For close to three years, developers of Orion Pointe have been trying to convince Village of Lake Orion officials of a plan to redevelop property bounded by M-24, Pelton’s Point and the lake.
They’ll have to wait a while longer. Village council members delayed any action on Orion Pointe’s request for approval of its preliminary Planned Unit Development after a public hearing on March 14.
Council members agreed there were too many issues to clear up before they could vote on the project.
‘I’ll bring back all the information, properly drafted rather than cobbled together,? LO Village Manager JoAnn Van Tassel told the council.
The developer’s latest proposal includes a three story, 18,510 square foot medical/professional building on M-24 and four attached single-family residential units on the lake side.
Architect Steve Auger said the developers first considered all residential for the property. ‘The planning commission was concerned about the density and the lack of retail on M-24,? he added.
Other ideas over the years included putting a commercial building facing the lake and making a parking area on Pelton’s Pointe.
‘After three years of negotiations, the planning commission saw this (the current proposal) as the best solution to all different problems this site presents,? Auger said.
A problem for the developer that was just learned recently is the village does own about 20 feet of property of the northern most, east/west easement. According to Van Tassel, the piece of property is not treated or maintained by the village as a public street.
Easement issues have plagued the development. Nearby neighbors believe they have exclusive easements to get to their homes. Lawyers have indicated none of those easements are exclusive.
‘Easements are for the benefit of every owner,? attorney Gary Dovre said.
Orion Pointe holds title to the land occupied by the easements. Currently information on the easements has been determined by written documents only.
Developer Terry Winter said any problems will have to be addressed at a later point, but isn’t required yet as part of the preliminary approval.
Sue Albert, whose home abuts the development described the proposal as ‘Hodge podge.They’re surrounding us with parking. It will be a burden getting to my home,? she added.
Albert doesn’t believe the new construction will fit into the area. ‘How can you compare this to what’s there now. None of the businesses are more than 2,000 square feet,? she said.
Albert, who lives on the lake, said people who live on the lake tend to have parties and lots of visitors. ‘It doesn’t make sense (for the condo development) to have parking for just one (vehicle),? she added.
‘Their dumpster is right next to a bedroom. I mentioned this at the planning commission and they did nothing,? she added.
Planning commission member Ed Roberts said he voted no on the development in January. He felt uncomfortable voting at all because the packet with all the development information wasn’t delivered to his house until just before the meeting.
‘There was a long list of items that needed to be settled. The planning commission voted yes despite 32 exceptions,? he added.
Dovre said he found no problems with the planning commission’s action. ‘This (PUD) ordinance doesn’t require all the details that you need in the final approval.
‘The idea was to get it to council with enough information to help them make a decision,? he added.
Matthew Gibb was in favor of the development. ‘There is a strong need for this type of quality office space. I’ve read there will be a shortage of doctors and nurses and our population is still growing.
Mark Brancheau doesn’t consider Orion Pointe a good neighbor. ‘He (Winter) doesn’t clean up his property. The village had to take him to court three times,? he added.
He’s worried about the traffic. ‘Now we have maybe three to five cars on the street. If this happens, we’ll maybe have hundreds,? Brancheau added.
Councilman Douglas Dendel said his biggest issue with the development right now is the village giving up the property it owns. ‘It’s a key piece of land. We could use our property for fishing. If commercial wants to take it and use it, the village won’t benefit.?
He doesn’t like that there are only 62 parking spots for the office building. Commercial-3, he said, requires 70.
According to Winter, the parking requirement was met when they had a parking area on Pelton’s Point, but the planning commission said they preferred the parking spots not be there.
Dendel also doesn’t like the width of the residential units. ‘They’re only 15 feet wide, like stacked trailers.?
Council Tom Albert lives near the area. ‘I don’t think they thought enough about the residents. They won’t down size anything. Their property is maxed out.?
Some council members are also worried about the probable increase in traffic in that area.
‘What’s MDOT saying,? council president Bill Siver asked. ‘What do they think about this??