MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - New Hope Church has requested a special use permit from the Planning Commission to construct and approximate 42,000 square foot church that will be located at the northeast corner of Saginaw Highway and Newton Rd.

The Planning Commission held a public hearing on April 11, 2016 and reviewed and discussed the project plans and determined that the structure has been designed to be appropriate for the existing and potential future uses surrounding the site.

The commission recommended approval of the special use permit.

"The layout seems solid and they definitely have enough land, and they even have some reserved land that they could build upon- expand the church," Commissioner Holly Cordill said.

"I think there is still some concern about the nature of the remediation that is going to take place and the standards that are going to be applied to that remediation and the agency that is going to oversee it," Vice Chair Patricia Jackson said.

Jackson proposed a condition that would call for adherence to the standards and requirements that DEQ will impose relative to the contamination of the site.

"We know that some years ago there was another project, a very different project, a larger project- it had many more parts to it that involved a much larger amount of remediation that apparently will not be necessary for this particular project," Chair John Scott-Craig said.

Approval of the special use permit was determined to be conditioned that any needed environmental remediation comply with Public Act 451 of 1984.

"As far as the remediation and the do care activities that are going to happen, we do have an environmental consultant that's going to put together the do care package and tell us what to do," Jeff Kyes of Kebs Inc. said.

The project was recommended by the commission to the Township Board and now awaits the board approval before construction can begin.