After nearly 8? years of legal wrangling, countless meetings and more than $200,000 in attorney bills for Oxford Township, it appears the two streets running through the Elk View Estates subdivision will finally be brought up to code and accepted as officials roads.
‘This thing has been an albatross around everybody’s necks,? said township Supervisor Bill Dunn.
The only question that remains is whether Elkview and Bull Run roads, just east of Baldwin Road and south of Hummer Lake Road, will be public or private.
Last week, township officials voted 5-2 to allocate $148,486 for the necessary construction to make the roads in Elk View Estates private roads and fix some severe drainage problems in the subdivision.
‘We’ll give them that to do the private road fix,? Dunn said.
The township’s money is contingent on the Elk View property owners forming an association and developing a maintenance agreement to maintain their roads.
If they wish to have their subdivision roads become public roads, the township is still willing to kick in the $148,486, but the property owners will have to make up the difference, which amounts to $55,385, by paying through a Special Assessment District (SAD) for a certain number of years.
‘It was a shocker to me and I was real happy about it to be totally honest with you,? said Elk View resident Loren Allen, referring to the township’s decision.
Allen, who’s kind of served as an unofficial spokesperson for the subdivision and liaison to the township over the years, said, based on discussions following the meeting, he believes the majority of Elk View residents want public roads and are willing to pay to make it happen.
‘We had probably, I’d say, 75-80 percent in on it,? he said. ‘I think everybody wants public roads. And we’re willing to put our money into it to make up the other $55,000.?
Right now, neither of them legally exist because they were never approved as roads by the Road Commission for Oakland County.
Without approved roads, residents technically can’t sell or refinance their homes because mortgage companies won’t loan money for properties that are not in compliance with township zoning. Technically, no building permits can be issued in the subdivision for the same reason.
Both residents and local officials agree it was the alleged improper actions of Elk View developer, Scott Constable, who supposedly wasn’t one to play by the rules, that led to this whole situation, which was further compounded by errors made at both the township and county levels.
Constable declared bankruptcy in 2005 and moved out of state, leaving the township and Elk View residents to clean up a complicated mess.
Back in October 2007, the township agreed to put up about $24,165 to make Elk View’s roads public, if the residents paid the remaining $136,935 through a SAD over 20 years.
However, the residents never petitioned to form a SAD, so nothing’s happened since then, according to Dunn.
‘We gave them a petition and never saw it again,? said township Attorney Gary Rentrop.
‘They gave me the paperwork to take around and have everybody sign it,? said Allen, who’s lived in Elk View for nearly nine years. ‘I didn’t feel, personally, (the township’s $24,165 offer) was enough because of what had happened in that subdivision and the way things went. With the economy and stuff, I think everybody was real hesitant to put that kind of money in.?
‘So, I really didn’t act on it. I left it in (the township’s) court to see what they would do,? he explained. ‘I thought is worked out pretty good.?
Representatives from the Waterford-based Watson Group Financial Corp. ? which owns the roads plus a large vacant lot in Elk View that has the potential to be split into five smaller lots ? approached the township late last year in attempt to get things moving.
Dunn met with representatives from the county to see if they’d be willing to help finance the road fix given they’re involvement in creating this situation.
‘They took it back to their legal counsel and they told us to go pound sand,? the supervisor said.
‘They concluded (the county) had no legal responsibility,? Rentrop said.
Rather than ‘spend another $50,000 or $100,000 trying to sue the county,? Dunn brought the matter to the township board to see if it would be willing to kick in more money to solve the problem.
‘I wanted to see what they wanted to do to end this thing,? he said.
The new board was ‘more generous? to Elk View residents than the old board, in Dunn’s opinion.
‘We could debate the township’s legal responsibility here all day long, but I think we have a moral obligation to help these people,? he said.
Now, it’s up to the property owners to decide if they want to pay a portion and make the roads public or let the township fund it all so they can become private roads.
‘One way or another those roads are going to be turned into approved roads and this whole thing is going to be over with,? Dunn said.
‘I hope it all gets put together and it all gets resolved,? Allen said.