A 41.7-acre parcel located in the southwest corner of Oxford Township was rezoned last week to allow for the development of smaller residential lots.
Township officials voted 5-2 to rezone the property located on the north side of Stanton Rd., just east of Baldwin Rd., from Suburban Farms (SF-2) to single family residential (R-3). The rezoning changes the minimum residential lot sizes that could be developed there from 5 acres to 1 acre.
Voting for the rezoning were Supervisor Bill Dunn, Treasurer Joe Ferrari, Clerk Curtis Wright and trustees Jack Curtis and Patti Durr. Voting against it were trustees Sue Bellairs and Buck Cryderman.
Among the reasons given for the rezoning was its ‘consistency with the surrounding land uses to the north and east.? One-acre lots are either allowed by current zoning, as they are to the north of the site, or have already been developed as they have been in the Twin Lakes Estates subdivision to the east, which is the product of a consent judgment back in the 1990s.
Curtis noted the rezoning was also given a stamp of approval by Oakland County.
‘There was no concern from our bordering neighbors ? Orion, Independence or Brandon,? he said.
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.
For about nine months now, numerous surrounding property owners have attended township board and planning commission meetings to voice their vehement opposition to any change in the property’s zoning that would allow for smaller lots and higher density.
They believe such a change would negatively impact the unpaved Stanton Rd., the rural character of the area and their property values. Residents also expressed opposition because they believe such a rezoning is contrary to the township master plan, which shows the future use of this site continuing as 5-acre lots.
At last week’s meeting, only two residents went to the podium to express their continued opposition.
‘I ask that you don’t change the zoning on that ? you keep it at 5 acres,? said Oxford resident Jim Cavellier, Sr., who lives on an adjacent 5-acre parcel on S. Baldwin Rd. ‘It’s one of the very reasons that we moved out here, the aesthetics of Oxford, the beauty of the area. I think you’re taking away from the beauty of the (township) if you do this. It’s going to be nothing more than another Troy or Rochester.?
‘I am concerned about the negative effect it will have on our property, the value of the property,? he continued. ‘Ten years ago, when I bought this property, that’s how it was marketed ? the openness, the wildlife and so on. I’m very concerned about that.?
Cavellier noted in all the meetings he’s attended, he’s ‘not heard anyone (from the public) that is in favor of? the rezoning.
‘All the neighbors around there have all been against it, yet it seems to be going right through,? he said. ‘Again, I ask you please don’t change the zoning on that.?
Oxford resident James Woodward, who owns a 5-acre parcel on S. Baldwin Rd., expressed his opposition to the rezoning as well.
‘I don’t think it should have anything less than a Suburban Farm status,? he said.
Woodward told the board that currently those with Suburban Farms-zoned lots are allowed to raise animals such as horses and pigs.
He fears this could lead to conflicts with ‘the city people? when they move ‘out there? to White Pine Estates.
‘We are going to have problems because the farms there have rights if we choose to use them,? he said.