Victory Pre-Owned received final approval from the Van Buren Township Planning Commission for outdoor sales space and building renovations for sale of used, second-hand automobiles.
At its regular meeting April 27, the commission voted unanimously to grant final site plan approval for the business that is being located at 9700 Belleville Road in the former Champion Motor Sports building.
Sally Hodges, planning consultant from McKenna Associates, said all the stipulations put on the project by the township have been met and so she recommended approval.
David Nummer, the engineering consultant from Wade Trim, said there had been some concern about drainage, so Victory added curb and gutter and three swales for drainage. The impervious area also was reduced slightly he said.
Nummer said the addition of two infiltration basins will eliminate ponding and drainage on that site will be improved from what it is today.
Terry Carroll, VBT director of planning and economic development, thanked the consultants for expediting their reviews as requested by the applicant, since Victory had a property control issue and had to move quickly.
In other business at the April 27 meeting, the planning commission:
• Held a public hearing on the proposed 2011-15 Parks and Recreation Master Plan and then voted unanimously to recommend approval to the VBT Board of Trustees. Some changes were suggested by Recreation Department Director Jennifer Wright, which were incorporated into the document. Hodges said when the five-year plan is adopted, that will establish state grant eligibility for parks and recreation projects. She said the new Belleville High School pool can be shared by the community. The commission went over the Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan for parks and recreation, noting upgrades to Van Buren Park beach access and the gym floor upgrades are set for 2011; basketball courts in the park, location signage for parks/community center, and floating swimming docks for VB Park in 2012; work at VB Park and French Landing Park in 2013; restoration of the Riggs Heritage Park Historical Homestead in 2014; and the non-motorized greenways trail system, VB Park access for boaters, and renovation of community center in 2015;
• Held a brief workshop (off camera) to discuss rules and procedures, conflict of interest, how to call special meetings, and how to make sure everyone has a chance to speak at meetings, which includes time limits. Revisions are being made to the bylaws to comply with new state laws. The proposed bylaw changes will be fine-tuned by Hodges and the document will be brought back to the next meeting for consideration. If approved by the commission, it will be sent on to the township board for final approval; and
• Discussed suggested ordinance revisions that are “starting to pile up.” Carroll said he will submit a list to the commission so they can be prioritized, but work should begin soon on revising the Planned Residential Development (PRD) ordinance. He said there may be some more requests for PRD extensions coming up. The township recently granted a PRD extension to ELRO for the yet-to-be-started Bedford Cove development.