VBT announces 69 new homes on Haggerty Road

Planning commissions from Van Buren Township, Sumpter Township, and the city of Belleville met together at a one-hour, 20-minute meeting on May 1 at Belleville High School Commons to compare notes.
There were six members of the Van Buren Township commission, plus Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara and Trustee Donald Boynton, along with the township’s Director of Municipal Services Ron Akers and the commission’s recording secretary.
Three commissioners were present from the Sumpter Township commission and four from the Belleville commission, along with Assistant Belleville City Manager Steve Jones.
Last year at the joint meeting, Supervisor McNamara first announced that a new Tractor Supply store was coming to a location at the southeast corner of Hull and Sumpter roads
This year, Director Akers listed the projects under way by the Van Buren Township planners:
• A new site with 69 homes is planned for the 22 acres of vacant land on Haggerty Road north of the former Haggerty Elementary School. The property involved runs north of the school, stopping short of the area around the historic, brick home. At first Akers said it was 80 homes, but then corrected that to 69. It is in the early stages of its plans, he said;
• Tractor Supply plans are going through the review process and will have a public hearing at 5:30 p.m., May 22. Akers brought in the site plan so those present could look it over after the meeting;
• Ashley Capital’s 800,000 square foot building is being constructed between Van Born and Ecorse roads and now has ESP and a Danish logistics company as tenants and is also putting up two more 250,000-square-foot buildings;
• Pulte Homes will put up Cedar Chase residential development at the northwest corner of Tyler and Morton Taylor roads and will pave Morton Taylor from Tyler to the first entry of Walden Woods. They are working on a planned residential development (PRD) and the project will be on the June 12 planning commission agenda;
• Cobblestone Creek is building out its development with 80-90 more homes;
• The Denton Road Bridge work is ongoing;
• The Downtown Development Authority is working on expanding Belleville Road between Tyler and Ecorse roads and will have a non-motorized trail on the east side and a sidewalk on the west side;
• A zoning ordinance amendment on Agritourism came back from the township board for a tune up after a property owner pointed out possible problems. “A member of the public came to tell us, ‘You guys are going to screw up,’” said VBT Commissioner Jeff Jahr;
• An amendment clarifying signage regulations has been passed;
• Conversations on having an industrial/office district are under way; and
• A committee is studying a new ordinance for electric vehicle charging stations.
VBT Trustee Donald Boynton asked about the trees being cut down on E. Huron River Drive and Supervisor McNamara said Huron Valley Steel tried to stop the township from cutting them down.
Supervisor McNamara said he was told they were “garbage trees and shrubs” and after the Iron Belle Trail is put in there, they will put some nice trees in.
Belleville commissioner John Juriga said 23 years ago he was on the Van Buren Township Planning Commission and they wrote an ordinance requiring replacement trees to be planted when trees are removed. McNamara said that is still in effect and the trees will be replaced.
Akers said the township is also working on being Redevelopment Ready and it is working on a marketing plan that is being finalized. He also said a Housing Readiness grant is being sought for condos, duplexes, quads, and other alternatives to single-family homes.
Jane Stalmack, chairperson of the Sumpter Planning Commission, said Sumpter’s commission is redoing the township’s Master Plan, but there are no plans for developments.
Belleville assistant city manager Steve Jones said Belleville’s planning consultant is working on the Master Plan, they have passed a mobile food ordinance and are working on an animal ordinance, which he said they may have read about in the paper. Jones said they have updated an ordinance on trailer storage, making provision for seasonal storage of boats and trailers.
Jones said SEMCOG announced a grant last week to do a traffic safety study on Main Street and the DDA recently bought two buildings, one of which was the old hardware store. They are considering popup shops in there to allow small businesses to take a half step to bring them out of the garages and basements and eventually into a shop.
He said the property directly behind the hardware store, where the U-Hauls were parked, will be cleared so the city parking lot can be extended by 25 to 30 more spaces.
Jones said Victory Station is being improved, they are waiting for confirmation of the grants for two pickleball courts, and they are working on amendments to the city charter.
Brian Cullin, the Van Buren Township commission chairman who was chairing this meeting, asked about the status of the vacant CVS store on Main Street.
Jones said they were told that CVS held a five-year lease on the property and they intended to keep it vacant for that period. Jones said with the help from friends in the State House, CVS was convinced to put it up to lease and it currently is advertised as for lease.
Chairman Cullin also asked about the corner of Third and Main and Jones said the DDA is finalizing purchase of the property right next to the Chamber building. He said they are considering sheds or glass houses seasonally at that site for more retail. He said there are environmental issues at that site, but most of the work has been done. It has yet to be Oked by the EPA. It can be parking and green space, he said.
Commissioner Jahr asked if they will have to change their zoning ordinance for popup shops and Jones replied that may be necessary.
Jones said with all the new construction at the bridge end of town, they want to work down the street to city hall. He said they have to sell the city hall property and build the new city hall next to the DPW property.
Jones said Scott Jones owns property at Third and Main and had talked about a multi-storied building with retail on the bottom and residential on top. He said this year is the last year that now-vacant property will be available for Lakefest activities.
Chairman Cullin asked about the parts of the Iron Belle Trail that are now yet constructed and Supervisor McNamara said they are doing the trail in legs from A to J. The latest leg under construction is over the railroad track on E. Huron River Drive heading east, over the bridge, and into Lower Huron Metropark.
“We are trying to connect up to our downtown, which we know is Belleville but we can’t admit it,” McNamara said.
Sumpter commissioner John Honey asked if they ever get grants in Sumpter Township. “We don’t see it down there,” he said.
Sumpter commission chairperson Stalmack said Parks and Recreation committee is active with grants.
“I like Sherwood Park,” commissioner Honey said. “But out-of-towners are misusing it.” He asked why they couldn’t charge to enter and he would be glad to pay.
Van Buren Township Treasurer Sharry Budd said all of VBT’s parks are open to everyone, but they have fees to enter.
Honey continued his comments on Sherwood Park: “It’s a nice park, but it needs work.”
Treasurer Budd said Van Buren charges starting Memorial Day, but not in the winter when there is nobody in the booths.
Akers said at the next meeting they can comment on grants.
Budd suggested they send out the minutes of this meeting, being taken by VBT, with the agenda of the next meeting when it is being announced so people will remember what they talked about.
Jones said a Cliff Notes version of what VBT learned about grants would be a little bit of help to the city and Akers agreed someone could come out and give a presentation at the next meeting.
Jones said businesses were exploring geothermal and Akers said his nephew’s school in California has solar panels on the roofs of the parking structures.
Commissioner Juriga said the library structure was built strong enough for solar panels, but they didn’t have enough money to include solar panels.
Jones said the city was offered free EV power stations and the company is now working on the power to the sites designated by the city.
Commissioner Jahr said the VBT committee’s concern was when independent businesses want to put in 30-40 EVs. “What do they look like?”
Also discussed was erosion on the lake; a tri-community calendar prepared by Belleville, VBT and the Chamber of Commerce working together; and a VBT survey coming up on safety at specific intersections, which everyone was invited to take.
The next meeting of the three planning commissions was set for 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the Belleville Area District Library, where the acoustics were better than at the school.