Planning Commission members weren't satisfied with the design of a proposed new Chelsea police station and City Council chambers and tabled the site plan after more than two hours of discussion Tuesday night.

Planners called the building, proposed for the corner of South Main Street and East Summit, too "vanilla" and said it didn't match the character of surrounding buildings. They also said it was too close to the street.

The proposed building of about 6,600 square feet is projected to cost from $2 million to $2.5 million and would be a few blocks from the current police headquarters and next to the Chelsea State Bank building. The plan has gone through several changes and is about 20 percent smaller than the original design.

Earlier plans for the station gave rise to citizen opposition that stalled the project last year.

The proposed façade drew the most comments from Chelsea Planning Commission members Tuesday night.

“It looks like a pretty modern building to me for the downtown,” said Anne Valle, who used the Chelsea State Bank as an example of a building with appealing detail around windows and doors. “I’m not saying we have to make it match the bank, but there are details there that break up the building.

“This is a not a fast food restaurant … it needs character and honors what Chelsea is - a very unique community.”

Planning Commissioner Casey Blair agreed. “I’d like to see you dress up the plaza with landscaping. I’d like to see something that’s a more fitting presentation than just a building.”

Planning Commission Chairman George Kinzer called the plan “pretty vanilla” and suggested that façade details from nearby buildings be incorporated into the design to make the structure better resemble neighboring Main Street brick buildings such as Merkle Furniture and the McKune building.

“I look at this (the building) as being really important to us,” said Planning Commissioner Sarah Haselschwardt. “This is our one chance to get it right.”

She complained about the closeness of the building to Main Street. “Pull it back (from the road) and address its corner location,” she said. “Our approach to the city comes mostly from the south, and the building sits so close to Main Street. It’s the first thing people will see.”

Zoning and Planning Administrator Jim Drolett said the Planning Commission was willing to give “wiggle room" on the building's design but not on the setbacks.”

Commissioners also asked designers to try to find a way to reduce the potential for car headlights to shine into the windows of a nearby home when visitors leave the site, and requested the number of parking spaces be reduced.

“The impact on the residential area is so important to the neighborhood,” Blair said.

City Manager John Hanifan said the plan has seven more parking spaces than the current police station.

The building will have a finished lower level and the entrance off a current parking lot on the site. A driveway will remain in its current location.

Currently, the police department is housed in a small storefront building at 104 East Middle Street, and the City Council meets at the Washington Street Education Center.

It’s expected that a revised site plan will come before the Planning Commission on Feb. 15.

The new building will replace the current station located at 104 E. Middle St., which has housed the police station since 1941. The building was built in 1901. Police Chief Ed Toth has said the building is unsafe and woefully inadequate for the Police Department's needs.

A divided City Council approved building a new Chelsea police station in August. Supporters cited the dilapidated condition of the current building. Opponents said it was the wrong time to spend money on a new police station given the current economic climate.

Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter with AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Chelsea stories, visit our Chelsea page.