The make-over of the section of Dixie Highway serving as the gateway into Springfield Township continues.
On July 14 the Springfield Township Board approved the final site and landscaping plan for Harrington Funeral Home with the understanding a few concerns will be addressed.
Those concerns include: providing a landscape buffer along the lakeshore, allowing the use of only organic fertilizers on the lakeshore side of the property, prohibiting any fertilizing within 25 feet of the shore, revising the illumination plan to include lighting on the entry sign and adding a water feature to the landscaping along Dixie Highway.
The approved final site plan calls for a funeral home of approximately 6,000 square feet.
Clerk Nancy Strole said the applicant plans to live and maintain a single-family residence that already exists on the property.
According to Supervisor Collin Walls, this approval does not include a 6,700-square-foot office building that may be proposed in the future.
The Harrington Funeral Home property is located on the west side of Dixie Highway, south of Bridge Lake Road and adjacent to Softwater Lake.
In other changes along Dixie Highway, the Whoopee Bowl received a new coat of paint, changing the building from orange to a brown color.
The Whoopee Bowl painting stemmed from a compromise between the business owners and Springfield Township, which called for several changes to the building.
The Clarkston News reported in March that the township board rescinded their demolition order for the Whoopee Bowl while the owners agreed to drop their lawsuit challenging that order as part of the compromise.
Operator Larry Marlowe said all the changes asked for are completed, but would not comment on future plans for the Whoopee Bowl.
Collin Walls confirmed that the owners met all requirements including removing the sign, moving a trailer to the back, painting the building and taking down a one story wing attached to the main building structure.
The call for demolition of the Whoopee Bowl dates back to a March 2003 hearing where township officials ordered a variety of cleanup actions at the site. In June 2004, the board designated the Whoopee Bowl a dangerous building and ordered remedial action, including demolition citing lack of appropriate progress in the 2003 cleanup.