Developers seek special use permit

Application for revised Cardinal Townhomes expansion submitted

September 18, 2006 —

Faced with an application for a special use permit to resurrect a proposed expansion of the Cardinal Townhomes, the Kochville Township Planning Commission took over two hours to come to a "decision."

During its monthly meeting last Monday, the Commission decided to wait a month to vote on a group of investors' requests that would pave the way for a revised version of the development that Township residents voted down in February. The Commission will vote on the matter during its Monday, Oct. 2 meeting.

The application for the permit is the investors' second attempt to build the expansion.

On Sept. 12 last year, the Commission - and later the Township Board of Trustees - approved a rezoning of the land on the southwest corner of Pierce and Davis roads that would have allowed for a 200-unit Townhomes expansion and the addition of approximately 10 businesses.

The rezoning was approved despite strong resident criticism, and in February, it was voted down by a 3-to-1 margin in a referendum.

Just as it was a year ago, the matter went before a public hearing.

"This matter was settled in February," said resident Stephen J. Yanca, SVSU professor of social work. "You can paint this pink with purple polka dots or purple with pink polka dots - it's the same thing."

Yanca's sentiments notwithstanding, the plan that accompanied the application was significantly different than the one residents voted against in February. According to Chris Hertz, an architect for Pumford Construction, the new proposal consisted of 53 residential units and three commercial buildings, two-stories each, on the corner of the land which could house up to 20 retail businesses total. Hertz explained that there will be an entrance to a parking lot off of Davis Road and a path that will lead to the lot for the Townhomes expansion and connect to the existing Townhomes off of Pierce Road.

Hertz explained that the proposed growth would be a "planned-unit development," which he argued was in line with the Township's interim zoning ordinance's guidelines for land zoned R-1A, which the land is now.

The Commission also heard a report from the Spicer Group's Alan Bean, who provided more specifications for the project. Bean explained the nature of the permit to the Commission and said that the hearing was to see if the permit is appropriate for what the investor's intended to do with it.

"This is a matter of discretion," he said, explaining that the Commission had to decide if the permit fit the Township's specific guidelines set forth by the zoning ordinance.

While Yanca and other residents did not argue whether or not the guidelines were met, they did emphatically state that they were against the development.

"How many times do we have to vote this thing down," Yanca asked. "This is not appropriate for this area."

Yanca argued that the development belonged along the Bay and Tittabawassee corridors instead.

"From late April until August, (SVSU) is a ghost town," Yanca said. "These businesses are going to fail. It will become a blighted area."

Resident Joel Trautman, one of the few who spoke in favor of the development, disagreed.

"SVSU does bring in business to the community," he said, adding that he would rather look at the proposed buildings and landscaping than the sand and dirt hills that currently exist on the land.

After reviewing several residents concerns that he felt were "legitimate" - including the status of Davis Road and whether the two parcels of land that are being joined together for the development can be used for two different purposes - Commission Chair Warren Collisi suggested tabling the vote, which the Commission approved unanimously.

Patricia Bourdow, the only member of the Township Board of Trustees who was not recalled back in August, did not involve herself in the discussion. Bourdow said she has a son involved in the project and thus would have had a conflict of interest in the matter.

As the meeting began, Collisi read a letter from the Township's attorney that discussed the fact that the Township's Zoning Administrator, who was Supervisor Kenneth Bayne before he was recalled, did not need to be present at the hearing. According to the letter, the Planning Commission, as a separate entity from the Board of Trustees, had all the power it normally would have and thus did not need the zoning administrator present.

If the permit is approved at next month's meeting, a site plan review will follow the same night. After the review, the Commission will decide to officially approve or vote down the specific development.

The Commission meets on the first Monday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Kochville Township Hall, located on Mackinaw Road just south of Kochville Road. Meetings are open to the public.