MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - In 2015 Quentin and Sharon McCallum lost their Okemos home in a fire. A public hearing was held for a Special Use Permit that would allow the McCallum’s to rebuild their house at 986 Jolly Road, if approved, during Meridian Township’s most recent Planning Commission meeting.

The Special Use Permit would allow for work to be done at the floodplain of the Sloan Creek/Button Drain. If approved the McCallum’s new single family house would be in the same location of their former home at that location. A Special Use Permit is needed in order to fill in the property so that the house would be raised above the flood plain. The project was approved by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality back in March and also received approval from the Township Engineer prior to making it’s way in front of the Planning Commission.

In order for the Planning Commission to make a decision that evening, the Commission would have to suspend one of their bylaws. Quentin McCallum explained they were asking or an immediate decision because time was not on their side. “We lost our two year build window when the fire burned down because my builder walked away the first Monday of March. So we lost our two years so now we’re under a time gun here, said McCallum.

After some brief discussion the Planning Commission voted unanimously to suspend one of their bylaws to vote on the Special Use Permit that evening. The Commission went on to unanimously approved the Special Use Permit that night.