A proposed new house will be the subject of a wetland public hearing before the Independence Township Planning Commission.
The commission on Oct. 23 reversed a previous decision and voted to sit as a “wetland board” to hear public comments on a request to fill part of a designated wetland on Princeton Avenue just west of Dartmouth in the northeast corner of the township.
Property owner Harry Nouhan and developer Dan Vackaro have attempted to secure a building permit for a 1,900-square-foot, three-bedroom home, with a 10-by-30-foot driveway to be created by filling in part of a designated wetland.
If the wetland permit is approved, he will use approximately 145 cubic yards of fill, and some neighbors continue to say that would destroy the “functioning wetland” and add problems in an area with a history of flooding and septic failure.
The planning commission on Sept. 25 voted against a public hearing, sending the issue back to the township building department for review. Commissioner Daniel Travis requested the reconsideration.
“There was additional information that came in after [the Sept. 25] meeting,” according to Bev McElmeel, director of building, planning and zoning for the township. “There have been other bits and pieces.”
Those “bits and pieces” include a unique septic site plan approved by Oakland County officials. Because the construction site itself does not have adequate space for a septic field, Vackaro sought approval for a septic easement on an adjoining property, currently rented to another party but also owned by Nouhan.
While the county has authority to grant the septic permit, the township has authority over a conservation easement over which the septic easement would cross.
“That will be discussed,” McElmeel said.
The planning commission voted to schedule their “wetland board” session Thursday, Nov. 13, but McElmeel said Nouhan (who lives in northern Michigan) has requested a postponement until Dec. 11.
McElmeel said the commission will likely honor Nouhan’s request.
Sharon Vaughn, a Dartmouth resident and a former wildlife refuge manager with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the group of protesting neighbors is growing.
“People who live on Princeton are just hysterical because there’s so much flooding,” Vaughn said, noting the lack of infrastructure to deal with runoff even during “drought” conditions.
While glad to see the public hearing approved, Vaughn is frustrated at the amount of lobbying it has taken. “The burden of proof is on us,” she said. “The burden of proof should be on them.”
Vackaro, meanwhile, claims to have fulfilled all the legal requirements and also wonders why the process has taken so long.
“We don’t understand it, either,” he said. “Everybody has OK’d this except the township.”
Vackaro said Nouhan has hired an attorney, and is ready to argue precedent from the fact that 13 Clarkston Road homes were approved with permits to fill wetland for their driveways.