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The July 27, 2026, Byron Township Board of Trustees meeting started at 5:30 p.m. with all members present and a full gallery of around 50 residents in attendance, as well as a reporter from Fox 17. The board moved Public Comments to the top of the agenda tonight, which began after the opening prayer and Pledge of Allegiance.

Public Comments

We had nine residents get up to speak during public comments. Most of the residents spoke out against development of the property on Homerich, south of BCPS Middle School, which was up for a rezoning vote later in the meeting. The chief concerns were about traffic in the area, as well as the rapid pace of construction and growth in Byron Township.

A couple of residents spoke about ongoing issues with the NW Sewer Expansion, wanting to maintain communication with the board about the issues with the culvert and bridge that are down, as well as restoration of their property that had been damaged during construction.

One resident spoke about flooding on South Division and predatory towing practices, saying that vehicles had been unlawfully towed away from the Camelot Manor area.

Consent Agenda

Supervisor Don Tillema raised an issue with accounts payable, addressing a $5,000 payment for tree removal that hadn’t been approved by committee. Clerk Peggy Sattler clarified that the final bill came in below the quote, the township had split the cost with Kent County, and there should be a reimbursement by the next meeting.

Also on the Consent Agenda were a block party request for Woodhaven Drive, a homecoming parade request by Byron Center Public Schools, and a raffle license request by Disability Advocates.

The Consent Agenda passed by roll-call vote, with only Supervisor Don Tillema voting against.

Old Business

The first item for Old Business was an update on NW Sewer Expansion. All of the underground work is done, and the county plans to have the road re-paved by the end of August. The damaged culvert in the area is due to be taken care of by September or October.

Next up was the rezoning proposal for Walnut Ridge to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow mixed-purpose residential on the SW corner of 84th St & Burlingame. Mick from Eastbrook Homes was on-hand to talk about modifications they have made to the plans in response to feedback. The Township Board talked about some issues that the city planners had brought up that still needed to be addressed, and Eastbrook representatives complained that they hadn’t seen the planners’ report. The board finally voted unanimously to table the issue again, for the third time, so the city planners’ feedback could be addressed.

New Business

The first item under New Business was the hot item residents were speaking about during public participation: rezoning the property at 8900 Homerich from Rural Agricultural to Suburban Residential to allow residential development. A representative of CD Investors presented their plans for the property, emphasizing that the site is capable of being rezoned, and that their plans fit the Byron Township “master plan.” After some discussion, the board voted unanimously to deny rezoning on a roll-call vote.

The next item was a rezoning request from General Business to Industrial for the property at 125 100th St for D.L. Trailer, which passed unanimously.

The final New Business item was a zoning request from Bosch Architecture (Special Olympics of MI) to change the property at 160 68th St from Urban Residential to General Business. This rezoning request is meant to allow them to have an ATM on the premises, with the understanding that the rezoning would automatically revert back if the ATM is removed. The board approved unanimously on a voice vote.

Members Items of Business

Clerk Peggy Sattler spoke about Byron Days, which was the biggest yet and a huge success. She gave a shout out to BCTV who was recording events throughout, so keep an eye on their YouTube channel. Clerk Sattler also talked about the August 4 primary election, mentioning that early voting is already underway. She also said that Byron Township finally had the deed to the property at 92nd St, with plans to develop that area for parks & recreation.

Trustee Scott Tubergen addressed issues with property restoration from damage due to the NW Sewer Expansion, communicating with residents about the process.

Supervisor Don Tillema brought up a few issues, including recent issues with artificial turf at the Whistlestop Dog Park, and he raised some questions about when the township should bring purchases to the committee. Trustee Tubergen mentioned that there were still some lingering trust issues after Supervisor Tillema had split a $30,000 bill for replacing park signage into multiple installments to keep it under the $10,000 approval threshold last year, effectively attempting to change the name of Bicentennial Park without board input or approval.

The meeting adjourned at 6:57 p.m.