The Planning Commission for Lowell Charter Township started the year with two annual reviews of previously issued special land use permits and then previewed their goals for 2023. All commissioners were present for the session which ran approximately 35 minutes.
Annual Reviews: Tip Top Gravel and Lowell Retail Management
The two main agenda items were annual reviews of special land use permits issued to Tip Top Gravel and Lowell Retail Management. The planning commission required the annual reviews as a condition of issuing the permits.
The first review was for a gravel mining operation undertaken by Tip Top Gravel on E. Fulton Street. Two representatives from the company were present, and they provided a letter to the planning commission which outlined that they had started the reclamation process on the east side of the site and did not foresee any changes to the operation in 2023.
Planning commissioners reviewed the conditions of the special land use permit and found Tip Top Gravel was in compliance with them all. It was also noted that no formal complaints had been received about the operation.
The commission voted unanimously that it found the company in compliance with its special use permit and that the next annual review would take place in 2024.
The second annual review was for Lowell Retail Management which received a special land use permit to develop the building that now houses WellNow Urgent Care and Starbucks on Fulton Street.
The owners of Lowell Retail Management noted that they had since sold the property and building, but that nothing had changed on the site since construction was completed in 2021.
Commissioners voted unanimously that it found the site to be in compliance with its special use permit. They determined that future annual reviews were not needed for this property.
Looking to 2023
Once the annual reviews were completed, planning commissioners took stock of their activities in 2022 and reviewed upcoming projects for 2023.
“We were pretty busy,” said Chair Dave Simmonds as he reviewed the 2022 activity. That included creating two new ordinances and amending four, rezoning one property, approving two site plans, granting two special use permits and reviewing six existing special use permits.
For 2023, the Planning Commission made it a priority to update their zoning ordinance book. Other items on the to-do list for 2023 include updating signage regulations and reviewing open space PUD rules.
The commission also briefly discussed a proposal from the Lowell High School Crew Club to build a storage building in the South Riverfront Park. While most commissioners seemed supportive of the idea, it was noted that there were a “lot of nuts and bolts” to be worked out.
Family Dollar has also expressed an interest in building a store on Fulton Street, according to Simmonds. The company is looking at property west of the city, but it’s location in the floodplain means it will need to get approval from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy before it can proceed.
The meeting adjourned at 7:36pm. The next regular meeting of the Lowell Charter Township Planning Commission will be on Monday, February 13, at 7pm.
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