VBT planners approve preliminary, final site plans for Yost Waste

At its regular meeting on Oct. 8, the Van Buren Township Planning Commission voted unanimously to grant preliminary and final site plan approvals to Yost Waste Transfer Station at 44145 Yost Rd. Commissioners Peter Creal and Jackson Pahle were absent from the meeting.
A request was made by owner/operator VBTS LLC to construct an 8,280-square-foot addition to an existing waste transfer facility which is located on Yost between Sheldon and Morton Taylor roads, adjacent to Michigan Central Railroad.
The solid waste transfer station is open to the public for collection of non-hazardous waste and construction debris for processing and disposal off-site. Solid waste facilities are not permitted in the M-1 zoning district so the facility is a non-conforming use.
Planning consultant Vidya Krishnan from McKenna explained the facility’s background to commissioners.
She said in 2020, as part of State licensing requiring enclosure of outdoor waste for temporary storage, the applicant was granted site plan approval to expand the facility through construction of a 5,502-square-foot addition to an existing 2,687-square-foot building. In 2021, the applicant was granted variances from the required rear and side setback dimension to build the addition.
In 2023, the north portion of the facility was damaged by a fire. Currently, in response to additional State requirements, the site plan shows the removal of the damaged portion and replacement with an addition connecting to the storage building.
Krishnan said due to State agencies mandating the operation and expansion of the one-of-a-kind facility, which cannot be excluded from the township, the facility is largely exempt from township conforming-use standards.
Krishnan said the facility’s current location is the most appropriate within the township due to its proximity to other industrial uses, likely high levels of contamination, and minimal off-site impacts to orderly development or property values. She said the current proposal greatly improves screening of activity from view off-site.
She said, while not bound by the township’s non-conforming standards, all other requirements of the zoning ordinance must be achieved for the site and structure through the same review processes as other industrial uses.
The facility received variances on Sept. 9 from the Zoning Board of Appeals for setbacks and height of the building. The commission granted the applicant’s request for a reduction of parking spaces required to five, since the facility operates with one or two people on hand daily, with two more coming on occasion.
There will be no sidewalk, but they have signed an agreement to install sidewalks in the future as part of some future development. Also, they will comply with the township’s new lighting standards.
The building will be constructed of pre-finished metal siding over a steel frame in a sandstone color.
Krishnan said, “While the planning commission has emphasized the need for high-quality architectural materials and compatibility of structures on site, the proposed building is in keeping with the existing heavy-industrial nature of the use and function of the site.”
Also, she said the industrial use is not for general access to customers or visitors and is limited to a few employees per day. Further the entire site is screened from view by a heavy concrete wall and extensive vegetation.
Rob Wagner of Midwestern Consulting had provided a revised site plan on Sept. 10 after he had appeared at the Aug. 13 meeting and was given items that needed addressing before commissioners would vote.
In other business at the half-hour meeting, the commission:
• Heard commissioner Jeff Jahr report on the kickoff joint meeting of representatives from the Belleville, Sumpter and Van Buren planning commissions. He said the subcommittee is a good path of communication among the three communities. He said the subcommittee can monitor potential joint grants. Jahr said they agreed to announce each other’s commission meetings and post them. “It can only help us to share our plans” on adjoining areas, Jahr said; and
• Heard director of municipal services Ron Akers announce that a survey on proposed use of the 181-acres of former Ford property is being posted on the township website. He said at 3-6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, there will be a meeting at the Black Box Theater on a proposed park just north of the Belleville Road Bridge and on Wednesday, Oct. 15, instead of the regular environmental committee meeting there will be a 6 p.m. townhall on Belleville Lake cleanup, held in the township board meeting room. He also said an applicant has requested a place on the Oct. 22 commission agenda and although it is the week of the Michigan Planning Conference, Akers can see if there will be a quorum to hold the regular meeting that night. Another applicant also may seek a place on that agenda, he said.