By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Zeeland city planners appear ready to approve the site plan for Mead Johnson Nutrition’s $836 million plant modernization project — they just want to finalize the details in writing.
On a 7-0 vote Monday night, the Planning Commission directed city staff to draft a written resolution that would approve the site plan and special land use request from Mead Johnson, as well as conditions the company must meet as part of that approval. The resolution is expected to come before commissioners at their next meeting Thursday, June 4.
Mead Johnson is proposing construction of a new six-story, 501,477-square-foot building directly west of its current ZSP building and a 117,928-square-foot addition to be built on the north end of its ZIPP building to the north. The project on the 45.38-acre site would more than triple the size of the plant on East Main Avenue.
Commissioner Rebecca Perkins, who is the City Council’s liaison to the Planning Commission, asked for commissioners to pump the brakes on approval, saying there were “a lot of open-ended” items she felt needed to be answered.
“It’s obviously headed in the right direction. They’ve done an amazing job (putting the plan together),” Perkins said.
City Manager Tim Klunder, who also sits on the Planning Commission, concurred.
“There are a few things here … that I wouldn’t mind having a little more conversation with Mead Johnson around at a staff level,” Klunder said.
Mead Johnson officials have said the modernization project is necessary for the company to continue producing infant formula out of the Zeeland facility.
“Mead Johnson and the city of Zeeland have partnered for over 100 years … to feed infants around the globe. We want to continue to do that for another 100 years,” Mead Johnson site director Art Pike said.
The new building to be built will include manufacturing, packaging, warehousing and supporting utilities, as well offices and laboratory space. The northern addition to the ZIPP plant will be home to a new packaging line, Mead Johnson senior engineering manager Allan Barron said.
During his presentation, Barron outlined steps that Mead Johnson has taken to address concerns raised by residents last year, including noise, traffic and landscaping.
“Many design changes were made, including the design of the building, the location of the building on the site and the design of the site itself,” Barron said told commissioners.
Some of the changes include increasing setbacks for the new manufacturing building to at least 225 feet from the property line along Main and 400 feet from North Carlton Street — well beyond the city’s requirement of a 50-foot setback. In addition, the plant’s central utility building and cooling towers are being relocated from an area originally planned near North Carlton to a more central location on the property, Barron said.
“We feel this is a big step in reducing the noise coming from the site,” Barron said.
Mead Johnson has also removed all but one of the entrances off of Main from the site plan, meaning employees would enter and exit the plant property off of either Carlton or Fairview Road. The only remaining entrance off Main would be to a visitor parking lot that will have just 14 spaces, and will be fenced off from the employee parking lot, Barron said.
“What that allows us to do is put in a contiguous sidewalk, curb and landscaping from the visitor parking all the way over to Carlton Street,” Barron said.
Mead Johnson is asking for a variance from a landscaping regulation requiring trees be included as part of the parking area. Barron says current Food and Drug Administration rules limit the placement of large trees and shrubs next to buildings because they encourage the infestation of pests.
In exchange for that variance, the company plans to increase the number of trees and landscape plantings along Main and Carlton. A total of 48 canopy trees and a large number of other plantings are planned along Main. Sixteen canopy trees, three evergreen trees and additional shrubbery are proposed along Carlton, Barron said.
A pocket park along Main is planned, but details of the design are still being worked on, Barron said.
As part of its site plan application, Mead Johnson has submitted a zoning variance request asking the city to approve height variances because several areas of the new facility will exceed the current city ordinance that limits the height of buildings in the I-2 general industrial district to 40 feet. For example, a proposed new tower would be 134 feet in height.
The Zoning Board of Appeals would have to approve the variances, but it can’t do so until the Planning Commission approves the site plan, Community Development Director Tim Maday said.
While Monday’s hearing at the Howard Miller Community Center drew only a fraction of the audience that last year’s Mead Johnson rezoning hearings did, some nearby residents still have serious concerns about the project’s impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
“I’m pleading with Planning Commission, and remind you that it is your responsibility, now that you’ve rezoned this area, to make sure that the people that are still living in that neighborhood still have a pleasant place to live and a pleasant place to call home,” Sanford Street resident Jeff Zylstra said.
Zylstra favored the plan to move the employee entrances off Main and onto Carlton and Fairview, but pushed commissioners to “put some teeth into guaranteeing” Mead Johnson will address the issue of odor in the area of the plant.
Another Sanford Street resident, Ryan Baas, called for creation of a “modern, destination-grade” playground to replace the loss of the playground behind the former Bethel Christian Reformed Church property. He also called for Mead Johnson to establish what he called a “neighborhood-to-career” scholarship program for young people who live in the neighborhood.
“This program would connect our neighborhood kids, including those who may not follow a traditional four-year university path, directly with Mead Johnson’s HR department, for mentorship and training,” Baas said.
“This is not just a scholarship fund. It’s about a talent pipeline. It turns us from impacted neighbors into strategic partners in Mead Johnson’s future workforce,” he added.
A development agreement between the city and Mead Johnson will have to be worked out, addressing such issues utility coordination, infrastructure improvements and the development of a replacement for the playground behind the Bethel property, Maday said.
Zeeland Record
Zeeland city planners appear ready to approve the site plan for Mead Johnson Nutrition’s $836 million plant modernization project — they just want to finalize the details in writing.
On a 7-0 vote Monday night, the Planning Commission directed city staff to draft a written resolution that would approve the site plan and special land use request from Mead Johnson, as well as conditions the company must meet as part of that approval. The resolution is expected to come before commissioners at their next meeting Thursday, June 4.
Mead Johnson is proposing construction of a new six-story, 501,477-square-foot building directly west of its current ZSP building and a 117,928-square-foot addition to be built on the north end of its ZIPP building to the north. The project on the 45.38-acre site would more than triple the size of the plant on East Main Avenue.
Commissioner Rebecca Perkins, who is the City Council’s liaison to the Planning Commission, asked for commissioners to pump the brakes on approval, saying there were “a lot of open-ended” items she felt needed to be answered.
“It’s obviously headed in the right direction. They’ve done an amazing job (putting the plan together),” Perkins said.
City Manager Tim Klunder, who also sits on the Planning Commission, concurred.
“There are a few things here … that I wouldn’t mind having a little more conversation with Mead Johnson around at a staff level,” Klunder said.
Mead Johnson officials have said the modernization project is necessary for the company to continue producing infant formula out of the Zeeland facility.
“Mead Johnson and the city of Zeeland have partnered for over 100 years … to feed infants around the globe. We want to continue to do that for another 100 years,” Mead Johnson site director Art Pike said.
The new building to be built will include manufacturing, packaging, warehousing and supporting utilities, as well offices and laboratory space. The northern addition to the ZIPP plant will be home to a new packaging line, Mead Johnson senior engineering manager Allan Barron said.
During his presentation, Barron outlined steps that Mead Johnson has taken to address concerns raised by residents last year, including noise, traffic and landscaping.
“Many design changes were made, including the design of the building, the location of the building on the site and the design of the site itself,” Barron said told commissioners.
Some of the changes include increasing setbacks for the new manufacturing building to at least 225 feet from the property line along Main and 400 feet from North Carlton Street — well beyond the city’s requirement of a 50-foot setback. In addition, the plant’s central utility building and cooling towers are being relocated from an area originally planned near North Carlton to a more central location on the property, Barron said.
“We feel this is a big step in reducing the noise coming from the site,” Barron said.
Mead Johnson has also removed all but one of the entrances off of Main from the site plan, meaning employees would enter and exit the plant property off of either Carlton or Fairview Road. The only remaining entrance off Main would be to a visitor parking lot that will have just 14 spaces, and will be fenced off from the employee parking lot, Barron said.
“What that allows us to do is put in a contiguous sidewalk, curb and landscaping from the visitor parking all the way over to Carlton Street,” Barron said.
Mead Johnson is asking for a variance from a landscaping regulation requiring trees be included as part of the parking area. Barron says current Food and Drug Administration rules limit the placement of large trees and shrubs next to buildings because they encourage the infestation of pests.
In exchange for that variance, the company plans to increase the number of trees and landscape plantings along Main and Carlton. A total of 48 canopy trees and a large number of other plantings are planned along Main. Sixteen canopy trees, three evergreen trees and additional shrubbery are proposed along Carlton, Barron said.
A pocket park along Main is planned, but details of the design are still being worked on, Barron said.
As part of its site plan application, Mead Johnson has submitted a zoning variance request asking the city to approve height variances because several areas of the new facility will exceed the current city ordinance that limits the height of buildings in the I-2 general industrial district to 40 feet. For example, a proposed new tower would be 134 feet in height.
The Zoning Board of Appeals would have to approve the variances, but it can’t do so until the Planning Commission approves the site plan, Community Development Director Tim Maday said.
While Monday’s hearing at the Howard Miller Community Center drew only a fraction of the audience that last year’s Mead Johnson rezoning hearings did, some nearby residents still have serious concerns about the project’s impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
“I’m pleading with Planning Commission, and remind you that it is your responsibility, now that you’ve rezoned this area, to make sure that the people that are still living in that neighborhood still have a pleasant place to live and a pleasant place to call home,” Sanford Street resident Jeff Zylstra said.
Zylstra favored the plan to move the employee entrances off Main and onto Carlton and Fairview, but pushed commissioners to “put some teeth into guaranteeing” Mead Johnson will address the issue of odor in the area of the plant.
Another Sanford Street resident, Ryan Baas, called for creation of a “modern, destination-grade” playground to replace the loss of the playground behind the former Bethel Christian Reformed Church property. He also called for Mead Johnson to establish what he called a “neighborhood-to-career” scholarship program for young people who live in the neighborhood.
“This program would connect our neighborhood kids, including those who may not follow a traditional four-year university path, directly with Mead Johnson’s HR department, for mentorship and training,” Baas said.
“This is not just a scholarship fund. It’s about a talent pipeline. It turns us from impacted neighbors into strategic partners in Mead Johnson’s future workforce,” he added.
A development agreement between the city and Mead Johnson will have to be worked out, addressing such issues utility coordination, infrastructure improvements and the development of a replacement for the playground behind the Bethel property, Maday said.
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