The Lowell Charter Township Planning Commission met on Monday night to discuss two pieces of business. The first was an annual review of the special land use permit for the new fairgrounds on Cascade Road, and the second was a discussion about the township’s renewable energy ordinance.
All commissioners were present for the meeting.
Latest Fairground Review Deemed Satisfactory
For the first item, Bill Zaske was on hand to provide an update and answer any questions about the fairgrounds property at 13801 Cascade Road SE. Zaske is the president of the Kent County Youth Agricultural Association which uses the fairgrounds to host the Kent County Youth Fair as well as other events throughout the year.
In 2024, the fairgrounds hosted several smaller livestock and equestrian events, and approximately 40,000 people attended the Kent County Youth Fair. The fair ran smoothly although Zaske said that traffic for the rodeo – a new event this year – was backed up on the road for 30-45 minutes at one point.
This year’s projects included some paving around barns to make them more accessible and the completion of a wastewater treatment facility. The latter means the fair next year will have restrooms and showers in addition to portable toilets.
Looking ahead, adding a campground is the next major project on the site, but the KCYAA is fundraising first. The organization also needs to go through a state review process that could take 6-9 months.
Concerns from neighbors include some water run-off and lighting on the barns. Apparently, on some occasions, staff has forgotten turn off the exterior lights on the buildings when leaving the site. Zaske says the KCYAA is working to resolve those concerns.
At the end of discussion, planning commissioners voted unanimously to accept the KCYAA report and deem it satisfactory for purposes of meeting the requirements of the special land use permit.
Renewable Energy Ordinance
The second main piece of business was a discussion about the township’s renewable energy ordinance. Brad Kotrba, the township’s planning consultant from the firm Williams & Works, explained changes in state law mean the township might want to rethink its ordinance.
“It all boils down to the state decided that 50% of all energy in the state will be renewable in the next five years,” according to Kotrba.
He noted Consumers Energy and DTE have been voluntarily moving away from coal for years, but they have been doing so at their own pace.
“They have been decommissioning plants for decades,” Kotrba said. “Consumers has one coal plant left in the state.”
However, with the change in state law, companies have found themselves scrambling to replace the non-renewable energy that they create or buy with renewable energy sources that meet the state’s standards. Acceptable energy sources include wind, solar and battery storage, among others
The state has set forth standards for ‘large-scale’ renewable energy sites. Standards for smaller sites remain at the discretion of local units of government, but Kotrba said that, realistically, utilities are only going to be creating large-scale sites.
Given the new state standards, the township has three options:
- Adopt a compatible renewable energy ordinance (CREO) that would codify the state standards
- Adopt a “workable” ordinance that may differ slightly from state requirements but in a way that is acceptable to utility companies
- Keep a current unworkable ordinance and allow utilities to get their site permit from the state instead
The current Lowell Township ordinance is considered unworkable because, among its provisions, is a requirement for only 25% lot coverage.
Kotrba said utility companies are willing to accept workable ordinances, even though they may be stricter than state standards, because it fast-tracks the approval process. Currently, there is a two-year wait for permits at the state level and going that route will make it difficult for the companies to meet the five-year deadline for producing 50% of energy from renewable sources.
“We don’t want them (so) why would we help them?” asked Commissioner Greg Forde. “I see no reason to take one step to help them. Let them go to the state.”
However, Chair Dave Simmonds thought there might be a financial reason to maintain at least some control over the site permitting process.
After further discussion, it was determined that the commission would consider a workable ordinance for wind and solar power and create a new ordinance for battery storage, something the current ordinance doesn’t address.
The next regular meeting of the Lowell Charter Township Planning Commission will be on Monday, Dec. 9, at 7pm in the Lowell Township Hall.
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