Rochester board OKs public hearing for second Assistance League resale site

The Rochester Planning Fee will maintain a public listening to in November to contemplate whether or not the Help League of Southeastern Michigan can promote used furnishings at its new location.

The Help League bought a 12,227-square-foot warehouse on simply over an acre of land at 440 South Road for storage. That they had sufficient extra house to lease over 3,000 sq. ft to Mans Lumber for storage and extra house on the non-profit aspect of the constructing to create a furnishings outbuilding.

The league bumped into a difficulty with town over the shop annex, the place they plan to promote furnishings and different giant donated objects that would not match at their downtown Rochester ReSale Connection, 204 S. Essential St.

On the time, town didn’t enable retail gross sales in areas zoned for industrial work. However zoning guidelines have since been modified to permit restricted retail gross sales in districts zoned Trade-1.

The league should nonetheless obtain a particular exception from the planning fee, which might require a public listening to. On Monday, the board unanimously accepted the general public listening to, however as league volunteer Jana Yezak stated Tuesday, “Nothing has been determined but.”

She requested a gathering with town supervisor, Nik Banda, to overview the listing of issues raised at Monday’s assembly, however stated she had not heard from him as of early Tuesday afternoon.

Vidya Krishnan, Rochester’s senior principal planner, really useful a number of modifications to the positioning plan primarily based on town’s ordinances.

She stated the positioning plan wanted particulars on the furnishings outbuilding, waste fence and the way supply vehicles will use the parking zone. She really useful including a five-foot sidewalk to the entrance of the constructing, which might lengthen an present sidewalk to the east, in entrance of the Goldfish Swim Faculty, and a landscaping plan that would come with the present deciduous tree, a pink maple. Town makes use of web site plans to find out which timber must be changed if one dies or is eliminated.

Town additionally wants a signed settlement between the league and the milling firm to the west, because the two share a driveway and parking zone.

Yezak stated a lot of the metropolis’s issues have been addressed in an up to date web site plan it submitted to the planning board late final month. Banda and others stated Monday night time that that they had to make use of the positioning plan submitted a month earlier than Monday’s assembly to adjust to present guidelines. The up to date web site plan might be used on the public listening to in November.

Ought to the league be accepted for retail gross sales, they’ll instantly start promoting donated furnishings, per metropolis guidelines.

“I am afraid to count on something,” Yezak stated. “I attempt to hope for the perfect, however put together for the worst.”

Initially printed: October 7, 2025 at 4:48 PM EDT