 Asylum Lake (photo from Western Michigan University) |
from a news article at Watershed Voice
Asylum Lake Preserve is owned by Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan. There are 274 acres protected for passive recreation and educational activities through the university.
Recently, the Kalmazoo Planning Commission was presented with a request to rezone an adjacent parcel at the corner of Stadium Drive and Drake Road for commercial use.
This is not the first such request. In 2020 there was a request to rezone from residential to commercial for the purpose of building a car wash. That request was denied.
The current proposed rezoning is consistent with the Kalamazoo Master Plan, however, no specific development plans were presented to the commission.
Residents turned out in force, and the public comment period continued for five hours. Change.org presented a petition with 14,000 signatures to deny the request. The primary concerns were environmental, and causing pressure on the adjacent preserve. One resident stated their case succintly, "“We have roughly 137 car washes in the greater Kalamazoo area and one Asylum Lake."
Commissioners were convinced, and added concerns of their own such as increasing traffic problems at an already busy corner.
The Planning Commission voted 7-0 to deny the rezoning request. The final decision will be made by the City Commission.
Some walking trails exist at Asylum Lake, and a Master Plan is in place to create more. This will be the subject of a future GOTC article.
See Asylum Lake Preserve
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