Rezoning for mobile homes a concern in Atlas

Atlas Twp.-The Planning Commission has set the hearing for a proposed rezoning of 173 acres between Hegel and Coolidge roads, just east of Henderson Road.
The request for the rezoning application is from the Atlas Land Company, a Bloomfield Mich. business who are considering developing the property now owned by resident Thomas Walker for a mobile home park. No asking price was provided by the developers for the property which is currently zoned residential/agricultural.
Atlas Township resident Sue Arnold and Goodrich resident Suzanne Taylor have been avidly following the progress of the proposed mobile home site in Atlas Township. The two presented a letter to the GoodrichVillage council on April
14 requesting further investigation into the proposed development.
During the council meeting, members were asked to review the letter and possibly become an ‘intervening party.? Village administrator Jakki Sidge said Goodrich Village planners, Longworthy, Strader, LeBlanc, and their attorney would review the statement and decide if a resolution was needed. If so, it will be taken to the public hearing.
Taylor’s and Arnold’s concern is not so much having a mobile home community in the neighborhood, but the environmental impact it will have on the community.
‘There’s no sewer system they can hook up with. They would possibly have to construct a sewage lagoon. A lagoon is emptied into the nearest body of water, which may be Kearsley Creek,? said Arnold.
In Taylors letter to the village council, she states that the recently adopted Atlas Township Mobile Home Park District ordinance requires an average home site of 5,500 square feet per mobile home. This means the park could satisfy 500-1,000 homes. That means more traffic for Hegel and Coolidge roads in addition to M-15.
‘This concerns me because we’re talking about 500-1,000 new homes with possibly two or three to a home. That is a lot more traffic than some of these roads can take,? said Taylor.
The two asked the council to submit a traffic study at the hearing to show the increase in traffic will be three to four times what it is now.
The overload of schools was also a concern to both.
‘The schools in Goodrich won’t be able to handle hundreds of new students. They just built the Goodrich Middle School, the schools will be impaled,? said Arnold.
The development issue will be addressed by the Planning Commission at the May 21 public hearing where residents of both Goodrich and Atlas Township will be able to present their concerns.