Culver Meadows Senior Living is hoping to expand its operations on North West Silver Lake Road, appearing before Garfield Township planning commissioners Wednesday for a conceptual review of plans to build a new adult foster care facility for up to 20 adults and a childcare center for up to 12 children on adjacent land.

Owners Brad and Trina Jewett wrote in their application that Culver Meadows has a “waiting list that continues to grow” for its senior living services, including Alzheimer’s, dementia, and end-of-life care. The facility, which opened in 2010, has room to expand on a 2.21-acre parcel located next to and accessible from its existing center (pictured, outlined in red). In addition to accommodating up to 20 more seniors in a new adult foster care facility, the property is also proposed to host a new childcare center for up to 12 children – a service the Jewetts wrote is “vitally needed in our community.”

“Our thoughts with having the daycare would be a benefit to our employees, community, and the residents and their families,” the duo wrote. “It would also help our young children and their families connect with the residents we serve.” The proposed development would “20-25 additional employment opportunities” in the region, the Jewetts estimated.

The expansion site is located within an R-1 zoning district. While the childcare center is an allowed use in R-1, a large group home (up to 20 adults) for adult foster care is not, according to a memo from township planning staff. When Culver Meadows was originally approved, it was under a previous township zoning ordinance that allowed adult foster care homes. Since then, a new zoning ordinance was introduced in 2015 that mirrors state limitations on adult foster care homes in residential zoning districts, staff wrote.

However, the township could consider a conditional rezoning request for the property, staff said. A large group home for adult foster care is permitted in the R-3 district, to which the site could be rezoned. The Jewetts wrote in their application that they’re seeking such a change. The new senior facility would “be directly related to and would have the same intended connections to the current adult foster care (Culver Meadows Senior Living) next door to the south,” they wrote. The expansion site would use the same access drive as Culver Meadows, meaning a new entrance would not be required on North West Silver Lake Road.

According to township staff, the conditional rezoning process recognizes “that there are certain instances where it would be in the best interests of the township, as well as advantageous to property owners seeking a change in zoning, if certain conditions could be proposed by property owners as part of a request for rezoning."

Since Wednesday’s meeting is a conceptual review, the Jewetts will have an opportunity to talk through their proposal with planning commissioners and get feedback – which could shape the conditions they might offer under a conditional rezoning request – before returning with a formal application for approval.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting...
> Planning commissioners will review the first complete draft of the township’s new master plan, which they’ve reviewed in sections throughout 2023 and which they’ve provided feedback on to staff for incorporation into the final draft. Planning commissioners will also review and give feedback Wednesday on Long Lake Township’s master plan, which is also being rewritten. State law requires local units of government updating their master plans to request feedback from the planning commissions of all neighboring municipalities. Long Lake Township will hold a public hearing on its master plan on November 28.

> Planning commissioners will discuss possible zoning changes for housing developments in commercial districts within Garfield Township. Potential challenges with building housing in commercial areas under the township’s existing rules came up at an October meeting when the board reviewed a proposed apartment complex at the corner of Garfield and Duell roads. The parking area for the development encroaches into a required 40-foot setback area, which would prohibit the project from proceeding as designed. That setback requirement is unique to housing developments and not required of other sites within commercial districts.

Township staff said the provision “has the potential to disrupt the efficient layout of a proposed site development plan” and recommended striking the requirement and adding language encouraging shared parking between commercial and residential uses. Planning commissioners will discuss – but not take action on – those and other zoning changes Wednesday that could make it easier to develop housing in commercial districts.

> Planning commissioners will consider a request from property owner Dan Lederer to rezone a parcel at the corner of Eastward Drive and South Airport Road from A (Agricultural) to R-1 (One-Family Residential). The site currently contains a single-family home and has a single curb cut on Eastward Drive. Township staff said the proposed R-1 zoning is “justifiable,” noting it’s compatible with the township’s future land use map. “The subject parcel is adjacent to an existing subdivision, Horizons West No. 2, and is close to another subdivision, Stoneridge,” staff wrote. “There are other single-family homes on standalone lots in this area.” If supportive of the rezoning, planning commissioners could vote Wednesday to schedule a December 13 public hearing on the request.