It seems final site plan approval for the Manitou Hills subdivision is going to have to wait a bit longer.
Last week, the Oxford Township Planning Commission voted 5-1 to postpone making its decision on the proposed development consisting of 20 single family homes until all the issues raised in the township consultants? reviews are addressed.
‘I see too many outstanding items to move forward this evening,? said Commission Chairman Todd Bell addressing the applicant, Oxford resident Tom Haner. ‘I think you’ve done a fine job thus far. I think you’re very, very close and right on the edge of getting this done, but there’s just a few issues.?
Haner is looking to develop a 28.37-acre site he’s owned since the late 1990s. It’s located east of Dakota Court and south of Poppy Hill Dr. Eleven of the proposed home sites would have frontage on Manitou Lake.
Because the only way in and out of Manitou Hills would be via Dakota Court, a street that runs through the existing Lakes of Indianwood subdivision, residents of that high-end development expressed a number of concerns about the proposed project.
Chief among them is the potential affect of Manitou Hills on their property values.
‘We bought there because it’s a premium neighborhood,? said Ron Pollmann, a resident of Dakota Court. ‘We’re going to be negatively impacted (by this).?
Pollmann explained he had an appraisal done when he refinanced his house last year.
‘It actually stated that because there are lower-priced houses within a mile of our residence, our house was negatively impacted,? he said. ‘I think a lot of the people that live in Lakes of Indianwood are now going to be impacted by this as well and their house values are going to go down.?
‘We’re probably going to be coming in and asking to have our assessments reduced,? Pollmann noted.
Bell assured Lakes of Indianwood residents that as a commissioner and a fellow homeowner, he takes property values very seriously.
‘I want my property values to increase,? he said. ‘I hope everybody’s property values increase in Oxford. I hope that’s the way it goes. The last thing I want to do is rule on something that could be a detriment to somebody else’s property.?
To prevent Manitou Hills from hurting their property values, Lakes of Indianwood residents want the homes in the proposed development to blend in with their subdivision in terms of architectural and landscaping standards and size.
Haner agreed. ‘My intent is to have this look very similar to (the) current Lakes of Indianwood,? he told commissioners.
This would be accomplished via restrictions contained in the Master Deed.
‘My square-footages are actually higher than what’s in Lakes of Indianwood,? Haner noted.
In June 2015, Haner said he envisioned Manitou Hills containing high-end homes ‘in the $400,000-and-up-range.? Earlier this week, he told this reporter that’s still his plan.
Site plan approval for Manitou Hills was originally granted by the township in 2001, but the project got shelved when the recession hit and that approval was allowed to expire.
Jim Porritt, the Lake Orion attorney representing Haner, noted his client is the landowner, but he’s not going to be the builder.
‘Mr. Haner is not proposing to build anything on this property,? Porritt said. ‘These are going to be sold as buildable properties.?
‘Why not just make this development part of Lakes of Indianwood?? asked Commissioner Ed Hunwick.
Haner pointed out Lakes of Indianwood is a platted subdivision whereas his proposal is for a site condominium project.
‘They’re really not apples to apples,? he said. ‘It’s a different process. We will actually have much more control than a platted subdivision.?
Scott Kitkowski, president of the Lakes of Indianwood Association and a resident of Lacrosse Trail, said Haner has agreed to ‘mirror? what his subdivision does with regard to fence approvals and tree removals.
Kitkowski told commissioners the association board has met twice with Haner and ‘he’s actually been very cooperative.?
Haner and the association board agreed they don’t want safety paths or sidewalks in Manitou Hills because there are none in Lakes of Indianwood.
‘It would make the Manitou subdivision appear more harmonious with the Lakes of Indianwood and blend in (better) because otherwise the sidewalk or safety path would go nowhere. It would dead-end,? Kitkowski said.
Township ordinance requires safety paths and sidewalks be included on site plans, however, developers have the option of either building them or paying into a municipal safety path fund.
Lakes of Indianwood residents are also concerned about construction traffic related to Manitou Hills.
‘Obviously, we would prefer that construction traffic does not traverse through Lakes of Indianwood,? Kitkowski said. ‘We would request that the construction traffic comes in through a northerly route, passing by the water tower on Teelin Rd. and not accessing Lakes of Indianwood or the roads that service Lakes of Indianwood.?
Bell explained the township has no authority to do that because the Road Commission for Oakland County owns and maintains the roads.
‘Those are public roads,? he said. ‘We have no jurisdiction over that. I have as much right to use that road as a guy that lives in California. We all pay taxes for the county roads.?
Commissioner Tom Berger noted the township does have control over the hours during which construction takes place. By ordinance, work can begin no earlier than 7 a.m. and must end by 7 p.m.
‘If (construction vehicles) do have to come in through the Lakes of Indianwood, we would request that a bond be put in place to protect those roads,? Kitkowski said.
Township engineer Jim Sharpe, president of the Oxford-based Sharpe Engineering, Inc., noted the road commission requires construction bonds be put in place whenever permits are pulled to build new roads. He suggested perhaps that bond could be used to pay for repairs to existing roadways should they become damaged by construction traffic.
‘But that’s more a question for the road commission,? Sharpe said.