Scott Constable is excited.
Constable, a local builder and developer has sold all the property he had available for new construction this year.
‘It’s going be a record year for me,? said Constable, a Brandon Township resident.
‘People like the two and a half and five acre parcels,? he added, regarding the lot size minimums in both Groveland and Brandon townships.
Constable, and other area builders are part of major building boom in Northern Oakland and parts of Southern Genesee counties.
In the past three years, more than 578 new homes have been built in Atlas, Groveland, Brandon townships, as well as the villages of Goodrich and Ortonville.
Brandon Township leads the way with 288 new builds followed by Atlas Township with 150 new homes. Groveland Township trails the area with 88 new builds in the past three years.
Constable, concedes that even though the economy is slow this building season development is showing promise in both Brandon and Groveland townships.
‘Property values since 9-11 are still down by about ten percent? said Constable ‘but I definitely see it coming back up.?
Constable said that pockets of growth areas depends on the needs of new buyers.
For example, in the Goodrich area, first time or starter homes dominate the market, says Constable, while the Brandon and Groveland township areas are experiencing an ‘import-type growth? where buyers are moving from metropolitan areas to larger parcels found in rural areas.
‘People are moving out here basically because of the two-and-a-half to five acre parcel zoning in Brandon and Groveland,? said Constable.
‘Half of the parcels I sell are to people coming out here from Sterling Heights, Troy areas.?
‘They come up here and say they didn’t realize how big two acres is,? he said.
Confident that such growth will not ravage the area, Brandon Township Supervisor Ron Lapp said the township is committed to controlling population density.
‘When we developed the master plan, the two-and-a-half acre minimums were put into it to accommodate controlled growth,? said Lapp.
‘That (Brandon Township) Master Plan is what the people of this community want, we are comfortable with that, and we use it as our bible.?
Like the Bible, the words will not change, according to Lapp, because the acreage minimum is not flexible.
‘It takes careful planning, but we have to control the growth because we don’t have the city water and sewers,’said Lapp.
Most of the remaining undeveloped property, say township officials, will be more costly to develop because it will require engineered septic fields and is located on higher water tables.
Lapp said both the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board, as well as Building and Planning Director Tim Palulian are all ‘absolutely committed? to carrying out the will of the residents.
Lapp did say however, he is not opposed to cluster housing, which also adheres to the parcel minimum of two and acres..
Cluster housing requires at least 40 acres split into 16, two and a half acre parcels, with the remainder of land to be used for a community property green belt.
‘We are committed to that plan, that’s not popular with developers but is what we are comfortable with,? said Lapp.
For now, the infrastructure of the roads is adequate to accommodated the growth, according to Lapp. However, he did say there are four large agricultural farms in the area.
If those farms were to sell out to developers the township would have to look at developing east and west routes into the community, says Lapp, but is quick to add that adding roads within the community is a long range goal, and not necessary at this time.
‘The township is always fighting developers to maintain the minimums,? said Lapp
‘But whose going to build the next schools in the area?? said Lapp.
‘I certainly don’t want to have to pay for it.?
‘The Planning Commission and Zoning Boards are committed to controlling growth through the master plan.?
‘It is the will of the people and that’s why those board appointments are so important.?
Groveland Township’s master plan also maintains a two and a half acre minimum parcel lot sizes.
It has been estimated by The Public Interest Research Group of Michigan, that if growth is not controlled throughout the state, Michigan will lose nearly two million acres of open space and farmland over the next 20 years.