Planning Commission approves railyard site plan at 4144 Jimbo Drive, conditions approval on ZBA variance

The Burton Planning Commission approved a site plan for a rail-served aggregate yard at 4144 Jimbo Drive, voting unanimously to condition final approval on a setback variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Greg Needham, the applicant, told the commission the project is a partnership between Edward C. Levy and Lake State (Rail) and "it's gonna be an $8,000,000 investment." Needham said the site will include a new spur off the existing Lake State/CSX line, an underground rail‑loading pit with conveyors, truck loading areas and a small office building on the southeast corner of the parcel. The parcel reported in the meeting is identified as Parcel ID 59-33-501-030 and is zoned M-2 General Industrial.

Why it matters: Planning staff told commissioners the property has been vacant and was formerly a junkyard; the applicant and staff said a new business will reduce vandalism and reuse an underused lot. Commissioners and rail representatives focused on traffic impacts at nearby grade crossings, operational hours, site surfacing and containment of aggregate to limit mud and sediment.

Details and discussion: Michael Ewing, a Lake State Railway representative, estimated the trains serving the facility will be "smaller in size" than typical through trains and said crossing-block times for local roads would "probably [average] 5 to 7 minutes." He added rail service on the line is 24 hours, but Lake State expects traffic related to this yard to occur most often in late evening hours. Other operational details discussed at the meeting include:

- Material and operations: The facility will handle aggregate (limestone) delivered by rail from the Alpena quarry; proponents said material will move largely to the adjacent ACE asphalt yard and that the site will not perform crushing or additional processing. Needham said the product "is gonna be the limestone" and "there's gonna be no dirt." Lake State said the facility itself would not haul hazardous materials; the rail network in the region does carry some hazmat traffic for other customers such as Clean Harbors, but proponent representatives said the new facility will focus on aggregate.

- Site construction and control measures: Applicants said they will demolish existing buildings, construct a proposed spur (shown in the submitted plans), grade the lot, place new gravel surfacing, and provide an asphalt/paved apron where trucks will exit to limit mud carried onto public roads. The applicants said the entire property will be surrounded by a 6-foot chain‑link fence for security.

- Hours and traffic coordination: Applicants told the commission they expect yard truck operations roughly 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in summer and shorter winter hours; rail moves are subject to rail scheduling but Lake State said crews can be scheduled to limit conflicts and that the company would reach out to nearby large employers (for example, General Motors) to try to avoid shift-change conflicts.

- Environmental/contamination questions: When asked about groundwater or underground storage tanks, applicants said the rail loading is a below‑grade concrete pit with conveyors and not underground fuel or hazardous storage; they described the loading pit as an "open concrete box" with conveyors to move material out.

Vote and conditions: Ms. Edgington moved to approve the site plan with the condition that the required setback variance be granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals; Mr. Hall seconded. A roll-call vote was recorded with all members responding "yes." The clerk announced "Motion carried." Commissioners indicated administration would sign the approval once the ZBA variance was obtained.

Next steps: The approval is conditional on the ZBA variance; staff said they expect to sign the site-plan approval and proceed after the variance is granted. The applicants stated a target to have the site operational by October ("by October this year"), contingent on permitting and construction timelines.