Oshtemo Township’s board voted 7-0 to create an industrial development district for a speculative warehouse project proposed by Clark Logic Group.
The vote establishes an Industrial Development District (IDD) covering two parcels in the township’s I-1 Industrial District as a required first step under Michigan’s Act 198 before a developer can apply for an actual tax exemption. Creating the district doesn’t grant any tax abatement itself; Clark Logic would need to separately apply for an Industrial Facilities Exemption Certificate in the future, which would require its own public hearing and board vote.
Jamie Clark, president of Clark Logic, told the board the company doesn’t yet have a tenant lined up for the planned warehouse, describing the approach as “intentional speculation” — building ahead of securing a tenant so the company can move quickly once the market is ready, rather than waiting to design and entitle a property around a specific client first. He pointed to the company’s history of similar projects, including recent development in neighboring Texas Township.
A resident used the public hearing to argue against the district, telling the board that profitable developers like Clark Logic should absorb their own financial risk rather than ask residents to underwrite it through tax incentives. Public comment also raised a potential conflict of interest since Clark serves on the board of directors of Southwest Michigan First, the organization that presented the tax incentive tools to the township earlier in the meeting. Clark, addressing the board directly afterward, disputed the resident’s characterization of the company’s finances as “false statements.”
Legal Counsel James Porter told the board that once the proposed buildings are constructed, the township stands to gain more than $182,000 in new revenue in the first year alone, even with a reduced millage rate, because the township funds its police and fire services through special assessments rather than millages, and those assessments aren’t reduced by an industrial tax exemption.
Several trustees, including Michael Chapman, argued the township should consider designating all of its industrial-zoned land as IDDs going forward, rather than debating the question each time an individual project comes before the board. Chapman said his yes vote reflected support for that broader approach and not an endorsement of any future tax abatement for Clark Logic specifically, which he said he was reserving judgment on until an actual application comes forward. The board agreed to schedule a future meeting to discuss the township’s tax abatement policy more broadly.
What’s next: Clark Logic can now apply for an Industrial Facilities Exemption Certificate, which would come back to the board for a separate public hearing and vote.
