By CHRISTIE BLECK
February 25, 2011
From Ingham County Community News
In 30th Circuit Court, Giddings ruled that the city cannot restrict access to close the Northbrook entrance.
The decision negates the city's original plan to make the Northbrook entrance temporary.
City Administrator Marty Colburn said that Esquire Development and Construction, Inc., based in Okemos, had begun work on the residential development, located in the southwest part of the city, for more than 10 years. The project includes 11 buildings with 16 condominiums each.
"It's a sizable project," Colburn said, with homes having been downsized from three to two stories.
During the project, a site plan called for a construction route to go down Northbrook for less impact on the neighboring community, Colburn said.
However, James Bonfiglio, president of Esquire Development and Construction, filed suit to keep the Northbrook entrance open.
Bonfiglio was unavailable for comment.
In his ruling, Giddings stated Esquire has a "vested right" in the Northbrook engrance, and that the company is in full compliance with the Mason Zoning Ordinance and site plan requirements.
Colburn explained that the judge's decision was based on the fact that the city didn't specify there was enough of a traffic influence on the surrounding area.
Colburn said that residents in four or five homes in the Northbrook cul-de-sac aren't pleased with the decision, but probably the majority of the residents will be happy with the ruling.
"This has been a public issue," Colburn said.
The good side of the ruling, he said, is that there now are two major ingress/egress areas at Franklin Farms.
However, Colburn stressed the city had to defend the plan.
"The city did fight to retain the original integrity of the site plan," Colburn said.
No comments:
Post a Comment