The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Scio Township sticks to guns on developments
By Sean Dalton, Staff Writers
PUBLISHED: April 3, 2008
Scio Township will continue to uphold its code of ordinances and adhere to the township master plan for seeing proposed developments through the site plan approval process.
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The Township Board passed a resolution to that effect last week that likely will see continued resistance in court against a 115-acre housing development proposed by Dearborn developer Paul Lubienski.
The 64-home development would be built at the southwest corner of Maple and Stein roads. It would require the construction of onsite wastewater treatment facilities that have been pre-approved by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
The Township Board and Planning Commission previously denied the development proposal due to the density being above what the township's ordinances stipulate.
The development was proposed two years ago.
Only 31 homes are allowed on the property as stipulated by the master plan. According to Township Supervisor Charles Nielsen, that number could go as high as 39, "depending on how you look at it," but it still falls far short of what the developer wants.
Because Lubienski has sued the township, most details are not available for the public.
"When we came out (of closed session) we passed a resolution that we would continue to litigate," he said.
"We voted to continue to basically say no to anything that was offered to us and that didn't stick to what we thought the density should be."
This discussion is nothing new to the township board, which voted unanimously in October to reopen negotiations with Dexter Village and Peters Building Co. over the proposed Sloan-Kingsley development, which would have brought 575 living units in a mixed residential-commercial development.
The village and township were handed a renegotiated 425 agreement by an ad hoc committee, in lieu of the county getting involved in a lawsuit between the developer and the township.
Many on the board regarded it as a "mere annexation" and couldn't agree with the density, effectively ending the project when Dexter Village voted to remove an annexation petition for the Scio property from the county, with then-Village President Jim Seta and Councilman Ray Tell the lone dissenters.
Resident involvement was significant in the Sloan-Kingsley outcome, and it is growing in regard to Lubienski's development, Nielsen said.
Residents who own property near the proposed development site have organized and could be included in closed-session discussions if a judge validates a petition they have put together.
"That's one thing that I am pleased about - that the neighbors filed their petition to intervene in the case," Nielsen said.
"I hope the judge honors that. Then they can be participants in the process and see what the board is looking at and understand our position better."
Several residents supported the township's resistance and even offered to financially support the township in the matter.
"It makes it easier for me, because frankly I don't like having to keep secrets," Nielsen said, adding that he felt that a resolution is a long ways off.
"This is pretty much what we do by upholding the master plan," he said.
Lubienski did not return calls for comment as of press time.
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