Storage Facility's Fate up in the Air

A small group of Farmington Hills residents faced off against a developer Monday night to stop construction of a "big box" storage facility near their homes.

Residents who live adjacent to the site, north of on Orchard Lake Road, say the building's 40-foot-high, blank walls – shaped like a giant box – are too tall and  and will draw increased traffic to an already-congested area. They don't understand why the city would even consider granting a variance to allow an additional 8-foot-high tower on the front of the building.

But city officials, while concerned, are loathe to let go of the opportunity for a large, new commercial property and the taxes it will generate.

The development, proposed by Gordon Hartunian Trust in a joint venture with Great Northern Developments and Nolan Realty Investments, was qualified by the Planning Commission as a Planned Unit Development (PUD), a designation reserved for projects with mixed uses.

In addition to the storage space, plans call for a caretaker apartment on site and four 935-square-foot retail spaces on the first floor.

One of the requirements for the PUD is that if an exception to existing zoning rules is requested, it must result in an improvement to public health, safety and welfare in the area. The developer proposed to accomplish this by addressing a stormwater drainage problem that has caused flooding in adjacent residential yards, according to Bill Bowman, who represented Great Northern Developments and Nolan Realty Investments.

But council member Ken Massey said his understanding of mixed use would be retail on the first floor, offices on the second floor and residential on top.

"The residential is only one apartment," he said. "I'm not comfortable with that."

If the stormwater drainage is a problem, he said, "we probably should deal with it separately."

Council member Barry Brickner's concern centered around the low turnout at a Planning Commission public hearing.

"In the past, when people came to us with a PUD, they usually have had a lot of contact with neighbors," he said. Because only one resident showed up at the Planning Commission, he said, "to me, that meant there wasn't any contact."

Bowman said packets of information were sent to residents, but those present said they didn't receive information.

Residents' concerns included the visual impact of the proposed structure; the precedent set by granting a variance for the 8-foot facade; the possibility that hazardous materials may be stored; and increased traffic and noise. Bowman said the facility would not generate much noise because vehicles would drive inside the building before loading or unloading.

While residents felt that even 40 feet was too high, Massey pointed out, "There will be development along the Orchard Lake corridor, and it will probably be higher than what you're used to seeing there." The Orchard Lake corridor is targeted for redevelopment in the city's master plan.

Council members appeared poised to vote against the development when Mayor Jerry Ellis – who said he was concerned over how close the building stood to neighboring residences – said that "as soon as we turn this down, we lose this developer."

Ellis suggested tabling the issue, in the hope that the developer would meet with residents and work out a better plan.

That's the route officials took. The proposal will be brought back to a future council meeting.

"Talk, folks," Ellis said.