VBT planners postpone action on 5-acre Martz/Elwell irrigation pond

At its regular meeting on Dec. 11, the Van Buren Township Planning Commission postponed a request to dig a five-acre irrigation pond on 30 acres of property at Elwell and Martz roads.
Treasurer Sharry Budd, who sits on the commission as board liaison, said she thinks the board should act first on whether to allow the excavation and removal of 93,000 tons of soil and then the commission could decide on the details of an irrigation pond.
Both approvals are necessary for the irrigation pond to be dug.
At a recent meeting, the township board postponed action on the pond since it had questions for applicant Todd Waller and Waller was not present, although they were told he would be there. They asked staff to set up a township board meeting that Waller could attend in the future to answer their questions.
Director of municipal services Ron Akers told the full story. He said Waller applied in 2021 for a pond and it was approved. He applied again last spring. There was discussion and the township’s legal counsel said the township’s process was correct.
Director Akers said the township does allow ponds on Agricultural property and the excavating permit is to be approved by the township board. The township attorney said this is proper procedure and the township will review that ordinance in 2025.
Akers said the applicant has met the ordinance and the Right to Farm Act. It will be 16’ deep and will have 12’ of standing water. It is not considered mining, Akers said.
He said it is adjacent to a residential neighborhood so fencing is recommended. The excavation must be approved by the board and a soil erosion permit obtained from Wayne County.
Waller was present at the planning commission’s Dec. 11 meeting and he said he made the request with the farmer and they own a house together.
He said he did the same job on Hull Road in 2021. He got approval for two ponds, but they only wanted one pond.
“It’s not going to flood anyone else” and it’s been dry the last couple of years, he said. He said he wants to grow golfcourse sod. He said he farms 40 acres in Augusta Township, 100 acres in Sumpter Township and 37 acres in Van Buren Township.
He said with the Hull Road pond he set up a back-road route so trucks could take back roads to Bemis and then to Haggerty or Rawsonville roads.
He said Van Buren didn’t have an irrigation ordinance and they set it up for him. He said he hasn’t looked at the consultant’s letter on his project because he knows all about irrigation ponds.
Treasurer Budd said Waller has owned that property for a year and why did Waller have that particular farmer ask for irrigation, since he won’t be the one growing the sod that needs irrigation.
Waller said the present farmer is growing winter wheat.
Budd asked about a barn for pump equipment and he said he knew about pump equipment and didn’t need a barn.
Budd asked Waller about not coming to the township board meeting to discuss his request. He said he didn’t know about it. Budd said he was informed. He said he’s told a lot of things.
Budd made a motion to postpone Waller’s request until he clears things up with the township board.
He said he missed the meeting and he has other meetings, since he is the new supervisor of Augusta Township and he has things to do there. He asked if this means he has to go to the board first and then come back and do this over again with the commission and he was told that was correct.
Vice-chairman Jahr said if the township says he is allowed to excavate, then the commission will see to it that he does it properly.
“They need to clarify if it’s a mining operation first,” commissioner Jackson Pahle said.
“There are two separate ordinances, but they are tied together,” Akers said.
“I’ve been trying to do this for over a year,” Waller said.
Jahr said there is a lot of missing information.
Waller replied, “I just done this job” and Jahr replied it would have been nice of him to provide the township with that information.
Jahr seconded Budd’s motion to postpone and it was unanimously approved by the board. The item is expected to be on the township board’s Jan. 21 meeting at 6 p.m.
Akers said the township received two bits of input on the project. One neighbor, Elliott Compton, is in favor of approval and one, Rodney Taylor, is concerned about the mining and has FOIAs from Washtenaw County where Waller dug a pond without a permit and was cited by Augusta Township which was then dismissed by the court.
Waller said if the Van Buren Township meeting is the same night as the Augusta meeting it might be a problem. It was determined the meetings do not conflict.
At the end of the discussion on the pond, after Waller had left the meeting, a woman in the audience who said she was a neighbor, asked to be informed of the next meeting on this pond and Akers took her phone number.
In other business at the two-hour-and-20-minute meeting on Dec. 11, the commission:
• Reelected Brian Cullin as chairman, Jeffrey Jahr as vice-chairman, and Medina Atchinson as secretary. Primary liaison to the Board of Zoning Appeals is chairman Cullin and secondary liaison is vice-chairman Jahr;
• Approved the 2025 meeting schedule with the removal of the Jan. 8 meeting. The commission agreed it would be too soon after the winter break for the staff to prepare that meeting;
• Heard Donovan Smith of McKenna discuss a Housing and Zoning Implementation Plan. His work on housing is paid for by a $45,000 grant to the township as part of the 2023 Michigan Housing Plan. Jahr said does this mean the township is incentivized to update its zoning ordinance and Smith said that was true. Smith said, “By the time this is done, you’ll be ready to update your Master Plan, which should be done every five years.” Smith said in the upcoming new year he will discuss middle housing needs and proposed zoning ordinance changes will be presented. Smith said 51% of township residents are renters. Budd said the population is older and developers are building two-story homes and there is a gap. Smith said seniors spending more than 30% of their income on housing makes them “home-burdened”;
• Approved the preliminary site plan for Costco Wholesale’s request to build a 54,000-square-foot dry depot addition and parking expansion at 5860 Belleville Rd. A note is required on the site plan referring to the noise ordinance. Also, changes to the landscaping, fence heighth, and parking lot changes were approved. Recommendations for truck driver signage for their routes and fliers with that information. Fishbeck engineer Paul Kammer said there is a significant amount of wetlands on the site and they are working on an EGLE permit for mitigation. They will have an enclosed storm water retention, to be reviewed and approved by Wayne County;
• Discussed the Belleville Road Overlay District proposed height (moving 40’ maximum to 50’) and setback ordinance changes. Gage Belco of McKenna said he looked at Lake Orion, Grosse Pointe, and Birmingham who have taller buildings. “Looks like we’re a little behind,” said secretary Medina Atchinson. “We have to move ahead. I’m all for it.” A public hearing will be set, but no date was scheduled; and
• Discussed a Non-Residentail PUD Ordinance Draft and set no date for a public hearing. Information from the township attorney was received just that afternoon, so it needs to be reviewed. The information on the Commercial/ Office / Industrial Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning will be reviewed at the next meeting and Jahr warned, “It’s long. It’s long.” Serving on the PUD committee were Jahr, Bernie Grant, and Peter Creal.