Planning commission hears opposition to Oppiden's 172,000-square-foot warehouse concept near Dayton Mobile Home Park

The Dayton Planning Commission on April 30 heard a concept plan from Oppiden for a 172,000-square-foot speculative industrial building on a vacant, wooded parcel off 100 21st Avenue and took public testimony from nearby residents who said the project would worsen long-standing noise, traffic and water concerns.

Staff said the project would require four applications — a comprehensive-plan amendment, zoning-map amendment, preliminary plat and site-plan review — and that the site is currently guided on the future land-use map for a mobile home park. The Oppiden team told commissioners the property has several wetlands and ditches; the building footprint was shifted, they said, to avoid the most sensitive features and place office parking toward West French Lake Road as a visual amenity.

“Our intent was to avoid the more remnant wetlands on the site,” wetland specialist Melissa Barrett said, describing which features are likely regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and which appear to be incidental and could require only an incidental-determination review.

Oppiden representatives said the design retains as many trees as possible and that stormwater features are proposed north of the building. “This is not intended to be a 24/7 cross-dock,” land‑sale representative John Rausch said, adding the developer envisions a single corporate user and that limiting dock doors to one side would reduce truck circulation.

Residents who live in the adjacent Dayton Mobile Home Park told commissioners they already endure persistent truck noise and dust from neighboring industrial sites and said another large facility would worsen quality-of-life harms. “We have trucks parked out there for hours during the day. We got them parked out there idling at night… the quality of our life has really been impacted,” said Lowell Norvam (resident). John Waldron, who lives in the park, said he can hear trailers banging at night and urged the commission to protect residents’ privacy and quiet.

Commissioners considered whether to return the parcel to industrial guidance — staff said the site had earlier been guided for industrial uses and was changed to mobile-home designation in 2021 — and weighed tradeoffs between reuse and community impacts. Several commissioners said industrial is likely the highest and best use given surrounding properties, but they pressed the applicant to reduce impacts.

Commissioner comments focused on mitigation steps: shift or angle the building to move trailer parking farther from homes, remove several trailer stalls closest to the residential boundary (the applicant offered to consider removing about 10–12 stalls), add berms and more robust landscaping, require a detailed photometric/lighting plan and confirm the stormwater and wetlands permitting pathway. Staff and the applicant also noted the timeline and uncertainty for Corps permits and watershed-district review.

“No action was taken tonight,” Chair (speaker 11) said after the public hearing closed, noting the hearing was conceptual and that the proposal will go to city council on Tuesday, April 28, where the formal comprehensive-plan and zoning amendment requests will be considered. The commission asked the applicant to refine the site plan reflecting the commission’s mitigation suggestions before further review.

What’s next: Oppiden may proceed to prepare a preliminary plan and concurrent permit applications if staff and the city council indicate support; wetlands permitting and city reviews could take several months and, if authorized, the required council hearings will be scheduled.