KALAMAZOO, MI — Drive and Shine, an Indiana company that recently opened a multimillion-dollar car wash in Kalamazoo Township, is working on plans for a second car wash on Stadium Drive.

But first, the company wants the city to remove protections for natural features on the plot of land that sits on a busy corner at the gateway of the city, adjacent to the Asylum Lake Preserve.

The Natural Features Protection (NFP) Area overlay is a new designation the city created meant to protect certain natural features at development sites. The land, at the corner of Stadium Drive and South Drake Road, is one of the sites included because of the natural features in the area.

The city of Kalamazoo Planning Commission will consider the request to remove the NFP overlay, as well as a rezoning request for the property, at its 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, meeting.

NFP overlays were established in certain parts of the city with natural features such as wetlands and slopes. The NFP overlay requires developers to follow a criteria for development to lessen the impact to natural features.

Citizens and members of the Asylum Lake Preservation Association have spoken out against the change to remove the protection. City of Kalamazoo staff have recommended Drive and Shine’s request to remove the NFP overlay be denied.

Drive and Shine is based in Granger, Indiana, and operates seven different car wash locations, including one that opened recently at 4201 W. Main St. in Kalamazoo Township. The company’s Facebook page calls its new Kalamazoo Township location that began washing and detailing cars in November a $10-million car wash.

Come check out a 10 Million Dollar car wash open NOW! Car Wash, Oil Change and Inside Self Service vacuums, mat... Posted by Drive & Shine on Friday, November 22, 2019

Drive and Shine CEO HAJI M Tehrani declined to comment on the Natural Features Protection area issue when reached by phone on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Tehrani said previously the land was purchased for a commercial development of some kind, which could include a car wash.

Citizens have spoken up about the issue.

The Oakland Drive/Winchell Neighborhood Association submitted a letter in opposition to the rezoning request and the NFP removal. Kalamazoo resident and Western Michigan University faculty member Nancy Eimers wrote a letter expressing concern about the potential commercial development.

“I’ve lived here 30 years and during that time I’ve watched with sadness as our green spaces have diminished one by one,” Eimers’ letter states. “To see this one fragmented, encroached by noise and other kinds of pollution, thinned of trees, and threatened with exposure to busy streets and commercial properties would be heartbreaking indeed.”

“Any removal of the NFP overlay would be a complete contradiction to the recently approved Climate Emergency Resolution and a gross violation of our city’s commitment to protecting our natural resources,” states a Jan. 3 letter from the Asylum Lake Preservation Association.

Asylum Lake Preserve features a multilayer ecosystem. (MLive.com file photo)Joel Bissell | MLive.com

The association also opposes the company’s request to rezone the land to CC, or Community Commercial, which will also be considered at the Jan. 14 meeting.

The planning commission staff report states, "The request to rezone the parcels to CC Community Commercial is in alignment with the 2025 Master Plan and supports the commercial development envisioned. The request to remove the NFP Overlay District is not consistent.

The planning commission and the city commission denied the applicant’s previous requests to remove the NFP Overlay District from the property, the staff report states.

There is no demonstrated need that warrants the removal of the NFP Overlay District, which was mapped last spring after an extensive public process that clearly demonstrated the community need for the NFP Overlay District, the staff report says.

“The NFP Overlay District guides the site planning to ensure a balance between natural features protection and logical development. Removal of the NFP Overlay District would limit the City’s ability to achieve this balance,” the staff report states.

Tehrani spoke to the Kalamazoo City Commission in May, opposing the NFP district overlay on his property. He told the commission during a meeting in May that the ordinance change would render his property “useless for commercial development.”

Judy Huxmann, a member of the Asylum Lake Preservation Association, said she opposes the zoning change and the removal of the NFP overlay.

“That’s too aggressive of a zone,” she said about the proposed zoning change, and asked the city to deny the developer’s requests and instead protect the natural area.

“If we don’t, what kind of a city is this?” Huxmann said. “It might turn out the really important thing is the almighty dollar, and that would be so disappointing.”

The Kalamazoo Planning Commission will meet to consider the issue Tuesday, Jan. 14, in the commission chambers at city hall.