VBT planners OK final site plan for Ashley Capital

Ashley Capital received final site plan approval for construction of Crossroads Distribution Center North 11, LLC at the Jan. 10 meeting of the Van Buren Township Planning Commission.
The distribution center consists of one building with a ground area of about 630,417 square feet of space and site improvements, along with grading and earthwork on property surrounding the building site.
The total affected area is about 175 acres and it is zoned M-T – Industrial Transportation District.
The site is on the south side of Van Born Road, west of Haggerty Road, at 6110 Haggerty Road.
Dan Power, director of planning and economic development, said the public hearing on the project was held in September 2023 and the township board gave land use approval on Oct. 17.
The end of the Bell Creek Drain is on the property and the township board recently authorized abandonment of that drain.
He noted the Haggerty Road project, next to this project, has begun.
Vidya Krihnan, township planning consultant from McKenna Associates, said the parcels have been combined, as required, and the setback variance approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals in November.
She said the sidewalks will not be placed along the roadway where no one will be walking, but there will be full sidewalk connections so employees can go for walks.
She said the tenant needs only 75 parking spaces and the builder will install EV as required by the employees. She said the EV spaces will be set up for future installation and can be easily installed.
Krishnan said a state conservation easement has been set up on the west side of the property and the setback variance was based on the conservation easement.
There will be 441 trees planted, with 330 going in at the beginning and more than 100 later.
Engineer Paul Kammer gave a lengthy report on the engineering part of the project. He said this is the second engineering review and he had 14 comments. He said after Building 11, there are Buildings 10, 9, and 8 to come.
It will take 30-60 days to get the EGLE water main permit. They will tap into the new sewer on Haggerty Road, now being constructed. They also will need an EGLE permit for its sewer pump/lift station.
OHM, an engineering firm working for Wayne County, said the project meets the standards on drainage. Kammer said this is the county’s consultant giving its opinion to the county and the township will need written approval from the county.
The subject of traffic studies was discussed, with everyone agreeing plans for the future should be incorporated into the latest studies showing how the traffic flows will effect Haggerty, Ecorse, and Van Born. But this is not the time for a traffic study, with Haggerty closed down and I-275 under construction they agreed.
Kyle Morton, represesnting Ashley Capital, said Bell Creek Drain sits in the middle of future Building 10 and the drain will be diverted to another drainage district. He said they will retain more water longer on their site and keep only two pumps going to keep the water going offsite at the same pace as before.
Morton said the tenant has signed for 400,000 square feet of Building 11. The tenant is a global, Danish Logistics Center, with some light assembly with multiple users in it.
Speaking from the audience, James Schuneman of Samantha Ave. wanted to know whether there would be more flooding behind his condo like there was on Aug. 25, which some called a 500-year storm. He wanted to know if Wayne County has done anything in the last 20 years to clean the drain?
Kammer said the township doesn’t build infrastructure to handle the big storms and it’s the county’s responsibility to clean the drains. He said the county looks at the regional impact of drains and looked at the sizes of the drains and was comfortable with what it saw.
Power said he’s tried to make contact with the petitioner for the McClaughrey Drain cleaning. He said the county is aware of improvements needed.
Morton said his group filed the petition for cleaning of the drain in VBT and Romulus and the county is acutely aware of the problems.
After more than an hour of discussion the commission unanimously granted final site plan approval.
Busy Bees Home Day Care
Also, at the Jan. 10 meeting, the commission held a public hearing on Kimberly Younglas’ special land use review. She is requesting the change of her existing Day Care, Family Home to a Day Care, Group Home. The special land use requires a public hearing. No one spoke at the one-minute public hearing.
The commission voted to recommend approval to the township board, which will make the final decision.
The commission also approved the preliminary and final site plans for the business at 13657 County Walk Blvd. in a residential area.
Younglas currently operates a family home daycare in her basement with seven children. Dan Power, director of building and economic development, said state law now allows her to convert to a group home daycare with 12 children. After 29 months of operation, the limit rises to 14 children under state policy.
Younglas has a corner, ¼ acre lot, with a large front home. There are 536 detached homes in her neighborhood.
Power said the Country Walk II Homeowners’ Association needs to give written approval for use of the property and temporary fencing.
Power said last October the township passed a new ordinance that allows the township to grant special approval to have like homes closer than 1,500 feet apart. Her business at the corner of Country Walk and Salem Court is 960’ from another like daycare, according to the way distances are measured for this, Power said.
Younglas said she moved into the township in 2007 and has been running her daycare since then. She said Michigan has a shortage of daycare facilities. Currently she and two part-time employees, on different shifts, run her daycare.
The township ordinance does not require fencing, but Younglas has planned temporary fencing to keep the children in the yard safely as requested by commission members.
Commissioner Jahr said Power’s distance count is wrong because he had measured across the footpath instead of the street so the distance is not an issue.
Jahr said there is no state or VBT requirement for fencing, but if the owner wants it and the homeowners’ association agrees, she can have fencing.
Then the motions were passed on special land use and prelimary/final site plan approvals.