NFP Board approves phase 1 site plan for Westgate youth sports complex with tree-protection conditions

The Natural Features Protection Board on Tuesday approved the phase 1 site plan for the Westgate youth sports complex at 1617 North Drake, a project the board said will focus solely on woodland clearing and protective measures while detailed building and stormwater design come later.

Staff presented the proposal and recommended conditional approval. Nolan, the city planner who presented the item, said staff’s conditions require that no work begin until full site-plan review approval, that any required state or federal permits be filed with the city, that tree-protection fencing be installed before work begins, and that the project provide a bond whose type and amount will be determined by city staff consistent with chapter 56.2-l of the NFP ordinance.

Kurt Artema, an applicant representative, told the board the phase is limited to tree removal and that the design team adjusted the property boundary and acquired additional land so that the site now preserves about 27.2% of existing woodland on-site. Artema said the team commissioned a bat-habitat field review after an MNFI (Michigan Natural Features Inventory) letter raised questions; an ASTI bat specialist identified nine trees in poor health that were removed earlier as maintenance. “We’ve worked with the city…we’re trying to be as sensitive as possible to the NFP standards,” Artema said.

Board members pressed the applicant on timing and disease-control measures. The applicant said the team expects to present the full site plan to the city’s site-plan-review committee on April 1 and hopes to begin the limited removal work soon after approval, with an estimated 10 days of on-site tree work once started. Members raised oak-wilt concerns for the April–June period and emphasized that stumps should be removed, ground out, or painted to reduce the risk of disease spread; the applicant said stumps would be removed after soil-erosion controls are in place.

Engineering staff and the applicant explained grading and circulation strategy aimed at preserving as many trees as possible. The design team noted a 41-foot grade change across the site and said grading would generally be kept to about 1:3 where feasible; a required fire-access lane will necessitate some tree removal as a code requirement. The applicant also described coordination with the County Road Commission and Oshtemo Township on a conceptual roundabout and a parking agreement for overflow on Maple Hill Drive.

A board member moved to approve the phase 1 site plan “with the following conditions: no work to begin until full site-plan review approval; if required, copies of any required permits from state or federal agencies shall be submitted to the city; tree-protection fencing in place prior to work; and creation of a bond, the type and amount to be established by city staff.” The motion was seconded and approved by roll call. A recusal on this agenda item had been noted earlier in the meeting.

The approval applies only to phase 1 (tree removal and immediate protections). The applicant and staff said the board will see phase 2 later with building placement, parking, landscaping and full stormwater details.