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Record of Proceedings

Portage Planning Commission Approves Site Plan for Industrial Building at 3901 East Millem Avenue on September 3, 2026

Planning Commission — Thursday, September 3, 2026
BodyPortage, Michigan
SessionPlanning Commission
DateThursday, September 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 14:08

Transcript — Verbatim
0:16

Pledge of allegiance.

0:23

One nation undervisable with literature justice.

0:33

Mr.

0:34

Felton, would you please call the roll?

0:37

Chair Cordini will be absent tonight.

0:40

Vice Chair Baldwin.

0:42

Here.

0:42

Commissioner Urban.

0:43

Here.

0:44

Commissioner Adams.

0:45

Here.

0:45

Commissioner Cobb.

0:46

Here.

0:47

Commissioner Orwig.

0:48

Here.

0:49

Secretary Cosista and Commissioner Miller will be absent tonight.

0:52

Commissioner Cruell.

0:54

Here.

0:56

Vice Chair.

0:57

Yes, sir.

0:58

I'd like to make to make a motion to dismiss Chairman Corradini, Secretary Casisto, and Commissioner Miller.

1:05

Do I have a second?

1:07

All in favor, signify by saying aye.

1:10

Aye.

1:10

All opposed, same sign.

1:12

Any abstentions?

1:14

Motion passes.

1:16

We are to the approval of the minutes of the August 20th, 2020 2026 meeting.

1:23

Are there any amendments to the minutes?

1:27

Deletions.

1:28

Do I have a motion?

1:31

Support.

1:32

Okay.

1:32

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

1:35

Sorry.

1:36

All opposed, same sign.

1:38

Any abstention.

1:39

Motion passes.

1:41

We have no public hearings tonight.

1:44

We do have a site and final plans.

1:47

And Mr.

1:48

Felt, the podium is yours.

1:51

Thank you.

2:07

Good evening, everyone.

2:09

For the record, my name is Eric Felt, Planner with the City of Portage.

2:13

The proposal in front of you today is an application seeking site plan approval for an industrial building at 3101 3901 East Millem Avenue.

2:24

The property is located in the northeast part of Portage.

2:29

It is located east of the Camel Zoo Battle Creek International Airport, just west of the intersection of South Sprinkle Road and East Millam Avenue.

2:38

As you zoom into the neighborhood, you can see the subject site is vacant.

2:42

To the east is an established building occupied by DePati Power Fluid.

2:48

South of the site going across East Millem Avenue, there are various industrial users, including Dan Wood Company, HVEC, Road Equipment Parts Center, and Clark Logic headquarters.

3:01

West of the subject site is a foundation building material business.

3:08

The next several slides are various images of the property and of the area.

3:13

So this is on East Millem Avenue looking west towards the dead end of the street.

3:18

As I mentioned earlier, there are various established industrial users.

3:22

You can see them on the left.

3:24

The subject site is on the right.

4:15

Shifting to the zoning map of the area, you can see much of this area is gray, which signifies it is a light industrial zoning district.

4:25

Heading east on East Millem Avenue, east of South Sprinkler Road, the zoning changes to a B3 commercial district and OS1 office district.

4:35

Heading further east, going further away from the subject site, the properties turn into a residentially zoned area where there is a residence residential neighborhood.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Regulations█████████████████████████████████████37%
Procedural█████████████████████████25%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████25%
Public Health Awareness█████████████13%
Summary of Proceedings

Portage Planning Commission Approves Site Plan for Industrial Building at 3901 East Millem Avenue on September 3, 2026

The Portage Planning Commission met on September 3, 2026, with Vice Chair Baldwin presiding due to Chair Corradini's absence. Commissioners Urban, Adams, Cobb, Orwig, and Cruell were present; Secretary Cosista and Commissioner Miller were absent. The commission approved the minutes of the August 20, 2026 meeting and voted unanimously to approve a site plan for a 57,002-square-foot industrial warehouse building at 3901 East Millem Avenue.

Consent Calendar

  • A motion to dismiss absent Chair Corradini, Secretary Cosista, and Commissioner Miller passed unanimously.
  • The minutes of the August 20, 2026 meeting were approved without amendment.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were received or presented.

Discussion Items

  • Planner Eric Felt presented the site plan application for an industrial building at 3901 East Millem Avenue. The proposed 57,002-square-foot, single-story building (38 feet tall) would include warehouse space, truck loading/unloading areas, 14 parking spaces, trailer parking, a turnaround, and a garbage enclosure. The property is zoned light industrial and surrounded by industrial uses. Stormwater would be managed on-site via two basins. The city's Development Review Team recommended two conditions for the subsequent public utility plan: (1) the hydrant must be served off a public main, not a private service; and (2) a meter pit is required outside the building for domestic water service, with only the bypass meter on the fire suppression line inside the structure.
  • Spencer Odell of AR Engineering, the applicant's civil engineer, answered questions. Commissioner Urban inquired about building height relative to FAA regulations for the nearby airport; Odell confirmed a submittal had been made to the FAA.

Key Outcomes

  • Commissioner Cobb moved to approve the site plan for industrial building at 3901 East Millem Avenue with the two conditions as stated. The motion was seconded.
  • A roll call vote resulted in unanimous approval: Vice Chair Baldwin (yes), Commissioners Urban (yes), Adams (yes), Cobb (yes), Orwig (yes), and Cruell (yes). Motion passed.

Commissioner Comments

  • Commissioner Urban encouraged attendees to get flu and COVID-19 vaccinations, noting the start of flu and COVID season.

Meeting Transcript

Pledge of allegiance. One nation undervisable with literature justice. Mr. Felton, would you please call the roll? Chair Cordini will be absent tonight. Vice Chair Baldwin. Here. Commissioner Urban. Here. Commissioner Adams. Here. Commissioner Cobb. Here. Commissioner Orwig. Here. Secretary Cosista and Commissioner Miller will be absent tonight. Commissioner Cruell. Here. Vice Chair. Yes, sir. I'd like to make to make a motion to dismiss Chairman Corradini, Secretary Casisto, and Commissioner Miller. Do I have a second? All in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Any abstentions? Motion passes. We are to the approval of the minutes of the August 20th, 2020 2026 meeting. Are there any amendments to the minutes? Deletions. Do I have a motion? Support. Okay. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Sorry. All opposed, same sign. Any abstention. Motion passes. We have no public hearings tonight. We do have a site and final plans. And Mr. Felt, the podium is yours. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. For the record, my name is Eric Felt, Planner with the City of Portage. The proposal in front of you today is an application seeking site plan approval for an industrial building at 3101 3901 East Millem Avenue. The property is located in the northeast part of Portage. It is located east of the Camel Zoo Battle Creek International Airport, just west of the intersection of South Sprinkle Road and East Millam Avenue. As you zoom into the neighborhood, you can see the subject site is vacant. To the east is an established building occupied by DePati Power Fluid.

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