The Independence Township Board received little direction from residents during a June 20 public hearing on the proposed Corridor Improvement Authority along Sashabaw Road.
During public comment, several residents asked questions about the new authority, but few voiced opinions for or against the endeavor.
The CIA functions similarly to a Downtown Development Authority, allowing communities to capture tax revenues generated from increased value of properties within the district to be used for improvements in the area. Public Act 280 was signed into law by Governor Jennifer Granholm on Dec. 19, 2005.
The township board voted to establish the CIA along Sashabaw Road on May 16. Some of the projects the board envisions the authority undertaking include: widening the Sashabaw Road bridge over I-75, widening the remaining portions of Sashabaw Road, installing sanitary relief sewer from Liberty Square to Maybee Road, constructing a new well with iron removal near Pine Knob and the DTE Energy Music Theater, and installing a new safety path from I-75 to Clarkston Road.
Township Planner Dick Carlisle, of Carlisle/Wortman Associates, expects the CIA to be a 10-year program.
‘This is really a long term program to help the township plan, fund and prepare for these current and long term needs,? said Carlisle.
Township Trustee Dan Kelly was uncertain about the need for a CIA. He voiced a concern about the present condition of Dixie Highway, where much of the infrastructure was built by a DDA.
‘What’s different about this than that?? asked Kelly. ‘Does it have a way to keep business??
Carlisle said the goal of the DDA was never business retention. He explained the purpose of the DDA was to provide a funding source for corridor improvements, something done while the DDA was in existance.
‘The CIA can be tailored to meet the needs of the district,? Carlisle explained.
One vocal opponent of the CIA was local attorney and Citizen for Orderly Growth member Neil Wallace:
‘We don’t need to do this to draw people to this corridor? Have we ever lost a developer to lack of infrastructure in this area? If so, is that bad? Currently, we have limitations that constrain development and give us control? I’m also concerned about there not being any direct accountability to citizens here. The DDA provided a false sense of fertile ground for development, and now look at Sashabaw.?
Trustee Dan Travis spoke in favor of the CIA. He added that he felt he DDA was a good tool.
‘Dixie was a potential for blight, but the improvements are good,? said Travis. ‘I think this is an enormously good thing for us. We could not approach improvements to the I-75 intersection as a township without it.?
With the public hearing complete, the township board must now wait 60 days before adopting an ordinance to establish the CIA. At that time, members of the CIA board can be appointed.