At its April 22, 2024, meeting, the Dexter City Council approved an application for special land use at the site of the former Noble Appliance, allowing it to be used for commercial indoor recreation. Applicant and property owner Ben Lee of BJ Management presented his request to the Planning Commission at a public hearing on April 1, specifying his intent to split the Noble Appliance space into two separate spaces, including one that would operate as an indoor play place for kids 3-11 years of age.
The council approved the application following the Planning Commission’s recommendation, which specified certain conditions the applicant must meet. Those conditions include re-paving the parking lot and beginning the work necessary to allow the potential development of the building’s large outlot.
During the meeting, council member Zach Michels suggested that the requirement to repave the parking lot should specify the hot patch method rather than the cold patch. Council member Wa-Louisa Hubbard expressed concern about requiring that level of specificity on private property, but the suggestion was ultimately accepted and added to the repaving condition.
Council member Jamie Griffin then asked Community Development Manager Michelle Aniol to provide an overview of the Planning Commission’s comments about the condition related to preparing the outlot for potential future development. Aniol said that some had been concerned it might imply that a future outlot development would be pre-approved and wouldn’t have to follow the normal approval channels. However, she assured everyone that because the outlot is on the site plan, they would have to file for an amendment to the development agreement first, and that would send it through to the Planning Commission and City Council.
Griffin then asked if a condition should be added that addresses the hours of operation in response to comments sent to the Planning Commission by a couple of area residents asking that the business close by 8 p.m. each night. Lee responded that they did make adjustments to their originally planned business hours and would now be closing at 8 p.m. on weeknights but planned to remain open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.