The Park Township Planning Commission has set a date for a special meeting regarding a proposed commercial development on M-60. Nottawa Gas, a propane distributor, entered into a Buy and Sell Agreement last March for a property near North Fisher Lake Road, and submitted a request to have the land rezoned for Commercial/Light Industrial in August. The company plans to build a storage and retail facility on the site. A group of neighbors has been vocal in its opposition to the plans.
At a regular Park Township Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday evening, Trustee Tom Springer said “four or five people” spoke about the issue during public comments. In follow-up comments to Watershed Voice, Zoning Administrator Doug Kuhlman said commenters were civil and polite, and that he hoped that would continue.
The land in question is currently zoned for agricultural use. There are a restaurant, gas station, and a few light industrial properties within two miles of the property, but only the gas station, houses, and other agricultural land are easily visible by line of sight from the property’s highway frontage.
The special meeting of the Planning Committee is planned for Thursday, November 19 at 7 p.m. at the Park Township Hall. Kuhlman said details are still being worked out regarding logistics, but it will likely be a hybrid of in-person and online attendance through Zoom. Public notice will be published in one or more local newspapers, and letters will be sent to all residences within 300 feet of the property on 15 or more days’ notice.
The public hearing will center on a public hearing about Nottawa Gas’ request to have the land conditionally rezoned. Conditional rezoning means the property can revert to its previous zoning designation if the business closes by a vote of the Planning Commission, and commissioners can request certain measures be taken to mitigate impacts on neighbors.
If the rezoning request were to receive the township Planning Commission’s approval, it would go on to the St. Joseph County Planning Commission for further review. If it were approved there as well, the request would return to the Park Township Trustees for final approval. Springer said that general vote would likely take place in early January 2021.
According to Springer, Kuhlman reported at Wednesday’s trustees meeting that comments he has received on the project have been “about 50-50 for or against” the project. Opponents say the location is an inappropriate one for the proposed facility that will bring noise, traffic, light, and the risks associated with propane to what they feel is a largely quiet, rural area. Some township officials say the facility would be in keeping with commercial development and economic growth called for in a 2016 master planning document.
Springer said Kuhlman will include any letters received in support or opposition for the project will be included in the packet of materials that commissioners and trustees will review at their respective meetings.
Townships to Split Pager Costs
Springer told Watershed Voice the townships of Park and Fabius will be splitting the cost of pagers for the Fabius-Park Fire Department (FPFD). A millage passed at the county level for the purpose of buying new dispatch and communications equipment does not include funds for the pagers, according to county officials.
Springer said township officials around the county believed the costs were included in the millage at the time it passed. Park Township Supervisor Ed English made the same assertion at a County Commission meeting over the summer. The pagers are a necessary part of the system, and Springer said the township is supportive of acquiring them. Paying for them with township funds, he said, “is not the proper way of doing it, but the firefighters need the equipment.”
At a Fabius Township meeting which also took place Wednesday evening, trustee Dan Wilkins said the FPFD has received a $9,000 grant to help with the pagers. Initially, he said, they would be estimated to cost around $18,000, but pricing now appears to fall around $15,000. Park and Fabius Townships will split equally the balance that the grant does not cover.
Dave Vago is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.
