FeedsCommissioners table conditional zoning request
The first appearance of a conditional rezoning request on the planning commission agenda met with some apparent uneasiness in Canton Township.
At their regular meeting Monday, commissioners voted 6-1 to table a request to rezone the former Lucas nursery on Ford Road between Napier and Ridge roads to allow higher density for a proposed subdivision.
Under a newly adopted provision in the zoning ordinance, developers can outline what they plan to do with the property after it is rezoned. If they fail to live up to the agreement, the zoning reverts to the previous classification. The conditions on the zoning would be recorded with Wayne County.
RDK Homes requested a change to R-3 zoning, which traditionally permits up to three units per acre, but proposed conditions that would limit the project to 78 homes on the 54 acres, resulting in a density of about 1.33 homes per acre.
That’s still 30 percent more than designated in the master land use plan, which calls for up to one house per acre, or an R-1 classification.
Nearly 40 residents packed the room for the public hearing to oppose the zoning. Most feared a loss of the rural character of the area. Most of the land is continuous green space, and Napier and Ridge are dirt roads.
Commissioners generally agreed that one desirable use for conditional zoning would be for controlling certain properties transitioning from one use to another—for instance, a residential parcel that would be developed into an office.
Resident Dennis Czeryba said conditional zoning was a good idea, but not for the proposed project. He said the developers weren’t requesting “any use on that land that’s not allowed. They just want to increase density.”
“Once you allow it for one person, you can’t cut the floodgates off and tell other people they can’t do it,” he added.
Carol Rosati, the township zoning attorney, said commissioners weren’t required to strictly adhere to the master plan when considering a conditional zoning.
Dick Dionne, representing the Northwest Canton Homeowners Association, said he didn’t think that was a good idea.
“I’m not so quick to throw adherence to the plan…out the window,” he said.
Community Planner Jeff Goulet said he didn’t recommend approval of the request either, since it didn’t fit with the plan.
Commissioner Melissa McLaughlin expressed some dissatisfaction with the one-sidedness of the proposal.
“I don’t find that this development really reflects the open and creative process,” she said.
In the planned development district option, the township and developer can meet and negotiate plans before and during the approval process. With conditional zoning, the township can’t legally require a developer to meet any conditions that it does not volunteer.
RDK had also promised to give the township $40,000 toward improvements on a future township park at Ford and Ridge roads.
McLaughlin suggested that the conceptual site plan promised could have given more consideration to open space.
Bryan Amann, who represented RDK Homes, said the project had been in the planning stages since 2004.
“My client has been meeting with Jeff Goulet for two years,” he said. “The fact is the plan has been reworked and reworked.”
The commission will take up the matter at a future meeting, where the developer could offer additional conditions.
Ron Lieberman was the sole dissenter in the vote to table the request. He said he didn’t support it at all.
“Frankly, this isn’t what I expected when we (discussed) conditional zoning,” he said.
