Site plan for new Dollar General rejected by planning commission: What happens next

ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI — The planning process to build a new Dollar General in Allegan County has hit a new roadblock.

Dozens of residents have taken to planning commission meetings in the small rural town of Monterey Township to campaign against a proposed Dollar General. Two representatives of Dollar General presented a plan to build on a property at 30th Street and 125th Avenue at a Monday, May 12 township meeting.

The Monterey Township Planning Commission voted unanimously against the site plan.

Scott Boeve, chair of the commission, cited the lack of inclusion of a propane tank and lack of space for unloading semitrucks as reasons for the rejection.

There’s still a path for the Dollar General to be built at the site, however.

Dollar General can present the same site plan to the Monterey Township Board of Trustees for consideration, said Jason Derry, the township’s zoning administrator. The plan will go before the board in three weeks, Boeve said.

The two Dollar General representatives — an engineer and a developer working with property owner Janice Keel — presented an improved site plan Monday that was different from what was submitted to the commission, Boeve said.

Some of the issues from the original plan had been resolved in the new site plan, but the commission could only vote on the official plan submitted, Boeve said.

Dollar General could submit its newer site plan for official reconsideration by the planning commission, Derry said.

Residents fight back

Kim Emmons lives next door to the proposed Dollar General site. Walking out of the meeting, she was just as upset as she was walking in, Emmons said.

“They keep throwing around different plans and stuff to make it fit into this tiny space, and it’s just not going to work,” Emmons said.

Emmons and her husband bought the house they live in from her husband’s parents. Her husband’s family had been asking to purchase the property for decades, Emmons said.

They didn’t want to pay the high price tag Keel was asking for the property, Emmons said.

“It was ridiculous,” Emmons said.

Todd Bursma, owner of Dumont Lake Party Store, also adjacent to the proposed Dollar General property, said Keel offered them the property but he couldn’t afford it.

MORE: He poured his life savings into a party store. A proposed Dollar General threatens it.

Keel attended the May 12 meeting and read a list of reasons why the board should approve the Dollar General plans. It might be helpful to township residents making less than $15,000 a year and offer a complement to items offered at Dumont Lake Party Store and nearby Stop, Shop, and Roll, she said.

Other residents said more traffic in the area from patrons and semitrucks would become a safety hazard. They also said trash from the store could become an issue with the local environment.

Henry Reinart, Monterey Township supervisor, said the township brought up the trash concerns with Dollar General.

“The response was, ‘We’ll keep it inside, don’t worry about it, just trust us,’” Reinart said.

To resolve the loading issue, the engineer representing Dollar General said deliveries would only be made outside of businesses hours. Most Dollar Generals are open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Emmons is concerned late-night deliveries could interfere with her quality of life.

“I’m a disabled housewife with nothing but time on my hands and a paralegal degree. I’m going to make your life a living hell,” Emmons said to the Dollar General representatives at the meeting.

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