ZEELAND — Zeeland Planning Commission has approved the site plan for Mead Johnson’s modernization project pending variances and other administrative approvals June 4.
The move comes roughly seven months after a slate of rezoning approvals related to the project were approved. The plan received unanimous support but some members of the commission were absent.
The variances needed include the number of trees required, landscaping, building and fence height and front-yard loading. Some of these will need to be granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The project’s approval is also conditional on a final traffic study review, stormwater approval from Ottawa County, and utility design and system capacity determinations.
The project will now head to the Zoning Board of Appeals, then Zeeland City Council, which is also considering vacating a portion of North Division Street.
The plans for moving the playground are still being worked out with Zeeland Public Schools and will not require planning commission approval as school property is out of the commission’s jurisdiction. As for the pocket park, Mead Johnson plans to bring the plan in front of the commission at a later date as a design is still being worked out.
Why is Mead Johnson expanding in Zeeland?
Mead Johnson hasn’t pegged the project as an expansion, but rather a necessity to make the modernization of the company’s current facility possible without disrupting operations and the supply of infant formula.
“Repurposing nearby residential land for commercial use allows us to establish an essential facility to prevent disruption, avoid supply shortages and ensure families across the country continue to receive the formula they depend on,” the company wrote in an initial community presentation in 2025.
The new facility would have employee-focused spaces, including a new front office, an employee center, breakrooms, locker rooms, a hot food cafeteria, a mothers’ room and collaborative workspaces.
The development won’t necessarily add jobs.
“(The project) really is to secure the approximate 500 employees that we currently have at Mead Johnson,” Art Pike, a Mead Johnson representative previously told The Sentinel. “There are another 100 to 200 contractors on-site on any given day.”
— Cassidey Kavathas is the politics and court reporter at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at ckavathas@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on X @cassideykava.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Mead Johnson modernization project moves forward following approval
Reporting by Cassidey Kavathas, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cassidey Kavathas, Holland Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
