SN 3-9-2024

The Sun and News, Saturday, March 9, 2024/ Page 3

Planning commissioners approve

ENT, allergy clinic office

Greg Chandler

Staff Writer

A West Michigan-based

ear, nose, throat and allergy

clinic will soon open a new

office in Caledonia

Township.

Planning commissioners

Monday approved a site plan

for Michigan ENT & Allergy

to build a 5,160-square-foot

medical office on a triangu-

lar-shaped 1.2-acre parcel at

6470 Cherry Meadow Dr.

SE, east of AutoZone in the

Cherry Meadow Business

Park. The plan was approved

on a 6-0 vote.

The primary issue commis-

sioners discussed dealt with

the number of parking spaces

the clinic will have. Project

developers asked for more

parking than what the town-

ship typically allows for build-

ings of similar size – 55 spaces

versus the 41 that would be

required by the township.

“In our zoning ordinance,

we state that there shall be

seven (parking) spaces for

every 1,000 (square) feet of

gross floor area,” Township

Planner Lynee Wells told

commissioners.

Wells said the township

could vary on the parking

requirement by 10 percent,

adding four more spaces to

the lot, but more discussion

was needed to have the addi-

tional spaces approved.

Jeff Brinks of Venture

Engineering PLLC, repre-

senting the developer, said

the nature of the clinic’s

business with regard to serv-

ing allergy patients necessi-

tated the request for the addi-

tional parking space.

“If you’ve ever had allergy

shots at an allergist, you go

in and get your shot and you

go out,” Brinks said. “The

turnover for that type of

patient is a lot higher than it

would be than if you were

just going to see your (gener-

al practitioner) for a 20-min-

ute-to-half-hour visit. They

tend to have a higher need

for parking because people

are coming in at very short

intervals. If someone’s com-

ing in, they get their shot,

(then) they leave, but in the

time that they’re in there,

somebody else is coming in

and looking for a (parking)

spot because they’re next.”

Brinks said the request

was based on Michigan ENT

& Allergy’s experience with

parking at some of its other

clinics. Tim Anema of T

Construction Management

added that some patients

might have a little longer

time at a clinic after receiv-

ing their shot.

“When people get allergy

shots, they sometimes have

to sit there for 10 or 15 min-

utes and be monitored,”

Anema said. “While there is

a quick turnover going on, at

the same time there’s some

people waiting in a sub-wait

area ... that are being moni-

tored for their shots for a

certain period of time, in

order to make sure there’s

not a reaction.”

“We’ve added parking in

certain areas to facilitate peo-

ple, keep them from parking

on the street. We’re just trying

to be proactive, so we don’t

end up with that same situa-

tion here,” Anema added.

Commissioner Tim

Bradshaw, who made the

motion to approve the site

plan, requested that the plan-

ner review architectural

components of the office

construction as part of its

approval.

The clinic is expected to

have 10 to 12 employees,

Wells said.

Michigan ENT & Allergy

has six locations around

West Michigan, with its main

office in Holland. The clinic

also has locations in

Hastings, Grand Rapids,

Grandville, Allegan and

Grand Haven, according to

its website.

(269) 795-

121 E. Main Street

Downtown Middleville

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Planners propose

changes to Caledonia

Twp. sign ordinance

Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
The Caledonia Township
Planning Commission is rec-
ommending the township
board approve changes to the
township’s sign ordinance.
However, one board
member is raising questions
about one particular change
that’s been recommended by
commissioners.
Commissioners Monday
voted 6-0 to send to the
board proposed amendments
to the sign ordinance. Two
nights later, the township
board had a first reading on
the changes.
“We frequently get asked
by developers and property
owners about sign provi-
sions, and through the years
we’ve noticed different
inconsistencies and opportu-
nities where we had to make
some calls in terms of inter-
pretation,” Township Planner
Lynee Wells said. “We want-
ed to make sure we clarified
those areas of the ordinance
where we’ve seen some dis-
crepancies.”
One of the major changes
proposed in the ordinance
deals with signage on build-
ings with multiple tenants.
“Historically, our sign

ordinance limited the square

footage of wall signs, no mat-

ter how many tenants were in

a building,” Wells said. “So

we would have a commercial

building with multiple tenants

or an industrial building like

we’re seeing on Patterson

(Avenue) and 68th (Street)

with multiple tenants, and

they were limited. So we put

in place some rules related to

the ability to have 30 square-

foot (signs) for each tenant in

a building, so that’s going to

be helpful for those business-

es.”

But at Wednesday’s board

meeting, Township Treasurer

Richard Robertson raised a

concern about a proposed

limit on signage in windows.

The measure would limit sig-

nage in windows so that a

certain percentage of the win-

dow would be unobscured,

which some see as a security

issue. But the proposed per-

centage was never discussed

at Monday’s Planning

Commission meeting.

“They never talked about

(filling in) the blank. It never

came up,” Robertson said.

But when the board

received its packet for

Wednesday’s meeting, the

blank was filled in to indicate

that 90 percent of the window

had to remain unobscured by

signage, Robertson said.

“Where did the 90 percent

come from between Monday

night and Wednesday morn-

ing?” Robertson asked.

Township Trustee Tim

Bradshaw, who is the board’s

liaison to the planning com-

mission, didn’t have a good

answer to Robertson’s ques-

tion.

“I can’t answer how that

changed,” said Bradshaw,

who was presiding over

Wednesday’s meeting since

Supervisor Bryan Harrison

was absent.

Robertson questioned

what he saw as a “lack of

process” in how that percent-

age was determined. He made

a motion to have the window

signage section be deleted

from the rest of the ordinance

so it could be reviewed, then

possibly brought back later as

a separate amendment that

could be added back on to the

ordinance. But Robertson’s

motion died for lack of a sec-

ond.

The township board will

hold a second and final read-

ing on the sign ordinance

changes when it meets again

at 7 p.m. on March 20.

The Caledonia Township Planning Commission has recommended chang-
es to the township’s sign ordinance. (Photo by Jayson Bussa)

The Caledonia Township Planning Commission approved a site plan for

Michigan ENT & Allergy for a 5,160-square-foot medical office in the Cherry

Meadow Business Park. (Photo by Jayson Bussa)