FeedsCanton trustees approve plan for new Oakwood facility
The new Oakwood Health Care facility is moving ahead in Canton Township.
The board of trustees granted final approval to the Planned Development Agreement that could ultimately bring a full-scale hospital to the community on Tuesday night.
The approval was unanimous, 5-0. Treasurer Elaine Kirchgatter and Trustee Karl Zarbo were not present.
“At this point, we’re just sort of setting up the rules of the game,” said Trustee Melissa McLaughlin. She said that by setting up the minimum expectations the officials were essentially providing Oakwood with a “menu” of options from which to choose as the project progresses.
The facility will be constructed in three phases on 144 acres of property off Michigan Avenue and Beck roads. The PDD concept was necessary because the site is designated for industrial use. It’s the second site Oakwood has examined in the township. The first, about a half mile further north, was rejected by the township because it was too close to neighboring residential uses.
The plan consists of three separate areas and it essentially outlines what could go in each one and what the various setbacks would be from the residential neighborhoods to the north. Even so, some residents took umbrage to the relative vagueness in the plans; it merely showed three large areas labeled A, B and C.
“I don’t understand why Oakwood isn’t required to lay their plans on the table,” said Arlene Ladell, a resident of the Chatterton Square Condominiums. “Why don’t they have to disclose what they are going to do?”
Canton Supervisor Tom Yack said the bulk of the details would be hammered out during the site plan review process.
The first phase would be the section closest to the residences, labeled A on the plan. It will consist of medical facilities as well as doctors’ offices, much like the St. Joseph Mercy facility on Canton Center and Palmer Roads. The ‘B’ section, furthest from the residential would be where the six-story hospital would go, but the health care chain would have to have a certificate of approval from the State of Michigan prior to construction. The ‘C’ section, on the west side of the site, is set aside for residential uses.
“What happens tonight is virtually a direction to them on what to build,” said Bruce Cobb, who made an unsuccessful bid for the trustees to have the boundary set at 100 feet.
Staff writer Meghan Chatham contributed to this story.
