MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - At the April 5th, Township Board meeting the Board discussed changes to an application for a new hotel expected to come to Meridian Township.

The current application states the new hotel to be built at 2350 Jolly Oak Road would be an all-suites hotel, which was originally filed by Boomer Group, LLC.

The application was originally approved for rezoning in August 2014. However, since then, the applicant has since changed from Boomer Group, LLC to Meridian Hospitality, LLC

The goal is to have the current 3.6 acre property be rezoned from a professional office to a commercial use building. Meridian Township's Director of Community Planning and Development Mark Kieselbach said at the meeting that the original applicant stated that the property would be developed as an all-suites hotel which would include 135 room like a standard hotel, but have suites as well.

This change to the application would be to indicate that the hotel is in fact a standard hotel, and not an "all-suites" hotel like the current Staybridge Suites Hotel in Okemos on Meridian Crossings Drive.

In October 2014, the applicant received their special use permit to develop the hotel for that site and later in May 2015 got its site plan approved for that development.

However, now that the applicant has changed from Boomer Group LLC to Meridian Hospitality, LCC, it would like the wording of "all-suites" to be changed in the original application.

Trustee John Veenstra shared his thoughts and agreed by saying he thinks the wording "all-suites" should be taken out of the condition.

"I think removing the term 'all-suites' is a trivial change that we should grant the applicant has requested," Veenstra said. "I mean basically a hotel is a hotel with no more than 135 rooms, so probably in hindsight we shouldn't have even put the term in in the first place."

Treasurer Julie Brixie asked Kieselbach if the changing of the wording, "all-suites" to "hotel", would have any effect on the number of trips people make to the hotel, which as a result impacts the community.

Kieselbach said there wasn't any additional trips.

Veenstra also pointed out that the hotel would highly benefit from a pathway being built on the north end of Water Lily Way, which runs on the west side of the site.

"This would be a tremendous amenity to the hotel," Veenstra said. "If people want a little exercise or something in the evening when they're free--I think it would be a real asset if a pathway was built."

This item will be ready for action at the next Township Board meeting on April 19th.