Kirkridge Park Cooperative needs more room in its clubhouse and needs a larger maintenance garage, so it went to Van Buren Township for approval to build what it needs.
At the Oct. 22 regular meeting of the Van Buren Township Planning Commission, commissioners listened to township consultants and the builders and then unanimously gave approval to the preliminary site plan for the project at 8205 Kirkridge Dr.
Kirkridge will be back for its final site plan approval before construction can begin.
The request was by applicant Vanston O’Brien, Inc. on behalf of owner Supreme Management, LLC of Kirkridge Park Cooperative, to construct a 2,548-square-foot addition to the existing clubhouse, adding offices and a kitchen, and to demolish and rebuild a maintenance garage.
The multi-family condominium development is on a 28.96-acre site located on the east side of Kirkridge Street between Ecorse and Tyler roads.
Dave Brewer of O’Brien said that the meeting room is not big enough, so it hired their company to build an expansion. Also, the maintenance garage is not big enough to put the big equipment inside. He said the site will look better once they can store the equipment inside the garage. He said a courtyard for sitting outside will be a part of the project. The plans presented meet the basic needs and the budget for the project, he said.
Vidya Krishnan of McKenna Associates, township planning consultants, said that due to the limited scope of the property, the review is primarily limited to the access, circulation, parking, landscaping, architecture and trash-removal components of the proposed clubhouse.
There are already 12 more spaces than the maximum allowed in the clubhouse parking lot and the commission agreed with activities for the whole development at the building, they might need the extra spaces. That non-conforming parking was allowed to remain.
Landscaping was considered and includes 18 lilac bushes to be put on the north side of the parking lot and eight viburnum bushes on the west side.
They agreed there is no room for a required landscape island in the parking lot.
Three rain gardens are planned in the area not serviced by the irrigation system and Krishnan said a written statement should be submitted on how the rain garden areas will be maintained to ensure that the areas don’t merely become weed-infested areas.
Samples of the building materials were presented to the commission, showing that the façade will match the original building.
Paul Kammer of Fishbeck Engineering said Kirkridge has produced a letter from Wayne County that says no permits are needed from the county for this project.
The Kirkridge project was the only action item on the agenda at the 27-minute meeting. Chairman Brian Cullin was at a state meeting in Kalamazoo and was the only commissioner absent from the meeting. Vice-chairman Jeff Jahr presided at the meeting.
Jahr announced the next city of Belleville planning commission meeting is on Nov. 13 and the next Sumpter Township planning commission meeting is also on Nov. 13.
Ron Akers, director of municipal services, reported that the city of Romulus had sent copies of its preliminary master plan for the township to review and comment upon.
Weather