Proposed township subdivision needs revisions

A planned unit development (PUD) site plan review for a proposed residential development to be known as Franklin Forest on Franklin Road north of Fourteen Mile Road met with mixed reviews at the Bloomfield Township Planning Commission on Monday, June 15, and was tabled in order to allow the developers to redesign their site plans. Patti Voelker, director of planning, building and ordinance, explained the PUD site plan review was initially scheduled for March 16, but was postponed due to the governor's coronavirus-related executive order. In the interim, developers Terry Nosan and Buzz Silverman met with residents in neighboring subdivisions and received feedback, and revised the site plan. Some planning commission members felt there was confusion as there were a couple of different plans presented at the meeting as site plans. Nosan and Silverman are looking to develop a 10.02 acre parcel on the east side of Franklin Road north of 14 Mile Road, just north of the Franklin Cider Mill on the opposite side of Franklin Road. The property is currently owned by the George R. Pickering Revocable Trust, and has an iconic red barn on it, which Nosan said is about 100-years old, and will be knocked down. He offered to have the barn moved if someone wanted it. Franklin Forest would have 15 detached single family residents, clustered in order to allow green spaces, trees, open spaces and wetlands. Voelker said according to the ordinance, a common space equal to at least 10 percent of the total land area or no less than two acres must to be dedicated to the subdivision residents for park and recreation purposes. “The development plan shows 15 home sites that have been located so as to define a common 2.18 acre open space along the easterly and northerly periphery of the property for accessibility by its residents. The 2.18 acres does not include the detention pond pursuant to the standards,” she said. There was a lot of vocal opposition from residents from surrounding subdivisions to the proposed development, notably about the removal and destruction of the barn. Commission members felt the developers needed to come up with a new and different plan for the development. The site plan was tabled for a future meeting.