Commission considers allowing emergency child-placement and visitation services at Comstock Center; public hearing tentatively set

Tim Kearney, representing the Comstock Center, asked the commission to add protective services and short-term emergency placements to the zoning chart for the Comstock Center (CCC) district. Kearney described a nonprofit partnership with the Kalamazoo County Department of Health and Human Services to provide neutral visitation spaces and emergency placements that could occasionally include overnight stays limited by state law to a calendar day (up to 24 hours).

Commissioners discussed options: adopt a new defined use with clear conditions, permit visitation and day services by right with conditions, and require special-land-use review for overnight emergency placements. Staff proposed drafting a narrow definition and conditions for the CCC district and scheduling a public hearing; the commission asked staff and the applicant to prepare draft language and tentatively set a public hearing for October 8.