VBT planners give final site plan approval to huge Stellantis project

At its Jan 28 regular meeting, the Van Buren Township Planning Commission unanimously approved the final site plan for the 2,111,200-square-foot Stellantis warehouse on Ecorse Road between Denton and Beck roads.
Vidya Krishnan, planning consultant from McKenna Associates, said the preliminary approval of this project, dubbed Project Venture, was last July and the recommended changes have been incorporated.
The guard house is prefab and while it is utilitarian, planners would like to see some added features. She said the Zoning Board of Appeals approved the wall and monument signs.
Krishnan said all the barbed wire fencing has been removed and a special mesh is part of the fence so employees can’t pass anything through openings in the fence. There will be 670 new trees planted on the site.
Fishbeck engineer Paul Kammer announced, after meetings with the county, that all the trucks exiting the warehouse have to head west to Michigan Ave. There will be 690 employees and 100 trucks per day. There is employee and emergency access to Denton Road and an emergency access to Beck Road. The Ecorse Road access is for trucks only.
Kammer said there will be four detention ponds and Wayne County has allowed dry detention ponds, along with the township board so they won’t have to be so deep to be wet.
A member of the public said the township residents deserve more than one engineering firm – Fishbeck – and one planning consultant – McKenna – to look over the plans for this huge facility.
“I drive through my township and see the apocalypse,” she said. “We should have second consultants.”
Director of municipal services Ron Akers said the township hires these outside consultants for their expertise. He said Fishbeck has a lot of experience and McKenna has a large number of consultants and the township relies on their expertise.
In other business at the Jan. 28 meeting, the commission:
• Heard two residents speak on the data center being considered, but not on that night’s agenda. The first speaker thanked the township for putting information on the website and the other said there should be a moratorium in place for hyperscale data centers. She said the township residents have asked for a moratorium. She said while other communities are enacting moratoriums in a proactive manner, Van Buren is being reactive;
• Was informed that the day before removed from the agenda at the request of the applicant was the public hearing, the special land use request, and the preliminary site plan approval for El Car Wash and Commercial Development at 10525 Belleville Rd., 10501 Belleville Rd., and 10401 Belleville Rd. The applicant was seeking to provide express (automatic) exterior automobile wash services and self-serve vacuuming, along with a 7,108 square-foot building comprised of four restaurant tenant spaces, including one offering drive-through service;
• Voted to direct consultants to draft an amendment to the ordinance on Cul-De-Sac length. Akers said a question had come up on this when Pulte was planning a residential development at Tyler and Morton Taylor roads. The amendment would shorten the cul-de-sac from the present 1,200’ to a reduced 600’ as a matter of safety. Commissioner Jeff Jahr asked if emergency crews can get in there and if 1,200’ feet is a problem, shorten it;
• Heard Akers announce the only item on the Feb. 11 planning commission meeting will be the data center. Frequently asked questions are answered on the township’s website and will also be published in the Independent. He also reported a national scam where residents are asked to pay municipalities for legal action or fees. “VBT does not demand money by email. USA.com is not legitimate. Do not respond or send payment. The township never asks you to wire money to it,” he stressed;
• Heard commissioner Jahr comment that he is angry at comments that say the township’s staff is not the most proficient group. He said the township doesn’t look like a wasteland. “I do this job because I feel I have to give back. I don’t appreciate it and I don’t believe it’s true,” he said of comments criticizing the work of the planners. “I believe Van Buren Township cares dramatically about planning. We have the best consultants in the state. They have resources to see what other communities are doing. We ask tough questions from highly selected professionals,” he said;
• Heard treasurer Sharry Budd, the board’s liaison to the planning commission, say the board reviewed several planning and engineering consultants before selecting these. “We all live here. I live here. My kids live here,” she noted, saying she wants the best for the township;
• Heard commission chairman Cullin say he agreed with Jahr. He said he has been on the board for five years and members attend planning conferences to gain knowledge. He said his great-grandfather was treasurer of the township at one time. Cullin said the township is going to have problems, but “driving through Canton is a nightmare… We try to control what we see in Canton. Try Rochester.” He said the consultants give 100% and, “Thank God they’re here”;
• Heard Jahr continue his comments, with, “Data centers are a big project … I have worked in the data center industry. The change in the last 10 years is very profound … The power density is much higher by ten times. He said it’s like suddenly running ten refrigerators in a house. Would need more air conditioning. This is change that happened recently, less than 10 years… Technology is changing quickly … and we have to act to protect the residents…;
• Heard McKenna consultant Krishnan say that what is in words in the zoning ordinances can’t be taken away. The commercial and industrial uses named can’t be denied because then it is taken to court and the residents pay. She said planners are going to look at the ordinance and part of that is to look at what other communities are doing; and
• Heard Akers say the zoning ordinance is never going to be perfect and “upgrading is what we’re doing.” Budd said the township is looking at a moratorium for other data centers. “The first one is on track,” she said.
Absent from the Jan. 28 meeting were commissioners Medina Atchinson and Bernie Grant.