It was a long night on Monday for members of the Lowell Charter Township Planning Commission – and for some attendees who had items near the end of the agenda. All commissioners were present for the meeting which ran nearly three hours – two hours and 47 minutes to be exact.
About half that time was spent reviewing a site plan for the new fairgrounds for the Kent County Youth Fair. After that, the longest discussion centered on whether to allow reader board signs in the Ag-2 district. Other items up for consideration included a business annual review, two ordinance amendments and a request from the Lowell High School crew team to build a boathouse in the South Grand River Riverfront Park.
Public Hearing Held on Fairgrounds Plan
Lowell Township Hall was largely full for Monday’s meeting, thanks to the attendance of both fair representatives and neighbors who live near the site of the new fairgrounds. The Kent County Youth Agricultural Association, which runs the Kent County Youth Fair, purchased the former Deer Run Golf Course on Cascade Road in 2018 and has been working to transform it into its new fairgrounds.
In 2020, the Planning Commission approved a special land use permit for the fairgrounds and a site plan. Last month, members of the Kent County Youth Fair were present before the planning commission for an annual review of their special land use permit. At that time, it was noted that the configuration of the fairgrounds needed to be changed because the state had determined wetlands on the property could not be altered.
The changes to the site plan were considered significant enough to warrant another public hearing, and that public hearing was held on Monday night.
Residents Appreciate Changes, Some Concerns Remain
Before opening the public hearing, commissioners heard a recap of changes to the plan. Bill Zaske, president of the Kent County Youth Fair Board, noted that the configuration of the barns was changed so that they would fit between the two wetland areas. The midway was also pushed farther north, and it was noted that a 15-foot berm with trees on top was planned for 600 feet of the frontage on Cascade Road.
The original plans call for two main drives, one on the west end and one on the east end of the property. The new plan includes a central secondary drive running down the middle of the property.
“This middle road is really a stop-gap [solution] for us,” Zaske explained. The eastern road won’t be completed this year, and the middle road will be gated and used for the 2023 fair to allow trailers to access the fairgrounds without impeding visitor traffic on the main drive.
Cathy Neuman, a resident who lives on Cascade Road across from the new fairgrounds, was the first to speak during the public comments portion of the hearing. She appreciated the work that had gone into improving the plan although she noted that residents continue to be concerned with lighting, noise and traffic.
“I think it’s going to be a lot better with the berm,” Neuman said. However, she added: “We are still very concerned about the noise of an outdoor track being so close to our house.”
The plan call for an outdoor arena to be located 500 feet from Cascade Road, and residents worry that the facility could be used for events such as concerts and tractor pulls. Another neighbor was frustrated that residents had previously been told the location of the arena couldn’t be moved because the site plan couldn’t be reconfigured.
“We were told it couldn’t be redesigned, and we’re here. It’s being redesigned,” he said. “Get it away from the residences.”
Zaske said the location of the arena was chosen to keep it and the midway together. He also noted that OSHA has an 85-decibel limit for noise on the midway, and the township was requiring decibels to be no higher than 55 at Cascade Road. Zaske was confident that 500 feet was far enough away from the road to meet the township requirement. However, the resident wasn’t so sure, saying he had been able to hear a horn honked from his driveway while standing in the location of the arena.
Another resident, Gary Ritsema, asked how it was missed that the earlier layout was designed over a wetland area. “I don’t understand how this thing slips through the cracks,” he said.
A representative from construction company Wolverine said that a delineation report that was completed in 2020 was never turned into the state. By the time the error was discovered, a new report needed to be completed. However, vegetation on the site had changed in the meantime, causing the state to determine the wetland area could no longer be altered.
John Timpson of Timpson Transport expressed concern that his business had hauled more than 30,000 yards of fill to the fairgrounds site, but he did not believe the fair had a fill permit. He was worried that this could cause him to lose a $100,000 bond his business is required to have with the township. Planning commissioners did not think his bond was in jeopardy, but they did note the fair should obtain the proper permit.
Joice Smith was concerned about the fencing in northwest corner of the property. She noted that her son pastured Texas longhorn cattle in an adjacent field and had an electric fence installed. She worried that the fencing proposed by the fair for that area would not be enough to keep children from getting into the field or touching the electric fence.
“I don’t want any kids to get hurt back here,” Smith said while pointed to a projected plan of the site.
Finally, an Ionia County resident who lived nearby stood to object to the location of the fair. She did not understand why the Kent County Youth Fair would be located so near the eastern border of the county.
“It’s a stone’s throw from Ionia County,” she said. “This is my neighborhood. I don’t appreciate it in this location.”
Fairgrounds Site Plan Wins Approval
Once public comment was completed, commissioners discussed among themselves the site plan and resident concerns. Commissioner Mark Batchelor asked Zaske about the possibility of moving the outdoor arena to another location. The fair board president replied that the location alongside the midway was ideal, and that the fair board had no plans to host other, loud events during the year.
“We’re not looking for the big rock concerts,” according to Zaske. “That’s not in our master plan.”
Batchelor then said he was ok with the track remaining at its currently proposed location. “I’m comfortable with where the track is because we have that noise requirement (of less than 55 decibels) at the road,” he explained.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the revised site plan for the fairgrounds. Nine conditions were attached to the approval, including a change to the camping section to meet setback requirements, a township review of lighting and landscape plans and the development of a solution to fencing concerns in the northwest corner.
Electronic Message Signs in the Ag-2 District
The other issue to garner some significant discussion during the Monday meeting was a request by the Christian Life Center on Alden Nash Ave to install an electronic reader board on their sign. Currently, the sign has a section that allows for changeable text, but messages must be installed manually using plastic letters.
While electronic reader boards are allowed in some districts – such as light industrial and as part of the fairgrounds ordinance – they are not permitted in Ag-2 which is how the church’s property is zoned. Last month, the church’s pastor approached the planning commission about changing the ordinance to allow them to have an electronic reader board on their sign.
Planning Commission Chair Dave Simmonds seemed inclined to limit the use of electronic signs in the Ag-2 district. While he thought they might be acceptable for some uses, such as government and church buildings, he did not seem in favor of allowing them for all businesses in the district. However, others disagreed.
“If (a property) qualifies for a sign anyway, what’s wrong with allowing them to have a reader board,” asked Township Supervisor Jerry Hale who was in attendance in the audience. Township Trustee Mark Anderson, who was also in the audience, noted that electronic reader boards often look nicer than other signs,
Commissioner Bill Genovich agreed that it seemed like anyone entitled to place a business sign on their property in the district should be entitled to use a reader board. He noted that the signs are expensive so it is unlikely that everyone would use them.
Simmonds pointed out that there are residences in Ag-2 and then read from the ordinance all the allowable business uses in the district. “I’m just telling you,” he said. “That’s your potential.”
At the end of the discussion, it was decided that Brad Kotba, the township’s planning consultant from engineering firm Williams & Works, would research the issue more thoroughly and report back on which land uses in the Ag-2 District are currently allowed to erect signs.
Other Planning Commission Activity
For other items of business, the Lowell Charter Township Planning Commission did the following:
- Unanimously voted to recommend that the township board pass an amendment to the township’s camping ordinance to all glamour and rustic camping.
- Unanimously voted to recommend that the township board pass an amendment to the township’s stormwater ordinance to state that applicants must meet Kent County requirements.
- Unanimously voted to approve an annual review of the special land use permit for My Storage Great Lakes on Grand River Drive.
- Agreed by consensus that a Purchase Green Turf franchise business could be located in the light industrial district.
- Agreed by consensus to work with the Lowell High School crew team to facilitate the construction of a boathouse in the South Grand River Riverfront Park.
Commissioners also unanimously returned their three officers to their positions in 2023. Those assignments are:
- Chair – Dave Simmonds
- Vice Chair – Mark Batchelor
- Secretary – Greg Forde
The meeting adjourned at 9:47pm. The next regular meeting of the Lowell Charter Township Planning Commission will be on Monday, January 9, at 7pm.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on Dec. 15, 2022 to correct information about the 2020 site plan for the fairgrounds. That was a final site plan, not a preliminary one as was previously stated.
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