By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
A request by Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition to have the city of Zeeland rezone two residential properties as part of the company’s plan to modernize its infant formula manufacturing plant now rests with the City Council.
The council is expected to vote next Monday on a recommendation by the Planning Commission to rezone the property at 633 E. Main Ave., immediately west of the current plant, from R-2 single-family and two-family residential to I-2 general industrial, and the parcel at 605 E. Main Ave., currently occupied by Cityside Townhouses, from R-3 two-family and multiple-family residential to I-2.
Monday’s meeting will take place in the Les Hoogland Banquet Room on the main floor of the Howard Miller Community Center, with a work session at 6 p.m. and the regular meeting at 7 p.m.
The banquet room hosted three separate meetings of the Planning Commission last month as Mead Johnson presented plans for the $836 million modernization project at its facility at 725 E. Main Ave., which has produced infant formula since 1924.
Reckitt/Mead Johnson’s preliminary site plan calls for construction of about 350,000 square feet of new office and manufacturing space. Company officials have said repeatedly that the future of the Zeeland facility hinges on approval of its proposal.
Planning commissioners last Thursday passed two resolutions recommending approval of the rezoning, ratifying an earlier preliminary vote from June 25.
The rezoning recommendation for the 633 E. Main site was approved 6-0, while the 605 E. Main rezoning was recommended on a 5-1 vote, with the one no vote being from Commissioner Glenn Kass, the City Council’s representative on the commission. Kass earlier said that the Cityside Townhouses property is designated as multi-family residential in the city’s future land use plan and has been for 15 years.
Unlike past meetings where about 200 or so people turned out each time to hear Mead Johnson’s plans, with many speaking publicly for and against the project, last Thursday’s meeting at the City on a Hill ministry center produced no drama. The votes to approve the rezoning recommendation took place with no public comment beforehand and no discussion by commissioners.
“We appreciate the thorough review and thoughtful consideration that went into this approval from the Zeeland Planning Commission and look forward to the same from the City Council,” Mead Johnson external affairs director Arthur Pike said. “Zeeland has supported Mead Johnson in our mission to feed babies all over the world for more than a century, and we are eager to continue investing in this community.”
Three commissioners – Amanda Cooper, Robert Blanton and Rebecca Perkins – were absent for the meeting. Cooper and Blanton were earlier recused from the deliberations and vote on the rezoning because of their ties to Lakeshore Advantage, the economic development organization that has worked with Mead Johnson on their modernization proposal, over potential conflict of interest concerns.
Cooper, who is Lakeshore Advantage’s vice president of strategic initiatives, said at the June 25 Planning Commission meeting that in her role, she was “not actively involved in any business expansion projects,” and said she had never met or spoken to Mead Johnson leadership. Cooper said that she works primarily on initiatives such as access to child care and transportation. Blanton’s wife, Beth, is Lakeshore Advantage’s vice president of engagement. Blanton said at the June 25 meeting that he did not take his wife’s employment into account when voting on Planning Commission issues.
Planning Commission Chairman Bill Elhart has directed city planning staff to put together a conflict of interest statement to add to the commission’s bylaws, at the recommendation of City Manager Tim Klunder.
Zeeland Record
A request by Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition to have the city of Zeeland rezone two residential properties as part of the company’s plan to modernize its infant formula manufacturing plant now rests with the City Council.
The council is expected to vote next Monday on a recommendation by the Planning Commission to rezone the property at 633 E. Main Ave., immediately west of the current plant, from R-2 single-family and two-family residential to I-2 general industrial, and the parcel at 605 E. Main Ave., currently occupied by Cityside Townhouses, from R-3 two-family and multiple-family residential to I-2.
Monday’s meeting will take place in the Les Hoogland Banquet Room on the main floor of the Howard Miller Community Center, with a work session at 6 p.m. and the regular meeting at 7 p.m.
The banquet room hosted three separate meetings of the Planning Commission last month as Mead Johnson presented plans for the $836 million modernization project at its facility at 725 E. Main Ave., which has produced infant formula since 1924.
Reckitt/Mead Johnson’s preliminary site plan calls for construction of about 350,000 square feet of new office and manufacturing space. Company officials have said repeatedly that the future of the Zeeland facility hinges on approval of its proposal.
Planning commissioners last Thursday passed two resolutions recommending approval of the rezoning, ratifying an earlier preliminary vote from June 25.
The rezoning recommendation for the 633 E. Main site was approved 6-0, while the 605 E. Main rezoning was recommended on a 5-1 vote, with the one no vote being from Commissioner Glenn Kass, the City Council’s representative on the commission. Kass earlier said that the Cityside Townhouses property is designated as multi-family residential in the city’s future land use plan and has been for 15 years.
Unlike past meetings where about 200 or so people turned out each time to hear Mead Johnson’s plans, with many speaking publicly for and against the project, last Thursday’s meeting at the City on a Hill ministry center produced no drama. The votes to approve the rezoning recommendation took place with no public comment beforehand and no discussion by commissioners.
“We appreciate the thorough review and thoughtful consideration that went into this approval from the Zeeland Planning Commission and look forward to the same from the City Council,” Mead Johnson external affairs director Arthur Pike said. “Zeeland has supported Mead Johnson in our mission to feed babies all over the world for more than a century, and we are eager to continue investing in this community.”
Three commissioners – Amanda Cooper, Robert Blanton and Rebecca Perkins – were absent for the meeting. Cooper and Blanton were earlier recused from the deliberations and vote on the rezoning because of their ties to Lakeshore Advantage, the economic development organization that has worked with Mead Johnson on their modernization proposal, over potential conflict of interest concerns.
Cooper, who is Lakeshore Advantage’s vice president of strategic initiatives, said at the June 25 Planning Commission meeting that in her role, she was “not actively involved in any business expansion projects,” and said she had never met or spoken to Mead Johnson leadership. Cooper said that she works primarily on initiatives such as access to child care and transportation. Blanton’s wife, Beth, is Lakeshore Advantage’s vice president of engagement. Blanton said at the June 25 meeting that he did not take his wife’s employment into account when voting on Planning Commission issues.
Planning Commission Chairman Bill Elhart has directed city planning staff to put together a conflict of interest statement to add to the commission’s bylaws, at the recommendation of City Manager Tim Klunder.
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