DELTA TWP. — A developer has asked the township for a zoning change, intending to develop 71 single-family homes and 30 condominiums on just under 50 vacant acres of farmland on the west side of Broadbent Road south of East St. Joseph Highway.
The township’s Board of Trustees could vote on the request to rezone the vacant land, located just east of the Countryside Estates subdivision and west of the Evergreen Heights and Broadbent Woods housing developments, later this month. The 49.38-acre property is currently zoned to allow for low density residential housing.
“The application notes the rezoning is to facilitate the eventual construction of a residential project featuring both attached and detached dwellings,” according to a memo from township Planning and Economic Development Director Peter Menser to the Planning Commission.
Broadbent Farms LLC wants to build “single family and condominium” homes on the property, according to an application for rezoning.
That would include 71 single-family homes and 30 condo units, Chris Miller told the Planning Commission in late April. He represents DEM and DBM LLC, the property owners.
“The single-family home lots sizes would be 1/3 acre + which would be less dense (than) newer developments in the area, while the mix of attached and detached condominiums would be similar to the Pointe West development just to the West of the project in size and design,” Miller wrote in a letter to Menser. “There is a need in the market for additional condominium units as there are currently no new build options available in the township for buyers looking for this type of product.”
No development proposal has been submitted to officials yet, Menser told the board. If the rezoning is approved, a special use permit and site plan would need to be submitted to the township for approval, he said.
The township Planning Commission recommended approval of the rezoning last month.
Residents have drainage concerns
Several township residents expressed concerns at the April 27 commission meeting about potential for drainage issues if the land is developed.
Larry Nakfoor, who owns a home in the Countryside Estates subdivision off East St. Joe Highway, said his neighbor has struggled with flooding issues since Our Savior Lutheran Church was built nearby nearly two decades ago.
The area has established flooding issues, he told the Board of Trustees at its May 4 meeting.
“We still have a house that if we were to try to sell, we would have to disclose a history of flooding problems,” Nakfoor said.
Julie Erickson, who lives in the same subdivision, said she’s watched the neighborhood flood. She now carries flood insurance, she said.
“I am afraid with this decision,” Erickson said.
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In a letter to Menser, Miller said ownership has “worked extensively with the Eaton County Drain Commissioners office the last few years to design the stormwater management of the site and have implemented their requirements into the proposed site plan.”
But Menser said no official site management plan is in place, as no development has officially been proposed.
The township Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the rezoning request at its May 18 meeting.
Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Developer wants to build 100 new homes in Delta Township
Reporting by Rachel Greco, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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