MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The most talked about topic at the May 13 Meridian Township Planning Commission Meeting involved a Mixed Use Planned Development project that would be located at Okemos and Hamilton Roads called "The Village of Okemos". The plan would be to demolish the existing buildings along that stretch of Downtown Okemos and replace them with seven mixed residential buildings, with two of those buildings being five stories high.

A public hearing was held for an hour before the Commission had their opportunity to ask questions to the developer and discuss what their thoughts on the project were. Of the thirteen residents who spoke on the new development, eight were against it and five were for it. While their concerns for the project were mixed, the main issue that kept getting brought up was the increased amount of traffic on Hamilton and Okemos and how it would affect local residents driving through that area. The second most talked about issue was the two five-story buildings. Residents felt that was too high for the area, but the developer assured that they were more tucked away that the other buildings.

Once the public hearing ended, the Commission members spent more that an hour discussing the topic and going through different slides of what the proposed buildings would look like. After they gathered all their information and asked all their questions, they did a tentative roll call to see what way they were leaning, and all seven commissioners voted yes on the project, leading to a resolution that will be voted on at their next meeting on Monday, May 20 at 7pm. If this project gets approved by the Planning Commission, it will be sent to the Township Board for final approval.