safety and welfare in that area. In addition, the area was high on the list |
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for natural areas, and the residents paid for green space, and he felt the |
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subject site was a very desirable and optimal location for green space, |
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given that it backed up to the Trail. He remarked that instead, the |
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applicants would go in and put in a bunch of homes. As much as the |
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design liked to suggest that there would be open space, there would be a |
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couple of trees, but they would be taking an entire wooded area and |
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destroying it. He reiterated that it was on the list of the parcels the City |
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would like to buy, and the residents paid a millage for that, and it seemed |
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as if the development would be in direct opposition to what the City |
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George Snow, 505 Harding Ave., Rochester Hills, MI 48307 Mr. Snow |
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stated that he was the neighbor just to the west, and he said that no one |
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had approached him about the project. He said that he had a lot of |
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issues. He echoed what Mr. Lindsey said about the green space. He |
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built his house and made a substantial investment, and he planned to |
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live there the rest of his life. He came to Rochester Hills for the green |
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space, and he voted for the millage. As Mr. Lindsey mentioned, it was on |
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the list of desirable properties to be purchased by the Green Space |
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Committee. Mr. Snow mentioned that he was on the Clinton River Trail |
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every day, either running or walking his dog. Someone could go from |
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Crooks and Hamlin all the way to Dequindre, and with very few |
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exceptions, there were no homes or subdivisions. When he went to a |
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Rochester City Council meeting concerning putting in apartments at the |
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old paper mill site, one gentleman said that he came all the way from |
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Harper Woods so he could get on the Trail. Mr. Snow felt that it would be |
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a huge travesty to take a large, undeveloped piece of property with a lot of |
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beauty and plop a subdivision on it. He was not sure if the applicants |
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were aware that the property the City purchased next door was sold by Mr. |
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Chirco for $1.2 million. Mr. Snow felt that the voters had voiced opinions, |
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and the project would be going against that. He believed that going to a |
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PUD from RCD would be a variance change from what was planned in the |
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Master Plan (he said R-3), and he did not see anything that met the |
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criteria to change to a PUD. He read one criterion, “preserve and |
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dedicate open space,” and he thought this would be doing the opposite. |
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He knew the applicants mentioned preserving space between lots one |
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and Mr. Miller’s house, but it was only a few feet. He read, “environmental |
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and ecological significance,” and he said that the proposed site had that |
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as it was, and adding a subdivision would go against that. He read |
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number seven, “encourage redevelopment or change of use where an |
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orderly transition was desirable.” He remarked that he did not see where |
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the project would be desirable other than for the investors or specific |
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people who wanted to live there. He believed that a lot of the parcel was |
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