PLYMOUTH — During last week’s meeting of the Plymouth Plan Commission, a request for an exemption to sidewalk requirements by Crossroads Church on Oak Drive brought an overall discussion of sidewalks in the area.
The city zoning ordinance has a requirement for sidewalks to be added with any new construction. Crossroads Church is in the process of expansion and has asked for approval for that construction, which includes a waiver and abatement of the sidewalk requirement.
The board had made a similar arrangement with recent projects by Collins Equity Group and Plumlee Dentistry to waive the construction of the sidewalk with a promise to gift the land for such to the city when the project began. That arrangement was recommended to the board for Crossroads as well by the Planning Department.
Plymouth City Attorney Jeff Houin explained to the Commission that the reason for the arrangement was to facilitate a project planned by the City of Plymouth to construct sidewalks from US 30 southward on Oak Dr. to Lake Avenue. He said that the cost of land acquisition is a major expense for such a project, and gave the city more control of the construction. If privately constructed, the company would place the sidewalk on its land rather than in a city right-of-way, which can cause legal issues, and the company would likely construct the minimum required by city ordinance.
Houin said that the Plymouth City Council has placed a high priority on getting the project completed — “second only to a new Firehouse” — and they planned to begin pursuing grants in November, towards a projected price tag of $4 million.
Houin said that having the land donated would save on that expense as well as the expense of demolition on any previously constructed sidewalks that didn’t meet the city standards.
Commission members’ discussion and concerns were based on consistency.
The city made previous arrangements with Beacon Credit Union and the storage facility constructed on Oak Road, that when adjacent properties placed sidewalks, they would be required to at their own expense.
President of the Commission Doug Feece also brought up a past situation in downtown Plymouth where the city had built sidewalks for a developer and then refused to do so at a later time for another developer. Feece said that his concern was that the enforcement and application of the requirement “has not been consistent”.
In the end, the Plan Commission voted 7-2 in favor of the church’s request.
