The St. Joseph Township Board of Trustees has rejected a rezoning request for the Nye’s Apple Barn site on Niles Road.
The township planning commission in March signed off on the rezoning to allow for both residential and business developments on the 12-acre property, sending it to the full township board. However, after a lengthy meeting on Tuesday, the board shot the proposal down.
St. Joseph Township Manager Denise Cook tells us trustees cited traffic and safety concerns with some saying the development is not in character with the surrounding area.
Property owner John Nye had been asking for a rezoning of half of the property from R1 Residential to B2 Business, a general business district. That would allow for businesses to occupy the part of the property that’s along Niles Road while the rest of the property could be used for residential development.
Residents in the surrounding neighborhood have strongly pushed back on Nye’s plans for more than a year, and plenty were on hand to voice their opinions Tuesday.
The township board’s vote to reject the rezoning was four to three with Trustees Melissa Hahn, Roger Seeley, and Tom Milnikel voting in favor of it.
Cook says it wasn’t an easy meeting for anybody, but the board went with what each trustee felt was right.
