Opposition remains strong to rezoning a piece of property in the southwest corner of Oxford Township so as to allow for a residential development with smaller lot sizes.
‘You turn it into a subdivision, I might as well move back to Troy,? said Jim Cavellier, Sr., who noted he was originally attracted to Oxford by the open spaces and wildlife.
Last week, the township board voted 5-2 to approve the first reading of a proposed rezoning of a 41.7-acre parcel from Suburban Farms (SF-2) to single family residential (R-3). As part of the motion, officials tentatively scheduled the second reading, and potential approval, for the 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 township meeting.
Trustee Sue Bellairs and Treasurer Joe Ferrari cast the dissenting votes.
The property is located on the north side of Stanton Rd., just east of Baldwin Rd. It’s right on the Oxford/Orion border.
The proposed rezoning would change the minimum residential lot sizes that could be developed from 5 acres to 1 acre.
Hamlin LLC, a Rochester Hills-based partnership involving members of the Denno family, requested the rezoning because it wishes to build 30 single family homes on the site and call the development White Pine Estates.
Residents who attended last week’s meeting objected to the proposed rezoning.
Cavellier doesn’t want to see any development take place on lots smaller than 5 acres.
He believes anything less than that will negatively impact the worth of his 5-acre parcel on S. Baldwin Rd.
‘I’m very much concerned about the effect it’s going to have on the value of my property,? he told the board.
Oxford resident James Woodward, who also lives on a 5-acre parcel on S. Baldwin Rd., said he can’t see it being rezoned to anything less than SF-1, which is still Suburban Farms, but it allows for 2.5-acre lots.
The township’s master plan shows the future use of the site in question continuing as 5-acre lots.
Ann Hines, a resident of the Twin Lakes Estates subdivision located directly to the east of the 41.7-acre site, urged township officials to stick with the master plan.
To her, it’s something that should be adhered to.
‘It was created for a reason,? Hines said. ‘It was for the good of the community for years to come, not just to be used as a guideline.?
Hines accused several members of the planning commission, which previously voted 4-2 to recommend approval of the rezoning, of having ‘no respect? for the master plan and a ‘nonchalant attitude? about how allowing 30 houses on this site would impact local roads and schools.
‘It might not be a big deal for some of the members of the planning commission because they don’t live directly by the proposed area, or drive the roads near (it) or have children in the soon-to-be affected school system,? she said. ‘The roads are already beat up and the schools are already packed. They already said, for Lake Orion Schools, they’re not going to build a new high school. They’re bursting at the seams. And if you don’t have kids, you don’t know that.?
Even though the property is located in Oxford Township, it’s part of the Lake Orion school district.
Hines believes officials should take into consideration all the citizen comments when deciding on the proposed rezoning.
‘Several members of this community have come to the usually empty township meetings for the past few months, voicing their concern,? she said. ‘This should mean something, shouldn’t it? If not, what is the point of having (a) community.?
Township Supervisor Bill Dunn pointed out ‘the master plan is not set in stone.?
‘It’s kind of like a guideline,? he said. ‘It’s something that could be followed or it could be altered . . . Rezoning happens all the time.?
Dunn noted the township’s master plan has not undergone a full update since 2006. A partial update was done in 20l1 because not enough funds were allocated to have it cover the entire township.
‘We basically did the M-24 corridor,? he said. ‘We didn’t do a whole update.?
Much of the opposition to White Pine Estates has come from residents living in the neighboring Twin Lakes Estates.
Ben Denno, of Hamlin LLC, pointed out how local citizens and the township were once opposed to allowing Twin Lakes Estates to be built.
‘Twenty-some odd years ago, this same type of meeting was being held for approval of a rezoning called Twin Lakes,? he said. ‘After a (1994) consent judgment, that was approved.?
Of the 75 lots in Twin Lakes Estates, 42 are between 1 acre and 1.2 acres in size.
Bellairs had a problem with using Twin Lakes Estates as a justification for allowing smaller lot sizes for White Pine Estates.
‘If we follow the same progression, everything’s going to get smaller and smaller and smaller,? she said. ‘There are people that want the larger lots. There are people that still want that . . . I don’t like the progression that it’s taking.?
Denno also pointed out how the planning commission chairman kept track of previous public comments concerning White Pine Estates and 52 percent of the residents who spoke said ‘they would prefer a 1-acre lot as opposed to the half-acre lots? that were part of the proposed Planned Unit Development (PUD) originally submitted by Hamlin LLC.
Woodward said the public support for 1-acre lots was because at that point, the PUD plan called for preserving 20 acres of the site as open space. ‘That’s the only reason they said that,? he said.
The proposed PUD plan, which was rejected by the township board in November, called for 32 homes to be built on lots ranging from 21,000 to 35,836 square feet, which equals 0.48 to 0.82 acre.
The homes were to be clustered together so as to preserve 47 percent (or 20 acres) of the site as open space.