A development proposal called the Honey Creek Business Park, which would be located at 5411 Jackson Road, has gone through some revisions with its plan in lead up to going before the Scio Township Board on April 23. The developer of that site was seeking a conditional land use approval for a mixed use development.

In its plans, RSB Equities, LLC, as represented by the A.R. Brouwer Company, said it was requesting the necessary approval and permits to construct a mixed-use development on the undeveloped portion of 5411 Jackson Road.

The township board by a 4 to 2 vote denied the request.

Reasons for the denial ranged from some board members stating they didn’t have enough information just yet to fully understand the plan to believing the proposal wasn’t the best use of the site. Questions about traffic and water use concerns to how much positive impact can a hotel bring were raised by board members. One point raised by the side in support of the conditional use request said a hotel probably makes more sense at that location than residential.

The description of the site, as detailed in the plans and township documents, said the existing property contains a warehouse/light manufacturing building along with parking, two drives to Jackson Road and one drive to Zeeb Road, as well as utilities and stormwater management facilities.

The applicant requested a conditional use approval for a mixed-use development to construct a 74,555 s.f. (99 room) hotel; 13,500 s.f. office building; 21,000 s.f. flex office/light industrial building; and 8,000 s.f. multi-tenant retail building with drive-through located at 5411 Jackson Road. The existing manufacturing building fronting Jackson Road was to remain along with all existing built site improvements. The vacant southern portion of the site accessed from Zeeb Road was the proposed location for the listed site improvements.

Township consultants said this was a “modified concept than what was originally proposed and reviewed by the Planning Commission based on a 4-story hotel not being granted the required height variance.”

The site is zoned I-2, General Industrial and is located in the Jackson Road Overlay District (JROD). Mixed use developments may be considered in the JROD district as either a PUD or a conditional use, according to township planning.

Township record said the Planning Commission held a public hearing and recommended conditional use approval at their October 24, 2022 meeting with the following conditions:
• The properties be combined.
• A height variance be obtained for a 4-story / 45-foot tall hotel building.

“Based on the need for a height variance, the applicant decided to apply for a PUD rezoning/preliminary site plan in 2023,” township planners said. “The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the PUD rezoning/preliminary site plan application on August 14, 2023. On October 23, 2023, the Planning Commission tabled further discussion on the PUD application to give the applicants an opportunity to address concerns outlined in OHM and CWA reports and brought out in their discussion.”

“After further meeting with OHM and CWA, the applicant returned to the conditional use option for review,” according to township planners. “The ZBA denied the proposed variance for the 4-story/45-foot-tall hotel at their May 18, 2023 regular meeting. The applicant then revised the site plan and their request for a 3-story/36-foot-tall hotel, which was approved by the ZBA at their March 21, 2024, regular meeting. The consideration of this conditional use request is based on the revised information presented demonstrating a 3-story/36-foot-tall hotel and minor adjustments to the concept plan to accommodate the larger hotel footprint. Full site plan review will be conducted after approval of the conditional use.”

With the denial, it’s not known yet what the owners of the site will do next.