Planning commission recommends Kellogg Crossing PUD for 3770 Bender Road amid resident traffic and open-space concerns

The Middleville Planning Commission on April 1 recommended that the village council approve the Kellogg Crossing final planned unit development for the property at 3770 Bender Road.

Chris Cohane, representing the applicant, described the proposal as a single-family site condominium on roughly 12.08 acres that would create 25 new residential lots plus an outlot preserving an existing house. "It's 25 units. We're also preserving this existing home here," Cohane said, and added the homes would range between 1,600 and 2,400 square feet and the development would preserve about 27% open space.

The recommendation to council is conditional. Staff asked the commission to require that the applicant address all items in the village engineer's review dated March 19, 2026 and that final engineering plans be reviewed and approved prior to construction. "All public infrastructure shall be constructed in accordance with village standards and specifications," staff noted in the staff report and recommended conditions.

Why it matters: The commission's recommendation advances the project to village council and ties approval to technical corrections intended to protect neighboring properties and ensure public infrastructure meets village standards. Neighbors expressed safety and quality-of-life concerns that will likely be raised again at council.

Residents who live adjacent to the site told the commission they worry about narrower-than-expected roads, loss of nearby woods, sidewalk gaps and traffic near schools. "Is it wide enough? We've seen on the plans it's only 60 ft," said Marcy McCoy of 953 Greenwood Street, who urged the commission to confirm right-of-way and buffering next to existing homes. Other neighbors asked whether the concrete sidewalk segment would be publicly owned and who would pay for sidewalk completion.

Commissioners and the applicant clarified several points: lots 24 and 25 will face Bender Road with driveways; the proposed public street sections are a 60-foot right-of-way with a 26-foot pavement cross-section and the applicant indicated willingness to grant a permanent public access easement for the proposed concrete trail portion from Bender Road toward Metal Ark. Staff said developer-installed sidewalks will be limited to the new lots, leaving a gap adjacent to existing homes that the commission can ask council to address.

Engineering, stormwater and public-safety items were central to the discussion. Staff and the project engineer identified outstanding engineering revisions (stormwater calculations and basin design clarification, ADA sidewalk and crossing details, utility separation and plan inconsistencies) that must be resolved before construction. The applicant described the stormwater feature as an infiltration basin designed to hold water only in large storm events and to drain quickly; "we don't think there's going to be any permanent pool there at all," the applicant said when asked about mosquito breeding risk.

The commission added a new condition requesting the developer grant a permanent public access easement for the concrete portion of the proposed trail and included the engineer's March 19 comments as conditions. After deliberation, a motion to recommend approval to the village council passed on roll call.

Next steps: The recommendation moves the final PUD and the accompanying rezoning request to the village council for public hearing and final action; the staff report and the conditions the commission attached require the applicant to submit revised engineering plans and to secure any required approvals before construction begins.