A 26-unit site condominium development, slated to be built in the southeast corner of Oxford Township, received a recommendation for final site plan approval from the planning commission in a 4-0 vote last week.

That recommendation will be forwarded to the township board for another vote, the final step in the approval process.

The project, which received preliminary approvals from the planning commission in May 2016 and from the township board in July 2016, is called North Oakland Woods and it’s being developed by Oxford residents Peter Barachkov II and his wife Regan.

“In general, this meets the township ordinances,” said township Planner Matthew Lonnerstater, of the Ann Arbor-based Carlisle/Wortman Associates.

The site is located east of M-24, on the south side of E. Drahner Rd., west of Barr Rd. and north of Indian Lake Rd. Its west side borders the Crossroads for Youth property.

According to the site plan, it would consist of 24 new units spread over approximately 95 acres. The 26-unit total includes two existing houses that would become part of the development.

All of the units would be single-family and detached from each other. They would sit on lots ranging from 2.5 to 11.08 acres.

This conforms to the current zoning, Suburban Farms (SF-1), which requires lots to be at least 2.5 acres.

Water and sewer services would be provided by individual well and septic systems.

“There is no public water main out there,” said township Engineer Jim Sharpe, president of the Oxford-based Sharpe Engineering.

Right now, the only way to access the property is via Shephards Lane, a private gravel road off E. Drahner Rd. The road is a 1,300-foot-long cul-de-sac that runs north-south.

The proposed final site plan calls for extending Shephards Lane by approximately 1,100 feet to the south where it would still end in a cul-de-sac.

It also calls for constructing a second private road, Larkspur Lane, running east-west. It would connect Shephards Lane and Barr Rd.

Both private roads would have asphalt surfaces as required by township ordinance.

Per township ordinance, a safety path is required to be constructed along the E. Drahner Rd. frontage, however, Barachkov has decided to take advantage of Oxford’s payment-in-lieu-of option.

According to an estimate provided by Sharpe, it would cost $6,710 to install a safety path there, so that’s what the planning commission, in a separate 4-0 vote, recommended the developer pay into the municipality’s safety path fund. This, too, must be approved by the township board.

North Oakland Woods would be served by both the Oxford and Lake Orion school districts.