Board OKS first step to rezone land for warehouse use
Union Township officials on Wednesday took an initial step to rezone almost two acres behind Home Depot for warehouse and similar uses.
The Board of Trustees for Union Township unanimously approved the first reading for the proposed PREZ 21-02 request from Avenue A Properties LLC to rezone the 1.92-acre parcel at 2266 Northway Dr. (PID #14-15200-005-02) from B-7 (Retail and Service Highway Business District) to I-2 (General Industrial District).
The decision was made at the board’s meeting on April 14 which could be viewed via Zoom or interacted with over the phone.
Officials were told the 1.92 acres at 2266 Northway Drive dates back to the industrial park developed in that area in the 1970s and may have inadvertently been zoned for retail when Home Depot opened.
Now there is little chance the property would be used for retail and there is need for “flex space” for uses like warehousing, office space and light manufacturing, township staff said.
Ryan Smith, a member-agent for Avenue A Properties LLC (the owner of 2266 Northway Drive), met to discuss with the Community and Economic Development Director and Zoning Administrator
to discuss potential re-use of the existing building and applicable Zoning Ordinance requirements.
According to an action request form from Township Manager Mark Stuhldreher, “the current commercial (B-7) zoning and the historical industrial use and character of the building were noted. Mr. Smith subsequently submitted a rezoning request to facilitate future use of the building and site consistent with its location in the Enterprise Park industrial development.”
After a Planning Commission public hearing on the rezoning request on March 30, the Commission evaluated to request and ad
opted a motion by an unanimous role call vote.
The motion was to recommend to the Township Board of Trustees that the PREZ21-02 Zoning Map Amendment to rezone the 1.92-acre parcel at 2266 Northway Drive (PID #14152-00-005-02) from B-7 (Retail and Service Highway Business District) to I-2 (General Industrial District) be adopted based on the following findings and
conclusions:
This site is located in the East Downtown Development Authority District and in Enterprise Park, an industrial park development. There is no demand for the building at 2266 Northway Dr. to be used for retail, service or other commercial uses.the design and historic use of the existing building for office, warehouse, and light manufacturing activities is far more consistent with the character of the I-2 District than the regional commercial character of the B-7 District. There is a pressing need for “flex space” buildings suitable for office, warehouse, and light manufacturing business development, and for additional land zoned for industrial uses in locations with easy access to state highways.it appears that the existing industrial building at 2266 Northway Dr. may have inadvertently been included in the B-7 rezoning to support use of the front portion of the Enterprise Park’s “lot 5” for the Home Depot’s storm water management facilities. This commercial classification was later carried over into the updated Master Plan. The proposed rezoning will not create any special privilege, result in unlawful exclusionary zoning, or set an inappropriate precedent.
As this is the first reading of the proposed amendatory ordinance, a second reading and adoption by the Board of Trustees will occur at a later date.
“Adoption of the requested rezoning would allow the existing building to be used for office, warehouse, and light manufacturing activities, which would help to foster employment opportunities for residents to be able to thrive and achieve more than their basic needs (1.2), and would be consistent with commerce–friendly economic development policies (1.6),” the request form said.
For more information, visit uniontownshipmi.com.