Kalamazoo City commissioners on Dec. 1 offered for first reading an ordinance to rezone 4301 Stadium Drive from residential to community commercial, a step that begins the city’s formal consideration of an 18‑acre proposal that the Planning Commission had recommended denying on Nov. 6.

Assistant city planner Dirk Droeke summarized the zoning request and the process for public comment and hearings, and reiterated that detailed staff analyses and Planning Commission materials are available to the public. Multiple residents who spoke during the public‑comment period cited Asylum Lake Preserve and nearby environmental studies as reasons for caution.

Josh Kaiser, co‑president of the Asylum Lake Preservation Association, said the organization has “extensively studied the impacts of commercial developments on this very sensitive environmental area” and urged commissioners to fully consider those studies before acting. Dr. Veil Stevens, a long‑time Stewart‑neighborhood resident who compiled a community book on Asylum Lake in 1993, asked the commission to hold the hearing in a larger, more accessible venue so more residents could participate.

Multiple public commenters and commissioners also questioned how staff reports document and synthesize public participation. Tom Howes urged that future staff reports “identify the ways in which public participation informed the final recommendation” so the public can see how input changed proposals.

On a procedural motion, the commission amended the initial motion so the item would be offered for first reading without scheduling a public‑hearing date tonight, a change commissioners said would give staff time to explore larger venues, ADA accommodations and call‑in options. The amended motion to offer the ordinance for first reading passed by voice/roll call vote.

Next steps: the ordinance will return to the commission for further hearings and deliberation; staff and the applicant will coordinate possible hearing dates and venues and provide public notice in accordance with city rules.