The Dexter Leader
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Township officials face risky decision
Negotiations with developer proceed
By Gary Anglebrandt, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 24, 2005
The choices Webster Township must soon make regarding the Nixon farm development are going to set the stage for the township's future development.
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Residents of Webster Township gathered at town hall last Thursday to hear how many new neighbors they could be getting.
It's now clear what's at stake for the township, which has a population of fewer than 6,000.
Township Supervisor Dean Fisher arranged the special public hearing to inform residents on what's being talked about in negotiations currently under way with housing developer Grand Sakwa Webster L.L.C., an affiliate of Northville-based Grand Sakwa Properties L.L.C.
The proposed development would be located on a 281-acre farm at Zeeb and Daly roads owned by William and Cherie Nixon.
Webster Township residents, who are worried about increased traffic and sewer problems, have fought the development since mid-2003.
Originally, the plan called for 1,200 mobile homes. The township denied the plan because the developer did not pay $26,000 in administrative fees to the township.
Grand Sakwa sued the township over the fees. In the fall, Grand Sakwa requested settlement talks with the township. Last Thursday's meeting was the township's attempt to share settlement information with the public. Its next move will be either to settle with the developer or battle in court.
Many of the residents voiced their support for a court fight, and the audience applauded a woman who said the township needs officials who will fight in court.
"I would certainly let it go to court. Is it risky? Sure it is," George Lambrides, the owner of a home within view of the Nixon farm, said after the meeting.
No one spoke up in support of negotiations, although one man said the township should be careful about assuming the will of the entire community based on a crowd of about 60 people.
The developer has changed its plan from a mobile home park to stick-built homes with a base price of $300,000, Fisher said at the meeting.
The number of homes is now the question. Current zoning allows the developer to build 140 homes on the property without any permission from the township. The developer told the township it wants at least 600 homes, Fisher said.
Fisher looked at the developer's plans, made some changes to suit community needs, and came up with 490 homes. The numbers are preliminary and no agreements have been made, Fisher said.
Webster Neighbors for Responsible Growth, the grassroots organization formed to fight the development, put out a document called "Principles for Settlement" in which the group asserts that the master plan does not allow more than 300 homes on the property.
There is considerable risk in contradicting a master plan, said Peter DeLoof, a planning attorney at Seeligson, DeLoof, Hopper & Dever P.L.L.C. in Ann Arbor. Accommodating a developer with a master plan change opens the door to other developers asking the same — possibly in court — in the future.
"If they made an exception there, why aren't you over here?" DeLoof said a developer likely would ask.
"It's a slippery slope legally and possibly politically for a community to ignore it."
That is also the concern of Webster Neighbors.
"The signal to the developer is, all you have to do is file a lawsuit, then settle. That's the wrong signal," said Steve Beemis, a member of the residents' group.
Though it's unlikely, it's even possible for a residential group, such as that formed to fight the development, to sue the township over a master plan contradiction, DeLoof said.
Fisher and township attorney Fred Lucas both are confident the township would win the current lawsuit. But whether it won or lost, the developer would continue seeking zoning changes that could lead to more litigation, they said.
"I'm sure if we won the lawsuit, they would come back with another zoning request," Fisher said.
The township is considering some demands should it choose more negotiation. The township already has sent a letter to Grand Sakwa with a request for $8 million in major upgrades to the sewer and water system, a new sewer line, a paved section of Zeeb Road from Daly Road to Joy Road, and a new fire hall.
The upgrades would be good for the community's infrastructure; however, they open the door to more development.
"The sewer line might be a development magnet," Fisher said. "There's fear that this is just the beginning of a whole bunch of development."
In the unlikely event that Grand Sakwa takes the 140-house option, doing so would not require the company to do any major upgrades to infrastructure. The township would end up with a development and no help on the added stress to township services.
Several residents said that the development company had used a bait-and-switch tactic by changing its goal from mobile homes to upscale housing with sewer upgrades.
"It allows people to feel like they're getting a great facility. The developer has all this figured out," said resident Ella Dunajsky.
A woman in the crowd said the developer had once said the land wasn't of good enough quality for expensive homes back when it was pushing mobile homes.
"I don't think they were very up front with us," she said to the audience's dry laughter.
Bait-and-switch tactics are becoming more common among developers, DeLoof said.
"Whether it's true in this case or not, I have no basis to say," he said. "A lot of communities are worried that that will be more and more common a tactic."
Meanwhile, Fisher has visited Northville Township to see houses Grand Sakwa has built there. Block after block of houses is not for Webster, he said at the meeting.
"They've done nice houses," he said, "but I don't think the overall presentation is what we're looking for in Webster Township."
Grand Sakwa has requested a meeting with the township as soon as possible, Fisher said.
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