Overflow crowd postpones Lowell Township hearing on data center rezoning

A public hearing in Lowell Township, Kent County, intended to discuss a controversial land rezoning request for a new data center was abruptly cancelled due to a turnout much larger than the township was prepared for. Cars were parked down the street outside of the Lowell Township Hall and hundreds of residents were squeezed into meeting area with many more spilling into the hallway. The mandated hearing was for people to give input regarding a rezone application for about 235 acres of land at 4687 Alden Nash Ave. SE, near I-96, from Industrial Planned Unit Development (IPUD) to Light Industrial (LI). According to township notes from a meeting held on Nov. 10, the applicant intends to develop a data warehousing facility on the property. During that November meeting, the public hearing was scheduled for Dec. 8, the township's minutes state. Planning Commission Chair Dave Simmonds said there had been some discussion of potentially changing the venue, but they decided against it. "You have to find a place and go by their schedule," Simmonds said. "If you find a place but then their dates are full, you can't get them. You know, can't use it. So that would be the problem." Township leaders said the meeting would ultimately need to be held elsewhere for two reasons: The Open Meetings Act and fire code. "There are people in the audience, there are people in the reception area, there are people outside," Cliff Bloom, the township's attorney, announced at the start of the meeting. "Under the Open Meetings Act, we probably can't proceed with this meeting unless some folks voluntarily leave." The "Open Meetings Act" requires that all attendees must be able to hear what is being said during a public meeting, which township leaders said could not be accommodated in the space provided. Moreover, the fire marshal said the turnout far exceeded fire code, with the room's capacity only allowing for about 120 people. Read: https://wwmt.com/news/local/lowell-data-center-crowd-cancel-meeting-hundreds-postponed-until-further-notice-michigan-wwmt _______________ Stay up to date with our social media: WWMT on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wwmtnews WWMT on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wwmtnews Subscribe to WWMT on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAYwomlsmN0DsPeeumEKFXg/?sub_confirmation=1 WWMT Daily News Digest: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-oNVYSgKM8IBYJOY5M-p37vKcILekLNz For more information, visit https://www.wwmt.com/ Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: desk@wwmt.com Call the Newsroom: 800.875.3333 WWMT is a MI based station and a CBS Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. #WWMT #NEWSCHANNEL3 #Kalamazoo #Michigan #Lowell #DataCenter #KentCounty #Overflowmeeting #AbigailTaylor