What was once an empty field now has become a temporary construction zone and a trucker’s junk yard.
It was February 23, when Carolyn Frericks saw the first mobile trailer office arrive on the property next door to her business at Cabinet One.
‘It sat there and it sat there, I called David Pool at the building department and I said I don’t know what’s going on here but there is some sort of temporary office trailer sitting on the property next door to me, I know it’s not zoned for it,? said Frericks.
‘Generally whenever something happens even on a temporary basis we get a notice from the township. When the guy at the corner wants to put up a tent for fireworks, I get a notice the guy wants to put up a temporary tent. I have no problem with this, but I haven’t received anything about this.?
Building Director Dave Belcher told her the trailers were owned by contractors for Consumers Energy, but he had no solutions.
‘It’s a nightmare, it just never ends and nobody will help me,? she said. ‘Obviously this is a backdoor deal, heads are turning and nobody seems to know what anybody else is doing.?
The contractors are also using a neighbor’s address, she said.
‘There’s no sewer and water on that property, there is no gas on that property. Normally when you do a construction project you’re supposed to have a silk screen. There is no silk screen and there is a huge retention pond back there, so all the mud is just running into the retention pond,? Frericks said. ‘Basically what I got is a construction village and it’s right next store.?
Frericks said when their building was built 20 years ago, strict requirements were enforced including sign permit, sign size, conforming letters, green space, and landscape berm.
‘The township was concerned that my building was going to be too tall, so I had to plant these pine trees so they would hide my building,? she said. ‘A huge concern of the township was my dumpster was going to be visible from the road, so I had to make sure I had a substantial fence around my dumpster. And the one renter I had at the time had was in the cement business so he had a couple little trucks, so I had a fenced in area behind my building where he parks his stuff.?
Brian Foster, co-owner of Stars and Stripes Gymnastics Academy, said it was unfortunate township businesses are being let down after being held to such a high standard.
‘We are currently trying to run a top notch business in a community that we love and the reason we’re out crying is because we feel this is damaging the image of the community, the image of our business. And it does appear there are functions that are transpiring that are illegal,? Foster said.
‘We feel it is our duty to bring that to the forefront and allow our elected officials that were elected by the people to listen to the voice of the people and take action to bring these undertakings into some type of an organized plan and it would be my hope that everyone would be able to come up with a plan that works for everyone involved,” he said. “I don’t feel that we are trying to stifle growth or create the inability for infrastructure to be built, but the way this is transpiring right now this is an atrocity.?
However, Consumers Energy’s construction area is not the only problem, according to Frericks. She says semi-trucks are also parking at the property.
‘When I came to work on Monday (April20), the Semis were lined up down the street. I couldn’t even get in my driveway,? Frericks said. ‘These guys are from all over the place, they are all out of state license plate.?
She said all the semis pulling in and out are making her building shake and if she keeps it up they keep it up she is not going to have a driveway left.
She met with Road Commission for Oakland County officials, who came out to check traffic flow on April 22.
‘I said ‘listen, the traffic flow doesn’t work, the gentleman across the street from me owns a gymnastics academy where he has a thousand moms with minivans pulling out of there all day and it’s a major accident waiting to happen,? Frericks said. ‘You got these semis pulling out of here at a low speed, someone’s going to get in that turn lane and they’re going to get crunched.??
Supervisor Dave Wagner, after hearing Frericks complaint at the April 21 meeting, went out to the property April 23 with Belcher, Pool, and Lt. Dale Lebair of Oakland County Sheriff’s Independence Township substation.
‘It’s a mess,? said Wagner. ‘He basically has a junk yard back there.?
Wagner said Consumer’s was putting in a 36 inch pipeline for natural gas to run the entire township.
On Friday, Belcher said business owners at Cabinet One have a ‘legitimate complaint? and the building department told the property owner he had ‘illegal outdoor storage on the property.?
‘We sent the notice, the guy contacted the township within the time frame, set up the appointment with the township planner to go over the ordinance on what his violations are and he is willing to comply or try and make it comply to get the proper approvals,? Belcher said. ‘Now we have it scheduled on Monday to meet with the planner, supervisor, and the township attorney to go over the next step to get this property into compliance.?
After Monday’s meeting, Belcher said township attorney Steve Joppich will get back with them Wednesday.
“Right now there is a consent judgment that we have to follow as far as utility companies, which includes Consumers, and Joppich’s looking into what violations they are in and how we’re going to handle it,” Belcher said. “It will be Wednesday before I get a report from him.?