DEQ: Developer approved to fill wetlands

Brandon Twp.- A developer will move forward with plans for a retail center off M-15 and north of Seymour Lake Road after receiving permission to fill wetlands on the site.
Melanie Foose, district representative for the land and water management division of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, issued a permit to B.L.L. Commercial Property Company LLC on April 8, allowing them to place 1,468 cubic yards of material within a total of .22 acre of wetland to facilitate the construction of a retail center and associated parking; place a 3-foot retaining wall at the edge of wetland fill; use a directional bore method to install 150 linear feet of 10-inch diameter watermain; and discharge pre-treated stormwater to wetland, with all work in accordance with DEQ approved plans and conditions.
‘We are pleased,? said Mark Witkiewicz, vice-president of B.L.L. Commercial Property. ‘We think it’s the right thing for the township and what the property is zoned for. We’re anxious to bring a great development to Brandon.?
Witkiewicz said he is working on a site plan with the township right now and has had some interest in the property, although he said it was difficult to market before receiving the wetland permit.
B.L.L. has been pursuing development of the property since last fall, but has faced opposition to the plan. A public hearing on the matter in January drew about 30 residents upset about the filling of wetlands. Comments at the hearing centered around concerns of losing natural features and the effect that filling wetlands would have on headwaters.
In granting the permit, Foose said B.L.L. minimized impact to the wetlands with a retaining wall and the building would be placed in the upland portion of the property.
‘It was a permittable project under the wetlands statute,? she said. ‘I have to go by what the law says and the law says that a permit is required for certain activities. This impact will not result in unacceptable disruption to a wetlands area. They used an alternative by putting a retaining wall at the edge of fill and eliminating slopes and using upland to the greatest extent possible. To build at all, they had to get into a small corner of wetland by the road.?
The planned 15,000 square-foot retail/commercial center is the final phase of a project begun when Silverman Development Company sold 70 acres of property to Centex Homes in 2004 for the Long Lake Village subdivision, but kept 4-and-a-half acres of M-15 frontage zoned commercial for the center.
The retail development will be located just south of the entrance to the subdivision.

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