Page 6/The Sun and News, Saturday, August 28, 2021other hotels around the area
because Bay Pointe is fully
occupied. He said the area
proposed for the rezoning is
designated for future mixed-
use development in the mas-
ter plan.
“This strategic rezoning
will blend perfectly with
numerous contiguous prop-
erties already zoned mixed-
use or commercial, while
acting in the spirit of the
Barry County future land use
map and urban planning in
the master plan,” Powers
said. “Bay Pointe has experi-
enced rapid growth, [with]
over 100,000 visitors annual-
ly.”
David Tripp, a Hastings-
based attorney representing
Bay Pointe, spoke on Powers’
rights as a property owner.
“The law holds that own-
ers of property have a right
to a reasonable return on
their investment and that
zoning cannot unreasonably
deprive the owner of that
return,” Tripp said.
At present, a barn is on
one parcel and a doublewide
mobile home on the other,
Tripp said.
“It is not as though there is
any type of rural residential
home [on those properties]
or a home that would come
down. It’s properties that are
distressed and need to come
down,” he said.
Four nearby residents
spoke out against the rezon-
ing, citing concerns that the
project would disrupt the
rural nature of where they
live.
“These parcels were zoned
rural residential for a reason
years ago, to help create fam-
ily-friendly neighborhoods
and bring community togeth-
er,” Elizabeth Bronson said.
“It was intended to create a
culture that was safe for
everyone in the area, and
since Bay Pointe Woods hasadded onto Oarie Drive, it
has been everything but safe
and quiet for us.”
Bronson submitted a
Freedom of Information Act
request in July, seeking an
accounting of all calls made
to Barry County Central
Dispatch for the resort area
in the past year. She said
that, since February 2020, 39
calls had been made to dis-
patch for Bay Pointe Inn and
Bay Pointe Woods, with calls
including complaints for dis-
orderly conduct, harassment
and larceny.
“This is not what my hus-
band and I signed up for
when we bought our house
back in 2016, well before
Bay Pointe even owned the
property next door,” Bronson
said. “We thought we were
buying a house in a quiet
area, next to a 3-acre lot that
was filled with beautiful
wildlife on a daily basis.”
Powers refuted the claims
about the police calls.
“There just hasn’t been
police complaints about
noise, on record, that I was
able to get on a FOIA request,
so I’m not sure where Ms.
Bronson is getting those
[complaints],” he said.
Another resident, Joel
Kapteyn, challenged the
assertion that the area is
planned for mixed-use devel-
opment.
“There are no major busi-
nesses developing in that
area. There’s him – that’s it,”
Kapteyn said. “Other than
that, in Orangeville
Township, there’s no major
roads, no major utilities, no
major schools, no other
major businesses.”
Linda Ribble spoke on
parking issues tied to the
resort’s Gun Lake Live
Wednesday night concert
series. She said at a recentconcert, three parking lots
were full to the point where
some had to park on the par-
cel where the barn currently
sits.
“There’s not enough park-
ing now for the overflow
parking, so where are these
cars going to be parked
[when the parcel is redevel-
oped]? Along Marsh Road? I
think not,” Ribble said.
“There is simply not enough
room in this area for all these
planned projects.”
Three letters in support of
the project were read into the
record. Mike Glynn, who
moved in two houses down
from the resort’s Boat House
Villa last year, called the inn
“a tremendous asset to the
community.” Glynn wrote
that he understood the con-
cerns about traffic, parking
and noise but expressed con-
fidence in the inn’s ability to
deal with those issues.
“I believe Bay Pointe has
demonstrated in the past that
they can handle these type of
situations with the upmost
[sic] respect and courtesy of
not only those who are
attending Bay Pointe’s gath-
erings, but members of the
community as well,” Glynn
wrote.
Another neighbor, Bob
Bouma, wrote that Powers
has always listened to his
concerns and taken action
when needed.
“Bay [Pointe] Woods has
not been problematic and
alleviated the parking issues
we have seen in the past and
I don’t feel that the new
development will be any dif-
ferent,” Bouma wrote.
Several planning commis-
sion members met with
county Drain Commissioner
Jim Dull, who visited the site
in advance of Monday’s
meeting.“He did not feel it should
be developed, simply
because there is no drain dis-
trict,” Commissioner Jack
Miner said. “If this property,
after it is developed, covered
with tarmac, whatever hap-
pens to the water, if it floods
downstream, he has to get a
drain district. Then you have
skyrocketing costs, not for
[Bay Pointe, but] for every-
body downstream.”
“The danger to the resi-
dents of Barry County is far
too high to rezone this parcel
mixed-use,” Miner added.
Commissioner Vivian
Conner – who serves on the
county board representing
District 6, which includes
Orangeville, Prairieville and
portions of Yankee Springs
townships – also met with
Dull and echoed Miner’s
comments.
“He said, basically, this is
wetland vegetation, and you
can’t do anything to it,”
Conner said. “You can’t trim
them, you can’t groom them.
They’re wetlands, and
they’re protected ... there
aren’t wetlands in mixed-
use. Wetlands are in rural
residential.”
Commissioner Bob
Vanderboegh said Powers
bought the parcels on specu-
lation of being able to get
approval for the zoning
change and make a profit off
the property.
“You can call it gambling,
I guess,” Vanderboegh said.
“I don’t see that having a
return on investment on this
piece of property is a viable
argument because you
bought this speculating
something that you had no
control over.”
In addition to the rezon-
ing, Powers asked for
approval of a new laundry
facility at Bay Pointe Woods,saying the existing laundry
facility, which is connected
to guest rooms at the main
inn, is inadequate to serve
the entire complex. It was the
third time this year he had
asked the board for approval.
An initial request was reject-
ed 6-1 in April. In June, com-
missioners voted 4-2 against
approval, then later dead-
locked at 3-3 on a motion to
deny approval.
Powers wanted to locate
the laundry facility within
walking distance of a resort
cottage in Bay Pointe Woods
that is in compliance with the
Americans With Disabilities
Act. Commissioners had
proposed locating the facility
near an existing storage shed
that is close to the water.
“He never moved this to
where the commission asked
them to move it to, because
he thought that to be too
expensive,” Commissioner
John LaForge said.
Planning commission
Chairman Clyde Morgan
was the lone “no” vote on
both proposals.
“That is an ideal spot,”
Morgan said of the proposal
to locate the laundry facility
near the ADA-compliant cot-
tage. “It’s just logical.”
Bay Pointe currently
employs about 140 workers
with an annual payroll of
more than $2.4 million. The
resort was expecting to add
10 to 15 new jobs as a result
of the rezoning and lodging
expansion, Powers said.the project would be built in
phases, and school districts
would have time to prepare
for extra classrooms and stu-
dents.
Corson said he also is con-
cerned about the additional
stormwater runoff from the
development in the event of
heavy rains.
“If you’ve got six units per
acre, that’s a lot of water
shed. I mean, the creeks are
already pretty full. ...I don’t
know where you’re planning
to put all the water,” Corson
said.
Township Engineer Jeff
Gritter responded, “Every
development is required to
mitigate for their increase in
runoff. So, if you pave an
acre, you have to accommo-
date that with the stormwater
system’s design. That’s
where you see those big
(retention) ponds.”
Roger’s wife, Julie
Corson, said she also is con-
cerned about the project’s
high density and the loss of
greenspace.
“To me, it looks like
you’re putting in a mall, with
residential around it. There’s
a lot of concrete. I don’t see
any need for retail,” she said.
“We have Tanger Outlet mall
right down (84th Street).
Right down Kalamazoo
(Avenue), there is all sorts ofshopping (at Gaines
Marketplace). I see it maybe
sometime becoming like all
these vacant strip malls you
see now.”
Simeon Maier owns farm-
land bordering much of the
proposed Gaines Towne
Center site.
“I’ve been wondering if
anybody here has thought
about dumping a thousand
people in amongst my agri-
cultural land, with no restric-
tions anywhere. What’s
going to happen to all the
farmland?” Maier asked.
“This is a real tragedy for
me to see this happening
here,” said Luke Malski,
who grew up on a farm in the
area. “The density is way too
high. This is an absurd
amount of people on 82
acres.”
He also expressed fear it
would be just another
mass-produced, cookie-cut-
ter project for the developer.
“Twenty years down the
road, what’s it going to look
like, who’s going to be buy-
ing it then? What is going to
happen to the neighborhood
... when this modern, con-
temporary style becomes
passé and nobody wants it
anymore?” Malski asked.
Malski said he likes the
mixed-use aspect of the plan,
though, and that it appears tobe pedestrian-friendly with
sidewalks.
Resident Matt McConnell
told the planning commis-
sion he is perplexed by how
township officials can be
pushing for a township-wide
special assessment to fund
public safety, while at the
same time considering such a
large project as the Gaines
Towne Center.
“So I ask you: Which is it?
It can’t be both. Are you
going to put more pressure
on (police and firefighters)?”
McConnell asked.
After the public hearing
portion of the meeting,
Planning Commissioner
Brad Waayenberg said, “It
pains me to see something
like this go in, in this area. I
do not like the apartments. I
don’t mind the townhouses,
the concept and design.”
Speedy noted that the
number of townhomes in the
plan has increased to 44 from
the 32 that were part of the
original proposal.
Waayenberg said he thinks
the project density is too
high, and he is concerned
about whether the retail
stores would turn into empty
storefronts in the future.
Planning Commission
Chairwoman Connie Giarmo
concurred.
“That’s one of my biggestconcerns – the retail space
and occupancy,” Giarmo
said. “And retail right now is
pretty shaky in some
respects. ... I’m concerned
about the ability to maintain
the retail and maintain the
integrity of the project.”
Planning Commissioner
Talimma Billips said she
wonders about the retail via-
bility, with so many people
buying online nowadays
instead of going to brick-
and-mortar stores, especially
since the COVID-19 pan-
demic began. But she noted
that trend could change in
the future.
“I am not a huge fan of the
apartments,” Billips said. “I
kind of think the small hous-
es are a good idea. They’re
going to make more afford-
ability, so that people with
different price points can still
own a home.”
Speedy said American
Kendall always emphasizes
design over density. He said
that is why he showed so
many examples during the
meeting, displaying the qual-
ity and durability of the
building materials.
“Cement fiber and mason-
ry. These are very low main-
tenance. They age very
well,” Speedy said.
Commissioner Brad Burns
said he likes the GainesTowne Center project, par-
ticularly the mixed-use
aspect of it.
“I like what’s been pre-
sented. ... I’m very happy
with the mix. This is a mix
we talked about years ago,”
Burns said. “Six months ago,
we were all happy with what
we saw here. So, I haven’t
seen anything that’s changed
my mind.”
Giarmo pointed out, “This
was our first opportunity to
hear from our citizens, and I
think it was a good thing for
us to do.”
One resident sent the
township a letter saying that
the developer, not the town-
ship, should pay for the utili-
ty extensions needed for the
project. Two miles of water
main would need to be
extended from the town-
ship’s nearest water tank at
Eastern Avenue and 92nd
Street to serve the develop-
ment. Gritter said the cost for
that would range from
between $1.5 million and
$1.9 million. The on-site
sanitary lift station needed
for sewer discharge would
bring the tab to about $2.
million.
“The township has been
very clear that we’re not
going to pay for the water
and sewer extensions,” Wells
said. “The township mayagree to upscale some of
those pieces of infrastructure
in order to account for future
development down the line.
“But it primarily would be
on the developer’s dime to
build.”
Speedy said that high-end
apartments are important. “I
think it’s an essential part of
a growing community. And
there is no way in this mar-
ket, or anywhere, to have a
mixed-use component with-
out apartments above it. To
take the apartments away
would take away the mixed
use.
“And we have to have
enough units to pay for the
off-site infrastructure,”
Speedy continued. “It’s eco-
nomics, it really is. We can
tweak things, but, at the end
of the day, this is what we
do. And it needs to be suc-
cessful for everyone.”
Wells said American
Kendall has the opportunity
to come back to the Planning
Commission with a different
site-plan application address-
ing the concerns that were
raised during the meeting, if
it chooses to do so.
Voting to reject the site
plan and rezoning were com-
missioners Giarmo, Rober
and Waayenberg. Voting in
favor of it were Burns and
Billips.OPPOSE, continued from page 1
REJECTS, continued from page 1
284 N BRIGGS ROAD - MIDDLEVILLE, MICHIGAN 49333
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Township Recycling Committee Members
Yankee Springs Township is looking for residents interested in participating
on a recycling committee. Recycling committee members will assist the
township in researching and analyzing information related to waste recycling
to help determine the future direction for the township’s recycling program.
Interested residents can contact Mike Cunningham, Yankee Springs
Township Clerk for more information.
Please contact:
Yankee Springs Township
Mike Cunningham
284 N. Briggs Rd.
Middleville, MI 49333
[email protected]
Please call the Township Office at 269-795-9091, if you have any questions.
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Deadline: September 10th, 2021Call 269-945-
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