To the editor:
In response to the article ‘Keep our Wetlands? (The Citizen, July 28, page 1) and the responding letter, ‘Without business growth, change, communities stagnate and die,? (The Citizen, Aug. 4, page 15) I agree with some citizens that are tired of variances being given so new development can take place.
I agree and disagree with Mr. Dickie’s comments that ‘without growth, people, places and things become stagnant and die.?
You do not need massive external growth in order for people, places and things to continue to grow. Our first responsibility is to use what we have to allow for growth to take place. We do not need to tear down trees, fill in wetlands and ultimately alter our landscape to allow for growth. There are several pieces of cleared land and some with buildings that would allow for a new restaurant, bank, general retail, and more. Just drive up and down M-15 and take a look.
The developers definitely have the advantage. I know because I fought the Hunters Ridge development that took place on 40 acres off Granger Road. This was a 40-acre parcel that had 19 acres of designated wetlands. The DEQ does notify you if your property will be affected. You can then submit reasons to reject the developers? requests. Here is the catch: if you do not follow up on the request, you never know the results, and if the DEQ approves the developers? requests, your chances of then getting a reversal is next to impossible. That is what happened in this case: I did follow up, but I was too late and it was already approved. The DEQ said they wrestled with the decision, but they cannot deny someone access to their own property. In my opinion, that was a pathetic excuse and at this point, as long as the developer meets all local zoning requirements, then our township is somewhat forced to move forward with permits.
So what do we do? Well, for starters, we talk to the people that are developing. They are the same people that developed the 40 acres mentioned above, Mike Riddle of Rison Construction and Steve Collin of MS. Development (names used for above 40 acres) and Brandon Development Lockwood LLC. The Hunters Ridge development used those 40 acres that had 19 acres wetlands and put in nine lots. As of today, it appears there are only two houses and only one is occupied. It has been more than 14 months since completion. Their business is located on M-15 next to the new Smokehouse. ‘You know, a new business that used a current building to open their store. Stop in and introduce yourself to Mike and Steve and ask them what their vision is for our town. Based on a previous article in The Citizen where Mike said he was disappointed in the sewer bill being rejected, I think it is safe to assume his vision is more development.
Ultimately, we have the power. The developers may have the advantage and know the process better than we do, but we are the ones that can choose to support or not support a completed project. For those of you that want the development to stop, then do not buy their homes or spend money at their stores, and for those of you who support the development, then spend as you will. If homes don’t sell and people don’t shop at the stores on these developers? sites, then next time they develop a piece of property, a home builder or store owner may think twice about buying a site to build a new home or store. You see, folks, we may not be able to stop the development, but we sure can give back Mother Earth her trees, flowers and swamps if the lots don’t sell and the buildings don’t go up. Just take a drive through Hunters Ridge: Mother Earth is already trying to take back what was hers.

David Saroli
Ortonville