Project includes apartments, townhouses along M-24
By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
ORION TWP. — The Orion Township Board of Trustees voted 7-0 on Monday to accept a proposed settlement offer that will allow a developer to build apartments and townhouses on vacant land along the west side of M-24, just north of St. Joseph Catholic Church.
The settlement also ends a lawsuit filed by Waterford Bank, which owns the property after acquiring it in 2009 on default.
The settlement allows the proposed Villages of Lake Orion residential development to go forward, but at significantly fewer units than had been originally proposed.
Under the current settlement, the property will be developed with one three-story apartment building with 52 rental units and 14 townhouse-style homes, for a total of 66 residential units. The agreement also includes seven acres – close to 60% of land on the site – of open green space for a park and trails between the apartments and St. Joseph, said Alan Green, an attorney representing the developer, Cavaliere Companies of Warren.
There is also portion of land on the south of the property next to property line with St. Joseph Catholic Church that could house a small commercial outlet, Green said.
In 2022, Cavaliere Companies had proposed building 246 residential units on the property, but the township denied that proposal. The township also denied a request in late 2023 for 157 units to be built on the property, according to Green.
Waterford Bank and Cavaliere Companies then requested in May 2024 that the township board amend a MARSA Consent Judgement from Nov. 6, 2000 and rezone the property so that it could build two apartment buildings with 108 units and three townhouses with a total of 14 units on 13.18 acres, according to the site plan application submitted to the township.
Orion Township, at its May 6, 2024 meeting, denied Waterford Bank’s and Cavaliere Companies’ request to rezone the land and allow the development after dozens of residents who live near the development, and members of St. Joseph Catholic Church and School, attended meetings and spoke out against the development.
On July 25, 2024, Waterford Bank filed a lawsuit against Orion Township in Oakland County Circuit Court. The township was then ordered by the court to participate in settlement facilitation/mediation.
After months of negotiations, the township’s insurance counsel recommended the township settle the case.
Orion Township attorney Dan Kelley advised the board that while the township does not have to follow the insurance attorney’s recommendation there could be repercussions.
“However, the insurance company, when they make a recommendation to approve it, can withhold coverage based upon the fact that we have ignored their recommendation,” Kelley said.
Kelley also said if the board did not approve the proposed 66 proposed unit development then it could be sued in court for the 157-unit proposed development and have to pay monetary damages.
“I would also like to emphasize the fact that we have not just been sued in this case, we have been sued for monetary damages and what that means is that the plan that we are being sued on, which is roughly 157 units…and the request of the court is to approve this plan. And if we do not have a legitimate defense to approving this plan, the court could award Waterford Bank damages for having delayed that approval,” Kelley said.
Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett, Treasurer Matt Pfeiffer and Planning Commissioner Kim Urbanowski were on the ad hoc committee team that represented the township during mediation.
Barnett said he was happy with the lower residential density, buffer between the apartments and St. Joseph Catholic Church, required safety path construction, heights and setbacks of the buildings and the seven acres of open space.
“This group has moved more than any other that has sued us for a land use case,” Barnett said. “As much as people probably don’t love this that are here and live in front of it, or next to it or behind it, in my 13 years here we have not kowtowed to a developer. We fought. And this is the result of us fighting back. And I think, outside of having nothing there, we checked every box of the residents’ request to maintain more of the trees and green space and less density and less traffic.”
Barnett also addressed concerns from residents about the impact on traffic, police and fire services, saying that residential developments impact those services less than commercial, general business or industrial developments.
“I am in support of this for those reasons. We represent 40,000 people (in the township), and sometimes we have to make decisions that irritate people but we have to look at the larger picture,” Barnett said.
Trustee Michael Flood, Jr. said he has been through 11 consent judgements during his time on the board.
“No one likes change, and we have to take the advice of our experts. Would l like to roll the dice and go forward and jeopardize our township taxpayers on losing a case? Absolutely not,” Flood said. “We have to look out for the best interests of the whole township.”
Treasurer Matt Pfeiffer said he thought the compromise was going to make residents in the area happy.
“We looked at what density could be there with Office Professional (zoning) and what kind of impact that could have and there’s no question in my mind that that would be much more detrimental to your properties behind there,” Pfeiffer said. “I’m not willing to risk you guys ending up with a development that you didn’t want that’s a lot worse, because that is at risk if we were to lose in going to court. I’m not willing to put up thousands of dollars of attorney fees to maybe end up in a worse place.”