Meijer, developer sue Plymouth Twp. over rejection of planned supermarket

Retail giant Meijer and developer Redico are suing Plymouth Township to appeal the planning commission’s denial of a special land use request for a store in the township.  

In the lawsuit filed last week in Wayne County Circuit Court, Grand Rapids-based Meijer and Southfield-based Redico call the denial a “vague rejection” based on undefined road infrastructure issues. The plaintiffs are asking that the township be ordered to not interfere with their planned development of the 159,000-square-foot store.

According to the lawsuit, the Plymouth Township Planning Commission meeting on June 21 drew residents and nonresidents in objection to the project. Crain’s Detroit Business first reported on the lawsuit.

The site of the proposed store sits on the south side of Five Mile between Beck and Ridge roads in an area known as the Michigan International Technology Center, a joint effort by Plymouth and Northville townships to develop land including parcels previously occupied by the former Detroit House of Corrections.

“The community objections were related to generalized concerns about traffic that were unsupported by the record and contentions that the public improvements planned by the (MITC Redevelopment) Authority were fake or not forthcoming,” the lawsuit stated.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit noted that there are $12 million in grants and state appropriation for road construction to serve the Michigan International Technology Center.

“Other public comments simply reflected generalized opposition to large-scale stores such as Meijer and included disparaging implications about the people who shopped at such stores,” the lawsuit stated.

In response to the suit, Plymouth Township Supervisor Kurt Heise said: “It’s not our policy to comment on pending litigation; however the Board of Trustees will be meeting in closed session in the days ahead to review the complaint and determine our next steps.”

Samuel R. Kilberg, attorney for Meijer and Redico, also declined to comment.

In the lawsuit, Meijer and Redico say the project is consistent with the township’s 2015 Master Plan and Future Land Use Map and is “consistent and compatible” with other nearly land uses, such as an adjacent Home Depot store. The property is zoned industrial.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs note that McKenna, the township’s planning consultants said in a June 9 report that it recommended that the Planning Commission grant the special land use request.

The lawsuit also states that the township’s outside traffic consultant said that traffic from a Meijer store would have “minimal negative impact at the time of construction.”