A sigh of resignation passed through the packed board room as the Independence Township Board of Trustees closed the public hearing at 10 p.m. on Orco Investments residential development proposal ? without anything new information presented, any decisions made or even a full presentation given.
The board decided to continue the public hearing on May 3, not long after the planning commission considers Orco’s request to rezone the property for commercial development on April 27.
Orco Investments currently has two development proposals for the property located at the northwest corner of Waldon and Sashabaw roads near the I-75 interchange before township officials.
The first is primarily commercial in nature and calls for a ‘big box? retailer like Wal-Mart, a Lowe’s and a 100-room hotel.
The second is a residential development listing 450 single-family homes, townhouses and condos on close to 65 acres. These numbers represent the latest version of the residential proposal, which began with a suggested 476-532 units. The plan also calls for around six acres of commercial development along the Sashabaw corridor.
At the April 4 board meeting, representatives from Orco Investments presented the following information on the residential development:
? The single family homes will sell for between $290,000 and $310,000 with lot sizes of 55 by 110 feet. The deeper lots will be 130 feet.
? The townhomes will be two stories and sell for $230,000 to $250,000. There will be four to eight units per building.
? The condos will sell for $200,000 to $210,000 and all will be located along I-75.
Due to time constraints, public comment will take place during the continuation of the hearing.

The next step
On April 27, the Independence Township Planning Commission will consider two different rezoning requests for the property.
Orco’s request changes the zoning from single family residential to planned shopping center and highway commercial. The rezoning request is part of the commercial development proposed by the company.
The second is a rezoning initiated by the planning commission based on recommendations from Township Planner Dick Carlisle’s Sashabaw Corridor Study. The study suggests a zonings for local commercial, planned shopping center, office service one, office service two and multiple family.
The Planning Commission begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Clarkston High School Auditorium.