What a difference two weeks make.
At the July 26 Lake Orion Village Council meeting, council members decided to not concur with a planning commission’s recommendation to deny a lot split for Timothy and Colleen Leh of Newton Drive.
They had to table a vote on the lot split because an appropriate resolution for approval had not been prepared.
Then on Aug. 9, after listening to neighbor’s worries about the lot split, the council changed its mind and voted to accept the planning commission’s recommendation.
The Lehs had applied to split their land into two lots, one behind the other. The existing house would be on one lot. The other lot would have a long driveway down the north side of the property and widening out to the full width of the property on the back half.
‘The proposed division is known as a ‘flag? lot since it resembles a flag on a pole,? LO Village Manger JoAnn Van Tassel said.
Councilman Harry Stephen supported the Leh’s request at the July meeting. He said he didn’t agree with the planner’s findings that one of the lots would be only 54.9 feet wide. After reading the survey, Stephen believes the lot would be more like 96 feet wide.
Councilman Douglas Dendel agreed with Stephen. He said the proposed split meets the criteria for a buildable lot and there’s also another flag lot on Newton.
Leh’s neighbors convinced the council the lot split wasn’t a good idea.
According to Carolyn Smeznik, other homeowners on the street were working with a developer who may want to buy their back property or all of their property so new houses can be built nearby.
‘This new development is a win/win situation, beneficial to all, bringing in extra tax money,? she added.
Smeznik said if the council OK’d Leh’s request for a flag split, it would hinder the development.
According to Smeznik, homeowners have a contract with the developer until Aug. 23. She asked if the council could hold off making any decision on the lot split until the contract expires.
According to Leh, the developer hasn’t been in contact with the homeowners since January and it wasn’t a sure thing that a development was ever going to take place.
‘I’ve heard the developers are delaying because they haven’t signed with everyone,? Angela Kimmel said. ‘Eight of the nine (homeowners) have signed. The Lehs haven’t. They (developers) can’t do anything because they don’t have the last piece of the puzzle.?
‘No one asked what we were doing. We have no plans to sell it right now,? Colleen Leh said.
The neighbors also believe there’s a safety issue with flag lots. Emergency vehicles would have a hard time finding the driveways.
Stephen asked the neighbors why they hadn’t spoken out against the flag lot split at the planning commission.
Smeznik said no one at the time was aware of the Leh’s request.
Colleen indicated she and her husband would probably be coming back to the planning commission to request a 50/50 split.