After years of lengthy meetings, public hearings, multiple offers and various plans, it appears Oxford Village is finally going to sell the 98 S. Glaspie St. property.

At Monday evening’s special meeting, council voted 5-0 to approve a $305,000 purchase agreement with the Sterling Heights-based Clearview Homes, LLC.

According to Jerry Griffith, vice president of operations/land acquisition, Clearview Homes is anticipating constructing 16 single-family homes on the 3.582-acre former industrial site purchased by the village for $700,000 in March 2006. The property is being sold in “as is” condition, which includes “its soils, waters and building materials,” according to the agreement.

Griffith told council the homes would be two-story colonials, ranging from “just over 2,000 (square feet) to probably 2,500.”

“I think this is the perfect fit for our village,” said Councilman Tom Kennis.

There are a number of conditions on which this purchase is contingent.

Clearview’s “satisfaction with the results” of the existing Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments is one condition.

Another is approval of a rezoning.

Right now, the site consists of two parcels. There is a 2.744-acre western parcel zoned R-1 single family residential and a 0.838-acre eastern parcel zoned R-3 single family residential.

R-1 zoning requires lots to have a minimum area of 7,200 square feet and a minimum width of 60 feet. R-3 zoning requires the minimum lot area to be 12,500 square feet and minimum width to be 90 feet.

In order for the development to be financially viable, Clearview needs the R-3 portion to be rezoned to R-1.

This change would potentially allow for the construction of two additional homes beyond what’s permitted by the current zoning, bringing the total up to 16.

“It’s not a huge development from a pure unit-count standpoint, so losing two units makes the deal not work, quite frankly,” Griffith explained to council.

“We need to make sure we can get that R-1 approved and then we’ll know our density’s going to work, we’ll know our numbers should work and then we can go from there.”

The village’s updated master plan supports “a rezoning to make the entire site one consistent single family zoning category.”

A rezoning request requires meetings at both the planning commission and village council levels, including a public hearing. Council has the final say over rezonings.

Site plan approval, which is a separate issue from rezoning, would also be required.

“We’re not going to sit on it once we get to the point where we’re ready to move forward,” Griffith told council. “Our intention is to move pretty quickly and hopefully, you guys help us in that endeavor.”

“It’s a (project) size that we can do immediately from a financial standpoint,” he added.

Councilman Erik Dolan expressed his willingness to work with Clearview Homes.

“I think it’s time that this village step up to the plate and become a good business partner and not scare away development or insult development,” he said.

“I think we can expedite (this sale) quicker. There’s no reason to sit on this. I say we do everything conceivably possible to (tailor) our (meeting) scheduling to the benefit of the potential purchaser and actually act, as opposed to sitting back (like) a small community in fear, which is what we typically seem to do,” Dolan noted.

As part of the purchase agreement, Clearview Homes must retain a stone from the site’s old Smith silo, which will be demolished, and donate it to the Northeast Oakland Historical Society. The stone has lettering on it that reads, “The Smith Silo Co. Oxford, Mich.”

Smith Silo Co. was once one of the leading concrete silo manufacturers in the Midwest. The business moved to Oxford in 1930 to be close to the gravel pits. It was located at 98 S. Glaspie St. through the 1970s.

The village has been trying to sell 98 S. Glaspie St. since November 2012 when residents voted 1,069 to 521 to grant the municipality the authority to do so.

All previous attempts have failed. Over the years, uses ranging from light industrial to multiple-family residential had been proposed and considered for the site, but nothing ever came to fruition for one reason or another.

Local developer Chuck Schneider previously proposed building a 76-unit multifamily housing project there, but council rejected his plan due to its high density, which was the target of vehement opposition from homeowners along S. Glaspie St. and in the Oxford Lakes subdivision.

Officials claim the main reason the village bought this site was because of its close proximity to the municipal wellfield. They said they didn’t want to risk another industrial user moving in and possibly contaminating the groundwater.