Planning Commissioners, Business Owners Express Concerns Over Downtown Project

On Wednesday, the for a new that is to be constructed on the corner of Main Street and Ann Arbor Trail next to the .

While the plan passed 4-3, some planning commissioners continue to have concerns about the size and scope of the project.

"My reservations were about the totality of the project and that it is designed in such a dense way and not harmonious with the rest of downtown," said commissioner Jim Mulhern, who voted against approval of the site plan.

Mulhern drafted and introduced the language of the motion to approve the site plan, which includes five requirements and six "acknowledgements," which he said he included so that "the concerns of the commission are on public record."

In the first acknowledgement, Mulhern writes that, "This project, as designed, crowds the land, potentially congests traffic and assumes public parking."

The subsequent acknowledgements refer to concerns about the lack in the building design of an area for loading and unloading deliveries, the desire of the building owners to use on-street parking on Ann Arbor Trail for deliveries and concerns over parking for such a large building.

Mulhern said he drafted the motion with those details to show members of the public that the commission has the same concerns they do.

"The public's reaction to this project was very impactful," Mulhern said. "Yet the commission had to interpret the ordinances as they are written, which puts us in a tough spot."

Commissioners Keith MacDonald and Tara Parks also voted against approval of the plan.

Jennifer Frey, Christopher Harden, John King and Chairman Conrad Schewe voted for approval.

Commissioner Meg Dooley was absent from the meeting, and Jospeph Phillips was asked not to vote on the project due to a potential conflict of interest. Phillips, an architect, remodeled the Box Bar, which is next to the building site.

At the meeting, several downtown business owners spoke out against the building plan, including Teri Allen, owner of on Main Street and a member of Plymouth's Downtown Development Authority.

On Thursday, Allen brought her concerns to the monthly DDA meeting.

"It's not that we don't want something developed there, it's the magnitude of the project that worries me," Allen said. "It's a postage-stamp-size piece of land."

Allen asked if the DDA could take a stand on the issue, which will go before the City Commission at a to-be-determined date to request permission to pay into the city's parking fund instead of creating new parking spaces.

Plymouth Mayor Dan Dwyer, also a member of the DDA, said he didn't think there was anything they could do.

"There are rules in place right now," Dwyer said, referring to city ordinances. "And if you're inside those laws, it's hard for the commission not to approve it."