New proposals shown for Sumpter Road Corridor plan

New proposals for the Van Buren Township Sumpter Road Corridor plan were revealed to the township planning commission at its regular meeting via Zoom on Sept. 8.
Dan Power, director of planning and economic development, asked the commissioners to think about the changes and come back to a future meeting to discuss it further.
“Let us know if there are fatal flaws in what we’ve presented today,” Director Power said.
Commissioners Medina Atchinson, Jeff Jahr and Callie Barr volunteered as a subcommittee to follow the changes and meet with planners.
Director Power began the presentation by reminding commissioners that the township has a South Side Master Plan from 15 years ago and they need to see if it is still relative. It included agriculture south of Hull Road, a mixed-use area to the City of Belleville border, plus local commercial to Spencer along Sumpter Road.
He turned the presentation over to Adam Cook of McKenna Associates, who is working on the project. He said the July 28 workshop at the fire hall brought good dialog and discussion on the issue. He said about 40 people attended the session.
He said they got feedback as soon as the Sumpter Road Corridor project was announced. Cook said many wanted to preserve the rural character south of Hull Road. He listed the comments that included sidewalks, grocery store, no new businesses until the empty storefronts are filled, more recreational opportunities (golf carts, community garden, nature park), more restaurants, and more things targeted for those aged 55 and older in the community.
He listed what he called “Focus Areas” which included:
1. West side of Sumpter Road, north of Hull and a quarter mile back;
2. East side of Sumpter Road, north of Hull, and a quarter mile back; and
3. Sumpter Road, south of Hull, ¼ mile to the west and east.
He said in Area #1, they now propose extending Roulo or Bak roads north to the railroad tracks to give owners access to the back acreage for mixed use, preserving a semi-rural character. He suggested uses such as a greenhouse, kiln house, artisan studio, or workshop.
In Area #2, he said the City of Belleville would have to work closely with them for mixed use and another roadway parallel to Sumpter Road, which he called a “slip street” with bike lanes.
He said the most discussion was about Area #3. Cook said the former idea to have light industrial and shops along the roadway with agriculture behind has been dropped. Now they are looking at the conventional development of subdivisions on one-acre lots with a market at the corner of Hull and Sumpter roads.
Also suggested was a Planned Residential Development (PRD) with greenways and the market on the corner.
Or, it could be a hamlet concept, he said, with some land preserved as an agricultural preserve and a forest preserve and one dwelling per acre in parts, with the market on the corner.
“See if the pattern of uses makes sense to you and share your thoughts,” he said to the commission. “Consider existing plans and what you’ve looked at.”
Public Service Director Matthew Best said the current proposals are extremely different than what they first suggested for south of Hull Road. He said there are a lot of different options out there. Director Best said residents made comments on paper and the planner went out and talked to them again.
“It’s still in the discussion phase,” Best said.
Commissioner Brian Cullin said it is important to know why those businesses have failed along there. He said Martin and Son is doing very well.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to know why others failed, so we don’t run into that again?” Commissioner Cullin asked.
“A pattern of business failures doesn’t mean no business could possibly succeed,” Cook said. He said they could talk to the people in the community to find out the causes. “I walked around and looked in windows,” he said, noting some of the buildings were not very desirable. He said he didn’t know the rents that were charged.
Best said it is a long corridor and people have to have reasons to go there, which he called “trip generation.”
Commissioner Jahr said it was an interesting idea to extend Bak Road to the railroad tracks to open up the back area. He said it was a good idea.
“We’re hearing opponents to growth south of Hull Road, but there may be support for alternative uses,” Power said.
Resident Steven Darke offered through chat that he likes the third option for Area #3 and maybe there is the opportunity for a golf course between the houses.
A woman joined in saying she has an interest in that property in Area #3 and is a realtor as well. She said she has a proposal with bike trails and she’ll get a better draft of it and show it to the township.
“This is the time to say it’s a bad idea,” Best said to the commissioners. “It’s time to say it now … Before we send Adam and Dan into the back room until the plan is done, say you think it’s a bad idea.”
He said after the meeting at the fire station, the interest dried up for industrial along Sumpter Road.
Commissioner Atchinson said some residents of the south end of the township head to Monroe to shop, rather than go north to Van Buren Township and have to go through the City of Belleville.
Best said it is easier to get to Monroe and Cook added, “A more pleasant trip.”
Power said the proposals will be put on the township’s web site for the public to study.
In other business at the almost two-hour meeting, the board:
• Approved the preliminary site plan for JSB Builders, LLC, to construct a 16,280-square-foot, multi-tenant, light-industrial building with truck well and related site improvements on 4.478 acres to the south of 6032 Schooner Dr. The site is located on the west side of Schooner Drive, which is on the south side of Michigan Avenue between Beck and Denton roads. This building will take up the northern one-third of the site, with the rest saved for another like building in the future. Sam Patel said he currently has a business in Ann Arbor and he needs a bigger warehouse so he can expand his business. He said 50-60% of the new building would be for his business. After a long discussion, approval was given for the preliminary plan, with several things to be worked out before final site plan approval; and
• Heard Director Power announce that there will be ordinance discussions in the upcoming meetings. He said his department has been tasked with looking at ordinances for: Agricultural Tourism at the DeBuck site, Ponds, and Outdoor Dining, to tune-up and modernize the current dining ordinance.