Brandon Twp.- This community is not how Tim Palulian envisioned it when he was hired as the township’s building and planning director nearly 25 years ago.
‘I thought if we were lucky, we’d have 30 starts a year,? he said. ‘I thought we would maintain it as a very rural community. But it changed very fast. People didn’t mind driving 15-20 minutes to get to the expressway and bought up land.?
Times have changed.
A decline in housing and commercial building over the past four years reached a peak this year and Palulian, 62, is retiring, effective in January. He made the announcement at the township board meeting July 7 and recommended to the board they reduce his position from full-time to about 12-15 hours per week.
‘Fifty percent of my job is related to construction starts,? Palulian told the board. ‘They’re not there now… Initially (the reduced hours) will be an inconvenience to residents and contractors. These are hard choices that have to be made. But it’s best for the township and to keep the department open.?
The township’s building department is supported through fees for services rendered, including construction code enforcement. Because of economic conditions, the department has not been self-supporting since 2004.
When Palulian arrived in Brandon in 1984 after serving as Independence Township building and planning director for eight years, the state was coming out of a recession. Prior to his arrival, Brandon Township had a building inspector, but not a director. Palulian was hired and the building department was created to oversee the coming growth of the township.
‘Because of the lack of staffing, (the township) was losing control over zoning management,? Palulian recalled. ‘As a result they had businesses that were going about things their own way.?
The most egregious example, he said, was a meat packing business on M-15 that had been allowed to expand, but took advantage and stepped outside zoning limitations and had pollution and a failing septic system. Palulian and the township successfully took the business to court, forcing them to fix the system and complete their site plan.
In 1984, other businesses in the township included Brandon Tire, Oxford Lumber, MacPhee’s Restaurant, the Boat Bar, Your Town Meats, and the shopping plaza at the corner of M-15 and Glass Road. The Hamady grocery store was vacant and St. Anne Church had not yet been expanded. None of the east side of M-15 was developed, Palulian remembers.
Since the mid-80s, 1,000 houses have been built, and he said the number of additions, barns and garages constructed are innumerable.
‘Every year there were more and more houses,? Palulian noted. ‘In the 90s, people were dividing property and selling it. The cost of property accelerated, up to the turn of the century.?
Palulian’s duties have been many. Besides being a registered building official, he coordinates planning and development, is an advisor to the planning commission and Zoning Appeals Board, does all planning reviews and construction inspections, and also enforces zoning and land use ordinances, often acting as a mediator between neighbors.
He has enjoyed the work environment he has been permitted to work in and welcomed the challenge of building confidence in his department.
His biggest challenge, he said, has been to convince members of the community that certain changes are inevitable. Palulian notes that there are factions in every community that differ in their opinion of how things should be. He negotiates compromise between landowners and environmentalists.
‘You have to balance the need to preserve the environment with the rights of property owners to use their land, always an inherent right in this country,? Palulian said. ‘We have a quality of life in Brandon Township that is made up of a rural and semi-rural atmosphere. In order to maintain that, there are well-defined limits on growth in the township, achieved by the master plan and zoning ordinance.?
Palulian notes that a lot of people might not like him for his decisions, but he is proud of establishing a respected and professionally run department and said he has always tried his best to maintain consistency in service.
‘I’ve always had a good working relationship with the people here and the people I am directly responsible to,? he said. ‘I will miss that relationship more than anything. In this community, I have at least 15,000 bosses. You can’t hang around in a highly visible public position and perform half-ass. You won’t survive.?
Township Supervisor Ron Lapp called Palulian ‘a phenomenal employee.?
‘He has one of the most complex jobs in the township and makes it look easy,? he said. ‘He’s a man of integrity and I put great stock in his opinion. His fingerprints are all over this township and we have been very fortunate to have a man of Tim’s abilities as building director.?
Palulian, who is married and the father of one grown son, plans to enjoy retirement by painting and drawing more (he is an amateur artist), cooking and gardening, reading, bicycling and snowboarding in the winter. But, with board approval, he could remain working for the township on a very part-time basis in the building department and Palulian believes that in a few years, the township could be growing again.
‘Once we come out of the econoimc malaise, there will still be people who say Brandon is beautiful and want to build here,? he said. ‘Even at $4 or $5 a gallon for gas, people adjust their lives so they can have the quality of life we have here.?