The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Scio Township passes resolution to reject task force report
By Sean Dalton, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 22, 2008
The North Zeeb Road Task Force's report has been officially "rejected" after a 4-2 vote in favor of the resolution that specifies "certain assumptions and conclusions contained in the (report)," as the resolution's target.
Advertisement
Trustees David Nacht and Jim Dries were the two dissenters. Dries in particular took a hard-line stance on the motion that he says was drafted by trustees Chuck Ream and, in part, Jean King.
"What a cheap shot," Dries said Tuesday. "What an absolutely politically based cheap shot on Ream's part. There is no content in this that I can see as having a kernel of truth or value."
The conflict arose over language contained in the summary of the task force's report that mentioned a "commercial anchor" north of I-94 on Zeeb Road.
The concept came about after Costco's bid to move onto property owned by the Washtenaw County Road Commission fell through in February 2006, and later turned into a site that the township tried to lure Google AdWorks Division to.
The proposed plan would have incorporated government offices, retail, residential and office space on 180 acres owned by the road commission and National Archive Publishing Co. across the street.
Township Supervisor Charles Nielsen was one of the board members who voted in favor of the rejection.
"I just wanted to make sure it was clear that I didn't have any problem with any of the people who signed the document," he said.
The report was signed by Marty Mayo and Richard DeLong, who signed as chair of the township planning commission and director of the township downtown development authority, respectively.
Tony VanDerworp also signed as director of the Washtenaw County Department of Planning and Environment. The rest of those involved signed as Scio Township residents.
"I commend them for working on this project and I thought it was a good effort to get the township and the Road Commission to work together," Nielsen said.
However, it didn't sit right with him or other members of the board that volunteers had signed the report representing their official capacities as township officials.
Ultimately Nielsen said he was concerned over the legal ramifications of how the document could be interpreted and used under those circumstances.
"The Road Commission in the past has not been completely honest with me and I was a little leery of saying we were going to support that report as it was written," he said.
Dries opposes the idea, saying it is "groundless."
"There's no recommendation of it in the conclusion or recommendation portions of the report," he said. "You can discuss retail anchors anywhere you want until the cows come home," Dries said.
"This was commissioned by the Road Commission, presented to Scio Township, but never adopted. It is not part of our process ... it discusses (the commission's) issues so they can move ahead because of the Costco disaster.
"Criticizing the Road Commission for trying to work with the community is appalling to me. Here (they) are trying to do the right thing and (township board members) want to slap them around."
Despite Dries' interpretation of the weight that the report carries and its potential value as case law precedent for a decision that could impact the lives of township residents against the design of the township's master plan, others support Nielsen's concerns.
"I was concerned with the larger anchor store being a 'desirable component' to development in the proposal and I was also concerned that the Road Commission could use statements in the report out of context in the future," said Township Clerk Kathy Knol.
She said that regardless of the language's placement within the report, she sees the report as essentially "bypassing the Scio Township Planning Commission."
"Typically with a development plan such as this, the process would include review by the entire Planning Commission that would offer a period for public input," Knol said, in addition to stating the report was never sanctioned by the township.
Nielsen said the mention of a large retail anchor also made him "nervous," but he added that he would support it with changes to the report's language.
"The resolution leaves the door open for discussion for an alternative or revised plan," he added.
Dries characterized the resolution as having several misstatements, indicating a "gross misunderstanding."
"There's one part in the resolution (that) talks about 'sparse population' in Scio Township ... they are saying Scio Township is not a large enough market to support a regional store," Dries said. "There was no marketing sense whatsoever (behind this).
"All the resolution does is attack our citizens' willingness to participate, which is a critical part of our township's future."
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
Expanded
Web
Coverage
TOP JOBS
