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Council approves fabrication shop special use and adjacent rezoning; conditions include EV charger and tree replacement
Summary
Council approved a special use permit for a fabrication shop at 16647 Chandler Road and unanimously rezoned an adjacent 1.8‑acre parcel to OIP to allow the combined site to host the project. The special use passed 4–1 with conditions including at least one Level 2 EV charger, a reduced parking requirement and a tree‑replacement condition.
East Lansing City Council granted special use approval for a fabrication shop at 16647 Chandler Road and voted unanimously to rezone an adjacent 1.8‑acre parcel to OIP (Office Industrial Park) so the parcels can be combined for the project.
The special use was approved 4–1. The council added conditions that make the approval contingent on the rezoning (Ordinance 1539), require that the project be built in accordance with submitted plans and obtain all department permits, reduce the parking requirement from 53 to 24 parking spaces under section 50‑812‑5, require at least one Level 2 (or better) EV charging station, and adopt a tree‑replacement condition that calls for two new 3‑inch trees for each 6 inches (or fraction) of tree diameter removed unless otherwise required by the city tree ordinance. Council Member Watson cast the lone no vote on the special use.
Staff and council discussed operational buffering for nearby residences, noting the proposed fabrication would produce plumbing and piping products for commercial and residential projects and that the primary noise sources should be inside the building with doors closed. Landon Bartley, principal planner, said the proposal includes a setback of roughly 33 feet from the south property line and about 55 feet between the proposed building and the closest apartment building; there is also 1.5 acres proposed as a gravel laydown area to the north and east.
Council debate included whether additional landscape buffering or a fence should be required to address vehicle and laydown area impacts. Council Member Altman proposed the tree‑replacement condition to ensure preservation of canopy value; the planning staff explained the condition generally mirrors replacement requirements that apply when trees are removed illegally, while the site‑plan review process will set the final tree and landscape mitigation.
Separately, the council voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 1539 to rezone the adjacent 1.8‑acre parcel from Bath Township Development to East Lansing OIP so it can be combined with 16647 Chandler Road for the development.
Next steps: the rezoning is effective per ordinance rules; the special use approval will be memorialized upon filing the executed memorandum of special use permit and the applicant must complete site‑plan and public works permitting.
