Oxford Township officials last week voted 6-1 to grant a zoning change for the Legacy Center (925 N. Lapeer Rd.)
Located on the west side of M-24, just south of Ray Rd., the 19.74-acre site has been rezoned from Research-Office (RO) to General Commercial (C-2).
?(It) seems to fit and make sense,? said owner Christian Mills, a Lake Orion resident and entrepreneur
The 208,000-square-foot Legacy Center is basically a privately-owned-and-operated community center featuring a mix of for-profit and nonprofit tenants focused on family entertainment, recreation, fitness and wellness, training for individual and team sports, swimming, art, education, life-skill development and dining.
The township recommended Mills request this rezoning because a number of the uses he’s planning to have inside the Legacy Center do not conform to RO zoning, but they are allowed under C-2 zoning.
‘C-2, we thought, was the better zoning district,? explained township planner Brian Oppmann, of the Ann Arbor-based Carlisle/Wortman Associates.
Oppmann noted there’s already C-2 zoning next door to the Legacy Center (the McDonald’s restaurant) and across M-24 (the Meijer property). ‘It is consistent with surrounding zoning,? he said.
There was some opposition from representatives of the Stony Lake Village Condo Association, a residential development near the Legacy Center. They preferred to see the property rezoned to Local Commercial (C-1) because they felt it was more appropriate given the center’s proximity to their homes.
‘I think we’d have more control and the planning commission would have more (opportunity) to approve what could be done under a C-1 versus a C-2 zoning,? said Marianne Kainz, representing the condo association.
Kainz quoted the township zoning ordinance, which states that C-1 zoning is designed to ‘protect nearby residential areas? by requiring that ‘all C-1 uses must be conducted within a completely enclosed building.?
C-2 zoning, on the other hand, ‘might have a negative impact on adjoining residential areas because of intensity or outdoor activities,? the ordinance states.
‘And that’s really our concern ? what’s going to be developed on the outside,? Kainz said.
Stony Lake Village condo owners are worried about the possibility of outdoor activities at Legacy negatively impacting their property values, disturbing their peace and quiet, causing public safety issues and adversely affecting the small lake shared by the two developments.
‘It is in our backyard,? said Cindy Kainz, also representing the association. ‘We’re right next to it. Voices and noise carry on the lake. We just ask for everyone’s consideration as we go forward with any future outdoor activities.?
Kainz said many of the condo owners are retirees who consider this to be their ‘sanctuary.?
‘We’re just really concerned about what’s going to happen with having young folks down by the water (while) the neighbors are there trying to live (out) their retirement years and enjoy being on the small lake,? she said.
Kainz is not yet retired, but she feels much the same way.
‘It’s my sanctuary for when I come home from a long day (at work),? Kainz said. ‘I love being on the lake.?
It was noted that under both C-1 and C-2 zoning, commercial outdoor recreation activities are special land uses, which require a public hearing and a decision by the planning commission.
‘If (Mills) wants to do any kind of outdoor activity or any programming (such as) beach volleyball . . . or competitive swimming in the lake or a triathlon, anything like that would have to go through the planning commission for approval,? Oppmann said. ‘If your concern is outdoor recreation, it is a special land use. It has to come in front of the planning commission. It has to . . . And these residents will be notified of that use and they will have the right to come and voice their objection . . . Every special land use must go in front of the planning commission. That’s in the law.?
All property owners living within 300 feet of a site are required by law to be notified of public hearings concerning proposed special land uses. The planning commission is not obligated to approve special land uses when requested.
‘If it doesn’t meet the discretionary standards, they can certainly deny it,? Oppmann said.
‘We’re the final decision on special land uses,? noted Planning Commission Chairman Todd Bell.
Mills told officials utilizing the site’s outdoor areas is not his priority at this point.
‘We don’t have anything programmed for the outside yet,? he said. ‘If something comes up, then we can come back and discuss it with our neighbors. We’ll always be respectful of the people around us, but we’re not sure what, if anything, will happen (outside the building).?
Mills noted ‘we just cleaned up the property outside? and right now, he’s ‘fully focused? on what’s happening inside the building.
‘I don’t have any plans at this point to program the outside,? he reiterated.
As for the issue of C-2 versus C-1 zoning, Oppmann explained why C-2 zoning was recommended in this case.
‘Mr. Mills has expressed to the township a lot of (potential) uses that are not even permitted in C-1 (such as) lounges, bars, bowling alleys, those types of uses that are C-2-oriented,? he said. ‘A lot of the uses that are just not permitted in C-1 are permitted in C-2. . . .C-2 allows all the uses in C-1 that are permitted versus special, and some (additional ones).?
Oppmann pointed to the ‘health and fitness club? use as another example of something that’s permitted in C-2 zoning, but not in C-1, not even as a special land use.
Many of the tenants Mills has, or is planning to have, in the Legacy Center are permitted uses under C-2 zoning, but would require special land use approval under C-1.
The biggest example of this is commercial indoor recreation, which constitutes a hefty portion of the center.
Other examples include child care and restaurants, both sit-down and carry-out.
Bell tried to ease the concerns of residents and officials by noting that Mills is ‘right on the cusp? of having to present ‘a full-blown site plan? to the planning commission.
Until now, he hasn’t been required to do this because the Legacy Center was created by renovating an existing building.
However, the Legacy Center is growing well beyond the scope of the building’s previous uses and Bell said the next large tenant for which Mills seeks approval will trigger the need for site plan approval in order to address a variety of issues.
‘And that’s when the planning commission will take care of the residents,? he said. ‘They will make sure before another use goes in there that there’s buffering, there’s proper lighting that is not obtrusive to the neighbors, there’s proper landscaping, proper parking, proper islands, proper traffic patterns, signage.?
‘Trust your planning commission,? Bell added. ‘We’re going to handle it. We’re not going to let it slip. We’re not going to let it go through just by shoving it along. It will be done right.?