Mar 30, 2007
Islanders raise development objections
Developer seeks to reroute road as a first step
By NICOLE GERRING
Times Herald
HARSENS ISLAND -At an informational meeting Thursday night at the island Lions Club, residents raised objections to rerouting North Channel Road around a proposed 380 acre, 348-unit housing and condominium project.
The meeting was called to discuss the potential rerouting, which must be approved by the St. Clair County Road Commission.
However, it gave island residents the chance to discuss the potential development's impact on their quality of life, traffic, wetlands and the island's ecosystem.
Rerouting the road is a necessary first step, said Tim Stoepker, spokesman for Grande Pointe Development, LLC.
Developers also wanted to wait until later in the year to include more island residents in public meetings. Many island residents live elsewhere in winter months.
The development firm is managed by Michael Malik, a former Clay Township resident and casino investor.
Malik owns the potential development site, the former Boys & Girls Club property on North Channel Road.
He did not attend the meeting because … (Full Story).
he was out of town but plans to be at future meetings, Stoepker said.
Developers will ask the road commission to abandon North Channel Road, a county road, and for permission to build a new road around the proposed project.
Residents on the northeast end of the island use North Channel Road to get to Champion's Auto Ferry, the islanders' only access to mainland Clay Township.
The road bypass will be about 1½ miles long, Stoepker said.
"You can't do anything without doing the road first," he said.
The rerouting would add about 3½ minutes of drive time for motorists traveling at the road's 25 mph speed limit, Stoepker said.
Alice Szulborski, who lives at Orchid Boulevard and North Channel Road, asked developers if they had considered a drawbridge.
Developers rejected plans for a fixed bridge because of concerns about right of way and view but had not thought about a drawbridge, Stoepker said.
Szulborski is concerned about increased traffic density as the population grows.
"You're going to add 250 houses - that's 600 cars back and forth," she said.
Others worried about the effects on the local watershed, the possibility of flooding and the source of the development's sewer and water systems.
"We've done a detailed soil and water analysis on the entire site," Stoepker said.
Developers plan on boring under the St. Clair River to connect with Algonac's water and sewer lines, he said.
Not all residents are opposed to the plans.
"They have as much right to develop as anybody else," said Philip Spoutz, owner of Harsens Island Bed and Breakfast. "People don't want change. Ten years, and I've seen no changes out here. I've seen three houses built."
Developers will submit plans and an economic analysis of the development proposal to Clay Township officials today.
To have a road- abandonment hearing, developers must get signatures from seven property owners in Clay Township, said Donald Maronde, road commission managing director.
If the developers are granted a public hearing, the road commission will vote on whether to approve the bypass.
"Typically our commission wants to know how the township feels before it decides on a road abandonment," he said.
Contact Nicole Gerring at (810) 989-6270 or ngerring@gannett.com.
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070330/NEWS01/703300318/1002
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