Planning commission approves site plan for 729 Linda Vista (Mark Twain site) with safety, truck and hazardous materials conditions

The Pontiac Planning Commission approved a site plan for a proposed light‑assembly, training and business‑incubator facility at the former Mark Twain Elementary School site, 729 Linda Vista (PSPR 25‑029), with a series of neighborhood‑focused conditions.

Why it matters: The project aims to convert the decommissioned school lot into a roughly 20,000‑square‑foot vocational training and assembly/incubator campus tied to EV charging‑station assembly and workforce development. Neighbors raised traffic, truck routing, property‑value and construction‑impact concerns during an extended public comment period.

Applicant and partners: William Fisher (Acorp Services) presented the project on behalf of a group of related entities — Altura CDC (a community development corporation), EV Shelter (assembly contractor), Unified Business Technology (construction/operations) and ACORP Services as the property owner. The applicants said asbestos abatement is complete and demolition would begin in the week following the meeting; they described an incubator area of roughly 2,700 square feet and hands‑on training space tied to the warehouse/assembly area.

Commission and staff review: Planning staff recommended approval with three core conditions: (1) revise the site plan to include missing technical details identified in the staff report; (2) provide a hazardous‑materials management plan to the city; and (3) prohibit storage of batteries on the property. The fire department and attorney clarified the no‑storage requirement was intended to prevent on‑site long‑term storage of EV batteries or other hazardous materials; commissioners refined that language to prohibit toxic or hazardous materials as determined by the fire department.

Neighborhood conditions and routing: Commissioners added several conditions in response to resident concerns: truck deliveries must access the site via Jocelyn Road and Perry Street (not through Linda Vista, Vernon or Gage), delivery hours limited to 9 a.m.–3 p.m., signage prohibiting truck traffic on Linda Vista, and a requirement that the final site plan reflect any necessary vacation or other right‑of‑way changes (the commission asked staff to follow up on whether Jocelyn must be vacated). The commission also requested final plans show dumpster/gate details, lighting/photometric plans, elevation materials and a plan for how the remaining playground equipment will be handled.

Public reaction: Some neighbors opposed the location, citing a petition and long‑standing community concerns about industrial uses adjacent to homes. Other speakers supported the reuse of a blighted school building and the project’s stated workforce‑development goals, while urging binding commitments for local hiring and clear outreach during construction.

Decision: The commission voted to approve the site plan with the staff conditions and the additional neighborhood protections; the motion included a condition tying hazardous‑materials prohibitions to the fire department’s determination. The motion passed unanimously.

Next steps: The applicant must submit revised final site plans that incorporate the requested details and conditions. Once final site plans are approved, building permits and inspections must be completed before occupancy. The commission noted that any expansion beyond the approved footprint would require return to the commission for additional review.

Speakers quoted in this article are drawn from the meeting transcript and are attributed to the speaker list included in the record.