Tri-community planning commissions meet to discuss mutual issues

Members of planning commissions from the city of Belleville and townships of Sumpter and Van Buren met for an hour-long session on Jan. 29 at Belleville High School to discuss their individual projects and to speak on local issues.
Four members of each commission attended the meeting and Van Buren Township Planning Commission Chairman Brian Cullin was chosen to lead the meeting.
The next joint meeting for the three communities was set for 5 p.m., July 29, at Belleville’s new city hall at 330 Charles St.
The meeting began with public comment by a man who did not identify himself but wanted to talk about the dangers of the data center planned in Van Buren Township.
Chairman Cullin asked Ron Akers, director of municipal services in Van Buren Township, to explain.
Director Akers said the information that the township has is on the township website for the public to study. It also will be published in the Independent in the Feb. 5 issue.
He said the developer will be before the Van Buren Township Planning Commission at 5:30 p.m., Feb. 11, with a site plan request.
The man made comments that the power needed to run this data center would power one million family homes. He complained about pollution, noise, and air pollution he saw coming.
Akers said it will use a lot of water, but it will be getting its water from a distribution line directly from the Great Lakes Water Authority, from which it will purchase the water.
He said the sanitary sewage line also will go directly to downtown.
Akers said the electricity will come directly from the ITC line to the substations through a buried line.
“It’s not going to impact us at all?” the man asked. “I’m amazed it can be allowed in a residential area. The humming can drive you crazy.”
Akers went over to the table where the man was sitting to get his contact information and talk quietly with him as the meeting continued. But their conversation was too loud and disturbed the meeting. Finally when those in the meeting protested, Cullin asked the two to move into another part of the room to talk and they did.
Belleville city councilwoman/planning commission vice-chairperson Julie Kissel gave a report on Belleville’s projects. She started by saying the new city master plan is out for its 63 day review period. She asked them to look over the master plan and tell the city what they think.
Kissel said there are printed copies of the hefty master plan at city hall and at the district library for people to review. It is expected back on the planning commission agenda in March.
Belleville’s interim city manager Steve Jones listed seven open projects going on, including putting the final touches on the new city hall.
Cullin asked about the empty CVS and hardware store on Main Street and Jones said they tried to put pressure on CVS to sublease the store, but the rent is being paid to the store owner in California, so there is no loss to the owner if it stays vacant.
He said the details of the hardware store, now owned by the Downtown Development Authority, is now in the hands of a new committee that had been formed and is meeting regularly.
Van Buren Township was next on the agenda to tell its story and township DDA director Merrie Coburn told of the Belleville widening project now on hold, the work to find a plan for the 180 acres owned by the township at the northwest corner of Tyler and Belleville roads. She described other projects under way.
Coburn said they are looking at how to increase connectivity for the three communities. She described a minigrant and a SEMCOG grant that could be applied for to fund a sidewalk from Owen School to downtown Belleville.
She said they knew they needed to get the school involved and NewTech at Belleville High School is helping to get information on the students that would use the sidewalk.
Coburn said she is working on getting support staff in her office and that will help with moving forward.
Director Akers went over a long list of projects under way, including the Denton Road Bridge, the paving of Morton Taylor north of Tyler, providing building services to the city of Belleville, the occupation of Clover Community building on Belleville Road, senior housing on the north side of Tyler which will be 24 single-story units for rent only with garages, overlay districts, coming completion of Tractor Supply at Sumpter/Hull roads, reconstruction of McDonald’s, contruction at U.S. Signal and Ashley Capital, and a car wash that was tabled by the planning commission the night before.
Belleville commissioner John Juriga asked about the erosion going into the lake. Akers asked where specifically and Juriga said you have to get on a board to see it, but some is on property owned by Van Buren Township.
Akers said the township’s parks people are looking at it presently to find options. He said the township has hired a firm, Progressive, to look at solutions for the lake, including invasive species. The study will be completed in the spring.
Sumpter Township trustee Matt Oddy, who is liaison to the planning commission, gave Sumpter’s report.
He said the township had a lot of turnover, with the township manager, DPW director, and finance director changing. Oddy said they brought on Carlyle Wortman to run the building department. They are working on a moratorium on data centers and already have a moratorium on wetlands.
He said wetlands are being declared by the state and it is taking prime farmland and making it wetlands. He said they took property next to a mobile home park and didn’t have to tell anybody but the park owners. Nobody in the township knew it was happening, he said.
He said State Rep. Reggie Miller is working on legislation on this.
He said the township is working with the county on Judd Road paving from Bohn to Rawsonville, as an emergency in the community. Fire trucks are delayed on getting to the Rawsonville Woods area, when a large number of calls originate.
He described 1.6 miles of water main being replaced on Willow Road and a sewer pump station to get back up on Martinsville.
Also, currently a house on Savage Road is being remediated since it had been given a landfill permit in 1972 or 1980 and the property is contaminated. He said you can see the house and property is taped off from the public.
Oddy said, among other things, the township is revisiting the solar ordinance so large projects will be only in the industrial zone.
Cullin said the joint sub-committee of the large tri-community group will meet again in March.
Akers was asked about Camping World and he said the business has had its certificate of occupancy for several months and said it wants to open in the spring.