The idea of 200 international students coming to live and study in Oxford isn’t a done deal just yet.
A dormitory to house them must receive approval from the township planning commission.
A set of plans for the proposed two-level, 55,377-square-foot dormitory is currently on file with the township’s building department and available for public viewing upon request.
But it’s not the final set of plans.
‘We caught a number of discrepancies (in the plans), both myself and (township engineer) Jim Sharpe did,? said township planner Brian Oppmann, who works for the Ann Arbor-based Carlisle/Wortman Associates.
‘Those aren’t going to be the plans that get to the planning commission. They’re already revising them and they’re going to resubmit (to the township).?
The China-based Weiming Education Group, which now has a 20-year agreement in place with the Oxford school district for the education of international students, is looking to build the proposed dormitory on a 2.71-acre site located on Market St., east of M-24 and south of Ray Rd.
The site is zoned for General Commercial (C-2) use. The proposed dormitory is considered a permitted use because the zoning district allows for public and private colleges.
‘We’re treating it more along the lines of a college,? Oppmann explained.
Based on the plans currently on file at the township office, the proposed facility’s main and second levels would each contain 52 dorm rooms for a total of 104. Each dorm room contains 120 square feet.
Eight teacher/resident advisor rooms are shown in the plans. Each of those rooms contains 374 square feet.
A 1,522-square-foot kitchen is expected to serve the housing facility.
There are some minor inconsistencies in the numbers currently shown on the plan with regard to the sizes of the cafeteria and eight classrooms.
The size of the cafeteria is listed as both 3,867 square feet and 3,962 square feet.
As for the classrooms, one part states all eight will be 900 square feet each, while another part shows six classrooms will be 900 square feet while the other two will be 829 square feet each.
Outdoor recreational facilities are depicted in the plans in the form of an 1,800-square-foot volleyball court and a 1,500-square-foot basketball halfcourt.
Patio areas are also shown on the plan.
‘We had some comments about the patio areas being a little excessive,? Oppmann noted.
Based on his rough measurements, Oppmann believes the patio areas could be cut in half and still be ‘very effective.?
A total of 102 parking spaces are required for the dormitory, but more than half of them are not located on-site based on the plan.
The plan calls for 53 of the spaces to be located on Oxford High School property overlooking the site to the east.
According to Oppmann, OHS is located 1,500 feet away, ‘as the crow flies,? from the proposed dorm site and separated by another piece of privately-owned land. Given this, he said Weiming would not be allowed to use those off-site spaces to meet the parking requirements necessary for site plan approval.
‘They wouldn’t work,? Oppmann said. ‘You’re allowed to share parking (with surrounding properties if there’s an agreement to do so), but it’s within a few hundred feet . . . Basically, the adjacent property.?
Parking is a big concern because school officials have previously stated the dormitory could also be used for outside educational purposes and programs for the community.
‘If that’s the case, I think we’re going to have a major parking issue over there,? Oppmann said.
At a public forum held in October, Oxford Superintendent Dr. William Skilling told the crowd the additional classroom space could be used ‘after hours? to ‘house Chinese language and culture classes that will be open to students and the public.?
Skilling also told the crowd that during the summer months, the dormitory could ‘provide a space for us to host band, fine arts and international student camps? and potentially ‘conduct referee training and coaching workshops during the off-season.?
Oppmann said the school district has talked in ‘generalities? about other potential uses for the dormitory, but has never ‘narrowed down? what’s actually going to take place there.
‘Obviously, the major concern is where their people are going to park,? he said. ‘What’s the schools? intention for this building? If they’re not going to do community ed., maybe parking won’t become an issue.?
At prior school board meetings, it’s been stated the intention is to open the dormitory in January 2016.
‘I know they’re obviously trying to rush and get this thing done, but it’s a major project,? Oppmann said. ‘They basically submitted enough detail almost for a final site plan, but we’re not treating it as such. I mean, it’s preliminary. They still have a lot of things to work out.?
‘This is a work in progress, obviously. I’m sure they’ll get it right. It’s just going to take some time,? he added.