Springfield Township officials have agreed in principle to help pay for a new traffic signal at Andersonville and White Lake roads.
The move will help area residents who have complained of traffic congestion, but the new signal will also help a developer with his proposed planned unit development, which includes a gasoline station-convenience store on the southwest corner of the intersection.
That proposal has angered residents across the border in White Lake Township, however, who say the development will further disturb their rural lifestyle.
The Springfield Township Board on April 14 approved first reading of the site plan and rezoning for Prospectors Industrial Park PUD, proposed by developer Tim Wickersham.
As part of the agreement, Wickersham agreed to front money for engineering plans for the traffic signal and related intersection improvements, and to match the township government’s contribution.
With the Road Commission for Oakland County expected to pay 75 percent of the cost, township officials and Wickersham each plan to contribute almost $30,000 to the project.
The township board’s approval included neither a specific commitment to a dollar amount, nor a source from which the money would come. Supervisor Collin Walls later said the township’s portion would likely be allocated from the 2006 fiscal year budget, which should have enough money to cover the contribution.
Wickersham, who has owned the property for five years and has been working on the proposal for two, said he was willing to commit ‘immediately? to move the project forward at an intersection already graded ‘F? by the road commission.
‘This has become our problem,? Wickersham said. ‘We’re willing to deal with it.?
‘We will have to address the light anyway, with or without this project,? Trustee Dennis Vallad said.
Second reading will take place no earlier than the June township board meeting. Township officials directed Wickersham to make a number of revisions and include more details in regard to issues such as lighting, signage and landscaping.
The 4.4-acre parcel is currently zoned M-1 (light industrial), but the PUD requests permission to build an eight-lane, 16-pump gasoline station-convenience store and a 27,000-square-foot multi-tenant building permitting a variety of retail, research, office or warehouse uses.
The proposal also gained conditional approval by the Oakland County Coordinating Zoning Committee on April 5. (The new traffic signal was the major portion of the conditional approval.)
Already approved by the township planning commission on March 3, the proposal received additional critique from township board members and additional protests from residents just to the south of the site in question.
Jim Nicholson, a resident of Nathan Oscar Drive, joined other residents in voicing concerns about potential fuel spills. He also said lights from the proposed 24-hour convenience store-gasoline station would interfere with his evening hobby of looking through his telescope.
‘Once you install those lights, that’s going to block out my sky,? Nicholson said.
Cross Road resident Christine Draska, who also protested to the planning commission, said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency documents thousands of tank leaks.
‘I don’t believe that there is no danger to my drinking water,? Draska said. ‘I’d like some kind of documentation saying you would be more than happy to cover the cost of treated water to my home when contamination occurs.?
Supervisor Collin Walls told residents that the developer had secured all needed permits from county and state agencies, and noted other uses which would be allowed under the current M-1 zoning.
‘If he were proposing a truck stop, there would be no hearings. It would be allowed,? Walls said. ‘Without this being on the table, it could be far more extensive.?