More commercial development may be coming to Sashabaw Road, and the CIA may be behind it.
A Corridor Improvement Authority, CIA for short, was approved in a split decision by the Independence Township Board at its Sept. 19 regular meeting. The CIA board met for the first time this past Thursday.
CIA members were given a preliminary Development Plan and Tax Increment Financing Plan, developed by Carlisle/Wortman Associates, Inc.
‘The (CIA board) meeting went well,? said township Supervisor David Wagner.
Over the next 2-3 weeks, the board will discuss and finalize the plan, then present it to the township board for discussion and approval, Wager said.
‘The board has ultimate approval over it,? said Richard Carlisle, of Carlisle/Wortman Associates, Inc., who has been working with the township on the project.
According to the plan, the CIA’s boundaries would include Sashabaw Road from just north of Clarkston Road south to the border with Waterford Township. It would also include segments of Clarkston, Waldon, and Maybee roads.
Proposed projects, with their estimated timeframes, include:
? Redevelopment of sewer lines on Sashabaw from Liberty Square to Maybee Road, 2007-2008;
? New underground power lines along the corridor, 2012-2013;
? Landscaping and other beautification works along Sashabaw Road. The first phase would be between Maybee and Waldon, 2007-2015;
? Two additional lanes on the Sashabaw Road bridge over I-75 and widening Sashabaw Road to six lanes, 2008-2012;
? New well house and wells in the Pine Knob, DTE Energy area, 2008-2009;
? Street lighting on Sashabaw from I-75 to Clarkston Road, 2011-2012;
? Water main relocation on Sashabaw from I-75 to Clarkston Road, 2010-2012;
? Eight-foot-wide safety path along both sides of Sashabaw from I-75 to Clarkston Road, 2011-2012;
? Widening Sashabaw to three lanes, from Maybee to the south township boundary, 2010-2015;
? New three-lane Sashabaw bridge south of Clinton Road, 2014-2015; and
? Acquisition and assembly of land for future public building construction, 2007-2015.
The CIA board can decide which of these projects to forward to the township board, Wagner said.
At the township board’s Sept. 19 meeting, the board voted 5-2 to approve an ordinance creating the Sashabaw Road Corridor Improvement Authority. The board needed to approve the second reading and adoption of the ordinance in order to keep on schedule and get the most benefit, Carlisle said.
“My concern is that we establish (the CIA) this year,” he said. “It does require a compacted time frame.”
Establishing the CIA by the end of this year would allow the township to “capture” funding that is available this year. By state law, municipalities must approve an ordinance to create CIA. Delaying action would not have provided enough time for the new CIA board to get up and running, he said.
Trustee Daniel Travis, who, along with Clerk Shelagh Vanderveen, voted against the ordinance, questioned the need for approving the authority so soon.
“This is in a big hurry.” Travis said. “We are in essence trying to better an area that we’ve already put $2 1/2 million into.”
The level of development of the area is already adequate, Travis said.
“There is considerable development pressure on it,” he said. “Is this the direction the township wants to go?”
Legislation allowing the creation of CIAs was signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in December, 2005. Corridor Improvement Authorities are similar to Downtown Development Authorities. Both serve as tools through which increases in tax revenues resulting from infrastructure improvements can be “captured” by the municipality, as a way of helping to pay for them. Only one DDA is permitted per community, while several CIAs can be created to serve more than one commercial area, according to a press release by state Sen. Gilda Jacobs, who introduced the CIA act.
If the board voted not to approve the second reading, creation of the CIA would be delayed until next year, causing the township to lose tax revenues created this year, said Trustee Charles Dunn.
“We are not approving any development on Sashabaw tonight,” Dunn said. “If we don’t approve this and then want to do a project … we would have less money.”
The authority is required to report to the board and get its approval before doing anything, he said.
“Why in the world would we not pass this – let’s move it along,” he said.
Township resident Neil Wallace, of the group Citizens for Orderly Growth, opposed the ordinance.
“I urge you not to adopt this – not now, not ever,” Wallace said. “This would change a long standing policy about development.”
The current policy provides for orderly development of the area. If the authority is created and succeeds in making improvements to the Sashabaw Road corridor, such as by widening the road and improving its bridge over I-75, the township would be more susceptible to outside businesses coming into the area over residents? objections, he said.
The township planning board has used the lack of infrastructure in the area as a legal defense to block development. If infrastructure is improved, that defense would no longer exist, he said.
“The effect would be felt long and hard in this community – it opens a Pandora’s Box,” Wallace said. “This is inappropriate – there is more commercial development in that corridor than in the rest of the township.”
Township resident Craig Bennett agreed.
“If you do this, we will end up having to take development we don’t want,” Bennett said.
Dunn disagreed with the idea that approving the ordinance takes away the planning commission’s authority, and dismissed the idea of big businesses from outside the community influencing the decision as speculation and conspiracy theory.
“This is not a capitulation to external forces,” he said. “This is a financial issue, not a development issue.”
Township resident Michael Clark said he was in favor of the ordinance.
“I hope you have enough guts tonight to go forward with this,” Clark said.
The townhsip board voted unanimously to approve the appointment of nine residents to the CIA board. Appointed are Dunn, Steve Pierson, Forrest Milzow, Bob Roth, Ken Winship, Tim Smith, Dawn Horner, Dave Carter, and Carol Chase.