VBT planners approve final site plan for township’s community center

After a lengthy discussion on what to do about a detention pond that does not detain any water but floods the adjoining parking lot, on July 13 the Van Buren Township Planning Commission approved the final site plan for a Community Center and site upgrades for its $16 million project.
The site plan was approved with conditions on the detention ponds including Treasurer Sharry Budd’s concerns about the safety of the unfenced pond or ponds.
The final site plan was sought by architect Stephen J. Gedert on behalf of owner Van Buren Charter Township. He applied for roughly 13,446 square feet of renovations and a 16,411 square foot gymnasium addition adjacent to the existing municipal building, renovations to the existing building, and the construction of associated pavements and utilities.
The project includes a large outdoor performance plaza, a fitness patio, additional parking, walkways, and landscaping. It also includes the fencing off of the police vehicle parking area and separately the employee parking for security. An additional entry to Quirk Road for the public is planned from a northwest section of the western parking lot at township hall.
Dan Power, director of planning and economic development, noted that changes in the plans are being made to put a second stormwater drainage area behind the DPW yard and the DPW fence would be moved.
Paul Kammer, the township’s engineering consultant from Fishbeck, said the water main on the township site has a current tap on Quirk Road and a new tap will be made on Tyler to loop the water main. He said a new sanitary service will be put in from Quirk between the DPW and township hall.
“The pond does not detain any water,” Kammer said of the stormwater drainage currently on the site that should be upgraded. He said instead of the water going into the pond, the existing parking lot is flooded.
He said they plan to combine the old and new drainage system and detain it in the southwest corner of the DPW building. He said they will collect all the water from the entire site and detain and eject it from the system.
Kammer said the plans did not show the weir metering structure and that has to be worked out before construction is approved.
Treasurer Budd, who is the board’s liaison to the planning commission, said she is concerned about the bigger pond which kids will find attractive when it has water in it.
Kammer said it is designed to be dry and after a rain to hold the flow for 48 to 72 hours. He said after a rain there could be 2’ of water, but there are walkable side slopes, 1:6, and a fence is not required by the ordinance.
He said the present pond has two pumps and one is not functioning. It could overflow to Quirk Road, north and west.
Kammer said the next pump station, not a part of the community center project, will be handled later by the township.
Budd said she is concerned about it being so close to the public area. She said she hopes he does know what he’s doing with the drainage.
Kammer said they are concerned about the size, but it could be moved so it’s not so close to the outdoor performance area.
“As currently designed, it works,” he said, noting the flow comes north from the splash pad.
“Is the existing pond dry because it’s broken?” asked Commissioner Jeff Jahr in clarification.
“It’s not broken, but not working as designed,” Kammer replied.
He explained that with new construction, the drainage on the site must be given attention or in the future when there is a problem they will say why didn’t they fix that?
In other business at the one-hour-and-42-minute meeting, the board:
• Recommended special land use approval to the township board for the Meijer pharmacy drive-thru at the north end of the present building and gas station renovations. A representative from Meijer said Meijer is upgrading across the state and there will be significant changes to the parking lot with landscaping and new parking lot islands;
• Approved preliminary and final site plans for the Meijer project. Planning consultant Vidya Krishnan, from McKenna, said the pharmacy drive-thru is horseshoe shaped and will have eight stacking spaces for the drive-thru. It will be constructed at the north end and the garden center will be cut back in size to make way for this. There will be new brick veneer on the front of the building. Bike racks will be at the entrances and gas station, she said. Kammer said the storm sewer is diverted around the north and south sides of the building and discharged into the pond. He said because of perceived problems in the past, Meijer was asked for documentation on its December 2020 project where it removed tree brush and reworked the outfalls. He said, “We don’t see anything not working”; and
• Held a public hearing on the gasoline filling and gasoline service station zoning ordinance text amendments with no public comment. At the end of the agenda, the item was removed from proposed action by the staff after Commissioner Barr had to leave at 7:10 p.m. and there no longer was a quorum. The proposed amendments make all gasoline/service stations need special land use and they no longer would be automatically allowed on commercially zoned parcels.