A request to rezone a commercial parcel in the 600 block of North Main Street to light industrial has hit yet another snag.

After approving the request with conditions two weeks ago, the Wayland City Council Monday night voted to rescind the action because of legal advice. The request from Rita Martin and Dave Hager now stands as rejected, but they may resubmit it and specify in writing what conditions could govern the changes.

The City Council voted 4-3 against the rezoning proposal at first two weeks ago, then approved a proposal in which the prospective buyer, Denny Meyers of Tool & Die Inc., would be granted permission to use the property for his business alone, across from the Michigan State Police post.

Council agreed on a 4-3 vote to allow the change if it applied only to the current buyer. The rezoning is contingent on successful sale of the site by Hager and Martin to Meyers.

The request was recommended 4-1 for approval by the City Planning Commission at its meeting May 12.

Councilwoman Jennifer Antel raised the most vocal objections to the original request, insisting, “It opens up a whole new ball of wax. I don’t think it (rezoning to industrial) meets the criteria of the area.”

Mayor Tim Bala said he disagreed and suggested the property owner would have to come to council for changes, “so we’d have some measure of control.”

City Manager Mike Selden said, “The property isn’t well suited for B-1. I don’t know that the buildings are compatible.”

“We got burned before,” Antel said, “and I’m trying the learn from our mistakes.”

She noted that a developer in the past asked the city for a rezoning and the site later permitted toxic chemicals to be used legally as a result.

But Selden said, “I don’t know if we have zoning that fits that property.”

In the first vote, Antel’s opposition was joined by Rick Mathis, Tim Rose and John Sloan, with Lisa Banas, Bala and Tracy Bivins voting in the affirmative.

Hager then told the council, “We’ve got existing buildings that don’t fit your zoning. We’ve got tall ceiling and overhead doors… We have a current buyer.”

Because council pressed him to learn what would go in at the site, Hager identified Meyers and the tool and tie operation. He said Meyers needs to know about the rezoning decision right away because otherwise he will put his business inside the Dorr Industrial Park.

But Hager said Meyers would prefer to move into existing buildings rather than build from scratch.

“It’s a startup company,” Hager explained. “He needs to know where he can go.”

He told council there would be some stamping in the operation, but not for production. Besides, the business would have to meet noise restriction rules.

Bivins then moved to allow the rezoning on the condition that it apply only to Meyers and his tool and die business. If the sale does not go through, the property will revert back to B-1 zoning. It passed 4-3, this time with Antel and Rose still opposing and Banas joining them.

PHOTO: Rita Martin and Dave Hager want to sell their property in the 600 block of North Main, but first they say they need it rezoned by B-2 to I-1.