By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
THREE RIVERS — A public hearing location has been set for a proposed property annexation from Lockport Township into the City of Three Rivers.
The public hearing for the proposed annexation of a 37-acre parcel on Buckhorn Road northeast of the Armstrong Park Sports Complex from Lockport to the city will take place on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. at the Riviera Theatre, 50 N. Main St. in Three Rivers.
The public hearing will be run by the State Boundary Commission, who will not be making a final decision on the annexation during the public hearing. Rather, it will be the only chance for the public to comment on the proposed annexation, according to State Boundary Commission chair Robin Beltramini back in August.
“We will open the public hearing at the place provided, and when we close, that is the end of public comment. They can’t come in at the next meeting and start that all over again. So, if people want to talk, that’s their opportunity,” Beltramini said.
“After that, both sides of the issue, whoever their representatives are within the petition will be allowed to rebut, answer all of those questions, and that will be a public document. After all that is finished, we’ll meet again and say, ‘Okay, we’ll do this, we won’t do this, we’ll amend the boundaries we’re willing to annex.’ We have that authority.”
The annexation is being pursued by Tom Lowry, who owns the 37-acre parcel. In multiple court filings and public comments, Lowry has stated that he would like the property to be in the city so that he can get sewer and water services from the city in order to pursue developing the property as multiple residential lots.
The property in question has also been embroiled in controversy, as Lowry filed a lawsuit regarding two 2023 land transfer agreements involving the property between Lockport Township and Park Township. The townships had done the transfers for two reasons: to block the property from being annexed into the city and to bring sewer and water service themselves to the property, as part of a still-in-the-works sewer and water project the townships are pursuing along with other neighboring townships in both St. Joseph and Kalamazoo counties. The two land transfer agreements were declared “null and void” by St. Joseph County Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman last week, due to procedural issues regarding both agreements, but a permanent injunction, which Lowry sought, was not granted.
There will be a meeting of the State Boundary Commission in the future after the public hearing to officially take action on whether or not to approve the annexation. If the annexation is approved, it will move the property’s jurisdiction from Lockport Township to the City of Three Rivers.
The location of the public hearing was not set when the State Boundary Commission set the date and time at their Aug. 21 meeting in Lansing. At the time, they were considering the Three Rivers Public Library, A Place in Time, or the St. Joseph County Commission on Aging’s Rivers Enrichment Center. The location was confirmed in an email Wednesday from the Boundary Commission.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
