Trail Tree Village expansion approved in Coldwater

Don Reid, Coldwater Daily Reporter
·3 min read

COLDWATER — After listening to residents of for nearly an hour Monday, the Coldwater Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve a special land use permit to expand Trail Tree Village manufactured housing development to the west by between 76 to 78 lots.

Ward 2 residents crowded Brown Municipal Building chambers Monday night for the planning commission hearing on the Trail Tree Village expansion.
Ward 2 residents crowded Brown Municipal Building chambers Monday night for the planning commission hearing on the Trail Tree Village expansion.

Concerns prompted the developer to propose and the commission to require four conditions and changes to the site plan before work on the undeveloped 17.86 acres can begin.

Kim Scott, the representative of owner Cambio Communities of Southfield, agreed to make four changes in the site plan after hearing concerns:

  • A buffer of two rows of pine trees between the project and Thompson Boulevard homes to the west.

  • Relocate the entrance on Seeley Street away from Thompson to the east side of the property.

  • Move a dumpster away from Thompson Boulevard.

  • Construct a sidewalk along the south side of Seeley to the east along the developer's property as part of the city’s efforts to make the community more walkable.

Staff and developers rejected the suggestion to take all the traffic to the current entrance on Michigan Avenue as impractical as the development doubled in size.

The developer said it would save as many of the current hardwoods as possible within a utility easement and the 25-foot setback from the the homes to the property line.

Developers will put up to 78 manufactured home lots on the almost 18 acres off Seeley Street. Owners want screening for the homes on Thompson Boulevard in the distance.
Developers will put up to 78 manufactured home lots on the almost 18 acres off Seeley Street. Owners want screening for the homes on Thompson Boulevard in the distance.

Saving current hardwood trees had not satisfied owners of the newly built eight homes on the 10 lots of the long, mostly vacant street.

The newest commissioner, former city manager Jeff Budd, admitted the sidewalk was “a sidewalk to nowhere” since it would end at a culvert before reaching Michigan Avenue.

Commissioner Jessika Cole added the requirement the revised site plan come back before the planning commission before permits can be issued.

Ther expansion would double the size of the manufactured home park off Michigan Avenue.
Ther expansion would double the size of the manufactured home park off Michigan Avenue.

Scott said revision by the May meeting was not likely, pushing the next hearing to June at the earliest.

Cambio purchased Trail Tree in October 2020. Scott said the company worked with “distressed properties” but added, “Coldwater is a growing, prosperous community in need of more housing.”

Susan Arnold, who lives near the development, told commissioners, “We are concerned what will happen to our property values. Many of us in our neighborhood feel that the property taxes that we pay are way too high to be next-door neighbors to a trailer park.”

Residents, in public comments, letters, and emails, objected to the removal of the wooded area with its wildlife and added foot and vehicle traffic,

Ward 2 Councilman Jim Knaack opposed the expansion.
Ward 2 Councilman Jim Knaack opposed the expansion.

Ward 2 Councilman Jim Knaack praised residents for standing up and expressing their views.

“It’s not going to fit in the neighborhood. It would be like putting in a campground or some other type of business into residential areas," he said. “We’re bringing in developments, new aquatic centers, new schools, new jobs, everything is going positive, including our downtown. It’s not a distressed community. I don’t think we should treat it as such.”

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Planner Dean Walrack explained the owner has a right under current zoning for the development with the commission setting conditions to deal with “nuisances.”

The project was designed to put all the traffic along Seeley Street.

The route, which serves traffic between Morse Street next to the Branch Area Career Center and Kellogg Community College to the industrial area east of Michigan Avenue, avoids the residential areas as much as possible.

Coldwater is struggling to find housing for the growing number of employees at the Clemens Food Group pork plant and other industries, City Manager Keith Baker said after the meeting.

The planning commission could only add conditions to the special use permit if there was a potential nuisance for neighboring property. Zoned AA-1 for decades, the developer had the right to put in manufactured homes on the land.

--Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DReidTDR

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Trail Tree Village expansion approved by Coldwater Planning Commission