VBT Planning Commission re-elects Thompson as chair

Carol Thompson was reelected chairperson of the Van Buren Township Planning Commission at its regular meeting Nov. 28.
Don Boynton was re-elected vice chairman and Bryan Kelley was re-elected secretary.
The commission also agreed to keep its meetings for 2013 on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Board of Trustees room at township hall.
There is one Thursday that was omitted from the schedule: Dec. 25, 2013, because Terry Carroll, director of planning and economic development, said he thought commissioners might have something better to do that evening.
Also during the 20-minute meeting, the commission:
• Approved the preliminary site plan for McDonald’s, 2193 Rawsonville Road, to install a second drive-through lane. The commission also recommended approval for special land use and sent that on to the township board for the final decision. Wade Trim engineer Dave Nummer said for the first time the township is requiring catch basin inserts to filter the water. The township wants to study the performance of the inserts and to see if they will plug up. The existing non-conforming pylon sign will remain; and
• Heard John Delaney ask about who is responsible for enforcement of township ordinances. He was told enforcement is through the planning department, so he said he would go to the township board. Sally Hodges of McKenna Associates, the township planning consultants, said the planning commission is a recommending body and the township board is a legislative body that approves the ordinances, or not.