Brandon Twp – It’s not that he objects to recreation parks but Joel Dean doesn’t think it’s the best use for the land in his back yard.
Dean is talking about 60 acres of rolling, wooded wetlands, and underbrush owned by the township, on Seymour Lake Road west of Sashabaw, and east of Cook roads.
The township board recently approved the property to be sculpted into a recreational park. The township has owned the property for more than 10 years and has been considering it for recreation for the last three years.
Dean and his wife recently bought their home, which is located directly next to the easement of the property. When he bought the property he knew the township had talked of turning the natural land into a park but Dean was surprised the board moved so quickly on it’s development.
‘We assumed it was going to be a slow process,? Dean said.
‘There are wetlands where that parcel is located.?
‘I’m opposed to the control of that land going from a natural environment,? he added.
Because the property is all but landlocked, Dean is concerned that a single 1,100 foot entrance from the main road could potentially cause public safety hazards.
The 66 foot ribbon of easement extends 700 feet north, off Seymour Lake Road, along Dean’s property. The parcel then opens up into 500 feet of wetlands and rolling, hilly underbrush that runs north and west to Cook, Sashabaw, and Ramsey roads behind several privately owned properties.
Public safety and personal liability is a concern to Dean because he claims to pay taxes on half of the egress, due to a grandfather clause in the land platting. Security fencing is also a concern surrounding the parcel as Ashton’s Orchard is situated directly along the planned entrance.
Township Supervisor Ron Lapp stated the easement liability will be looked into by the township attorney before development begins and the township will do everything to insure park visitors would not gain access to any private property surrounding the park.
Estimating game visitors could generate more than 1,000 cars, in and out of the park at any given time, Dean is also concerned about traffic and widening the entrance road, which was developed when Nextel rented a portion of land from the township for a cell tower.
Dean said the tower maintenance access road already runs through the acreage wetlands and could cause further disruption.
Water shifts occured on Dean’s property after construction of the tower. Now he said he is concerned that construction of soccer fields and parking lots will cause more water displacement.
‘I’m not opposed to improvement of the property for walking paths,? Dean said ‘that’s a different type of traffic, but the biggest issue is the use of the land.?
Township Trustee Linda Owen told Dean the township does not want to cause problems by building a park on the property, and the existing water problem should have been addressed by Nextel.
To date, according to Dean, Nextel has not addressed the water displacement problem, however.
With plans not in the design engineering stages yet, Lapp said the water on the property is still something that needs to be looked at.
‘The Dean’s property is still flooding from the Nextel tower,? said Lapp. ‘water is still a big concern.?
Assuring Dean the park design will focus on minimum disruption to neighboring residents, Lapp explained the family picnic venue will be a fenced in, with no concerts, no lights, no festivals, and no alcohol.
Construction plans would focus on utility ball fields, maintenance sheds, rest rooms, an access road and trails.
‘I guarantee no concerts,? said Lapp. ‘I think that would the kiss of death.?
‘But that is coming from this board, I can’t say what future boards are going to say.?