By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
After months of debate, the Zeeland Township Board has passed a planned unit development rezoning for a 13.4-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Woodbridge Street and 96th Avenue.
Following two hours of discussion at its Sept. 2 meeting, the board unanimously approved rezoning the property at 9501 Woodbridge St. from R-1 rural residential to R-2 medium density planned unit development.
The property, which had been designated as R-2 in the township’s future land use map, is owned by Steve Sterken.
The residential PUD passage now sets in motion a process for developers to put together a site plan for the project to present to the township Planning Commission. Developers have two years to present a site plan, Township Zoning Administrator Lori Castello said.
“We have to have all of the specs. They’ll need to have their engineering, their floor plans, their landscape plan, their tree inventory, their outside agency approvals from (the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy) and the (Ottawa County) Road Commission – all of those things,” Castello said.
Project engineers proposed a development concept for the Woodbridge Flats project, consisting for 29 single-family homes and six duplexes, totaling 41 housing units in all. It also sets aside four acres as open space, with a soccer field listed on the concept plan.
The rezoning proposal generated opposition from neighbors who expressed objections ranging from increased traffic to impact on property values. At first, several board members also objected, questioning the fit of the project with nearby residential developments that are zoned R-1.
However, after several meetings where board members went through painstaking review of the township’s residential PUD ordinance and discussed conditions for approving the rezoning, opponents came around to vote in favor.
“I changed my position, just because of the time, effort and energy that went into it,” Township Trustee Dave Barry said. “When you look at what the law says, when you look at what the master plan says, when you look at all this stuff, all of those criteria have been met. When you take the emotion out of it, to me it seems like a reasonable development at this time.
“Related to that, our last board meeting (Aug. 19), we had as a board an opportunity to bite at the apple, so to speak. We had the opportunity to take a look – what do we want to see, what seems reasonable. Every issue has been addressed. So, it would be difficult to continue to say ‘I’m still not voting for it,’” Barry added.
One of the major objections raised by opponents throughout the process was the size of single-family lots. The township’s residential PUD ordinance allows a minimum single-family lot size of 6,500 square feet, compared to the traditional R-1 development requirement that each lot must be at least 15,000 square feet, and the traditional R-2 requirement that each lot must be at least 10,400 square feet. Most of the single-family lots in Woodbridge Flats would be 6,500 square feet.
The residential PUD ordinance also allows up to 30 percent of a development to be two-family or multi-family residential. The six duplexes proposed at Woodbridge Flats will represent 29 percent of the 41 housing units in the development.
Among the conditions the board put in place as part of its approval include:
• All single-family homes will be at least 1,300 square feet in gross floor area and main floor area, and each dwelling unit within a duplex must be at least 900 square feet with an additional 100 square feet required for any additional bedrooms beyond three bedrooms.
• Each dwelling unit must have an attached garage of at least 484 square feet.
• Each dwelling unit must have at least three bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms.
• The front façade of all dwellings must consist of no less than 25 percent decorative materials, such as glass, brick, stone, glass block or other materials “that add aesthetic value to the property.” Garage doors will not be included in the calculation.
• The general style of all dwellings must be in the Craftsman style. Homes will be one-story ranch or two-story units.
• Garages must be at least 25 feet away from the edge of the right-of-way. Other setback requirements include the front face of all units, including porches and steps, must be no closer than 12-1/2 feet from the edge of the right-of-way. No building can be closer than five feet to a side lot line or 20 feet from a rear lot line.
• Sidewalks are to be installed upon completion of each dwelling unit before occupancy can be approved.
• A walking trail will be continued through the east end of the athletic field via an easement between two of the lots. The trail will have a surface from inorganic material, such as asphalt millings or crushed concrete.
• Landscaping is to be installed to create a privacy buffer along the existing home to the east and the proposed athletic field to protect it from wayward play equipment. Dense evergreens are to be planted along the east property line from the Woodbridge Street right-of-way northward to the existing wetlands.
“All of those conditions that are in here are things that will have to be checked by the Planning Commission,” Castello said.
Project architect Jacob Melton challenged several of the conditions, particularly the size of the garage and the length of the driveway between the garage and the right-of-way. He proposed a 400-square-foot requirement for garages, but board members didn’t go for it.
“We’ve had many months of discussion. We feel we haven’t had the opportunity to negotiate. We got this (requirement the day of the meeting). We were hoping to respond with a letter,” Melton said.
Castello said that having a 22-by-22-foot garage would allow for more space for storage.
“With the width, 22 (feet) allows for a little more room to open doors, store lawnmowers, whatever,” she said.
The master deed for the development must be reviewed and approved by Township Attorney Ron Bultje to include easements and maintenance agreements for private roads and amenities, and the deed must be filed with the Ottawa County Register of Deeds and a copy of the deed filed with the township before any housing units can be sold, Castello said.
Zeeland Record
After months of debate, the Zeeland Township Board has passed a planned unit development rezoning for a 13.4-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Woodbridge Street and 96th Avenue.
Following two hours of discussion at its Sept. 2 meeting, the board unanimously approved rezoning the property at 9501 Woodbridge St. from R-1 rural residential to R-2 medium density planned unit development.
The property, which had been designated as R-2 in the township’s future land use map, is owned by Steve Sterken.
The residential PUD passage now sets in motion a process for developers to put together a site plan for the project to present to the township Planning Commission. Developers have two years to present a site plan, Township Zoning Administrator Lori Castello said.
“We have to have all of the specs. They’ll need to have their engineering, their floor plans, their landscape plan, their tree inventory, their outside agency approvals from (the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy) and the (Ottawa County) Road Commission – all of those things,” Castello said.
Project engineers proposed a development concept for the Woodbridge Flats project, consisting for 29 single-family homes and six duplexes, totaling 41 housing units in all. It also sets aside four acres as open space, with a soccer field listed on the concept plan.
The rezoning proposal generated opposition from neighbors who expressed objections ranging from increased traffic to impact on property values. At first, several board members also objected, questioning the fit of the project with nearby residential developments that are zoned R-1.
However, after several meetings where board members went through painstaking review of the township’s residential PUD ordinance and discussed conditions for approving the rezoning, opponents came around to vote in favor.
“I changed my position, just because of the time, effort and energy that went into it,” Township Trustee Dave Barry said. “When you look at what the law says, when you look at what the master plan says, when you look at all this stuff, all of those criteria have been met. When you take the emotion out of it, to me it seems like a reasonable development at this time.
“Related to that, our last board meeting (Aug. 19), we had as a board an opportunity to bite at the apple, so to speak. We had the opportunity to take a look – what do we want to see, what seems reasonable. Every issue has been addressed. So, it would be difficult to continue to say ‘I’m still not voting for it,’” Barry added.
One of the major objections raised by opponents throughout the process was the size of single-family lots. The township’s residential PUD ordinance allows a minimum single-family lot size of 6,500 square feet, compared to the traditional R-1 development requirement that each lot must be at least 15,000 square feet, and the traditional R-2 requirement that each lot must be at least 10,400 square feet. Most of the single-family lots in Woodbridge Flats would be 6,500 square feet.
The residential PUD ordinance also allows up to 30 percent of a development to be two-family or multi-family residential. The six duplexes proposed at Woodbridge Flats will represent 29 percent of the 41 housing units in the development.
Among the conditions the board put in place as part of its approval include:
• All single-family homes will be at least 1,300 square feet in gross floor area and main floor area, and each dwelling unit within a duplex must be at least 900 square feet with an additional 100 square feet required for any additional bedrooms beyond three bedrooms.
• Each dwelling unit must have an attached garage of at least 484 square feet.
• Each dwelling unit must have at least three bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms.
• The front façade of all dwellings must consist of no less than 25 percent decorative materials, such as glass, brick, stone, glass block or other materials “that add aesthetic value to the property.” Garage doors will not be included in the calculation.
• The general style of all dwellings must be in the Craftsman style. Homes will be one-story ranch or two-story units.
• Garages must be at least 25 feet away from the edge of the right-of-way. Other setback requirements include the front face of all units, including porches and steps, must be no closer than 12-1/2 feet from the edge of the right-of-way. No building can be closer than five feet to a side lot line or 20 feet from a rear lot line.
• Sidewalks are to be installed upon completion of each dwelling unit before occupancy can be approved.
• A walking trail will be continued through the east end of the athletic field via an easement between two of the lots. The trail will have a surface from inorganic material, such as asphalt millings or crushed concrete.
• Landscaping is to be installed to create a privacy buffer along the existing home to the east and the proposed athletic field to protect it from wayward play equipment. Dense evergreens are to be planted along the east property line from the Woodbridge Street right-of-way northward to the existing wetlands.
“All of those conditions that are in here are things that will have to be checked by the Planning Commission,” Castello said.
Project architect Jacob Melton challenged several of the conditions, particularly the size of the garage and the length of the driveway between the garage and the right-of-way. He proposed a 400-square-foot requirement for garages, but board members didn’t go for it.
“We’ve had many months of discussion. We feel we haven’t had the opportunity to negotiate. We got this (requirement the day of the meeting). We were hoping to respond with a letter,” Melton said.
Castello said that having a 22-by-22-foot garage would allow for more space for storage.
“With the width, 22 (feet) allows for a little more room to open doors, store lawnmowers, whatever,” she said.
The master deed for the development must be reviewed and approved by Township Attorney Ron Bultje to include easements and maintenance agreements for private roads and amenities, and the deed must be filed with the Ottawa County Register of Deeds and a copy of the deed filed with the township before any housing units can be sold, Castello said.
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