With Revised Plans, Kroger Hopes to Move Forward

After a contentious meeting and  to act on Kroger’s proposal and the special land use request for a grocery store at the former auto dealership location, the Royal Oak  is scheduled to take another look during Tuesday’s meeting.

Planning Department Director Tim Thwing said the Kroger team reconsidered his for its revised proposal. However, it only resubmitted site and landscaping plans. Because elevations and floor plans were not submitted, the main issue to be considered at Tuesday's meeting is whether or not the special land use request allows a grocery store of the like, Thwing said. Preliminary approval of the site plan is all that can be accepted Tuesday evening, and if approved, Kroger will need to present a full plan, including all required documents, to the Planning Commission within six months.

“Right now, their site plan addresses my original site design issues,” Thwing said. “This really is in the Planning Commission’s court.”

Changes that were made to the include reducing the size of the grocery store, switching the orientation of the building, adding to the landscaping plan and relocating the loading dock. Other various figures were tweaked as well including a reduction in parking spaces from 197 to 183 due to the change in building scale. The size of the grocery store has now been reduced roughly 4,500 square feet – from 49,714 to 45,248 square feet – and is moved to the north side of the lot. Outlets to Pingree Boulevard are no longer in the plan and the loading dock, which has been cut from 2,777 square feet to 2,120, has been moved away from .

The Planning Commission still can deny the plan based on requirements for the special land use permit, Thwing said. If it chooses to do so, it simply will have to state the reasons why the project does not meet the criteria for site development.

“They absolutely could turn this down,” Thwing said. “The Planning Commission can deny, agree to move forward or they can decide they need more time.”

Royal Oak resident Jeanne Sarnacki and the rest of the activists hope to see the site plan denied because of the minimal work that went into the revised proposal.

Sarnacki said she was baffled that after hearing the concerns of dozens of Royal Oak residents at the previous Planning Commission meeting, that Kroger did not address more of the key points brought up during discussion. For example, the store hours that were proposed originally have not changed, remaining at 6 a.m. to midnight. She also said that the green belt is unsatisfactory and the overall size of the building is still too big for the vacant site on Main Street north of 11 Mile Road.

“We hoped that the Kroger folks would listen to what was stated at the previous meeting and bring forward a proposal with changes that mirror concerns of our residents,” Sarnacki said. “Until they play back a tape of that Planning Commission meeting and listen to what was requested, I think the Planning Commission needs to deny them use.”

At the , Mayor Jim Ellison stated, “I am more than willing to entertain a Kroger in the city of Royal Oak at that site as long as it’s a Kroger that we can all agree will be the best use of that site. And I think it may incorporate a smaller store and incorporate some mixed use.”

Sarnacki believes that thought should be incorporated into Kroger’s newest plan and a larger reduction in size is necessary.

Thwing noted that Kroger was not allotted much time to revamp its entire proposal so it makes sense economically for it to hold off on the rest until it knows whether or not the special land use will be granted for a grocery store.

“I’m looking to see what changes they made and whether or not the new plan reflects the changes the Planning Commission noted at the previous meeting,” Planning Commission member David Poulton said during his first peek at the new plans. “I think we were specific in what we are looking for and we will see if Kroger has been able to achieve it.”

The Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Room 315 in City Hall, 211 S. William St. Members of the community are invited to attend and will have the opportunity to voice their opinions. 

Correction: The size of the revised proposed Kroger market should have been 45,248 square feet and its revised loading dock should have been 2,120 square feet.