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We hope you enjoy this abbreviated version of the

The Frankenmuth News

Serving Frankenmuth Since 1906

Vol. 111 No. 11 ~   In our 111th year!

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

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City was on the "grow" for 2015-16

  The City of Frankenmuth was on the grow over the past 12-18 months.
  John Polomsky, the Franken-muth Planning Commission chairman, gave the board’s annual report to Frankenmuth City Council members earlier this month.
  The commission held nine regular meetings and one special meeting during the past 12 months and met jointly with the Township Planning Commission one time on September 22, 2015, to approve the final City & Township Joint Growth Management Plan. They also reviewed and recommended a revised Urban Limit Agreement with township officials.
  “We had very good cooperative discussions with the Township Planning Commission throughout the process of updating our Community Master Plan,” Polomsky said.
  Overall, the commission approved, reviewed or recommend 15 action items over the past fiscal year.
  One of the bigger, impactful items was approval of a site plan for the Frankenmuth Farmers Market, including a 4,375-square foot building that will house an incubator kitchen on North Main Street. A grand opening was held last month as the new location is fully operational. 
  The Covenant Glen assisted living facility at 1040 Covenant Drive had the largest site plan removal in 2015. The commission okayed a 14,520-square foot addition on the south side of its existing building. The addition included eight new living units to the three-year-old facility.
  The panel approved a site plan requested by Mike Young Buick-GMC for an 80-space parking lot expansion on the property north of Talmer Bank, previously owned by Gary Hurand.
  Frankenmuth Insurance also added to its parking lot inventory. The commission approved a site plan for an additional 100 parking spaces and a new carport on West Genesee Street.
  Star of the West Milling Company had its site plan approved for a 24x38-foot packing annex addition to their food grade warehouse fronting on the abandoned Hubinger Street right of way north of East Tuscola Street.
  Schaefer & Bierlein requested a special use permit to locate an off-road park at 1131 Weiss Street. 
  The commission also approved a site plan request by Lyle Davis for an 1,800-square foot storage building in the 200 block of West Tuscola Street. 
  The commission approved a special use permit requested by Kimberly Zehnder to locate a child care facility in the Gilmour Construction building at 1305 Weiss Street.
  The Kingsbrook Place subdivision will be growing as No.  6 subdivision received approval of a new preliminary plat, requested by Wellman Construction. 
  The commission also held discussions with Leone Koester pertaining to the Mixed Use PUD Ordinance and the area on South Main Street that has been zoned as Mixed Use.
  In other commission news, the members recommended approval of the 2016-2021 Capital Improvements Plan, recommended rezoning of 20 parcels on South Weiss Street to B-4 Zoning District and recommended adoption of an ordinance establishing special use permit standards and amending various sections of the Zoning Ordinance.
  In addition to Polomsky, Lori Ettema is the vice-chair, Dave Geiger is the secretary and Phil Kerns is the zoning administrator. The members include Tim Dils, Jim Howe, Art Loeffler, Tim Meyer, Randy Trinklein and Bob Zeilinger.
  “We appreciate the opportunity to make recommendations pertaining to planning and zoning issues to the City Council. The harmonious working relationship between the Planning Commission and the City Council makes our task much easier to carry out. We also want to express our appreciation for the excellent staff assistance we receive from Phil Kerns,” Polomsky said.