Yeah, where I live, you get bonus density, height and site plan variances that normally wouldn't be allowed for preserving green and natural space, low-impact (green) development, etc... Not sure if this township has such zoning options, but more likely it's WMU being progressive. Lansing has an eerily very similar concept to WMU's technological park with its University Corporate Research Park which is used for laboratory and office space for MSU.
http://www.msufoundation.org/researchpark/
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