evidence that it was <br />non-conforming or not. We can only assume it was existing. <br />Mr. Li – If we only use the building for commercial purposes, we do not need to go <br />through this process. Currently, not many people are willing to open businesses on Olive <br />Boulevard. There is a better market for apartments than for offices. People are willing to <br />live there who work nearby. It is very convenient for them to live there. <br />-The Plan submitted shows residential and commercial. It shows restaurant use. Mr. Li – <br />Right now, we are not sure if it will definitely be a restaurant. We have no proposed <br />tenants. <br />-In your letter, you stated restaurant and office uses proposed. Mr. Li – I don’t know if <br />that will for sure be what goes there. <br />-So potentially, you intend to keep half the building as commercial, or convert it all into <br />residential? Mr. Li – No. We intent to keep half as residential and half as commercial. <br />Nothing would be expanded with the size of the building. <br />-Were you the owner of the building when the car ran into the building? Mr. Li – Yes. <br />-Why did it take you so long to renovate the building? Did you have insurance to cover <br />it? Mr. Li – Yes, but the driver did not have insurance. It took time to go through the <br />insurance process and legal process. <br />-You started putting a roof on, but then stopped. Why? Mr. Li – It was too cold. <br />-It is warm now. Do you intend to continue? Mr. Li – We have to get a new contractor. <br />-The property is in need of cleaning. There has been a lot of litter around the property for <br />some time. Mr. Li – The litter is due to the location of the property. The sidewalk and <br />the bus stop result in a lot of litter. <br />-You need to make better effort to keep the property clean. <br />Ms. Riganti stated that there are 43 violations on the property. <br />The Chairperson asked if there were any more questions from the Plan Commission. There <br />being none, he requested the presentation of the staff report. <br />Staff presented the staff report. <br />Questions/comments from the Plan Commission and responses included: <br />-The Public Works Department comments stated that the property is in the floodplain and <br />possibly in the floodway. There is concern with residential uses being located in the <br />floodway or floodplain. We should know for sure if it is in the floodway or not before <br />we vote on the matter. <br />tm;šE <br /> <br />