Kalamazoo Planning Commission to hear rezoning request near Asylum Lake Preserve

The Kalamazoo Planning Commission will hear a rezoning request Thursday involving the contentious land bordering the Asylum Lake Preserve.

The same property was first proposed for commercial rezoning in 2020 for what would have been a second Drive & Shine location at the corner of Stadium Drive and South Drake Road. The initial request drew swift pushback from residents and environmental groups, eventually leading the applicants to withdraw it.

Now, Stadium Drive #1, LLC is asserting a “demonstrated community need for commercial land uses in this location,” citing the city’s designation of the area for commercial use in its application to the Planning Commission.

The commission will meet Thursday, November 6, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall, where members will consider a recommendation on the rezoning request.

Flashback: What’s happened before?

This is the third formal rezoning request for the property since 2020.

In 2020, the applicant sought to change the zoning from residential (RM-15/RS-5) to Community Commercial (CC) — which allows for larger commercial projects such as a car wash — and to remove the Natural Features Protection (NFP) Overlay.

The NFP is a special zoning district Kalamazoo adopted in 2019 to safeguard wetlands, steep slopes, floodplains, mature trees, and habitat corridors within city limits. It doesn’t prohibit development but adds an extra layer of review and stricter site-plan standards for any project on designated land.

The overlay is crucial to the 4301 Stadium Drive property because it borders the Asylum Lake Nature Preserve and includes steep, wooded slopes that drain toward the lake. The NFP rules are intended to limit runoff and vegetation removal so nearby ecosystems and water quality aren’t harmed if development occurs.

The 2020 request was recommended for denial by the Planning Commission, and the applicant withdrew before City Commission review.

A second rezoning request was filed in September 2023, with the same proposed zoning changes, although this time keeping the NFP overlay. The application was filed but withdrawn before it reached the Planning Commission.

Now what?

The same ownership group, operating as Stadium Drive #1, LLC, has filed a new zoning request to change the property from residential to Community Commercial, opening it to business development but keeping the environmental overlay in place.

The Community Commercial zoning being sought is a broad, high-intensity commercial category designed for corridors like Stadium Drive. While many business types are allowed by right, a car wash would require a Special Use Permit, according to Assistant City Planner Bobby Durkee. The permit process involves a separate public hearing and Planning Commission approval – one reason opponents see the rezoning as paving the way for the same Drive & Shine project rejected in prior years.

According to the city’s staff report, planning staff are recommending the rezoning be approved, finding it consistent with the city’s master plan and future land use map. The Planning Commission will consider that recommendation Thursday before voting on its own recommendation to the City Commission.

Pushback from residents

The request has again drawn strong feedback, with residents warning of the impacts a development could have on the Asylum Lake Nature Preserve, which directly borders the land.

Feedback has come from city residents, environmental groups, and Western Michigan University (WMU) students.

The Asylum Lake Preservation Association (ALPA) has warned against the rezoning, citing conflicts with the intent of the NFP overlay and the city’s climate-action goals. The group hosted a community meeting last month that drew more than 30 residents who shared concerns about the potential development, according to the Planning Commission packet.

The preserve is owned by WMU and managed through its Asylum Lake Policy and Management Council (ALPMC).

A group of WMU students signed a joint letter included in the Planning Commission packet urging the commission to recommend against the rezoning. The students wrote that a Drive & Shine at the corner of Stadium and Drake would “add pollution to the lake through runoff from soaps, salt, and fertilizers,” worsening existing algae blooms and harming the preserve’s plants and wildlife.

Local historian and city resident Pamela O’Connor also voiced opposition in a letter to city staff, writing, “I am sorry its present owner did not do their due diligence before buying the property, but I now add my voice to that of many others who seek to protect the Kalamazoo treasure known as the Asylum Lake Preserve and its flora, fauna, and water.”

Under the land’s current RS-5 and RM-15 residential zoning, the 18-acre site could host only housing or low-intensity civic uses — not commercial development. Any business use, including a car wash, would be prohibited unless the property is rezoned to a commercial category.

Residents can attend Thursday’s public meeting at Kalamazoo City Hall, 241 South St.

Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on November 6 at 3:20 p.m. to accurately reflect that a Special Use Permit and subsequent approvals are required to build a car wash in the Community Commercial zoning district.