Planning commission tables Picasso Landscaping indoor batch plant after neighborhood noise, utility and plan concerns

The Fenton Planning Commission on Jan. 22 tabled a set of special land use and site plan applications from Picasso Landscaping for a proposed indoor concrete batch plant and expanded outdoor display and storage at 400 Meadowridge Drive, citing incomplete plans, outstanding engineering items and residents’ noise and traffic concerns.

Justin Sprague of OHM Advisors recommended conditional approval for an indoor-only batch plant and reapproval for outdoor sales and storage but listed multiple conditions including fully insulated doors remaining closed during operations, routing truck traffic through the Fenton Industrial Park instead of Grant and Rounds, depositing escrow funds for an independent acoustical engineer to verify the applicant’s sound study and limiting production hours to 8 a.m.–6 p.m. “We are asking the Planning Commission to reconsider the previous approval with the same conditions,” Sprague said in his overview of the review process. The City Engineer also flagged that the subject site is not currently connected to municipal water and sewer and that those connections must be demonstrated and coordinated before approvals move forward.

Neighbors testified strongly against the proposal during a public hearing. Resident Chelsea Hanell told the commission, “The noise is so loud that the call she was on had to be cancelled because she couldn’t hear.” Adrian Hanell said the project “is not for the betterment of the city or this neighborhood” and raised health and property-value concerns. The applicant, owner Brian Dennis, said he would post signs banning tailgate slamming and use cameras to monitor activity but acknowledged he could not guarantee every driver would comply: “Tailgate slamming is purely optional, so at his site he will definitely have signs posted stating ‘no tailgate slamming’.”

The Commission voted 7–2 to table Special Land Use PSLU25-0004 until corrected plans, a verified sound model, and the outstanding engineering and permit information are provided. Commissioners Stickel and Senyko made the motion to table; Suchowski and Anderson were the two no votes. The action pauses final decisions on the indoor batch plant, the associated outdoor storage, and related site work until the applicant addresses the specific technical and operational conditions identified by OHM and City staff.