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Council approves expansion for American Mulch Producers, vacates portion of Maple Ridge Avenue with conditions
Summary
The Southfield City Council approved a special land use to expand American Mulch Producers and vacated an unimproved portion of Maple Ridge Avenue, imposing conditions including easements, screening and limits on grinding hours after neighbors raised sawdust and noise concerns.
The Southfield City Council voted Dec. 16 to approve a special land use and an associated street vacation that will allow American Mulch Producers to expand operations at 21101 Boeing Drive and adjacent parcels.
City planning staff said the approval includes conditions meant to reduce impacts on adjacent residential properties, including retention of utility easements for the vacated portion of Maple Ridge Avenue, screening and limits tied to pile heights and equipment setbacks. The council also directed that waivers required from the zoning board of appeals be satisfied before the expansion proceeds.
Neighbors told the council they have experienced sawdust and dust reaching nearby homes. Evangeline Glover, a resident who said she lives on Evergreen Road adjacent to the mulch business, described dust entering her home during operations: "my back patio doors were open, my windows was open, and I ended up with a sawdust, storm due to the, due to the sawdust not being high enough to protect the environment and from coming to our neighbors." Glover told the council she and other backyard neighbors want the matter resolved without further delay.
Randy Blackman, the owner of American Mulch Producers, said the proposed consolidation and shift of machinery onto parcels to the south would move grinding and heavy equipment 300 to 500 feet farther from the nearest homes. He asked the council to approve the plan and noted the business treats "safety as a first priority no matter what." Planning staff and the applicant said easements would be preserved for city utilities and that some operations already encroach on the paper street being vacated.
Planning staff read a recommended resolution that ties approval to the street vacation, to required waivers from the zoning board of appeals and to administrative site-plan approval. The resolution also records agreed operating adjustments: planned hours and a concession that grinding would not occur on federally recognized holidays and that, in exchange for year-round operation, the applicant would start grinding later in the morning than under previous approvals.
The council moved to approve the special land use (PSLU 24-0020) and the street vacation (PSV 24-1). The council vote was recorded in open session as in favor, and the motions carried.
The council's action requires follow-up steps: the zoning waivers must be granted, an administrative site plan must be approved, and the city will preserve easements for utilities through the vacated right of way. Planning staff said the zoning board of appeals will consider waivers related to obscuring walls, outside-storage setbacks and pile heights before the applicant proceeds.
Neighbors and the applicant both told the council they prefer to resolve outstanding operational impacts without litigation and urged timely implementation of the agreed safeguards. The city planner said the approval will be administratively enforced through the site-plan and building-review processes.
The council approved both the special land use and the street vacation by voice vote; no roll-call dissent was recorded.
