Nearly 400 people turned out last week for a public hearing for a proposed mobile home park in Webster Township.

Shafer Development LLC has petitioned to rezone 281 acres in the township from agriculture to mobile home park. The Township Planning Commission held the meeting at Mill Creek Middle School to accommodate the large crowd.

Although the commission will not decide whether to recommend the rezoning to the Township Board until its Dec. 17 meeting, those for and against the project made their opinions known at the hearing, which ran 4 1/2 hours long.

Shafer Development’s plan calls for 1,200 mobile home lots — homes that they say have carried a certain stigma in the past but are aesthetically pleasing.

Opponents were quick to point out that if the rezoning is approved, the developer is not legally bound by its submitted plan, and could establish as many as 1,700 to 2,000 homes.

The property in question is located at the southwest corner of Daly and Zeeb roads and is currently owned by Bill and Cherie Nixon.

Dexter Schools Superintendent Bill Spargur said that while the schools do not dictate how many students come in to the district, the mobile home park could overwhelm the district.

The 600 school-age children the development is expected to bring would force the school district to purchase 24 portable classrooms to handle the already-growing school system, he said.

Dexter Area Fire Chief Loren Yates said the new development could hamper the fire department, as well.

"The impact is going to be tremendous," he said. "We’ll need additional equipment and manpower. It will have a dramatic impact and I would ask you to consider that."

Chris Corden, speaking on behalf of Shafer Development’s partner, Grand Sakwa Development, said that a lack of affordable housing in Webster Township, revenue the mobile home park would generate for the township, and the inadequate space provided in the township’s master plan were all considerations to approve the rezoning.

The developer said the mobile home park could include on-site sewage and water treatment, as Dexter Village’s system has no more room for expansion. But Erin Purdue and John Enos, consultants hired by the township, argued that new sewage and water facilities are in violation of the master plan.

They also countered the development company’s claims that an area zoned for a mobile home park is inadequate. The duo said 40 acres in the northeast corner of Webster Township could accommodate 100 to 120 mobile homes, which would be in line with current growth projections, rather than a 1,200-home development.

The mobile home park could double the number of homes in Webster Township, and could exceed in five years what the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments estimates the population of Webster Township to be by the year 2020.

Steve Bemis, speaking for Webster Neighbors for Responsible Growth, asked the commission to make its decision "supported by facts, not driven by the fear of litigation."

He also asked planners to "adhere to the spirit and provisions of the master plan."

Bemis said an approval would create a dangerous benchmark, which could render the master plan unenforceable.

The public hearing, held Nov. 19, was the continuation of a hearing held Oct. 15 in which the developer did not show up and asked for a continuation to prepare a plan. The plan was submitted to Webster Township Nov. 3.

Perdu and Emos said they will withhold their recommendation until the commission next meets Dec. 17.