MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The Meridian Hospitality, LLC, had requested a rezoning on the terms of how a new hotel will be built earlier this year, asking to remove the term all-suites.

The current zoning rule, as of August 19, 2014, states that all rooms must be suites.

The Meridian Township Board discussed this topic in previous meetings, and came up with a resolution that was presented in the April 26 Township Board meeting.

The previous resolution of 2014 “conditioned development on this site to an all-suites hotel with no more than 135 rooms, … commencement of the construction within three years of the resolution,” and more, read Trustee John Veenstra.

The Planning Commission held a hearing on February 22, 2016 and recommended approval of the rezoning on March 14, 2016.

Veenstra read the resolution that stated the Township Board’s approval to amend the conditions and remove the term all-suites from the first resolution.

“The amended condition will continue a logical development pattern for the site and surrounding are into the future,” Veenstra read.

The condition to build the hotel now read that it is to be built with no more than 135 rooms, subject to the standards of hotels in that part of Meridian Township.

Meridian Hospitality LLC will have to have the hotel finished within three years of the first resolution in August 19, 2014.

“Essentially this is a nearly trivial change,” Veenstra added after reading the resolution.

The original applicant had placed the condition of building an all-suites hotel, while the current applicant does not want that condition.

“The only change is to delete the words ‘all-suites’ from the condition,” Veenstra said. “It’s still a hotel, it doesn’t make any significant difference whatsoever, but technically we have to take board action to delete the words ‘all-suites.’”

The current applicant plans to have 111 rooms, according to Community Planning and Development Director Mark Kieselbach, and to modify that, they would have to present another application.

Supervisor Elizabeth LeGoff asked if the rooms would be smaller, and Kieselbach answered that they could be smaller, but could not be bigger without amending that aspect as well.

“We haven’t seen a plan yet,” Kieselbach said. “I don’t know if they’re going to change the size in one unit.”

All members of the board voted ‘yes’ on the rezoning.

The second rezoning application was related to Provision Living.

PVL Investments, LLC requested the rezoning of about 8.6 acres to become a multiple family residential zone.

The request was also recommended by the Planning Commission on March 14, 2016 and reviewed by the Township Board on April 5, 2016.

Veenstra, who also read this resolution, read that the zoning requested is more compatible with the future construction and uses than what the current zoning allows – commercial, single-family and professional office.

In the request, it states that commercial use would be in the north, land preservation would happen in the south and residential to the east.

Traffic studies done before the request showed that traffic would be reduced if the rezoning were approved.

Public water and sewer are available to serve the site.

The Township Board did not approve of the rezoning.

The areas would have become multi-family residential areas, with eight units per acre, with a condition that the zoning would revert to the original one if a purchase were not not finalized by December 2017.

Veenstra emphasized that this rezoning would permit an assisted living facility, and said he supports it because of the need for this type of facility in Meridian Township.

He also said that the land preservation area would be a good neighbor for the assisted living facility, while he also made suggestions to add a path so that people living in the facility could interact with nature.

“I think that’s a really good synergy there and I hope it’s worked out,” Veenstra said.

Treasurer Julie Brixie said she would not be able to support the rezoning, because there isn’t enough public transportation for the elderly that will be living there.

“That rezoning request is inconsistent with our future land use map,” Brixie said.

Brixie said she is also concerned with the living facilities after the Baby Boomers pass through them, because there won’t be enough people to fill all of the assisted living facilities in the area.

Other board members took a deeper look at overall requests such as this one.

“Need is not the driving force, it’s just one of the many factors we look at,” Township Clerk Brett Dreyfus said.

Dreyfus spoke about a few aspects that impact his and the board’s decision, and he said that a commercial area will continue to be more beneficial in that area.

“I think the current zoning is appropriate,” he said. “I would encourage people to look at the long-term vision of this as well.”

Veenstra and LeGoff voted yes.

Brixie, Dreyfus, Trustee Milton Scales and Trustee Ron Styka voted no.