Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

The time now is 4 o'clock. I will call to order the Wednesday, September 24th, 2025, City of Battle Creek Planning Commission meeting. Can we get a roll call for attendance? Commissioner Hughes here. Commissioner O'Donnell here. Commissioner Godfrey here. Commissioner Gray here. Commissioner Morris here. Commissioner Dennison here. Commissioner Motton here. Commissioner White here. Mayor Banky here. Thank you all for your attendance. On to approval of minutes. This being the August 27, 2025 meeting. Are there any comments or questions regarding the minutes? Hearing none, can I get a motion to approve the

Mr. Chairman? I make a motion that the minutes be approved as presented. It's been moved and supported. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. Same sign. All right. Minutes approved. Next on agenda. Is there any new correspondents? [Music] Just the letters that you guys received.

All right. So we have received from nearly uh 40 residents who have submitted letters along with an additional petition to oppose with over 120 names regarding resoning request number PRZ25-00006. Copies have been provided to commissioners and these will be entered into the record. Thank you to everyone who has submitted. Your comment is greatly appreciated. Uh, I will like to note that we did receive one after the cutoff this afternoon that is also included in all of the commissioners packets. Any additions or deletions to the agenda? No additions. No deletions.

All right, we'll now proceed to the public hearings and deliberations portion. Uh, as a reminder to all with public hearings, we will first hear from staff, then we will hear from the applicant, and then I will open the floor for public comment. We ask that when coming forward, you state your name and address and please sign in. Once comments are completed, we will close the public hearing. If you want to comment on something not specific to this public hearing, you will be provided time to do so later in the agenda. As a reminder to commissioners, the role of this body today is to hold a public hearing on the request, review any proposed changes, and put forth a recommendation to the city commission. Any change recommended by the planning commission must be approved by the city commission. With that, we will open for public hearing for consideration of resoning requests number PRZ25-00006. This is a petition from Interstate Capital to conditionally reszone the property located at 245 East Columbia A. This is parcel number 0063-0000-1 000- 0, commonly known as Riverside Golf Club and Banquet Center. I will remind everyone that the operation of the golf course is a private business matter, not under the planning commission's authority. Our role tonight is to review this resoning request for consistency with the master plan and the zoning ordinance, hold a public hearing, and then make a recommendation to the city commission. My last note before we begin, it is noted that a fellow commissioner who lives on the course signed a letter included in the correspondence opposing this request. I reviewed the matter with our bylaws, confirmed with the city attorney that this does not constitute a conflict of interest. Thank you. Staff

report, please. Uh so, as was stated, this is a request for a conditional reszoning of the property at 245 East Colombia Avenue. The current zoning of this property um is a combination of single family. So, uh to the north of Colombia, uh you have R1B zoning. To the south you have R1A. Um the parcel is a little bit unique in that it is one parcel ID but it is split by uh north and south by Columbia Avenue. Um the applicant has proposed additional conditions with their resoning request. The zoning ordinance allows for conditional reasonzoning requests u from an applicant um when an applicant voluntarily provides those. Um the planning commission and the city commission um can either accept those um and uh the planning commission can recommend um approval of those. The city commission can accept those and approve those conditions. However, um those have to be voluntarily brought by the applicant and there there can be no additional conditions required by by any of the the appointed or elected bodies. Um what you see on page number 10 of your uh agenda packet is the proposed zoning map that the applicant has provided. Um, it includes on the northern portion of the property a combination of I1 light industrial and B2 regional commercial district along with some additional green belt buffering areas to um buffer the proposed industrial development from some of the adjacent residential areas. Um to the south of Colombia, there's a combination of uh B1 corridor commercial district, B2 regional commercial district, and T3 neighborhood commercial

district. Um additionally with that map um is a list of conditions that the applicant has provided. Those are included on the larger copy of the map that you see in the attachments to the staff report. Additionally, on page 11, there's a list verbatim um of the conditions as offered by the applicant. Um unless there's a desire from anybody, I won't go through all of those item by item. Um but the applicant is here today and can speak to to any of the conditions that anyone has any questions regarding um uh when we're looking at these sorts of applications from a staff standpoint. Uh we are simply looking to evaluate it uh as as the chairperson has stated um evaluating its uh its compliance with the stated goals and objectives of the master plan and the future land use plan that's included with that adopted plan. Um as well as the standards that are laid out in section 1281.01 G5 of the zoning ordinance. And those are the standards applicable to conditional reszoning requests. Um, in your staff report, you'll see a detailed breakdown of each of those criteria. Uh, staff in reviewing this request. Um, the main concerns of staff uh were with uh criteria uh well compliance with the master plan. Uh the master plan right now identifies this these this parcel um as green or open space. um uh for future land use that aligns with the green zoning district in the zoning ordinance. However, it is important to note that right now it doesn't necessarily align with the current zoning of the properties. Again, the properties currently are the property is currently

zoned for single family residential use. Uh the the future land use category of this property likely is an item that needs to be addressed in the master plan update process and that's the process that's sort of getting kicked off right now. It's going to continue over the um the course of the next 6 months to a year. Um, this property is likely one again that does need to be looked at more closely um in in determining what the vision for this for this area, especially given the the how big the property is and its location. um to determine whether or not the the current land use category, the open space one, is is truly the best category or if aligning it with the current zoning or possibly some sort of combination of commercial development consistent with the existing character of Columbia Avenue may be more appropriate. However, as of right now, um there are some conflicts with with what the master plan proposes. Um, additionally, uh, so that's item D. Um, I'm sorry, item D, um, involves the integration of the proposed project with the characterist characteristics of the project area. Um, the area of concern from staff with regard to integration um, is is simply the the inclusion of the industrial the proposed industrial development to the north of Columbia Avenue. Um I I think there there could be a good conversation certainly to be had about what's proposed to the south of Colombia, but again that's going to be more of a master plan type discussion before we get to a true reszoning of the property. Um uh but as of right now um in light of the current condition of

that area um the current uh residential development um adjacent to the proposed industrial site um and then given the feedback received um it it's uh it's it's staff's determination uh from our perspective right now that there there is some apparent conflict in in trying trying to integrate that proposed use with the existing character. Um, additionally, if you take a look at criteria E, uh, it that involves whether or not the public interest to be served um, uh, outweighs the foreseeable detriments that could occur as a result of of the proposed reasonzoning. Um, and again, that gets back to kind of what we just discussed with regard to the proposed light industrial development. Because of those um uh the evaluation of those criteria, staff is recommending um that the planning commission provide to the city commission a recommendation for a vote against the approval of the petition. Um I can attempt to answer any questions that anybody might have and I believe the applicant is also here as well. Does the commission have any clarifying or technical questions for city staff at this time?

We will proceed. We'll go to the applicant now. Uh if you can come forward, please state your name, address, relationship if you are representing the applicant uh and explain your request. Uh thank you. Hi Greg Greg Dylan with Interstate Capital. Can you tell me how much time I have? I'll let you speak.

All right. I know this is a very controversial subject. I just stopped this afternoon as I have many times previous and took a picture and many viewpoints from that backyard. It is a beautiful view. I get it. It's gorgeous. But five years ago, I took a path in Battle Creek and I've spent the last five years and I've delivered, I don't know, close to 60 $65 million in projects for Battle Creek. Greg, I'll let you speak. Just direct to me, please. All right. Thank you.

Was to you. So, at exit 92 in I 94, we delivered a building that was 270,000 square feet. Zoetas, then FedEx took those spaces. Ford just moved into our second phase and we are currently breaking ground on another phase at this time. Incredible investments in this community as we continue to do that and as I look what is the future of Battle Creek as an outsider. Yes, I'm an impacting I'm coming in cannibalizing trying to steal space taking away a 100-year-old golf course possibly. But I will not be the first or last person that does this. You guys tell me no today. Understood. There will be someone behind me. It will not be in the next 12 months because it will be scared, but it will be in the next five years and it will happen regardless. What I am proposing right now is the entire south side of a very mixeduse residential commercial environment. on the north side. Yes, I would like some industrial, but if you guys looked at topo, it's a topography of that site. There's an 80 foot difference from the condo backyard to the 18th hole. 80 feet. My building is not over 40. You won't even see the roof. You'll be looking well past it. So, as an investor, as a stakeholder, and as a partner with Battle Creek to date and into the future, I would like to find some common ground. And if it is not an industrial and we need to find something else for that north side, you will need to find another developer because that is my intention is to continue to find operators, jobs, and housing that can support this community. and on the north side of that property

putting together I don't know maybe let's say half a million square feet of industrial that's supporting what the Ford there's no comments from the public

the Ford blue oval site in Marshall which is also I believe very close that supplier network of which Ford just rented a space for me for a quarter million square feet at exit 92 those jobs. Those suppliers that tier one and tier two support manufacturers should be here. You guys have the largest industrial park in Michigan. Fort Cost industrial park. Could I build somewhere else? We can argue that all day long. I don't think that is not true. Maybe I could, but all of the land is controlled by TIFFA and Battle Creek Unlimited. And there's nothing that's big enough. There's nothing that is going to also that they control. Nothing bad to them. Fantastic organization. They can't supply housing alongside their industrial. We can. This is a beautiful opportunity to split in a road and to have residential, commercial, hotel opportunity on the south side that will support jobs and housing. And on the north, yes, there will be some industrial of which is 40 feet lower than the foot of the backyard that you are standing in. Let's wrap it up, Greg. Consider that.

Thank you, John. Thank you.

Any other comments from the applicant? All right. Any questions of the commissioner for the applicant? Yeah. All right. Seeing none, we will go to the public. Please, at this time, I invite anyone from the public who wishes to speak to raise your hand quickly for me. All right. Thank you. Thank you. We truly value your input and it's important for the commissioners, the staff, and the other residents to hear your voice. Um, while we don't have a formal time limit, I want all of your voices to be heard. So, for this meeting, I will be imposing a threeminute limit. Please try to stay to that. Uh, we will now take public comment on the resoning request of PRZ25-006. When you come forward, please state your name, address, and sign in. This is time to share your support, concerns, or suggestions. Let us know what aspects of the proposal are most concerning or what modifications you would recommend. Please remember that this is a time for public input and not a back and forth debate. Who would like to go first? Please.

My name is Mary Sue Christian. I live at 809 Eastfield Drive in Battle Creek. Um I was born and raised here. I did leave for quite a few years, but I'm back. Um, I just wanted to say that uh, yes, I learned to golf at Riverside. I went to the pool, my family, we had people get married there, etc., etc. But that is not the issue before you. Now, first of all, I want to commend you on the study and the time and the research put into a master plan for our city. I think it's very important. I spent most of my adult life in Traverse City and believe me, there were a lot of people trying to grab space up there and they had a lot of challenges preventing it. While I'm confused why the golf course and the banquet center couldn't make it because I disagree with the proposed um the gentleman proposing the new use. I think there is need for both in this city. I mean, if you look at anybody still is craving golf. Look at Squirrel Hollow and what they've been able to do and entertainment. Entertainment is something we need too. More of

Mr. Chairman, I'm sorry. Can I ask that you speak into the mic? Um this um Access Vision is here and folks might not be able to hear you on the recording if you're not speaking into the mic. Boy, that's not usually something I have is that I can't be heard. Um, anyways, thank you.

When this came up, it called to mind a memory I had when I was in Traverse about, oh, this is probably about eight years ago, but it's regarding Battle Creek. I worked in um real estate up there and uh while out one evening happened to meet a couple who were from Britain who were new executives at Kellogg. And I said, "Oh, I'm from Battle Creek. Where did you choose to live?" And he said, "They gave us realtors that are only showing us Kalamazoo. There's reasons for that. We need to continue the work that you've been striving for to make Battle Creek beautiful and attractive place to live. This is not the answer. There is no If there's need for more industrial, we have a huge industrial park and a plethoral of space for industrial that is currently zone that way. single family housing and it's going to serve the Ford plant and everything. I'm sorry. Stick I hope you stick with your master plan. There is a lot of housing available in Battle Creek and there could be more, but it doesn't have to be new housing. We could redevelop. I don't want to go beyond my time, but these proposals are way too vague and they're not made by somebody who lives and cares for our community. Keep that in mind.

I'm sorry. Please address me. Oh, I'm sorry. And I think that's important. So again, just to sum summarize, we don't need more industrial. If we do, there's plenty of space to it that's not the beautiful green space of what is now the Riverside Golf Course. We do need more green space. We need more entertainment space to attract people and more recreational venues. So again, I appreciate your recommendation to the city commission and I hope they respect your time in this and accept it. Thank you.

Thank you. Next gentleman over here. Name, address, and sign in, please. Joe Harris, Battle Creek 243 Eldrid. Uh, Kalen County resident for over 50 years. Battle Creek resident for around 20 plus. Um, just a few things that I want to Oh, hello. There's a few things that I want to uh address. You know, um has anyone checked to see uh if there's a mortgage on this land? Here's why I say that. I looked at the county records. According to the county records, it's owned by Riverside Golf Club and Land LLC. There is a documentation of a mortgage. I don't know if it's been paid. There might be some stipulations onto that. I'm not sure. That might be worth checking into. um portion of this request is for light industrial. I'm against that for a number of reasons, but the main reason is the runoff that you're going to get from it when it goes right into the Kazoo River. It's common sense stuff there. Um I know that Blue Oval was mentioned. I I got to mention this. You know, Blue Oval is an everchanging construct. Just this last week, there is a court case that was revived in regard to Blue Oval at this uh Michigan State Supreme Court level that could affect it. At one point, they were promised 2 2400 jobs. That number's been knocked down to 1,800. We really don't know. Not sure. If an industrial portion were to be put at Riverside, you would have uh industrial and commercial that ran all the way from I69 in Marshall down on the south side of Michigan.

Little bit of a buffer land there. There is a proposed sack rider mega site from the MEEDC that goes from 11 mile all the way to Crosby Drive. you have a little bit more commercial and then you'll have Riverside which is industrial that's about what 12 15 miles of industrial commercial um I'm just going to give some examples of some light industrial that could happen if we were to make that you know you would have uh this is in Michigan by the way uh companies in food production consumer electronics printing home furnishings garment manufacturing automotive component assemblies those are some examples of light industrial. Um I would hate to see that area that that beautiful area uh turned into essentially black top that would be awful. Uh me personally, residential I could see if it was affordable. uh in particular specifically. I could see more senior residential, you know, for seniors and stuff, but affordable. But, um, I thank you for your time. I appreciate your considerations. I hope you all vote against this. It It's not conducive to battle cake. It really isn't. So, thank you very much.

Thank you. Please sign in. Next gentleman right here.

Okay. Hello, Matt McKe, 412 Riverside Drive. And for those of you that know the golf course, uh my house looks over the pond on hole number two. Uh so this is a very sensitive subject for for myself and the few of my neighbors on that sensitive side. Uh my wife and I have, you know, finished raising our children there for the last 10 years and and a big decision, a big part of that decision was of course overlooking the golf course. We love where we live. It's not perfect. Uh, one of the big concerns outside of the sewer smell this year would be traffic. And you I just want to point out that uh while accessibility to and from our own properties is somewhat of a challenge at certain times of the day right now, I can't imagine what this industrial area would do to that section of road. Um, on top of that, of course, I I our our concerns would be, you know, what kind of, uh, light exposure are we going to have and, uh, you know, sound exposure, uh, on top of, you know, air pollution. Those those things definitely concern me being adjacent to that property. So, uh, I know there's a lot more than me that are concerned that aren't as close, but, uh, this one, this truly hits home and, uh, you know, I appreciate you guys listening to me and, uh, thanks.

Thank you,

Mr. Gentlemen. Robert Baker, 424 Riverside Drive. I've been listening to this residential or industrial 40 foot building. What difference does it make? 40 or 80 or whatever. My main concern is traffic. Now, at certain times during the day, my patients have trouble getting in my parking lot. in the state of Michigan is a tenant at certain times they're lined up damn near to the excuse me my to the pond. So what's going to happen to the road? What's going to happen when a semi gets off Columbia and take tries to come down riverside and jack knives in the winter which has happened before? Trucks I've watched cars try to get up that hill, stop, hit another car, turn around, then go back down. So the traffic will be a nightmare and light industrial could be a body shop, could be a lot of things. I don't think they'd locate there, but that still would be a possibility. The developer says, "Well, this is going to be a warehouse once you reszone it." It doesn't have to be. So I think you open up a can of worms, but my main problem is what are semi and trucks going to do when they start down Riverside and head in to warehouses? I think it's going to be I think it's going to be a nightmare. So, that's all I have to say.

Thank you. Next, this young lady. Just as a reminder to all, please speak into the mic. Thank you.

Hi, I am Barbara Miller. I live at 69 West Aacia Boulevard. I live on the south side of Columbia Avenue within walking distance of the Riverside Golf Course. I'm here today to oppose the reszoning of this property. Changing the north side to the industrial and commercial will bring heavy traffic, noise, pollution right into our community. Changing the south side to commercial will only take away from the quiet residential character of our neighborhood. My family and I chose to live here because it's safe, green, and residential. This resoning would threaten our quality of life, our health, and our property values. I understand the golf course owners may need to make changes, but industrial warehouses in large commercial development are not the right solution for this neighborhood. I respectfully urge you to vote against petition PRZ25006 and protect Riverside for the families who live here.

Thank you. Next, this gentleman over here. Good afternoon. My name is Tim Ward and I'm joined today with my wife Michelle. Uh, and we live at 385 Riverside Drive. Uh, for those of you not familiar with the area of the golf course, we are at the bottom of the hill on hole number two. And I had not planned on mentioning this, but uh the height of those warehouses uh living at the bottom of the hill, I won't be looking over them. I'll be looking directly up at them. Um we are here today representing our neighbors and community members who have added their names uh to a petition opposing the industrial resoning of Riverside Golf Course. Like many of our neighbors, we received a letter on August 7th from Interstate Capital announcing a community meeting to seek input from our community regarding the repurposing of Riverside Golf Course. Representatives from Interstate Capital met with residents on August 13th and provided additional details regarding the proposed development. The information showed at this meeting uh represented land being divided into a mix of single family homes, town homes, commercial space, and light industrial. Attendees at this meeting were clearly not supportive of the industrial resoning component of the proposal. Following this meeting, a small group of residents formed to start a community effort to fight this unwanted development. Our group sent a letter to 180 residents surrounding the Riverside Golf Course soliciting their input on the industrial resoning portion of the proposal. The response to this mailing was amazing and 120 area residents and community members have added their names to the list opposing the industrial resoning of Riverside Golf Course. So far, our group has not encountered a

single Battle Creek resident, not one, in favor of the industrial resoning, excluding the current owners. Of course, the collective voices of our community have been loud and consistent. We do not want the air, noise, or light pollution that comes with this change. Many of the residents that have joined our petition are here in support this afternoon. To each of you that took time away from your busy schedules to send emails, voicemails, letters, letter letters of support and to join us here today, we thank each and every one of you. We would also like to thank the Battle Creek planning staff for their diligence in reviewing the resoning request from Interstate Capital. We appreciate your recommendation to the planning commission to vote against this proposal and we agree with your assessment and I quote that the majority of the applicants plan does not align with the community open space and recreation place type as identified in the adopted land use plan. We urge the planning commission and the full commission to accept this recommendation and reject the resoning of Riverside Golf Course. Thank you for your time today and we look forward to your decision.

Thank you. I signed it earlier. Thank you. Next.

You sir. Don Hammond, 104 Clubhouse Drive. Here with my wife Lois. Uh we moved into our place and it borders the golf course, overlooks the north side. Uh we like the condo that we bought. It fits us very well space-wise and all that, but primarily the attraction was the golf course, and that's such a beautiful piece of property. And uh it's home to all kinds of wildlife. It affords recreation to uh probably thousands of people that golf there over the course of the season. I don't know if the golf course can make a go of it or not. I'd be surprised that they can't, but I know you're not here to to deal with that issue, but what we've noticed over the last four years is every year it seems to increase more and more. uh the people that uh play on the course. You see all kinds of folks uh from all across the city and from other areas uh from the county, maybe the state as well. Uh young people, uh young adults, middle-aged people, older folks, all kinds of golf leagues that play on on the property. And uh the property itself is just a beautiful piece of green space. It provides a buffer to the uh surrounding neighborhoods. Uh maybe we care more about it because of our position on the property, but I think I would feel this way even if we didn't live here. Uh just driving by the golf course and seeing it there uh personally makes me happy and I'm sure it makes other people happy as well. Um

I understand what Interstate's trying to do. That's their job. I disagree with it, but that's my own personal opinion. Um, to turn that north side, especially into an industrial zone, I think would be a a horrible mistake. If they back out, I'm happy about it, frankly. Nothing personal against them. If we have to revisit the issue in five years, so be it. But, uh, I'm asking you folks to look after the well-being of the residents of the city and the immediate, uh, community surrounding the golf course. There's a lot of things to take into consideration and a lot of this has already been mentioned that the uh, excess noise, the excess light pollution, traffic, I agree, will be horrendous. Uh, it's going to take away recreational opportunities for people. Uh, also I believe it's going to greatly affect uh the home value at least of our place because a big part of that is looking out over the uh green space in front of us. Now that may change. I can't honestly say stand here and say I never thought that it would all couldn't change to maybe housing. I hope that it doesn't, but some type of uh controlled and well thoughtout housing would be much better than warehouses and semitrs pulling in and out of there. Um,

less than a minute. Okay, I I'll wrap it up. Anyway, uh we're obviously against the proposal and we support uh this commission saying no. Thank you. Thank you. Please sign in if you have not done so. Anyone else? Casiana.

Hello. I'm Casiana Champlain. I live at 20 East Acacia on the south side of the golf course. I work at 317 East Columbia, the north side of the golf course. Um my main concern is uh from going to the initial meeting, the neighborhood meeting. Um when I spoke with some of the interstate capital members uh right after the meeting, it was my impression that they were going to add significantly more green space buffer and attempt to tighten up the proposed uses for some of the other zoning. Um it worried me to see the new proposal because of the very thin amount of green space buffer and the lack of essentially description on their other uses. So my main concern with it is if if we're looking at the pattern of behavior so far, it's been take as much as we possibly can as far as their own leeway with it. Um so my worry would just be that as soon as we allow this zoning, we're going to have warehouses right up to the border. We're going to have parking lots up to the border. I don't see any commitment here for um helping with the roadways, which I know traffic was already brought up quite a few times. Um, but yeah, my my general concern was just that it felt like the initial impression was we really want to hear your voices and make sure we can make this work for everyone and then the proposal I'm seeing here doesn't involve enough of those changes or enough of the verification on what actually is going to happen in the end.

Thank you. Anyone else? Gentlemen in the back. Jim Marino, 451 Main Street. Our planning council, but very near to this area, although we're not in the Riverside community, but we are the survivors of industrial has come in and left the area and the area has basically been left, you know, unusable. We don't need any more of that. On top of that, by creating industrial, you open the door to more marijuana operations. After all, that's the only place they can survive in the city based on zoning is in industrial areas. We have too many of those already. Too many are closing. So again, another building, another operation just sitting there holding space, valuable space that could be used more, you know, worthy of other causes and things. So I urge no this is not the right use for that land. Traffic already is pretty tight in this city especially along the Columbia corridor. Construction has made it even worse. But but this operation with warehousing Riverside wasn't designed for that kind of traffic. I mean you guys just had a sinkhole here just this year alone. Imagine having heavy industrial semi traffic on top of that. road that wasn't constructed for road traffic like that. Yeah. Imagine that. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? You, sir.

Hello. Uh, my name is Roger Thomas. I live at 400 Riverside Drive. I've been there, me and my wife, 33 years. golf course has been there and it's been loaded every year. So, I don't see how it ain't making money. Uh, I am worried about the traffic because it's going to get nasty. It's already that way now. I don't care to have my taxes go up because of all this and then my value of my home go down because that's what's going to happen. Uh, where I live at is right across from number two hole. That being the lowest spot of the north side, that's where they're going to probably put driveways and stuff going in and out of there, which is going to make my house almost impossible to get in and out of along with the neighbors beside me. So, I say, "No, we don't need this. We don't need all the pollution. We don't need all the other stuff that comes with this." And if anybody here would like to have a, you know, warehouse sitting beside their house or right in front of them, so that's what they're looking at, then put it by you guys or whoever, but don't put it on Riverside Drive. We don't need it. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? I seen a hand over here. You, sir. My name is David Hawk. I live at 52 Brookfield Court. I'm an active member of NPC11 and we um have interacted with the city and um feel that we have um added to the input uh from the people of the city. We had a meeting last month and in that meeting we had the agenda where we could

talk about this proposal and it was unanimously uh disapproved as far as we were concerned. As a lifetime member, I would hope that you'd take that in consideration. Thank you.

Gentlemen way in the back who just arrived. Please state your name and address and then sign in when you're done. The name is Robert Ashley, 24 Lasal. I am opposed to this for the light industrial. Um I live on the hill and as we all know, our city is a ma major echo chamber. Um trains I can hear clear as day. Um, where I'm at, I can hear the I 194 corridor nonstop except for winter time. Deadens snow deadens the sound, but I will hear a lot industrial from my house. No doubt. You can't plant trees high high enough to block my noise element. So with that, I am opposed to this. Thank you.

Thank you. Please sign in sir. Next. Is there a hand over here? Yes. Hi, my name is Cindy Fritz. I live at 451 Main Street and I oppose this um plan. I'm the future of what Riverside and the golf course could be. I live in the Post Franklin neighborhood and I've been on the planning council since 91. We have been dealing with Burnham and all the industrial there that left before I even moved in there. It is so hard to repurpose that land. We're working on it slowly, but let me tell you, after 30, 40 years, it really gets old. And I I I oppose this. I I just think that the planning office is working on their master plan. They have a lot of good ideas of how to better the community, but putting light industrial. We just had an issue along East Michigan where they wanted to change some of the zoning there and we were not sure what they once they change it. There is a plethora of things that can go in there that you don't even you you would be imagine, you know, appalled about they could put in there. So, I oppose this and hopefully that's the way you vote. Thanks.

Thank you. Anyone else? Gentleman in the back. Brad Miller, 200 Wawa Tacy Way, Battle Creek here. Um, I happen to be the chairperson for MPC11. And much like David just spoke, um, we had a meeting last month on the 27th where the MPC group unanimously um, did not approve this actually going forward. um to kind of hit on everything else, it's ditto, but I just want to call out um Travis and and Darcy both did an excellent analysis on everything in relation to the zoning. I think they did a phenomenal job and we followed their recommendation because really they put a lot of that information. We went through that packet and that was very very detailed. Um, at a real high level, I just want to go through a couple things that some of these have already been hit on, but the NPC group came back and they said, you know, neighborhood character and livability will change. Traffic and safety impacts will be affected. Environmental and health concerns will happen. It's a failure to follow the comprehensive master plan, which is under consideration development right now. Alternate locations for industrial growth. We have lots of other areas where this could actually come into play. So, we ask that you not just consider the zoning map with this, but you consider the people who are calling the surrounding neighborhoods home. Battle Creek is a community with families where families put down roots, where elderly residents feel safe, where young families raise their children. Allowing an industrial development here would change the character of our neighborhoods and city forever. We deeply respect the work of the planning commission and know that these decisions are not made lightly. Please stand with NPC11 and our community and deny this resoning request to preserve the safety, health, and quality of our life for our

NPC. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? You may.

My name is Danielle Hopkins. I live at 12 Riverside Parkway. I don't understand how all of this works. I haven't been up on all this. All I know is putting industrial right in the middle of residential just does not sit well with me. Does not sit well with anyone here. Um I also would like to speak about the sewer. The sewer smell is awful there. I've been fighting that for years. Have to call the city all the time about the sewer smell. The more you add along there, the more smell we're going to have to deal with. What are the plans for that and all this? That's what I would like to know. Also, I'd like to speak for those that can't speak for theirelves, which is all the wildlife. All the wildlife that is over there at that golf course. Geese, ducks, deer, everywhere else in the Salari wildlife. They're always being hit on those roads. Out by the what? Out on Dickman Road, constantly seeing them be hit. Out by the hospital, always being hit. They have plenty of room to run over there. And you guys just want to take that away. If they could be here, they would fill this room. Plus, we need to start thinking about other things besides ourselves and money and the traffic and everything else everyone else has said. I just want it back at all. I'm opposed to it.

Thank you. Anyone else? You, ma'am. Pat Shelonburgger, 39 Horton Street. Um, I hate to see more industrial come into that area. I've lived there since 1971 and I've seen what happens when the businesses don't last and they leave the buildings and the pollution and everything that's in and they can't do anything about the buildings because there's so much pollution in the ground and everything. I don't feel that we need more of that. I mean, we can't even take care of what's already there. And I just would hate to see more brought into that area in the trucks and stuff going up and down the streets. I realize they're not supposed to go over on the other streets and stuff, but it does happen all the time. And our streets aren't built for those semis and stuff up there. And I would hate to see all of that happen to our neighborhood. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else?

Way in the back. You, ma'am. My name is Stacy Chrisman, gardener. We own 16 West Acia, 44 and 46 Acacia, 519 Riverside, and 16 Hayman. We uh I purchased my home when I was 20 years old in 1992. Um I actually grew up with Jim Godfrey. Um and I love my area. I really was coming to this saying I don't know if I'm opposed for or against. Um but after listening to everybody, I'm deeply upset and I'm trying to remain calm here. Um I really don't have a problem with the back nine being homes. I think we need more homes in Battle Creek. But to take the front nine and destroy it with industrial, it just there's nobody for this. Not one person, like everybody has said, not one person wants this. And this is up to you guys if we get to do this or not. I And I really hope that this doesn't happen. Um, if we could keep the front nine and the conference and the and the club and and make it a nine-hole golf course and then turn the back nine into homes, I think it'd be wonderful. I don't even know if that many people would oppose that. Um, that's all I have to say. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? You, sir. I'm Mike Sandstrom. I live on 20 West Acia Boulevard. I'm also working in real estate in town. So, I have more questions than I have opinion actually. And since my neighbor went up and spoke, I figured I had to as well. So, I think in general, nobody wants to sacrifice an 100-y old golf course. I also understand that golf courses have a hard time. They're struggling all over the state, not just here. It's hard to get them going. So, that's that's understandable. I think we're just lacking information. I'm either for or against this at this point. I just don't have all the information. I think for one is what kind of housing are we going to build on the southside? is going to be cookie cutter neighborhoods with uh barely you can barely walk between the homes or is it going to be wider space in between and bigger lots? Are we going to preserve some green space on there? What's going to happen? We don't just have that information yet. I understand that developer obviously wants to build as much as possible to get the return of investment per per acre per square foot. But I think we need to know more before I need to know more anyway before I can be for or against. As for the industrial part, I'm a little confused how the city is thinking about that because we're taking away graphic packaging area which was industrial and its own industrial making a green space and then we're talking about taking green space and making that industrial a little bit away. I just don't think that makes any sense and I know that's not in this developer interest but it's something to consider.

That's pretty much what I had to say. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? You, ma'am. Pamela Gelf, 342 Pinco Drive. I just moved there from Michigan Avenue. Um, I wasn't going to speak. I'm also part of NPC1 and we've been working at getting the property in Post Franklin areas zoned or you know figured out what we're going to put there at the abandoned places and things like that. There is so much abandoned unusable property in Battle Creek all over in different areas. We don't need to destroy perfectly good ground to put in more industry, more parking lots, more things. We don't need those roads destroyed anymore than they are. Colombia is already so busy. If we put industry, what are we going to make it a six, seven lane highway? What are we going to do to take care of that traffic? I avoid Colombia at any cost. I hate driving down Colombia. I don't like busy busy roads. I am very happy to see that you guys are all of you working in this and listening to us and taking other opinions and things. Please don't let them destroy that property. That's all I have to say. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? Last chance. I think I've pointed at all of you maybe. Thank you all for your time. Thank you all for your comment. We do appreciate it. Um I especially want to thank the NPC members who came and voiced uh your opinion in person too. We greatly appreciate that. We do get your feedback if there was a meeting that is held, but there's not always meetings held. Um so I do greatly appreciate that. I will open the floor for discussion uh amongst commissioners. Uh, please share your thoughts, ask questions, provide any input, how we should proceed. Um, keep in mind compatibility with the master plan, neighborhood concerns, all the above. Anyone with a comment?

Yes, I'd like to call on uh Travis. The petitioner has put some conditions which is his option to do but they're talking about regional commercial districts and commercial corridors and that and I'd like I had a phone conversation with Travis yesterday and to explain what these are so that you might have a better idea of how these commercial zones that you see in the map what how what they refer to currently in Battle Creek so you could get some idea how they would be developed.

So, uh there's two different zoning districts proposed with regard to to the commercial aspect of this proposal. Uh the first zoning district is B1 corridor commercial. Um if you take a look at uh large portions of Columbia Avenue both on the on the south and the north side of Columbia uh the large portions of that are currently zoned B1 corridor commercial. Um the key difference between the B1 corridor commercial and then the B2 regional commercial that's also proposed as part of this. um from a functional standpoint is really not a lot other than the fact that in the B2 it's intended more for areas uh basically for the I94 interchange area. Um it's intended to cater more to um automobile traffic and traffic that's generated not just by um uh those who live within the city, but it's also intended to help attract um u customers and a client base from from the broader region. So um uh I I would say from a functional standpoint, the the key difference between the B1 and the B2 zoning district, very little difference in terms of uses. Um, but the B2 is going to have larger minimum lot sizes and large and bigger minimum lot widths. So, it's intended for larger lots in a more automobile oriented type development versus the B1 U which is intended to while intended to serve that sort of that sort of traffic as well. It's intended to to be used on slightly smaller lots um and to help potentially encourage a little bit more walkable environment. Thank you. Any other? Yeah,

thank you. I I also want to thank all the MPC members, the residents, the those who are near the um golf course, those who are not near the golf course but are concerned about Battle Creek overall. Really appreciate you coming out. Uh I I also appreciate the applicant being here. Um uh you have stated that you have made an investment in our community over the last five years. Uh I thank you for investing in Battle Creek. Uh we love it. Um and um we we are happy when other people love it as well. Um you mentioned uh during your comments um as an applicant that you were hoping to get to some common ground um when you held the meeting um and and beyond. And we also heard from residents uh who had uh a uh interpretation of uh your intentions and had some uh concerns that those uh that that they felt that they were not interpreted or perceived uh as may be intended. um how how do I I'd like to hear your comments of how you are perceiving or interpreting um those conflicting statements. Can you be uh specific in regards to I

there was a mention of buffer. There was a mentioned of um there was portions of of them being a little larger than um was maybe discussed during that meeting. So I I don't think any any zone has changed as far as size being greater. Uh the buffer zone between the condo area and the industrial has been added. Likely not absorbed well, but it is a buffer zone that's inside of there. And as I stated before, there's an 80 foot elevation change. I see.

If if you could imagine, this entire building here is it's 50ish, maybe 60. It's an incredible amount of distance for those folks that will be sitting in that backyard. Thank you for your response. Thank you. Thank you. Um I had please. Thank you. Good. Good evening. Yes, I can touch on a couple of items that were discussed at that meeting and then brought up here as well. Thank you. Um a few items that were talked kind of on the south side in the residential area were I'm sorry. Could you give your name and Jason connection? Um I'm I res I reside and work in Kazoo.

Can you say your relationship for for with the applicant?

Yep. We're under contract with the applicant for um site engineering which we're not at that point yet obviously. Um so just to touch on a few things that were discussed at the prior meeting. Um, some of the specifics that were brought up were, you know, park-like settings, um, things like that. So, some of the restrictions that were added on the north were intended to provide those green belt buffers. On the south and the residential side, I don't think we're um, we don't have enough on the residential aspect of it. Obviously, as Mr. Delhoney had mentioned, um, his focus that he's brought to Battle Creek has historically been in the industrial world. um understanding that this obviously would never remotely be considered as a full industrial development for for the golf course. So h you know his team transitioning on the south side from a residential commercial use along Colombia and then commercial north into the industrial which the vision on that was bordering um you know M66 downtown and then commercial to the south and then some commercial and residential to the west. that was really the thought was that was the best location to insert this historically good play that they've been able to bring to Battle Creek. Um, so some of the things that were talked about at the meeting were park-like settings and other things like that. And I think at that those are the those are items that are going to have to be or would be addressed with planning commission during site plan review stages. Um, a lot of the things that were brought up as well, like traffic concerns and other things, those would have to be addressed by city engineering and transportation um to be able for the project to be even close to being permitted. So um but some of the things that were brought up with um parklike settings and buffers, the intent of what what was presented to you was to provide

um green belt buffering which is greater than if you look at what was reszoned south of the airport. Um that area was uh modified and reszoned for some industrial abuing um residential um and and I think they have 200 to 300 foot buffers which is what what we're proposing here as well um to the north and to the west. Thank you for that further um clarification. Thank you. Um sir, please sign the sheet. Thank you.

Thank you. Uh, as was mentioned by the chair, we received several uh, communications from um, those that were submitted for this public hearing and one of them came from MDOT. And so I wanted to ask staff um, about that particular uh, communication. And so I can't tell you a page that it's on, but you could probably find it. Um, and I I just wanted to get some clarity. I mean, I just the city's interpretation of how they generally handle something like that.

Yeah, I spoke to Joshua um this this afternoon as well. um he wanted to make sure that we got the correspondence and that we understood. I'm I'm sorry because others might not know what you're referring to. Can you give the cliff notes before responding?

Yes. Uh M Dot uh reached out to us and sent a correspondents responding to the need for a considerable amount of work that would need to be done to this the road. um that just to begin uh the process, there would have to be uh a a study that is going to run anywhere from $80,000 to half a million dollars to to do. Um that this would have to be the developer's responsibility to even do the study and then probably the result of that study would include a significant amount of work that would need to be done. Um they have concerns about the elevation change as well. um uh with where they would access the road. So, you know, the applicant has shown an entrance and exit to the um property primarily off Riverside, which would be a local road that we would have to address. Again, would most likely be put on the developer. So it would be a considerable expense and would have to be um changed in order to handle uh development of that magnitude.

They also mentioned the tunnel under Yes. the tunnel and the the variation of the height uh the topography dropping down and they were concerned about that as well. Thank you. I have no additional questions right now.

All right, Patrick. Oh, thank you, Commissioner. Um, I just want to thank everyone for coming out here. I've spent the last two months since I saw the this proposal on television. We usually get zoning changes a lot, but I've never seen it go on TV before. It kind of perked me up like, "Okay, what's going on? Let's let's make sure we get this right." I've been out listening to everybody that's brought to me and I've gone out looking for information on this to make sure that we serve you as a governmental body to make sure that we do what is right with the city and the citizens. The the master plan is what we have to go with right now. I I really appreciate the work that our developers done on the great um uh west side of our city. Th those those are some great stuff out there and I I I hope we continue with that uh type of development. But as you look around there, we there's so many cons considerations, the roads, the traffic, the noise. Um some of us have played the golf course. It's quite marshy at the bottom of the hill, too. I mean, there's a lot of environmental uh health that we need to take a look at on this kind of build. uh to have the community come around the way they did. I I applaud you all for doing this and stepping forward. This is what government truly is is us working for you. Um the NPC is stepping up. I visited both of them and they they had nothing bad to say other than about the development just is it's not the right time. It's this is not how we want to do this for our community. And I just want to say that one other thing was is the M dot letter. It the professionals are like you, you know, you're right. You got the bridge, you got that bridge underneath there. You got other stuff. How is the area going

to be worked the character of the neighborhood needs to be thought of um the safety. So again, I thank everybody for their time, and I mean everybody, the developer and the community, to voice your opinions on this matter, and we hope to see more of it in the future. So, thank you. Thanks, Commissioner. Thank you. Any further comments? All right, I'll get you, sir.

I want to thank everybody that came tonight and voiced your opinion, including the investors. Um, I'm totally with everybody. years ago. It used to be a swim club there on top and I tore that down and we put the condominiums in. I got great neighbors there. I enjoy sitting on my deck overlooking the city. Join the groundhogs and the keys once in a while. And I want to thank the um city planning. They did um a very good job. They put things very very well put together for us to everybody understand step by step what we have and you know reminding everybody we do have a master plan here that we need to follow. We do need some housing in Battle Creek. There's places to build it. There's places to build um light industrial. Um, I think most of us sitting here praying that we can have the golf course stay there. So, again, I want to thank everybody for all the hard work and all the conversations that uh we've done here.

All right. Yeah, I'm going to Yep. Uh, so with that in mind, I will entertain a motion. Please have a specific motion to this agenda item, including your intention and mention any conditions. Remember, it is best practice to make the motion in the affirmative for the record. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I move to recommend

to the city of Battle Creek City Commission the disapproval of reszoning request PRZ25-00006 to conditionally reszone the property located at 245 East Columbia Avenue, parcel number 0036 00 1 0 0 0 for the reasons in the staff report.

Support Okay, it's been motion has been made by Commissioner Godfrey. Support was first given by Commissioner Gray. Are there any further questions or comments from commissioners? I think we need we have one correction. Under the parcel number, we um it's 0063-0000-1000- zero. Commissioner Godfrey, thank you. He approves. All right, we have made that correction. Thank you. Uh any further comment, question hearing? None. All right, we will vote.

Commissioner Hughes. Yes. Commissioner O'Donnell, yes. Commissioner White, yes. Commissioner Gray, yes. Commissioner Morris, yes. Commissioner Motton, yes. Mayor Binky, yes. Commissioner Godfrey, yes. Commissioner Dennis, yes. Motion has been supported unanimously. Thank you all. [Applause] All right, our official business is not over with yet, but if anyone from the public would like to leave, I will give you a few minutes to do so and then we will wrap up.

John, can I say something? Yeah. Yes, please. It's going to be noisy, but yes. Oh, it's okay. Just as everybody exits, I think just as much as you fought together around this, we've got to fight together around our community. So keep that in mind as you all go and think about the future of your community. What does that really look like and what you're willing to do? Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Say I really like what he's doing over there on that side with that third that third warehouse he's putting up there. It's very very nice. Oh yeah. But this is not the place for it. um CD is preparing the Ponzi for publication that we put out for for 15 days. It has your name at the bottom of it as in by time we submit it to you give me so much. Yeah, there it is. So, we'll just have to shame. I wouldn't even question.

All right, everyone is funneling out. Let's continue. Any old business? No old business.

All right, new business, please. Uh the uh the only item of new business that we've got today is um presenting uh once again the current year's current fiscal years um 2026 to 2031 capital improvement program for any feedback or recommendations that the planning commission may have to provide to staff as staff is working on the draft to bring forward to the planning commission for next fiscal year's um uh capital improvement program that will cover uh fiscal years 2027 to 2032. Uh the item before you today doesn't require any action. It's a discussion item. Just it's an opportunity for the planning commission to provide any feedback on um items that they might like to see addressed in the upcoming um the upcoming 2027 to 202032 capital improvement program document.

Are there any uh comments on this item? Yes. Um I was just wondering um with the uh what is I don't remember the name of the project but when we had several intersections have their uh the sidewalks um adjusted forgot the technical term for that. Um, has that been taken care of for most of our streets or where are we with that?

Because I think it's very important to have um those changes. Were there specific areas or is there a specific area that you were or uh our ne our neighborhoods um that have main corridors like Michigan Avenue, North Avenue, things like that um were the biggest concern.

So what what I'm doing I'm just going to jot some notes down. We'll pass this on to the Department of Public Works. they'll they'll be working on their portion of the of the program um to present um and then I will ask them as well um where they're at with that right now within the current plan. Sorry, I can't remember the title of that type of work, but you know what I'm talking about. like at a specific intersection where all the um uh sidewalks that fall into the street are smooth instead of having to step up to a curb.

Okay. Yeah. Uh so uh regarding ADA accessibility for Yes. Yes. Yep. Um so we will pass that on to public works. we can check on where they're at currently with what's in the current plan and then what's going to likely be proposed in the upcoming one that you'll look at in December. So, perfect. I applaud I applaud all the work that they have done. Um, my mother was uh handicapped and those are very important. Good point.

All right. Any other comments? Nothing on Riverside sewer improvements. Too soon. Sorry. All right. Uh comments by the public. Any additional comments? Please come forward. Joe Harris, 243 Elder Battle Creek. I really wasn't going to say anything and stick around, but something hit in my mind that I think is important. You know, a lot of this uh that was discussed tonight is about housing and the need for housing. And I went to uh the one meeting over at the Cole Center the other day. You saw me there, Mr. Garry. I saw you. And one of the things that was mentioned um in regard I asked a question of the gentleman that was there and I the statement that I made was you know you're you're based in a lot of everything about housing it's based on projection and I said so so realistically you know with everything in regard to housing everything that's going on what's your realistic viewpoint outward and he said about 7 to 10 years that's how far he's looking ahead that's the realistic So, in regard to housing, I'm saying to myself, well, why can't we focus on the here and now? What can we do now in regard to it and a few things were mentioned at that place. One of the things that was mentioned that, you know, could happen uh reper repurposing some of the buildings that are in battle. How many empty buildings do we have in the city that could be repurposed? The very first thought comes to my neighborhood, I believe it's southeastern over there. That thing that has been sitting there forever. it's not being used. It's just an empty building. You know, what could be done for with that? Um, another idea was uh having the ability for private citizens who own

their property to be able to add other buildings on such as mother-in-law sheds or or, you know, I won't call them sheds, but houses, you know, you know, elderly parent housing or extensions on the garage, maybe an apartment to rent. Those are those are some things for the here and now. just some things to consider that we could do now. Yes, I know we're looking at new new things. I'm looking at what we can do now that's affordable and that's the key words affordable right there. So, just something I wanted to throw you away because it's going to happen down the road. I guarantee it. So, thank you. Thank you, Joe. Any other public comment? All right. Any comments by staff or commissioners? Yeah, Patrick.

Oh, thank you, Chair. Um, again, today was a was a good day for for citizen government, I think. And, uh, I just want to say thanks again for everybody up here on the commission that that put the time into giving what was needed, servitude to the people. And, um, I also consider housing all the time. Like, I look around. I'm like, where can we go? And and like the person that spoke before, uh, Joe said, we are we're looking way too far out. We got to look at what's going on now, especially with what's going on around us with the job growth and everything going on around us. We got to find some um developers that actually want to stay and help us out and we at the planning commission are willing to work with them. Um just because this one didn't work out because of the way it was designed. Um there is plenty of other space out there that needs to be filled and start with um some planners that want to invest in the city. It seems like we do have places to go. Um and then the developer backs out at the last minute. We've we've been doing that at city commission, taking um clawbacks on money the last couple meetings of people that have decided to pull out of some work. And uh I I want to say thank you to the planning commission for the new zoning we got downtown up the street here to uh allow some of that housing to be developed. So thank you.

All right. Any further comment? I have I have a com question, I think. So for um interstate capital, I mean is someone going to work with them after the fact to find another spot or I guess I just was I mean he mentioned BCU and I'm looking at you John too, but I um he mentioned BCU and all of that and I guess my my next question is based on kind of where we landed here like is there someone who's going to pick up the ball to engage him further and maybe find a different site or location? Sorry I keep looking at you all. just I just want to make sure that like

I I you know you did mention BCU um you know historically speaking the organization has worked with him in on other industrial projects. I think not just for this project in particular but any developer interested in the city you know it's to their willingness to to cooperate and work with anyone in the city and and cooperate and take feedback and into consideration. Um, I think there's that's what it comes down to. Got it. Okay. Yep. I was just curious. Yeah, sir.

I'm going to refer to the housing meeting that was conducted here with the morning session and evening session. I was kind of disappointed to not see more city commissioners and planning commissioners at that meeting. He was an excellent speaker and a tremendous presentation and staff was certainly there and I appreciate that a lot. And I think some of his comments, Joe commented on the side of development and that I I was interested in his comments how the city needs to refocus on their zoning, on their land density, uh on their setbacks and things like that. So some of the imaginative development that is being seen across the country with young families and who don't want to rent but want to own maybe they want to own an 850 foot home and on a current city lot we might be able to subdivide and put two of those. And so I thought his comments directed towards the city were very very interesting part of his presentation that it will allow us to take a different look into the future for the development of the city of Battle Creek. Thank you.

Absolutely. Yes.

I just want to echo what um Commissioner Godfrey stated. I was at the morning's well I guess it was around lunchtime um session uh and I think the staff um and anyone involved in in bringing that forward as we look at the housing part of the master plan I think it was um a great conversation it was pretty much standing room only during that um session and um there's definitely a big interest I would invite that that conversation continue those public meetings continue uh so that uh and I'm glad to see that it was being recorded by access vision um because I think the more people that kind of get the context and understand the numbers um can have an appreciation for what's happening and how we together can um come to um a better place. Thank you. Any other comment, question? All right. Thank you all very much. Seeing none, meeting adjourned. All right. Good job.