By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has approved a left turn signal for the intersection of U.S. 12 and Third Street.
Rep. Neal Nitz (R-Baroda) gave a report from Lansing to the Niles Township board of trustees Monday night.
MDOT is looking over a study conducted by Wayne State University that recommends installing a left-turn signal in front of Wal-Mart on 11th Street, with no decision yet.
In other business, the board denied a request to re-zone a 65-acre plot of land from agriculture preserved to medium density residency.
The property, located along Old U.S. 31 and Ullery Road, is owned by Harold and Stacy Kiell. Niles attorney Jim Mollison represented the Kiells and the proposed developer, Tom Rattenbury.
Mollison said the number of houses for the lot was undetermined because it was unknown how the land would be zoned. Mollison added the development would also have required about a half-mile extension of the existing sewer lines.
Mollison said the Kiells want to know what the township has planned in the future for the area where their property is located.
Citizens opposing the development also spoke before the board. Doug Wise of 175 Hatfield Rd. said he has been a Niles Township resident for 42 years.
Rattenbury said they are now “back to square one.”
Township Clerk Marge Durm-Hiatt abstained from discussing and voting on the issue “due to personal preferences,” she said.
Rep. Neal Nitz (R-Baroda) was also at the meeting to give an update from Lansing. Nitz said MDOT is still considering the study and whether or not to install the light. The earliest the signal would be installed would be in the summer, Nitz said.