Although developer Angelo Zervos was looking for sight plan approval for Morgan Lake development, members of the Independence Township Board unanimously voted to table the request at the Aug. 17 board meeting.
The site plan is for Phase III of the Morgan Lake development and consists of 53 single-family homes. As part of the agreement with the township, Zervos needs to pave Maybee Road from the Orion Township border to Clintonville Road before he can get final approval.
Zervos said he is ready to pave the road and has already contacted a contractor.
‘We are ready to go this week,? Zervos said. ‘We are ready to move forward. If the township is ready then let’s go. If not then we will need to take other action.?
Zervos estimates the job will take 60 to 90 days, weather permitting. The Oakland County Road Commission has set Aug. 23 as the final day paving can start for the road to be done this season. The developer said he wanted site plan approval before he started the paving for his ‘comfort level.?
‘It really irritates me that your time constraint is now our time constraint. I am not in favor of approval. You are holding us hostage and I don’t think that is right,? Clerk Joan McCrary said.
The agreement also states Zerbos can not pull building permits until the road is ‘substitutionally completed.? There was some debate at the meeting about how that term is defined.
‘This is Groundhog Day,? resident Michael Clark said. ‘In April Mr. Zervos said it would be done in 30 days. It has been promises, promises and promises once again. Zerbos is holding the township hostage. They want to hurry up and rush through Phase III. I think there is a little more than meets the eye. I think there is a rush to judgement.?
Supervisor Dale Stuart offered the solution of the board making the site plan approval conditional on the paving.
‘The residents in the area need to have the board do whatever it can do to see this comes to fruition. The people out there have been through enough,? Stuart said.
Zervos is the latest in a string of individuals who have attempted to develop that area. Current residents were told five years ago that the road would be paved.
‘I am not as concerned about Phase III as I am the residents in Phase I and II,? Trustee Larry Rosso said.