By Joseph Schultz
Since the Colonial Kitchen Restaurant was sold in 2024, the Dorr community has waited with anticipation for a new Mexican restaurant to open on the site.
Hacienda Don Felipe Mexican Bar & Grill representatives were scheduled to present a site plan review for the new restaurant at Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting. The plan proposed an addition to the existing building to increase seating capacity, along with interior and exterior upgrades. The proposal also included eliminating a driveway and reconfiguring the parking lot.
However, before the plan could be presented to the commission, public comments were heard from two neighbors. Bernie Schumaker, who lives just north of the restaurant, expressed concerns about not having enough parking and inadequate drainage. He said he did not want the piles of snow from the parking lot melting onto his property.
Neighbor Tom Powell II, of Enza’s Pizza, said the site plan would close the only driveway onto his property. Citing the difficulty of his customers accessing his business, Powell requested the commission reject the site plan.
Jeff Brinks, representing Hacienda Don Felipe, told the commission that after hearing these concerns, he would request that the Planning Commission table the review for one month. Brinks promised to work with the neighbors to present an amended plan. Jason Derry of Professional Code Inspections (PCI) agreed that tabling the review was appropriate to allow these issues to be addressed.
After confirming that the new restaurant would hook up to the sewer system and would work with the Drain Commissioner on on-site drainage, the commission agreed to table the request. Commissioners expect to take it off the table for review at the April planning meeting.
Text of Ordinances Reviewed
The commission reviewed the text of a curb and gutter ordinance they have been developing and expressed satisfaction with the current draft. The ordinance would require curbs on new paved roads, but would exempt existing paved roads and paved roads that intersect with a gravel road.
Text for the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) was also reviewed. Commissioners agreed to increase the setback from the road to 150 feet, rather than the 100 feet originally proposed.
Derry noted that on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website, the federal government suggests that a BESS have a 330 feet setback from waterways. Commissioner Rebecca Snider suggested a 500 foot setback, citing the state of Michigan requires 500 feet for soil erosion protection.
After Derry incorporates these changes, he will forward the drafts to the township attorney for review. A public hearing on the ordinances will be held at a special planning meeting Tuesday, March 24.
Work on Data Center Ordinance Started
Preliminary work began on a new data center ordinance. Derry provided some sample ordinances for the commission to review. Commissioners said they liked the idea of including Cryptocurrency Data-mining to the ordinance.
Commissioners also recommended adding decommissioning requirements to the ordinance. Furthermore, they suggested increasing application fees and escrow amounts to cover the costs of additional reports required for data center proposals.
It was agreed by the commission to review the material and work on a draft at the next planning meeting in April.
