A consent judgement calling for the straightening and paving of a portion of E. Drahner Road, the creation of a small park on Tullamore Lake and the building of some safety paths was approved by the Oxford Township Board last week.
Under the agreement between the township and Trident Crest Properties, Inc. ? developer of the proposed 173-unit Tullamore subdivision on E. Drahner Road. ? three-eighths-of-a-mile of E. Drahner (just west of James Hunt Drive, a private road owned by Crossroads for Youth) will be moved to the south.
This will accomplish two goals.
For the township, it will mean the straightening of a sharp curve on E. Drahner Road, just west of James Hunt Drive, which police and fire officials call a safety hazard to motorists.
Fire Chief Jack LeRoy called it a “terrible curve” and said it will be a “big asset” to have the curve straightened. He noted that people who speed along it “end up in the swamp” or hit trees.
“It’s like dead man’s curve over there,” said Supervisor Bill Dunn. “There have been a lot of accidents because of that curve over the years. A lot of people will be glad to see it straightened including me.”
For Tullamore’s developers, moving that portion of E. Drahner Road to the south will mean the creation of 10 valuable lake-front lots along Tullamore Lake.
Under the agreement, Trident Crest Properties, Inc. agreed to pay 100 percent of the expenses associated with moving the road.
The township agreed to request the Oakland County Road Commission abandon that portion of E. Drahner Road. and relinquish any potential ownership rights to the developer to the lake-front property that would result from moving the road.
Trustee Jerry Dywasuk wasn’t pleased with the idea of moving the road. “I’d like to keep the road where it is because it provides a very nice view (of Tullamore Lake) to everyone in the township,” he said.
Tullamore’s developer agreed to donate to the township the two western most lake-front lots for the creation of a public park, which will be developed by Trident Crest Properties, Inc. and maintained at the expense of Tullamore’s future homeowner’s association.
The park will include a gazebo and some benches.
Trident Crest Properties, Inc. also agreed to pave three-quarters-of-a-mile of E. Drahner Road from just east of Oxford Lakes Drive (where the pavement turns into a gravel road) to just west of James Hunt Drive. Again, 100 percent of paving cost will be paid by Tullamore’s developer.
Trident Crest Properties, Inc. has agreed to install, completely at its expense, an eight-foot wide paved safety path extending along the north side of E. Drahner Road from just east of Oxford Lakes Drive to James Hunt Drive. The developer also agreed to pay for and install an approximately quarter-mile long, eight-foot wide paved safety path along the eastern boundary of Tullamore Lake.
The question of access to the future Tullamore subdivision was solved by the consent judgement.
It calls for a regular entrance/exit to the subdivision off E. Drahner Road and an emergency-only access connected to James Hunt Drive.
Dunn said Trident Crest Properties, Inc. has a “verbal agreement” with Crossroads for Youth to allow an emergency-only access to be connected to its private road. However, there’s not yet a written agreement between the developer and youth facility allowing the emergency access.
Chief LeRoy indicated he was satisfied with the emergency access as a second access point to the subdivision for police, fire and EMS vehicles only.
Township attorney Gary Rentrop noted that under the terms of the consent judgement, if the developer for some reason is not granted the emergency access by Crossroads for Youth, the entire agreement with the township is null and void.
Despite the facts there’s no township ordinance requiring subdivisions to have two access points and a few existing township subdivisions have only one access (such as the Settlement of Manitou), some township officials wanted Tullamore to have two.
Dwyasuk, Trustee Pat Fitchena and Treasurer Joe Ferrari noted the original approved concept plan included two regular access points ? one off E. Drahner and one connected to Oxford Lakes Drive ? and questioned the safety of now allowing only one.
“If there was an emergency there and somebody died, I’d feel guilty I allowed it to happen,” Fitchena said.
The developer’s attorney, Robert Jacobs, told the township board his client originally wanted two access points off E. Drahner, but the road commission rejected that idea because they would have been too close in proximity.
Jacobs said the developer proposed connecting a second subdivision entrance/exit to Oxford Lakes Drive, however, that has “proved to be a very difficult task.”
It turns out a five-foot strip of property, owned by the Oxford Lakes Homeowner’s Association, separates the Tullamore property from Oxford Lakes Drive.
Trident Crest Properties, Inc. is currently involved in litigation with the homeowner’s association over the five-foot strip of land.
Rentrop said if the developer is successful and obtains a second access on Oxford Lakes Drive, the proposed emergency access off James Hunt Drive would no longer be necessary. The next step for Trident Crest Properties, Inc. will be to seek final site plan approval for the Tullamore subdivision.