VBT Planners OK two fireworks tents, review ordinance revisions

Two more fireworks tents were approved for Van Buren Township at the April 13 meeting of the planning commission.
Richard Tapper, state manager for Phantom Fireworks, had two requests for firework sale tents, one at Lakewood Shopping Center and one at Menards.
Both would be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on June 22 through July 4. This is the tenth year at the Lakewood Shopping Center site. He said it was the first time at the Menards site, but Phantom has tents at 60 Menards throughout the Midwest.
Menards is located at 10010 Belleville Rd. and Lakewood Shopping Center is at 2095 Rawsonville Rd.
Under the township ordinance, any temporary land use beyond seven days needs planning commission approval.
At the March 23 meeting, the planning commission also approved the temporary land use for the TNT Fireworks tent at the Walmart site at 10562 Belleville Rd. from June 22 to July 5. Power said this is its eighth year and it has operated without problems.
Sumpter Road Corridor
The planning commission spent most of the one-hour-and 26-minute meeting on the new zoning ordinance amendments being proposed for the Sumpter Road Corridor Plan.
Dan Power, director of planning and economic development, said the proposed ordinance amendments were written by him and Vidya Krishnan and Adam Cook of McKenna Associates and the planning commission members need to look them over and make comments on what changes they think should be made.
He said this first work session would focus on the purpose of the Sumpter Road Mixed Use Zoning District (SRMU) and the Sumpter Road Overlay District (SROD) and permitted uses, building types, and dimensional requirements within certain areas of the proposed district.
Director Power said this was the regulating plan addressing what uses the planning commission will allow in that area of Sumpter Road, from the Belleville city limits to Bemis Road at the Sumpter Township border.
Krishnan said any of the new rules are triggered only by a rezoning request.
Power said the ordinances lay out building types and where they can go.
Treasurer Sharry Budd, who sits on the planning commission, said the ordinance does not allow drive-through restaurants, bars, and taverns.
Power said maybe they should take out the restriction on bars.
Krishnan agreed maybe that part should be taken out since stand-alone taverns do well in lake communities.
Power agreed to take that part out.
Treasurer Budd said people coming from Sumpter Township want to hit a coffee shop before they get on the freeway.
Krishnan said the concern was stacking of traffic waiting for a drive-up window and it could overflow onto Sumpter Road.
Commissioner Medina Atchinson said there is a small Bearclaw coffee facility in Brownstown that that has a lot of space on site for stacking.
Krishnan said they want people to get out of the car and walk, see demonstrations in windows and the like.
Commissioner Jeff Jahr said if uses are denied here, they should look at the Belleville Road Overlay District to see if they are different.
Power said they do not want to be exclusionary or contradictory.
Commissioner Brian Cullin said metal-working machine shop is excluded, but how about blacksmithing?
Krishnan agreed maybe a new definition was needed in that part.
Power said the “Rural Light Industrial” designation suggested by Commissioner Jahr might be a good name for the industrial uses allowed.
Commissioner Cullin said Van Buren Township’s new Sumpter Corridor Plan starts where the City of Belleville has its industrial area. He said the industrial city uses would be coming up against “our nice buildings.”
Jahr asked about the area between zoning districts and Power said work was coming on that.
Krishnan said they can take comments from the planning commission members and adjust the ordinance.
Power said more time will be spent discussing the ordinances at future meetings. He had distributed worksheets for the commissioners and he asked them to gather their questions and feedback and send them on to him.
Power had suggested having a public hearing May 11 on the Sumpter Road Corridor Plan, which is separate from the ordinance changes. The plan had been submitted to neighboring communities for comment and would be a change to the South Side Master Plan.
Commission chairman Bryon Kelley thought the May 11 date was too soon and he would like it later in May. The date of the public hearing is expected to be set at the April 27 commission meeting.