The Dorr Township Planning Commission Tuesday evening recommended by a 6-0 vote a request to rezone an 18.34-acre parcel at 3872 18th St. from agricultural to rural estates.
John Langlois of Langlois & Sons Excavating made the request with the intention of paving the way for 13-lot site condominiums.
Zack Boeve of Pathfinder Engineering, representing Langlois, told the commission that much of zoning around the parcel is rural estates and it is compatible with the master plan.
Four neighboring residents raised concerns about the project during the public hearing.
Dawn Winger said, “We moved away from the city to be out in a rural area. We’re disappointed our rural home will be next to a subdivision.”
Mike Kloska, Gord Bode and Rich Kloska expressed concerns about safety, septic and water runoff.
Zoning Administrator Lori Castello of Professional Code Inspections explained that the Planning Commission’s duty was to determine whether the conditions for rezoning are being met, including input from the Health Department, Drain Commission and Road Commission. It was noted that applications for that information have been submitted, but no information is yet available.
However, commissioners went through their customary inquiry as to whether the project was guilty of spot zoning and determined it was not.
The request will be taken up by the Dorr Township Board, which also must appoint a seventh Plan Commission member because Terri Rios’ term was terminated by her election loss last August.
I sympathize and understand the neighbors’ concerns. Living just a few more hundred yards down the road, I dislike the idea of farmland turned into housing developments. At one time Dorr Township tried very hard to keep crop producing land agricultural… times are changing.
Agricultural property is very seldom retained by the family… and that is understandable… Development will net a bigger profit that the corn or soybeans grown there.
We have to accept the fact open areas (farms, green areas and forests) will someday be homes, businesses, manufacturing plants, etc. They call it progress.
18th street is no longer a quiet little route to nowhere. Will there be safety issues? Possibly, walking /biking currently is not recommended due to traffic already.
Water runoff might become an issue with the majority of that property no longer able to absorb rainfall or snow melt.
I’m confident our illustrious Allegan County Drain Commissioner will have a solution. The Road Commission and Health Department will have no trouble giving the go ahead. The land should be able to handle the 13 septic systems.
I may stand corrected, but I don’t remember the Road Commission stopping housing developments due to additional traffic.
The only hurdle just might be the township board. It does have a couple of new faces, so it ought to be interesting. Just have to wait and see if the mindset is to have more development possible sewer or water north and south of 142nd Avenue.
The soil can only filter so much for so long, then the aquifer gets polluted.