Planning commission approves Mersen employee parking lot with fencing and lighting conditions

The Bay City Planning Commission approved a special-use site plan to formalize and improve an employee parking lot that serves the Mersen USA plant, placing conditions on fencing, landscaping and lighting.

Staff described the lot as a consolidation of two existing parking areas and said the project will be treated as a single improvement; the applicant is expected to seek zoning-board of appeals relief for setbacks. “This is kinda to get a new surface in there,” said Jay Wheeler, the engineer for the applicant, describing plans to pave the lot, add landscaping and install a striped crosswalk and beacons at 37th and Harrison to improve employee pedestrian safety.

The approval followed public comment from nearby residents who said the informal lot has created persistent problems. “When they let out a shift, it’s like a racetrack,” said Mark Contranowski of 815 Harrison, who said late‑night speeding, gravel spray and recurring trash have degraded life in adjacent homes. Janie Smith, who lives on the corner of 37th, said her property values have fallen and asked the commission to require a privacy fence around three sides and tall evergreen plantings.

In response, the applicant said paving will eliminate gravel tracked into yards, a vinyl fence will help contain litter, and the landscaping plan includes Arborvitae to provide screening as the plants mature. Planning staff noted an existing light pole on the parcel that Bay City Light and Power would upgrade under an administratively approved lighting plan designed to meet the city’s cut‑off and foot‑candle limits.

During deliberations a commissioner who moved the approval argued the project “will improve that safety and welfare of the area” compared with the current unmanaged condition; the motion included requirements that any changes to fixtures be administratively approved and that the owner be responsible for maintenance of fencing and plantings. The motion passed. One commissioner had announced at the start of the hearing that they would abstain and left the room before the vote.

The commission’s conditions require the applicant to submit a lighting plan that complies with section 122‑60 and to finalize plantings and fence specifications as part of the final site plan record. The commission did not provide a roll-call vote tally in the meeting record; the clerk recorded that the motion carried.