All right. With that, I will call the april 27th, 2026 meridian township planning commission meeting to order.
and I will start with roll call. Commissioner nahum. Present. Congratulations, dad, as we understand.
commissioner brooks. Present. Vice chair mccurtis. Present. Commissioner shrewsbury. Present. Commissioner mcconnell.
here. Commissioner snyder. Present. And yes, We have addition under other business for commissioner snyder.
so we'll get to that in a moment. Okay. So we have called the roll and the chair is here. Barely.
so at this moment we can move on to number 3 on the agenda. Public remarks. Do we have any public remarks?
yes, you do. Ma'am, if you would. And if you could please state your name and address for The record.
wanna know where I live too. We want all the information.
these are the easy questions. Marilyn rue, 1808 birchwood, Okemos, michigan.
okay. My comment is, we do not need another gas station on grand river.
as where I could see, it looks like it's going to be built kind of across from the Speedway.
I mean, why do we need another gas station? Those tanks damage the ground.
we can't even build over in okemos and hamilton because the cleaners damage ground.
nobody wants to, you know, build over there. That's a sight for sore eyes.
and then, I mean, who brings all this business here?
right? It's vacant. It's been vacant for a couple years. Do you try to get people to come here? I don't understand how that all works.
okay? So, you know, we ought to try to fill the vacancies that we have right now.
and I realize you want to build new buildings and ensure houses are nice here, But some of the houses that they're building are a little expensive.
poor people can't afford those. Sure, they bought that on central park.
those townhouses are for rent. My gosh, they're what, $35, $45 hundred a month to rent those things.
I mean, people can't afford that. We need to have more not real low housing, But something more so that people can afford some housing here,
you know, in okemos. We shouldn't have to build all these expensive houses.
so I think, you know, we ought to try to. I don't know who does, Who attracts all the business here.
is there a certain person? Or do just they come here and ask?
I don't know how all that works, but as I said, You know, we ought to get something besides a gas station.
I'm glad. Huntington bank? Sure. Is huntington bank going to take care of old chicago, Plus the verizon store?
that verizon store has been empty for, what, Over ten years, probably?
I mean, why can't we get something in there and make it look nice instead of having all This new stuff being built,
you know, up the other stuff that's you know, Around here? So that's my comment. Thank you, mrs. Rue. Yep.
and with that, we can move on to item number 4 of the agenda, Which is approval of the agenda.
and we do have one edit under other business. And that will be 9.a.1. Recognition of commissioner snyder.
so we could make that edit. I will. I move to approve the agenda as amended.
second. All in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed? So that was moved by commissioner mcconnell And seconded by vice chair mccurtis.
and with that we will approve the agenda. And with that we can move on to item number 5 on Our agenda,
which is approval of the april 13th, 2026 minutes. Do we have any edits, comments, concerns? I move that we approve the minutes.
moved by vice chair mccurtis. I'll second. Seconded by commissioner shrewsbury. Any comment? I would just say that they're very detailed.
they are very. Mr. Shorkey does not miss much. So thank you, mr. Shorkey. All in favor, aye.
oh, sorry. Commissioner brooks. I was trying to find my one note. There was one note where I had asked about how emails are written to us and whether or not They
had to provide names and addresses for those to be put in or treated as sort of official Language.
but the note said. I don't have it pulled up directly here, But.
oh.
because otherwise they can just be anonymous emails from anybody. If emails need to be Named and addressed?
yeah.
has to say their name and address in order to make a statement.
okay. I will.
so that would sound to me like a friendly edit? Yeah. That's a friendly amendment. Friendly amendment.
thank you. Hopefully my tone may have come up less friendly.
I didn't intend it that way. Just how friendly people keep reminding me.
I made that note, and I'll go back and listen to that part of the video just to make sure I got it right.
okay, thanks. Sure. And with that friendly amendment, We have our motion to approve.
correct? We had a second? And all in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed? That is the approval of the april 13th, 2026 minutes.
with that, we will move on to item 6 on the agenda, Which is communications, 6.a is the ingham county community profile.
yeah. There's a couple. The ingham county and the meridian county community profiles.
we received those and thought they'd be of interest to the planning commission. So we put Them in the packet for you. Just informational stuff.
yes. And so ingham county, meridian township and.
I was mispronounced. I wanted to say alaiedon township. Alaiedon township, A quick note on that.
the letter that's in there says, see the attached master plan.
I have the attached master plan. But if you go to the alaiedon township website, They do have a link to it that they chose not to put into their cover letter.
and if you have any. So, same drill. They do have a place there where you can click and Give comments if you see something.
but if you want to bring that back to the planning commission and take action as a Planning commission,
I can put a formal memo together for you to. And then your secretary will sign it as an Official communication,
however you want to do it. I don't necessarily see a reason for that, I mean.
I think we're asked to write. Commissioner shrewsbury.
sorry. I would love. I didn't get a chance to look at it before the meeting, And I doubt that I'll have feedback,
but since it's adjacent, it looks like it's feedback isn't due until june 15th, If we could maybe flag it for you for our next meeting,
if there is anything that anybody wants to discuss and put in a communication, If that would be okay with you.
yeah. Please do. Great. Thanks. Any comments on that? Would that be any of the three communications for the next meeting? Well, I'm speaking about collecting comments on the alaeidon township master plan so that this
planning commission can communicate that. Very well. Okay. Commissioner mcconnell. Did I see a half raised hand?
yep. That's right. Exactly. There was a pen in it.
I did have a chance to look a little bit at the community profile, And there's a couple of tidbits in there that really caught my eye I wanted to point
people towards. This is the ingham county population.
looking at change from 2010 to 2023, with this very small total change, But the number of school age children actually dropped a bit and the number of seniors
grew by quite a bit, 45%. And their projections from 2025 to 2050 are for a 5% increase in Our population in the county,
but school age dropping by 14% and seniors rising by 37%.
and I thought those were interesting trends. I don't know how exactly to interpret them, But in terms of thinking about what our housing and community service
needs will be in the next 20 years, feels like a good perspective to have.
so I just want to bring people's attention. Thanks. Vice chair mccurtis.
yeah, I wanted to add to that, too. Looking at the meridian charter township population, How it has increased,
you know, over those 13 years from 10 to 23, Total change of 10%.
and then school age children going up 8%, seniors 48 and working age 20 to 44,
19%. But we have the 45 to 64 year olds going down, Went down 15%.
anyway, just piggybacking off commissioner mcconnell, Looking at this, looks like when we talk about
housing and if the trend continues to go in that direction in terms of, With the exception of the 45 to 64 year olds,
although even those seniors are going up 65 plus, That might be something that our township will have to look at in the future.
commissioner nahum. Yeah, another similar comment. I was looking at the total enrollment of school aged children.
do we know why lansing public school district is declining so much more rapidly than the Like the number of school aged population?
do we know if students are choosing private education or going to other places?
is it just demographics? You seem like good things to talk about when we get into revising Our master plan.
I didn't mean to spark too much of a firestorm.
commissioner brooks. I also wanted to comment on it, And I appreciate the other commissioner's comments on this document.
I think there's a few stories that are in this. I think the first one is that any sort of economic growth that we're seeing that's Outlined here happened from 2010 to 2023,
which is a fairly robust period of economic growth. So projecting that out to 2050 is probably filled with risk,
given that we just had experienced one of the great recession.
so it was only going up from there. Then the second thing I wanted to note is that there May be differences here in the age
cohorts, both within meridian township versus ingham county and michigan.
but broadly, the age of everywhere is going up.
right? It's just getting. Generally the larger age groups are getting older as they move Through the ranks,
and even meridian township, the school projection is that okemos schools, I believe.
did I see this? I could be misstating this. I thought I saw that okemos schools Potentially would see a decline.
I may have misread that. Or maybe I was interpreting the.
no. Okay, so I misinterpreted. Maybe I'm thinking about like the national population Projections or the michigan ones.
haslett. Oh. Haslett did. Yeah. And then the last thing I wanted to note here from sort of A thematic story perspective
is that this growth over the past decade is probably.
this is probably a statement, not a guarantee, But that our growth has been through density within the urban service boundary,
probably primarily. Right? And so we know that we have limited space within that area.
and so in order to grow, we will either need to expand that boundary or increase density Within that urban service
boundary, which means fewer parking lots, more dense housing or other structures
to continue that. So those are my thoughts about it.
I guess somewhat of a good thing that we are building a ton of new schools in meridian Township.
all of this is going to be in the minutes as you guys discuss the demographic profiles in The packet.
and we assume it will be accurate, as you always are. Yeah.
just on youtube. All right. Very well. With communications, We'll move on to item 7 on the agenda.
we have public hearings. Our first is on rez# 26005 garza.
mr. Shorkey. Yes, as noted, rezoning number 26005 garza family name rezone one parcel Approximately
an eighth of an acre, located at 1745 mack avenue from rtd multifamily residential to rb Single family residential.
this is a pretty straightforward request, and it makes sense.
you can see on the master plan, it's all yellow. That's known in the master plan as suburban residential.
looking at the zoning, all of this in orange is rb.
this is ra, this is an rr piece right here. And then you have one parcel right here that's Zoned for multifamily residential that has one house on it.
the house is a non-conforming use. Rezoning, It does significantly bring it into compliance with the master plan.
I do know that the suburban residential calls for ra. This, they're asking for rb, but the rb is consistent with all of the zoning to the west, South and east of them and fits into the land use pattern.
staff really has no further comment on this. It's a straightforward as it sounds, And it brings them into conformance with the master plan.
and we can answer questions or staff or the applicant is represented as well.
comments? Commissioner brooks. I have one question. Mr. Shorkey. Is there like a lake lansing
area for zoning that we apply? There is a lake lansing overlay district.
overlay district. It largely defaults. It's not a separate zoning category.
it's an overlay and it defaults to the underlying zoning. Okay. Is this property within that? You want to give me a second?
I will tell you. Okay.
there we go.
actually, that's not going to come up on this. I need to open up ordinances.
district regulations. Overlay district.
which has a map? It is in the lake lansing overlay district.
it's this piece right here. So it's just on the very northwest corner.
what does that overlay district mandate in this case? It doesn't mandate. It defaults to the. It's not a zoning category.
basically, it plays with the dimensional standards.
minimum lot area sometimes, but. I mean, minimum lot area is consistent with the Requirements of the overlay zoning
district. Maximum lot coverage is 40% of what area.
they've got plenty. Of the front yard setback is 20ft from the street, Except it may be reduced acreage.
they meet that. That's no problem. Side yard is consistent with the underlying Requirements of the zoning district.
it doesn't change any of the land uses or anything like that.
so one of the notes, I think in the write up was
that there might be space to split the parcel basically.
the rb district has an 8000 square foot lot size. Right. The applicant has talked about dividing the parcel.
it would allow for one land division. Either way the lake lansing overlay doesn't affect That.
okay. So like when I was thinking about this, I looked at all the other plots of land.
or not plots of land. The parcels that are in this same little triangle of between the Streets and there are various sizes.
and then there's this giant one. Not giant, but the one that we're looking at. Yeah. And it is tend to be bigger than lots around the lake.
yes. Yeah. And so then when I see this, the lake lansing overlay district says 5000ft² Minimum.
I think I saw that as you were skimming through there, Does that apply here?
so. Even if it did, they've got plenty of room. They have 8/10 of an acre. Right. So I'm saying though, Then can it be split?
but it doesn't say that. Minimum lot area is consistent with the requirements of the Underlying zoning district.
it doesn't apply to lots created and recorded prior to october 5th, 1960.
but those are a lot of lake lots and a new lot wouldn't apply to. That wouldn't apply to a new lot. So the underlying zoning district would be rb.
it would be 8000ft². Okay. And the same applies to corner lot down below?
yeah. And again, consistent with the requirements of the underlying zoning district.
provided the lot is not 35ft width at the street line. And you've got plenty of room. There's no issue with that.
thank you. Further comments from the
commissioners?
and mr. Shorkey, you handed me a card on this one for somebody who may wish to speak. Was This this one? I would ask the applicant if they have any questions and then I would.
any questions for the applicant? And then. Okay, So no comment from the
applicant and no comment from the public. Very well. And actually this has to essentially lay over for a couple of weeks. So this is the first Time and then.
correct. I will bring a resolution back. So as I explained, They can't make a decision tonight by bylaw.
I come back in two weeks with a resolution recommending approval and then that goes Forward to the township board,
so. Commissioners. I just have a question out of sheer curiosity.
sure. Staff would be obliged to answer. Sure. Curious how the house was built in 2008 when it was zoned multi family.
I looked up the building permit. I saw nothing in there about anything.
the zoning seemed to be in place at the time. I figured someone was going to ask that question.
I can't answer. We issued a building permit and I wasn't here. Okay. Does the lake lansing overlay district follow.
or did the historical ordinance follow a similar practice as the.
keep forgetting the names of things. The other overlay district that is sort of right next To lake lansing overlay district.
it's a little square. It's the historic village around. That's not an overlay. That's a zoning district. That's the.
okay. And it never was? No, this is zoned rdd.
village of namioka that you're talking about is a separate zoning district. It's not an Overlay.
okay. Why do we have the overlay district? That is a larger question than I'm prepared to Talk about tonight.
okay. I'll put that right here and then I'll forget.
okay. Thank you. It'll be in the minutes in the record.
I'm sure we'll. Yeah, he'll put that in there.
moving on. Under public hearings, we also have b.
just real quick, are you guys good with this? Yeah. I can. Okay. Yeah. Straw poll. Sorry. Thank you.
straw poll in two weeks. And I'll copy you when I send the packet out, So I'll be in touch.
okay.
or rabbits. Or rabbits. All right. Mr. Shorkey, You have what you need on rez
26005? Yes, I do. Very well. And with that we can move on to 7.b, Which is sup number 26009,
huntington national bank. Okay. Can I make one point of order?
commissioner brooks. Did we close the public hearing officially for the last one?
no, commissioner brooks is correct. So we will go back and find the point.
but public remarks closed. Public hearing? Public hearing closed.
yes. Public hearing for garza closed estimated at 6:56?
I will find that in the minutes and I will note that for you. Very well. The chair continues to struggle in his role.
moving on. Staff would suggest formally saying I'll now open the public hearing.
hearing no comments. I'll close the public hearing just so we have it on the record. But I've been inferring. Okay. With that. Okay.
so we've closed garza, right? And we move on to sup 26009 huntington national bank.
yes. And opening. You are familiar, this being the old chicago site right on the corner of Marsh and grand river.
property is in the c2 commercial zone. Pretty straightforward stuff.
it's all surrounded by commercial property. This would not be a special use permit, Except there's a drive thru.
okay? So, lot is certainly big enough, future land use.
it's actually in the mall pica area. Everything to the east is commercially designated.
so you've got support in the master plan. The proposed use bank with the drive through Exists
in other locations in the c2 zoning districts. There's no problem with consistency. It does comply with the master plan future land use Map.
the attached site plan shows the applicant. Might be getting ahead of myself.
I'm sorry. Applicant. Like they're aware of our ordinances and regulations.
you know, they're compliant with all our dimensional regulations and requirements.
it's not expected to adversely affect or be hazardous to neighboring uses, Not expected to be detrimental to the economic welfare.
it's a bank. I would hope not. And it's adequately served.
you've got busses. You've got, you know, existing roads, Schools and whatever.
as far as vehicular traffic goes, according to the applicant's engineers.
the proposed use is a 6375 square foot bank. That is not expected to generate an increase In intensity from the former old chicago restaurant.
it has been determined that no further traffic analysis is necessary. So that's what's required by our ordinance. They did a traffic assessment.
if they triggered a traffic study, that would have come next.
so they have determined that they don't have to take that next step. Staff has read that and is fine with that. It is worth noting that this will have to get Mdot approval and
maybe ingham county road department? Don't remember.
they'll have to get mdot approval. They've got this.
no, I take that back. So let me zoom out on the plan here.
they have an entrance off of their site from the north that comes in here,
and they have an entrance to the site off their property that comes in here.
they don't have any road cut on marsh road or grand river avenue, So I retract that last statement.
based on everything I'm telling you, we don't have wetlands, Storm water.
it's a developed site, so it's already paved over.
the applicant is here and they have a presentation that I hope we can get up.
we've been working on that. Staff has no other comment on this application and can answer Questions at this time.
any questions from the commissioners? Commissioner shrewsbury.
this may be a question for the applicant instead of staff, But I know there's a huntington bank that I think is in the like an outbuilding on the
mall parking lot currently. Would this site replace that? I don't remember a huntington. I remember a comerica.
I think there was a huntington, so. Oh, is there? There's one. Well, it used to be a. I'm sorry.
I'm speaking out of order. Vice chair mccurtis.
there's one that I thought was at admire and then there's.
oh, okay. Another one that's near like that.
yeah. I will let the applicant answer that question. Yeah. I was just curious if we're swapping one site for another or if this would be an Additional site.
sure. I have a question. Commissioner brooks.
for the mall pica that is connected here. So what does that mean for a development like This?
does the pica impact anything? Not specifically.
it doesn't specifically correlate to. If they were doing a multifamily development, It would
be supported by the pica. If not, the underlying zoning is commercial.
the pica certainly supports that. If you want to see more specifically what it says.
you don't have to pull it up. I just wondered. Okay. No, If there was any clash with the master plan,
staff would have noted that. Okay. All right. Thank you. Sure. Any other
comments, questions for mr. Sharkey? Like I said, Applicant's here and they will have a presentation they want to do.
do we have the presentation? Are we there? Yeah, I will turn it over and let him introduce himself.
good evening. My name is carter sandstrom. I'm representing allegro civil engineers, Who's the civil engineer for the project.
I'm going to take this time to just try to set up the. Go ahead. Dropbox link I've got here.
wow. Oh my goodness. Satellites are linking up.
continue with download only. Thank you. Just telling my colleague I need to get some new Glasses.
okay. So
this will be a brief presentation on the proposed huntington national bank located at the Corner of marsh road and grand river avenue.
some brief highlights. A lot of these have been touched on previously by staff, But just wanted to highlight again our reduction in impervious area
as well as our adherence to the strict interpretation of the zoning code.
we are also planning to reduce the number of parking on site significantly from around 106 To,
I believe, 33, which is between the code required minimum maximum.
additionally, we are going to, as touched on briefly previously, We're going to maintain the existing access to the north of the site as well as
on the east side, which tie into an existing access road.
additionally, we are reducing the intensity, As we touched on previously.
and for stormwater treatment, we are coordinating with the ingham county drain Commissioner to provide stormwater detention for the project
for the requirements. Briefly, with regards to landscaping, We are going to be proposing to remove 3 12 inch dbh trees that
are located around like adjacent to the existing building on site.
and we're going to do a 1 to 1 replacement. So in their place, We're going to be adding some overstory trees as detailed in this landscaping plan
here. And the rest will just be some code standard landscaping installation.
and then here are some renderings of the project. This is the view looking, I believe, south. So as you can see, There are.
well, this is just the front elevation here. Sorry, I really need some new glasses.
and here is the view. Sorry. This is the south view. As you can see, there's the drive up area which would be on the left side.
that's going to be the east side of the building. And then this little drive through on The left part of the image,
there's going to be a remote. We're proposing a remote atm addition which is also detailed In our site plan.
and here is a view of our floor plan. We also have the architect in attendance tonight, If you'd like to touch briefly on the project.
sure. Okay. Pass it off. Thanks. If you can just identify yourself.
sure. My name is josh gonzalez. I'm with the architecture firm who's the architect on this Project.
so the question was floated earlier. If this is, You know, how this was impacting current branches,
I believe some branches are moving into this. I'm not sure exactly how many, the bank would have to speak to that.
I'm not privy to that information, but this building is essentially half branch, Half back office support.
so here on the plan you can see the branch typical bank branch off to the left, Which includes offices,
a teller station and safety deposit safe. And then on the right half of the plan are just Additional offices for some of the non-retail
services that huntington offers. And if there are any questions on the exterior, Happy to talk about those as well.
but that's what we have for the project. Questions?
vice chair mccurtis. So I think it's apparent, But so you're going to tear down.
the goal is to tear down the existing building?
and then build a. Correct. Yeah. Not renovate, But. Okay. Correct. The new one would be significantly smaller than the current
building then or about the same size? I don't recall how large the restaurant was, But.
I can't give you a specific number. The new building as proposed is smaller.
yes. Okay. Thank you. That's all I have. Thank you.
any other questions? Commissioner brooks? I'm just curious about the number of drive thrus Here.
so this is a bank at this corner position. And it's only here because of the drive Through.
whenever I see a drive through bank, I very rarely see three spots filled up or any, For that
matter. So the written letter that we got said that this is part of a redevelopment going Forward,
and I'm just slightly skeptical that a bank right here on the corner with three drive Thrus is an excellent use of the
space here. Can you speak to that at all? I can't speak to the business case end of
why the bank proposes this many, like what they need for their business case.
but I will say from experience that huntington prefers the.
so the first two lanes in that three lane drive thru are what we refer to as the vat Lanes.
the vacuum accessible tellers, I believe, is what the acronym stands for.
the fun little vacuum tubes. And huntington, Their customer base tends to use those more frequently than some other banks because they
have the face to face feature and a lot of their clientele prefer to go through the drive Through so they don't have to wrangle kids or,
you know, some have disabilities that they can't get out of their cars easily. So they Feel strongly that those are necessary.
and from my experience, I've seen those used pretty frequently at huntington branches.
and the two additional lanes are for remote atms, Which again, from the bank standpoint is a safer alternative to having to park and then
walk up to an atm at the building. So in terms of my previous experience with the client And seeing their use
for the drive ups, I'd say this seems pretty typical, But again, I'd have to defer to the bank for the actual business case behind why they need
that many. What's the anticipated traffic volume that comes through one of these lanes?
I don't have that information. Carter, do you know if you have that in the traffic Assessment?
so I think our average daily trips was around 940 which the initial use was around 1200.
I guess we don't have anything specifically like per each lane, But just overall the project proposes a decrease in traffic volumes.
all right. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Further questions from the commissioners?
so then this is what. I would formally open the public hearing.
I was just thinking that through. Okay. So thank you, Sir. You're all set. Thank you. And at this time, 07:14 p.m.
I would open up for any public comment regarding sup 26009 huntington national bank.
seeing none, I will close public comment at 7:14.
any questions for mr. Shorkey? Seeing none.
so we would do a straw poll. So for the commissioners obviously non-binding, But just intuitively with what we have in front of us,
who would be in favor of granting the sup for huntington bank?
that looks to be 5 to 2 roughly. So, staff will prepare the
resolution accordingly. Very well, thank you, Mr. Shorkey, and we'll see that back in two weeks or at our next.
that is correct. So the same idea. They can't make a vote tonight.
I'll come back in two weeks. I'll give a resolution. This will be a resolution to approve. This is the approving body for the sup.
at that point you'll be ready to apply for site plan. Okay. Yep. Thank you, gentlemen. And you are not required to stay, To reiterate.
however, we do have robust discussion around chicken regulations that I hope it's not Robust.
okay. All right. With that, unfinished business, We have 8.a.
sup 26007 tailgaters. No changes since our presentation and our discussion two weeks ago.
there is a resolution to approve the sup for a gas station
restaurant with the drive thru and convenience store at 1614 and 1622 grand river and a Vacant parcel at central park drive.
does comply with the master plan and future land use map conforms to the review criteria In 86-126,
and they have agreed to comply with the conditions as listed in the resolution to approve.
I move to adopt the resolution to approve special use permit number 26007 to allow the Construction of
a tailgaters gas station restaurant with a drive thru and convenience store at 1614 and 1622 grand river avenue and a vacant parcel on central park drive,
subject to the conditions found in the resolution to approve for the following reasons.
the proposed tailgaters complies with township master plan and the future land use map.
the proposed tailgaters conforms to the review criteria found in section 86 through 126 in The zoning ordinance,
and the applicant has agreed to comply with conditions in the resolution to approve.
support. So that was moved by vice chair mccurtis, Supported by commissioner mcconnell.
all in favor. This is a roll call. Roll call vote. I apologize. Discussion first. Commissioner brooks.
I guess my question is, so what are the conditions?
they're in the resolution. Approval is granted in accordance with the application Materials submitted by the applicant.
right there. There we go. It is required to be followed by site plan approval.
the site plan is contingent upon the granting of a the variance by the zoning board of Appeals to increase the number of fuel stations from 10 to 6.
they have made that application. These are pretty normal stock comments.
any proposed future changes to the scope of the sup requires an amendment, And the applicant shall obtain any and all applicable permits,
license approvals from any of the other bodies.
that should not say new car wash.
staff will amend that before I bring it back for signature.
that should say new gas station and restaurant with drive thru.
because those are the sups, gas station and the restaurant and the drive thru.
for the last conversations that we had, what I recall is that we had talked about Something about an increase above the
parking maximum. I don't see anything about that as a condition.
not that we had requested it, but. No. With the increase from 10 to 16 fueling stations That resulted in some.
there's no parking maximum being triggered by this. There's there was a concern that they weren't making a parking minimum.
staff does not have that concern. Okay. So then the conversation about going above the Parking minimum
that we had talked about last time, they're fine. They went above the parking minimum. If if and I have confirmed since then, We do count the locations of the fuel stations as parking spots.
so staff has no concerns with the parking numbers.
okay. All right. Thank you. Mmhm. Commissioner shrewsbury.
did I see you with your hand? No. I was flagging the car wash.
I remember seeing a car wash in that place. Sorry about that.
it's an upcharge. All right, with that, our hearing.
no further comments. Are we prepared for roll call vote? All right. Commissioner mcconnell. Yes. Commissioner snyder. Yes.
commissioner shrewsbury. Yes. Vice chairman. Curtis. Yes. Commissioner. Brooks. Yes. Commissioner. Nahum. Yes. And the chair votes yes.
okay. I'll get you a letter of approval in the in email.
and you're free to proceed with site plan. And I know you've already applied for the Variance,
so look forward to working with you. Great. Thank you all for your support.
thank you. Thank you. Yes, absolutely, ma'am.
see you later. And with that, we can move to item eight b under unfinished business, Which is z a number 26001.
parking ordinance update. Mr. Shawkey. Staff will point out
where. This was the change that you made at our
last meeting. Number of parking spaces provided on any
development with the exception of one family residential, Two family residential schools,
child care centers, hospitals, or place of worship shall not exceed the minimum off street Parking requirements by more than 20%.
and then you made this addition. This requirement may be waived if found to be in conflict With state or federal regulatory requirements.
that is the only change made since the last meeting.
staff has no further comment. Any comments from the commissioners?
commissioner nahum. Yeah, I'm. I think given the feedback from the cia and some of the Other commissions,
I'm uncomfortable with putting a restriction that I'm worried won't have a lot of positive Benefits.
like it doesn't look like there are many businesses that are like overly producing parking And that this is adding a lot of it's going to generate a
lot of variances that are reasonable. And so personally, I'm, I like a lot of the other changes that we're making to the site,
but I'm still kind of concerned about also including this 20% parking maximum despite, You know,
obviously, I would really like to reduce the amount of impervious surface and move forward On a lot of the environmental aspects of our master plan are kind of present in the idea
of reducing the necessary or reducing the amount of parking allowed.
but personally, given some of the feedback that we've gotten from staff and the other Commissions,
I'm not currently in support of the 20% maximum.
thank you commissioner. Any other comments? Commissioner shrewsbury.
I guess reading it, as I know we've talked about this a lot, But reading it in stark red text here right in front of us again,
that one gave me some pause too. And so I, I guess I, I know it's really important to some of us and
I love to be reminded of, of why, but I feel like it's, It's a problem that has not proven to be an
issue even in the absence of this language. And that could create a lot more work, I think,
as commissioner nam said, for staff, if it were there and there were a need to, You know,
I guess I'm trying to find the balance of showing our support for decreased amount of Impervious parking
space, but also not creating a barrier for the times in which it's needed.
and this having the waiver only if it's in conflict with state or federal does create a Whole lot of administrative work or work for the zoning board of appeals.
if a change were needed. So I'm I mean, I would be in favor of removing it.
it's not a hill I'm going to die on if everybody else is in favor of keeping it in there.
but I do tend to agree with commissioner. Others.
commissioner mcconnell. I'm also persuaded by commissioner nagin's comments and agree that We can do without that section.
all right. Well, I'll jump in support of it. I appreciate what everybody's saying and that It,
it, when we look at it like this, it feels restrictive and we generally don't like Restrictive things.
there's actually science that shows that humans don't like subtracting things are hesitant To do that.
so even removing the minimums is a subtraction from this document.
and we don't like that. So I think the benefits here are that, Well, let me comment back on the cia and the,
and the dda comments that were made when, when they originally were brought to us, Which I appreciate them bringing those forward and raising them.
all the way that I see this is that all of our ordinances place some level of restriction Or
guidance on every business and resident that comes here.
so the way that I think about the parking parking maximum is a way to provide
a mechanism for preventing parking over development.
and what we had heard, I think, at least if I recall correctly, Is that this doesn't happen very often.
usually people just build to whatever level is needed and then that's what moves forward.
so I, I don't know if it will create variance requests. It very well could. My suspicion is that it won't.
when I look at all of the parking that we have and think about the problems that is Created for us at the moment.
that's what I think about is that there are lots of large parking lots that have led to Water movement problems within the township,
and we try to address those now as we build out through the drain commission.
and so that's how I was thinking about this. I think it does align with our master plan in That we want to create more sustainable
communities and create more walkable communities that rely on vehicles a little less.
and so this may try to encourage behavior in that way.
however, saying all that I support this, I think there's lots of other mechanisms here in Here that do those things that I was describing.
I would be in favor of moving it forward, though, And seeing what the board has to say about it.
that's my take on this.
any other questions? Comments. Question. If we want this section
six be removed, then do we just send it back to staff so they can remove it and then look To adopt it?
or can we just adopt it now with the promise that it'll be removed?
or I mean, how what's the process? You can make a motion to adopt the resolution with the With the with the amendment to the
ordinance. You could make that motion right now.
you don't have to bring this back. But for that, I make a motion to adopt this.
what's the resolution? Resolution? Gosh. With the amendment to remove section six b.
so technically there was already a motion on the floor. There is a motion on the floor. I don't know, I didn't.
didn't you move to adopt this and then somebody seconded and then no, That was the previous one.
previous one. That was the one with the bank. All right. My bad. Sorry. Tailgaters. Tailgaters.
procedurally, wouldn't it be cleaner to have a single vote on the amendment strike Striking that language?
and then if we strike, move to strike that language, Then we could move to vote on the totality of the ordinance?
yes, that is yes, you're correct. That is a good way to take this. So we move the I will let me remove my I'll take that.
nobody seconded it. Yes. Oh that's true. Okay. So you can you can withdraw it. I'll withdraw it withdraws.
and then somebody could make a motion to strike.
so I'll make a motion to move. You need to move first and then someone moves amend to Amend it as part of our discussion.
and then we vote on the amendment. And then we vote on the on the motion. Otherwise, what he was going to do would work just fine.
also, unless we don't have support for that motion, In which case then it would fail and then we would go,
I mean, the end result would be the same thing. Yeah. Okay. So in order to proceed, we would need a motion to adopt the ordinance, The resolution,
the resolution. Sorry. It's okay. A motion to adopt the resolution.
recommending approval. Yeah. Recommend approval. Recommending approval. And then we would get a second.
and then there'd be a motion for an amendment to amend to strike that section.
then we would vote on that, and then we would return to voting on the resolution as a Whole.
very well. Commissioner nahum I'd like to make a motion to adopt the resolution Recommending the approval of zoning amendment 26001,
in accordance with the revised draft ordinance language. You have a second. Second by commissioner shrewsbury. Okay.
oh, I'd like to make a motion to strike the language in section six b support.
all right. And so at this point then we would do a roll call vote for just the amendment.
yes. And so with that so this is this vote will be solely based solely for the amendment Striking section six b commissioner
support commissioner brooks. Yeah. Oh, wait. No no, No.
may I ask a question before we continue? Sorry. Commissioner. Commissioner snyder. I'm sorry, But I understand the vote on the amendment,
and then we're going to vote again after that. You're voting on the resolution after the amendment? Yes.
okay, I got it. There's a motion and an amendment motion. I got it. I'm with you. I would have went the other way.
but everybody we're moving, we're moving. So we have support from commissioner nahum.
we have opposition from commissioner brooks support. And then we'll go down to commissioner mcconnell. Yes. Commissioner snyder. No.
commissioner shrewsbury. Yes. And the chair votes yes.
for the amendment. So the amendment to remove six b has has support.
yes. Okay. Motion anymore? So now if you. Now you've got the resolution.
motion before the resolution motion. Correct. Yes. Regarding. Okay. So now we're moving to vote on the resolution as a whole.
after the striking of six b commissioner. Nahum. Yes. Commissioner brooks. Yes. Vice chair mccurtis.
yes. Commissioner mcconnell. Yes. Commissioner snyder. Yes. Commissioner shrewsbury. Yes. And the chair votes yes. So that was I think just a note of Parliamentary procedure
that will appear in our minutes in a way that will make it very clear to the township Board that we all think this is a good thing to move forward.
but there was a significant discussion about, Hey, that thing, oh, they're going to know there was a significant discussion.
so thanks for hanging with us on that process. Yes. All right. Mr.. You have a clear record on that?
yes. All not a problem with that. Z 826001. Is finished for the night.
and with that we can move on to z 26002. Chicken regulation update.
here we go. Standing. Standing in the orchard.
staff has no further comment on this except to say there's a resolution recommending Approval in your packet. We have feathered this in quite a bit and several meetings.
and commissioner nahum, I'd like to make a motion to adopt the resolution recommending Approval of zoning amendment 26002.
in accordance with the revised draft ordinance language moved by commissioner nahum.
do we have a second? Second. Looking at the second by vice chair mccurtis, How about we'll go commissioner snyder.
I gotta get on the board here. We gotta go. Commissioner, It's your last meeting, so well,
yeah, just this once. You were. It's not a competition.
oh, oh, boy. All right. With that, we'll do a roll call. Vote. Commissioner nahum. Yes. Commissioner brooks.
yes. Vice chairman. Curtis. Yes. Commissioner mcconnell. Yes. Commissioner snyder. Yes. Commissioner shrewsbury. Yes. And the chair votes. Yes. Okay.
there. I am pleased to announce we have finished our unfinished business for the night.
and with that, we'll move on to nine a the addition, Which is for commissioner snyder.
this is your last meeting, as I understand. Yes. And I believe we have a resolution mr. Chalky is bringing up.
or mr. Mcconnell and whoever wants to handle it.
commissioner shrewsbury would like to having served with you for a long time.
I'm so sorry to hear this, but we'd like to move a resolution tribute of appreciation for Commissioner christina snyder for outstanding public service.
may I read it? You may. Oh, wait. Do we need a second first, Or would you like me to read it? No. The whole thing. Read it all. And then.
and then we'll get to parliamentary procedure. Okay. Get on. Oh.
thank you. Whereas during christina snyder began her public service in the township Starting in 2021,
when she was appointed to the planning commission. And whereas, During her five year tenure as planning commissioner,
miss snyder has ably represented her interests of the interests of this planning Commission and the city citizens of meridian township,
also serving as the planning commission secretary and vice chair, And serving on the meridian township transportation commission.
and whereas, commissioner snyder worked tirelessly to advance and achieve the goals and Objectives adopted by this commission and the township board,
selflessly contributing valuable focus, perspective, Insight and energy to our most challenging efforts and subsequent accomplishments to the
decision making process and where and whereas, On april 27th, 2026, commissioner snyder ended her tenure as a planning commissioner on
the meridian township planning commission. Now, Therefore, be it resolved by the township planning commission of the charter township of
meridian, ingham county, michigan, wishes to publicly to recognize, Commend and thank christina snyder for invaluable contributions to and impacts on the work
of this commission and the quality of life in this community. This commission is grateful for your outstanding public service and wishes you well in Your future pursuits.
be it further resolved that the township planning commission of the charter township of Meridian,
ingham county, michigan, hereby adopts this tribute of appreciation to planning Commissioner christina snyder as presented.
thank you. Support. Thank you. And so at that point, We would comment.
I'm really sorry. Yeah, I, I want to stay on.
and it's a it's a practice for me in just. Life balance.
you know, it just doesn't it doesn't seem to get less busy as children get older.
quite to the contrary. I've really enjoyed serving on the commission and this took me a Very long time to make this
decision. So but I've, I've really enjoyed working with everybody and being here for so Many years.
I can't believe it's been five years. Oh my gosh. It's really been just a joy, honestly, to be able to serve with fellow commissioners and Just get to see the updates in this community and be a part of that
process. So yeah, I've appreciated my time and my work with all of you.
so thank you. If you find yourself with an empty nest, Please come back.
oh yeah. I think that there will be service to meridian township in the future at a future Date.
I just got to get through the high school years and that kind of thing.
yeah. Thank you. So I'd imagine that is a unanimous motion.
is there any opposition? We have to roll call, Vote on a resolution.
it is a resolution. We do have to. So we do have to roll. We have a roll call resolution. I was going to wonder what you were going to do.
commissioner. Nahum yes. Commissioner brooks yes. Vice chairman. Curtis. Yes. Commissioner mcconnell. Abstain.
commissioner shrewsbury. Yes. And the chair votes yes. Thank you. If you guys all wait after we close, I'll run that upstairs.
I'll fill it out. I'll bring it down for a signature and we'll frame it.
and if people want pictures and stuff, we. You know, That'd be nice. Oh, that's so nice to do that. Thanks. Sorry to keep you all.
new chair runs a pretty efficient meeting. Yeah, I tried to after I stumble over parliamentary procedure and voting.
but you know, it's hard. Yeah. Occasionally things, You know, I remember things with that.
we can move on to reports and announcements. Township board update. Mr.. Chalky, Do we have one? The at their next meeting,
the board's getting ready to take action on the rezoning and the capstone rezoning Application.
that's everything I recall. Seeing coming up very well.
we have liaison reports who is liaising these days. Zba has not met since our last meeting. Very well.
commissioner mcconnell do you liaise? You just seem to know what's going on.
the environmental commission has not met since we last met. There was quite a nice turnout At the recycling event.
even though the weather was a bit chilly, there were plenty of people lining up in, The dumpsters were filling and trucks were filling. And it's always really encouraging to
see our township volunteers out there directing traffic and getting junk out of people's Homes and on its way to recycling.
very good. Any other liaison reports? Brownfield was canceled last time.
in that case, project updates. I did not see that on the agenda. So we can move forward. I thought I put a report in the packet.
the last page. Sorry. It's. Just a single page this time.
but it is in there. There is a restroom. Oh, I missed that.
yes. Yeah, that's. I saw an article today, I think in or recently lsj.
there's something else opening. I don't know if it's a food truck moving into a brick and Mortar.
and it's going to be in okemos. I think it's going to be in the old the way they described It,
it looked like it was going to the old tante, Which would only make me sad because tante should have stayed. But obviously that was not
possible. All right. With that, we have item 12 public remarks.
do we have any public remarks? Hearing none. Commissioner comments.
congratulating commissioner nahum on becoming a father. Congratulations. Yes. I just have an observation that when I first joined the planning commission.
it's been a while now. I think I was one of the few people on it who wasn't retired.
and now I feel like an old person. You know. And having full time jobs. And I mean, especially what you were saying about life balance,
it is really impressive that we have a group here who has full time jobs and other family Responsibilities and still manages to make
it to meetings twice a month and do the work behind the scenes to research.
and so I just want to say, I appreciate all of you.
especially those of you with the little ones that I know. That's a lot. So thank you. Can I also comment?
I saw commissioner brooks coaching his. I assume your daughter's soccer game. It was. Yes. That is also a lot of work. Yes.
I was watching the one and a half year old while coaching the six year old who was Refusing to do anything.
typical. My daughter was on the other team and you did a fantastic job.
how's that? All right. Well, thank you. Any other commissioner comments?
I just wanted to say that it's been a pleasure serving on the commission with you, Commissioner snyder,
and I wish you the best. Thank you. I appreciate all of you.
thank you so much. Thank you. And with that, I would entertain a motion to adjourn.
so moved. Second. Second. And all in favor? Aye. I. We are closed at 7:43.