Salem OKs rezone for JCI

By Doug Johnson

Staff Writer

Johnson Controls Inc. won a 4-2 split decision from the Salem Township Planning Commission Thursday night.

Saying that this was "a step forward" for Salem, commission chairwoman Paula Hornback was joined by three others voting yes on rezoning 367 acres of land at Ann Arbor Road and Napier.

Also voting yes were Michael Skinner, Meroé Kaericher and Pam Sebert. Jim Kress and Sue Bejin voted no.

Kress and Bejin were critical of the plan during the four-hour meeting where the commissioners grilled JCI officials on everything from corporate ethics to pending cases with the Environmental Protection Agency.

JCI wants to build a research campus on the site just west of Plymouth Township's border. The plan does not sit well with Plymouth Township officials, including supervisor Steve Mann, who has waged a public fight to keep water and sewer from the development. Both Canton and Plymouth township planning commissions have opposed the plan, as well.

"JCI will bring prestige to the township," Hornback said. "I am an advocate of good development for Salem Township."

Hornback pointed out that very few Salem residents had voiced objections to the proposal.

Kress was toughest on JCI, reviewing pending and past cases before the EPA.

"JCI will be a generator of hazardous waste," Kress said. "This (EPA records) doesn't give me a warm feeling about JCI's commitment to cleaning up at its facilities and sites."

JCI corporation council Patrick Nettesheim said that manufacturing was not contemplated at the Napier site, and that "we take these environmental obligations very seriously."

JCI has a division that does use hazardous chemicals in the making of car batteries, JCI officials said.

"There will be no 'wet' processes on this site," JCI attorney Todd Fink said. "We will meet or exceed all rules. We will take every precaution."

"We must assess the environmental impact of this plan." Kress said, noting the JCI operation will sit at the headwaters of the Rouge watershed.

Commissioner Bejin said she was not happy with any aspect of the plan.

"I have a huge concern about the waste water plant," she said. "I'm not convinced it is the right thing to do. We're just not ready."

When told that the planned private sewage disposal plant

"I am not worried about that. I am worried about what's in our ordinances. You're a little early. We don't have all our ducks in a row."

She was referring to a growth management plan section that appears to ban private waste water plants.

JCI expects to hook up to the Detroit water system at Napier and Ann Arbor Road, to use the streams to handle storm water, and to use their private sewage plant as an interim measure until sewer lines become available. Sewer service could come from the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority.

Bejin also said she is concerned about the multiple uses planned at that site and wanted the application to be more specific. JCI attorney Fink wrapped up the JCI answers with a promise: "The community will be very proud of this development. We are here for the long haul."

The planners' recommendation now goes to the Washtenaw County Planning Commission, and then to the Salem Board of Trustees, where final say resides.

JCI is a world-wide, Milwaukee-based manufacturer of car interiors, car seating, batteries and controls. The company was founded 125 years ago as a maker of thermostats.

The firm currently has buildings in Plymouth Township. JCI hopes to start construction this fall and move in by the following fall or winter.