Latson Road development calls Livingston's status as a commuter county into question
GENOA TWP. — Residents are joining together to oppose an industrial park and commercial development on Latson Road they see as threatening their escape from city life.
On Monday, July 10, the Genoa Township Planning Commission considered a rezoning application from real estate developer Todd Wyett, the largest shareholder and manager of Covenant of Faith, LLC.
Wyett is also the former chairman of the State Transportation Commission, which approved the $1.35 million sale of MDOT land southeast of Latson Road to Covenant back in April. Wyett’s term expired before approval of the sale.
More: State Transportation Commission does not object to MDOT land sale to former chairman
During the meeting, Wyett told the commission his company has an existing planned unit development agreement for about 200 acres for a “high tech industrial park and commercial development.” The rezoning request is for an additional 138 acres. Wyett said the development could take anywhere between 5 and 20 years to complete.
According to draft meeting minutes, Wyett said he's been working with the township on this development for 11 years and will bring “high-paying employment, commercial development and residential properties."
The second phase of the project, which is currently seeking approval, would add more affordable residential areas that would appeal to the workforce the township hopes to draw with its "high-tech research and development campus."
"One of the components of that research (for the Master Plan) and that work was kind of this missing middle housing, where there isn't a lot of housing for a mid-range (income)," said Township Manager Kelly VanMarter. "So in terms of what this (development) would do to meet our goals, I think that's part of it — to help provide housing for that missing middle so that our kids can actually afford to buy a house here."
Denise Pollicella has been a resident of Genoa for 22 years. She's one of the organizers behind the Facebook group Coalition to Stop the Latson PUD, which is sharing information about the PUD with other residents.
“I knew there was going to be development on Latson,” Pollicella said. “I started looking at the conceptual PUD plan and the PUD agreement that was in place. I realized this isn't going to be a development that'll be at all compatible with the five and 10-acre homestead estates that are around it.”
VanMarter said part of the discussion around the development was the type of employment center the township wants to be. In Genoa and all over Livingston County, many people work in different counties altogether — so the township saw the PUD as a way to attract “high-tech and high-quality users, so that people who live here can work here also.”
VanMarter told The Daily the development of Latson Road goes back to when the interchange was built. She said the commission looked at areas like the Grand River corridor, which houses strip malls and big box stores, many of which are now standing empty. Part of the idea behind the PUD is to attract more people to live in and work in Genoa Township, which will help support those businesses.
"Currently, a lot of our manufacturing companies have buses that come in from other areas for workforce, so we knew that any type of manufacturing was likely to not be a good fit for the south side. So the idea was to create this high-tech research and development campus," VanMarter said.
"We had done some analysis and found that many people living in Genoa Township don't work here, they all drive to Southfield or Farmington or Ann Arbor for work. We also know, due to some census demographic data, that we have a pretty high educational attainment. ... The concept was to try and provide a spot for those people that are now working somewhere else to be able to have a job here in Genoa Township."
Some residents expressed concern during the meeting about a possible battery plant on the complex. According to VanMarter, battery production is among the prohibited uses of the PUD, including other forms of manufacturing, handling of hazardous waste and truck storage.
But the township’s desire for growth is in direct opposition to some residents' desires for Genoa to remain the suburban oasis they chose to live in. Public comment saw several residents express concerns.
“If you talk to anybody who's moved to Genoa Township in the last 10 years, they've moved here to get away from the urban sprawl and the overdevelopment and the industrial and commercial growth in Oakland County, in Farmington and Commerce,” Pollicella said.
“They will all tell you ... 'I moved out here to get away from all that.'"
— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@livingstondaily.com. Follow her on Twitter @tess_journalist.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Latson Road development calls Livingston's status as a commuter county into question
