Second public hearings set for March 18
By Megan Kelley
Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — Independence Township Hall was packed last week during the township’s board of trustees meeting on Feb. 18. Many in attendance were there for one of the three public hearings on Special Assessment Districts (SADs) for road improvements in three subdivisions in the township.
The board of trustees unanimously approved the second public hearings for Sheringham Woods and Chestnut Hill Farms and voted 6-0 to approve the second public hearing for Spring Lake North. Trustee David Hayward recused himself from the vote as he sits on the Spring Lake North HOA board. All three public hearings are expected to take place on March 18 during the board of trustees’ regular meeting.
The subdivisions that have submitted requests for the SADs include the Sheringham Woods subdivision, the Spring Lake North subdivision and the Chestnut Hill Farms subdivision.
The public hearings have been in the works since October of last year but had been postponed until the board could approve a road improvement policy.
The policy was approved at the Jan. 21 board of trustees meeting and lines out how the township would handle the SADs, with the township essentially working as a bank to fund the project while residents would then pay back the township over time.
A number of residents from the Spring Lake North subdivision spoke during the public hearing to express concerns over what they felt was a lack of transparency on the project from those at the helm. While the projects are not Homeowners Association (HOA) projects, members of the HOA board also spoke to reject the claims that there was a lack of transparency, stating that information was sent out and meetings were held regarding the proposed project.
According to township documents, the subdivisions collected owner signatures which have been verified at 66.71%, 68.68% and 64.14%, respectively, of total lineal feet of road frontage, above the required 51% interest necessary according to Michigan law.
Other residents from both Spring Lake North and Chestnut Hill Farms expressed issues with their inclusion on the project with one homeowner stating that her property is a corner lot so only one side of her property is located on the road that would be repaved and another stating that her property is the very first house when you get into the subdivision so she hardly drives on the road.
As of right now, the cost for each unit has not been decided, or whether it would be a flat rate per-unit or based on lineal footage. According to Director of Assessing, Kim Feigley, that is a decision the assessor will make and is part of the second public hearing.
“Until the role is prepared, what the HOA representatives have done is take their total cost and divided it by the number of parcels to provide an estimate,” Feigley said. “The formal role will be prepared and turned into the clerk’s office by March 5.”