By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland City Council Monday night approved rezoning two residential properties on East Main Avenue as part of Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition’s planned $836 million modernization of its century-old infant formula manufacturing plant.
The council voted unanimously 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. It also approved on a 6-1 vote rezoning the parcel at 605 E. Main Ave., currently occupied by Cityside Townhouses, from R-3 two-family and multiple-family residential to I-2.
“We are grateful that the city of Zeeland has supported Mead Johnson in our mission to feed babies all over the world for more than a century,” Mead Johnson external affairs director Arthur Pike said. “(The) City Council vote in favor of our rezoning application will enable essential upgrades to our facility and support the vital work of our nearly 500 local employees to provide high-quality nutrition for infants.
“Just as importantly, this vote reflects the confidence that Zeeland leaders have in Mead Johnson to deliver the many benefits to the community outlined in our modernization plan.”
Reckitt/Mead Johnson has proposed a preliminary site plan calling for construction of about 350,000 square feet of new office and manufacturing space. Company officials have said from the outset that the project is critical to its future in Zeeland, where it has had a plant since 1924.
The city’s Planning Commission earlier this month recommended rezoning the two parcels, a move that was endorsed by the city’s planning consultant, Paul LeBlanc. In a memo to the city last month, LeBlanc wrote that the two parcels sought for rezoning were identified as part of a “land use conflict” in the city’s 2011 master plan — residential-zoned properties along near large pockets of industrial-zoned land.
“These parcels are located within a block that is identified as a ‘inconsistent land use area’ in the master plan, which further states that most of these residential properties are proposed to be redeveloped into the surrounding non-residential uses,” Community Development Director Tim Maday said, quoting from LeBlanc’s report. “The commission also noted that 90 percent of the block that the subject parcels were located on were industrially zoned.”
Before Mead Johnson purchased the East Main parcels, the company attempted to buy industrial-zoned property to the north of its plant. That included the Rieth-Riley Construction site on Washington Avenue and a 45-acre site at 800 E. Riley St., according to documents obtained by the Zeeland Record through a Freedom of Information Act request. Both of those efforts failed, with the 800 E. Riley site being sold earlier this year to JR Automation Technologies.
The rezoning was opposed by many residents on the east side of the city, near the plant. Thomas Humbert, who lives on East Main across from Bethel Christian Reformed Church, spoke out against the rezoning, particularly in light of the future demolition of Cityside Townhouses, eight residential units that were just built in 2016.
“Zeeland has repeatedly identified the need for attainable, middle-market housing, especially for young families, seniors and essential workers,” Humbert said. “To replace those homes with industrial use directly contradicts the city’s goals for inclusive and sustainable development. We can’t champion smart growth and housing access while tearing down what we say we need more of.”
Councilman Glenn Kass voted against rezoning the 605 E. Main property, maintaining the position he held at the Planning Commission, opposing the loss of housing.
Mead Johnson purchased the 0.88-acre Cityside Townhouses property May 15 for $2.95 million and the 1.48-acre parcel at 633 E. Main, which had been a single-family residence for many years, on Dec. 30, 2024 for $1.5 million, according to city and county property records.
Mead Johnson has also purchased several other properties along Main Avenue recently as part of the planned plant modernization, most notably the Bethel CRC property at 515 E. Main Ave., which the company acquired June 30 for $3.3 million. Maday said those properties would also have to be rezoned before Mead Johnson could seek site plan approval from the Planning Commission.
“Everything that is incorporated in the site needs to be zoned appropriately before they can submit a site plan (request),” Maday said.
Mead Johnson was expected to file rezoning applications for its recently-
acquired parcels by the end of this week, and is expected to present a site plan proposal to the Planning Commission “sometime in the fourth quarter,” Pike said.
During his comments to council, Humbert urged that if the rezoning was approved, that the Planning Commission put strong measures in place during the site plan review process to protect the nearby residential neighborhood.
“That means a minimum 200-foot building setback from any residential property, with that space used for layered buffering, not parking or staging,” he said. “Mature dense landscape buffers with staggered evergreen species and berms, not just saplings. Trees take years to grow. We can’t rely on vegetation that won’t provide meaningful screening for a decade.”
Humbert also called for all employee, truck and service traffic to be routed through Washington Avenue or entrances east of Sanford Street.
Mead Johnson is Zeeland’s third largest taxpayer, behind Consumers Energy and Gentex Corporation. The company in 2024 paid $953,425 in local and county property taxes, including $305,869 in operating taxes to Zeeland Public Schools and $190,311 in operating taxes to the city, according to city tax records.
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland City Council Monday night approved rezoning two residential properties on East Main Avenue as part of Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition’s planned $836 million modernization of its century-old infant formula manufacturing plant.
The council voted unanimously 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. It also approved on a 6-1 vote rezoning the parcel at 605 E. Main Ave., currently occupied by Cityside Townhouses, from R-3 two-family and multiple-family residential to I-2.
“We are grateful that the city of Zeeland has supported Mead Johnson in our mission to feed babies all over the world for more than a century,” Mead Johnson external affairs director Arthur Pike said. “(The) City Council vote in favor of our rezoning application will enable essential upgrades to our facility and support the vital work of our nearly 500 local employees to provide high-quality nutrition for infants.
“Just as importantly, this vote reflects the confidence that Zeeland leaders have in Mead Johnson to deliver the many benefits to the community outlined in our modernization plan.”
Reckitt/Mead Johnson has proposed a preliminary site plan calling for construction of about 350,000 square feet of new office and manufacturing space. Company officials have said from the outset that the project is critical to its future in Zeeland, where it has had a plant since 1924.
The city’s Planning Commission earlier this month recommended rezoning the two parcels, a move that was endorsed by the city’s planning consultant, Paul LeBlanc. In a memo to the city last month, LeBlanc wrote that the two parcels sought for rezoning were identified as part of a “land use conflict” in the city’s 2011 master plan — residential-zoned properties along near large pockets of industrial-zoned land.
“These parcels are located within a block that is identified as a ‘inconsistent land use area’ in the master plan, which further states that most of these residential properties are proposed to be redeveloped into the surrounding non-residential uses,” Community Development Director Tim Maday said, quoting from LeBlanc’s report. “The commission also noted that 90 percent of the block that the subject parcels were located on were industrially zoned.”
Before Mead Johnson purchased the East Main parcels, the company attempted to buy industrial-zoned property to the north of its plant. That included the Rieth-Riley Construction site on Washington Avenue and a 45-acre site at 800 E. Riley St., according to documents obtained by the Zeeland Record through a Freedom of Information Act request. Both of those efforts failed, with the 800 E. Riley site being sold earlier this year to JR Automation Technologies.
The rezoning was opposed by many residents on the east side of the city, near the plant. Thomas Humbert, who lives on East Main across from Bethel Christian Reformed Church, spoke out against the rezoning, particularly in light of the future demolition of Cityside Townhouses, eight residential units that were just built in 2016.
“Zeeland has repeatedly identified the need for attainable, middle-market housing, especially for young families, seniors and essential workers,” Humbert said. “To replace those homes with industrial use directly contradicts the city’s goals for inclusive and sustainable development. We can’t champion smart growth and housing access while tearing down what we say we need more of.”
Councilman Glenn Kass voted against rezoning the 605 E. Main property, maintaining the position he held at the Planning Commission, opposing the loss of housing.
Mead Johnson purchased the 0.88-acre Cityside Townhouses property May 15 for $2.95 million and the 1.48-acre parcel at 633 E. Main, which had been a single-family residence for many years, on Dec. 30, 2024 for $1.5 million, according to city and county property records.
Mead Johnson has also purchased several other properties along Main Avenue recently as part of the planned plant modernization, most notably the Bethel CRC property at 515 E. Main Ave., which the company acquired June 30 for $3.3 million. Maday said those properties would also have to be rezoned before Mead Johnson could seek site plan approval from the Planning Commission.
“Everything that is incorporated in the site needs to be zoned appropriately before they can submit a site plan (request),” Maday said.
Mead Johnson was expected to file rezoning applications for its recently-
acquired parcels by the end of this week, and is expected to present a site plan proposal to the Planning Commission “sometime in the fourth quarter,” Pike said.
During his comments to council, Humbert urged that if the rezoning was approved, that the Planning Commission put strong measures in place during the site plan review process to protect the nearby residential neighborhood.
“That means a minimum 200-foot building setback from any residential property, with that space used for layered buffering, not parking or staging,” he said. “Mature dense landscape buffers with staggered evergreen species and berms, not just saplings. Trees take years to grow. We can’t rely on vegetation that won’t provide meaningful screening for a decade.”
Humbert also called for all employee, truck and service traffic to be routed through Washington Avenue or entrances east of Sanford Street.
Mead Johnson is Zeeland’s third largest taxpayer, behind Consumers Energy and Gentex Corporation. The company in 2024 paid $953,425 in local and county property taxes, including $305,869 in operating taxes to Zeeland Public Schools and $190,311 in operating taxes to the city, according to city tax records.
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