Northwood Planning Commissions Regular Meeting Date January 12, 2015 Time Heading Call to Order: Roll Call: Location Council Chambers Record of Proceedings for Northwood Planning Commission – Regular Meeting of January 12, 2015 The regular meeting of the Northwood Planning Commission was called to order by John Melnyk, Chairman on Monday, January 12, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Northwood Municipal Building. The roll was called by Kimberly Vaculik, Planning, Zoning & Economic Development Coordinator. Those in attendance were: Members: Chairman John Melnyk, Mr. Venzke, Mr. Burns, Mr. Delventhal, Mr. Kamilaris, City Engineer Dave Kuhn & Planning, Zoning & Economic Development Coordinator, Kimberly Vaculik Mayor Stoner and Mr. Tewers were absent. Motion to Excuse the Absent: Chairman Melnyk made a motion to excuse Mayor Stoner and Mr. Tewers, second by Mr. Venzke. Vote: Chairman Melnyk-Yes; Mr. Venzke-Yes; Mr. Burns-Yes; Mr. Delventhal-Yes; Mr. Kamilaris-Yes Motion Passed. Appoint Chairman for 2015 Mr. Kamilaris made a motion to appoint John Melnyk as Chairman for the year 2015, second by Mr. Venzke. Vote: Mr. Kamilaris-Yes; Mr. Venzke -Yes; Chairman Melnyk-Abstain; Mr. Burns-Yes; Mr. Delventhal-Yes Motion Passed. Approval of Minutes for Planning Commission Motion to approve the minutes from the regular Planning Commission meeting of December 8, 2014. Mr. Burns made a motion to approve the minutes, second by Mr. Kamilaris. Vote: Mr. Burns-Yes; Mr. Kamilaris-Yes; Chairman Melnyk-Yes; Mr. Venzke- Yes; Mr. Delventhal-Abstain Motion Passed. New Items for Review Peterman Associates, Inc., Todd Jenkins, 3480 N. Main St., Findlay, Ohio 45840 is requesting Preliminary Site Plan approval for a proposed unmanned compressed natural gas fueling station to be located on Lot 1 of Access Pointe West on Chelsea Dr. at Wales Rd. Brian Scholz of HP Legacy, 8770 Commerce Pk. Place, Ste H., Indianapolis, IN came to speak to the Commission in regards to this project. Mr. Jenkins is our Engineer for this project. Our company designs compressed natural gas fueling stations. I've given you copies of the power point presentation. I'm sure there will be questions because it is new. I'm here to answer all of your questions. Preliminary Site Plan for a proposed compressed natural gas fueling station on Lot 1 of Access Pointe West, Chelsea Dr. "Why CNG?" This type of fuel is much cleaner than the diesel emissions you get with using regular gas. The availability of CNG will also save money for local and regional businesses. CNG stations are much needed, it reduces emissions and brings benefits to local economies. 70% of all US petroleum consumption goes to fuel transportation, CNG is an alternative to that petroleum. CNG is compressed to 3600 psi. we bring all the moisture out, we take it right out of the grid. Mr. Scholz stated that they are going to take it directly from the pipeline and make the fuel right on site. Using CNG will have a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Using CNG now will help in the future, trucks won't have to be concerned about meeting the updated emissions controls because it burns so clean already. There are compelling economic arguments for using CNG. Since the price of oil and natural gas de-coupled (2008/9), the price gap has widened. For vehicles which use a lot of fuel, the payback period for the conversion can be very short (as little as two years, or less), depending on the miles driven for large Class A trucks. All predictions are for a continuation of rising prices for crude/diesel, but with natural gas prices remaining relatively flat. The good news is that the adoption of CNG in the trucking industry is gaining momentum. A respected study (Frost & Sullivan) determined that by just 2017, 8% of Class 6-8 trucks (>30k lbs) on the road will be fueled by natural gas. Why hasn't there been a more rapid conversion of the country's transportation fleets? Basically, it's been the "chicken & egg" situation. Without an existing base of CNG fleets, then no one wanted to build the infrastructure however, if there is no infrastructure then why would fleets be converted? More trucks are being converted now, so new fueling stations are needed. Mr. Scholz stated that Northwood was chosen because of the location and the access to the interstate system with the two interstates. There are not many places with two interstates running through their City. Northwood is a perfect location for this project. Northwood can be a leader with CNG, it could be a marketing tool for Northwood. Mr. Melnyk asked how many natural gas fueling stations there are in the Country. Mr. Scholz stated there are about 1500, half of which are in California. Mr. Kamilaris stated he noticed there is no delivery? That is correct, there are no tanks, there is nothing buried in the ground. We take the natural gas and immediately make it fuel. We take it from the grid, dry it and compress it. There are four buffer tanks above ground that hold about 120 gasoline gallons equivalent of fuel. Mr. Venzke asked if the pipeline will be constantly flowing into the tank, Mr. Scholz said yes. This will be a fast fuel station (not time fill). If you go to a Speedway you would get 6 and 10 gallons per minutes, this will get you if you have a 100 gallon tank you will get 10 to 15 gallons per minute. The only difference they will see when they pull up to the station would be the fueling nozzle. At this station, the cost will be about $2.00 per gallon. This is an alternative to diesel so the price for CNG is still much lower. There are cars available with the CNG alternative, GM is offering some. The F-150 will be available in 2015 with the CNG offer. You would be able to fill op at your house with the natural gas you use to heat your water or house. The abundance of the natural gas hasn't been available until recently. They say that there is 125 years worth of natural gas available in the shale. Mr. Venzke asked if environmentalists are having problems with the drilling to get the natural gas. Mr. Scholz stated there are always people against these types of things and with drilling. City Engineer stated that the main problem environmentalists are mad about is the chemicals which are being used in the fracking process are contaminating the water, however the water is now required to be treated. City Engineer, Dave Kuhn read his comments dated January 6, 2015. 1. The applicant is proposing to construct an unmanned compressed Natural Gas Fueling Facility on Lot 1 of the Access Pointe West Subdivision located on the southwest corner of the Wales Road and Chelsea Drive intersection. The parcel is zoned "C" Commercial District and is surrounded by parcels zoned "C" Commercial District to the east, "M-2" Heavy Industrial to the southwest and zoned "P" Public Land to the north in the City of Rossford. The facility meets the setback requirements of the zoning district. The use of the facility meets the requirements of Section 1274.02 (3) (o) of the Northwood City Zoning Code. 2. Comments from the Zoning Inspection Report shall be included in the final site plan approval of the Planning Commission. Ms. Vaculik stated that plans for any proposed signage shall be submitted for review and a zoning certificate will need to be filled out and submitted with the final site plan. 3. A set of final site plans shall be submitted to the City of Northwood's Fire Chief to review the location of the hydrants, fire apparatus access, fire hazards and other equipment items. Comments from the Fire Chief shall be included in the final site plan approval of the Planning Commission. The fire Chief required a fire suppression system and also to work with Wood County Building Inspection for final plan review. Mr. Scholz said it will be a dry chemical system. 4. A set of final site plans shall be submitted to the City of Northwood's Police Chief to review vehicular access and public safety items. Comments from the Police Chief shall be included in the final site plan approval of the Planning Commission. The Police Chief had no comments. 5. Add on the preliminary site plan the phone numbers of the owners according to Section 1250.12 (a) (1) of the Northwood City Zoning Code. 6. Show on the preliminary site plan the sidewalk locations according to Section 1250.12 ( e) (11) and 1274.09 of the Northwood City Zoning Code. You can ask for a variance for this, Mr. Scholz stated that they will be since there are no other sidewalks over there. 7. Show on the final site plan how the storm water flowing off the facility will be directed away from the adjacent properties and meet Northwood's drainage design requirements. Also, since more than one acre of land will be disturbed, an EPA NOI Permit will need to be obtained and a SWP3 Plan will need to be submitted for review. 8. Since the site is unmanned, parking will not be required. However, for service calls a minimum of two parking spaces is recommended with one being a handicap space. The parking area shall be paved with asphalt. Mr. Scholz stated they will have plenty of room for that. 9. If outside security lighting will be installed at the site, provide a photometric plan at the final site plan submittal. 10. Add on the preliminary site plan the preliminary location of the onsite utilities according to Section 1250.12 (a) (13) of the Northwood City Zoning Code. 11. Show on the preliminary site plan the locations of the parking areas (including locations of the · natural gas pumps) according to Section 1250.12 (a) (14) of the Northwood City Zoning Code. 12. Show on the preliminary site plan the location of any dumpster according to Section 1250.12 (15) of the Northwood City Zoning Code. Mr. Scholz stated that there will be no dumpster, only trash receptacles. 13. On the final site plan submittal provide a landscaping plan. Dave Kuhn asked who checks the site since it is unmanned? The site is monitored 24/7 remotely, all of the equipment is continually monitored. They can shut things down if there is a problem. There will be someone there virtually every day to check the trash, etc. If a truck driver drives off with the nozzle still in, there is a failsafe built in so it automatically shuts off. Ms. Vaculik stated she understands it's going to be used for truck fleets, is it going to be open for personal use cars as well? Mr. Scholz stated yes, it will be open for anyone to use. Chairman Melnyk said hypothetically, if this thing takes off from say 5 trucks per day to 100 trucks per day, what will happen? Will you come back for an expansion? Mr. Scholz stated that with this station we will be able to fill 8 trucks simultaneously. This site is approximately 5 acres and we are developing about 2.5 acres so there would be room for expansion. Mr. Venzke asked if it would be dangerous to have that many trucks pulling out on Wales. Dave Kuhn stated that the trucks are coming off Chelsea onto Wales so there shouldn't be a problem. There really isn't that much traffic that goes through there on a daily basis. Mr. Burns asked who is responsible for keeping track of litter, will it be the people who are there every day or every other day? Mr. Scholz stated that yes, the people that go to the site will be responsible for the upkeep of the property. Chairman Melnyk, I like the idea, we have FedEx who might be able to use it one day and hopefully the bakery will get going once again so there are prospects for it. Ms. Vaculik asked if they have talked to FedEx yet, he said no one is really interested in talking until they see dirt moving. Waste Management uses it a lot, 50% of the trucks Waste Management buys are CNG trucks. Are there any economic benefits to the City? Mr. Scholz said sure, there are State and Federal taxes on the gas, I'm not sure how the City would get their portion though. Mr. Kamilaris made a motion to approve the Preliminary Site Plan for the proposed Compressed Natural Gas Fueling Station (contingent upon City Engineer's Comments), second by Mr. Venzke. Vote: Mr. Kamilaris-Yes; Mr. Venzke-Yes; Chairman Melnyk-Yes; Mr. Burns-Yes; Mr. Delventhal-Yes. Motion Passed. Pending Items: Nuisance Code ( Property Management) Next Planning Commission February 9, 2015 at 6:00 PM Chairman's Report: No report. City Engineer's Report: No report. Zoning: No report. Mr. Kamilaris asked if anything else has been submitted from NWSD? No we haven't received any further plans. Mr. Kamilaris suggested we get more information from Oregon to see if we could get them to be a direct provider. Ms. Vaculik stated she doesn't know if that would be possible or not, we would have to check with our City Attorney. Northwood tried at one time to take over the lines however ultimately ended up losing in Court but that was numerous years ago. Adjournment: There being no further business before the Planning Commission and all being in favor, the meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Attest: Kimberly Vaculik, Planning, Zoning & Economic Development Coordinator Chairman John Melnyk Approved: Produced by FTR Log Notes™ www.ftrgold.com