Whether it’s called horse country, hunt country or simply rural, the folks in the northeast quadrant of Oxford Township are adamant about preserving and protecting it from what they deem to be inappropriate land uses and development.

“You want to keep this. Don’t squander it. It will never come back (if you do),” said Troy Yuzwalk, of Delano Rd.

“We want to maintain the rural atmosphere where we are at,” said Susan Johnson, of Cobblestone Lane.

“I don’t ride horses . . . It’s not really my thing, but I love rural. It’s why I moved to Cobblestone Lane,” said Jeremy Jarrett.

According to resident Larry Roesner, when the houses on Cobblestone “go up for sale, they sell that fast” because of the rural atmosphere.

“That’s really, I think, why the people move here (and) want to live here,” he said.

Last week, a small group of residents made impassioned pleas to township officials to put safeguards in place, and in writing, to ensure the northeast quadrant stays as is for generations to come.

They made their statements during a special joint meeting of the township board, planning commission and zoning board of appeals regarding the proposed update to the master plan.

Some residents in this area are concerned because there’s currently a significant amount of acreage for sale around them and they don’t want to see it purchased, then used or developed in ways they believe would be detrimental to their way of life.

“There’s literally hundreds of acres for sale out in that area. This is a critical time,” said Bruce Meyers, of Delano Rd.

“Right now, it’s almost at a crisis level because with this property being for sale, you could have anybody come in, from compost (facilities) to stock yards to you name it – universities, colleges, all kinds of different things,” Meyers continued.

“Once this property’s sold, it’s going to be a problem because if a developer wants to go in there now and put something (in) that is not consistent with the community, it appears that they can do that,” Meyers noted. “And that’s scary because once you lose that land up there, it’s gone.”

Ginny Benson, a resident of more than 30 years who lives on Barber Rd., agreed.

“Right now, a lot of uses could happen up there that are not compatible with what we are and what we try to promote for that area,” she said.

Benson doesn’t want to see any uses that could increase density and traffic or negatively impact “the look or the feel of the area.”

She noted “it’s becoming more and more dangerous up there” to ride horses on the roads.

“Oakwood Rd. is absolutely horrendous,” Benson said. “People go 50 miles an hour past you on motorcycles and it can be deadly to everybody involved.”

Jarrett, who just moved into the house on Cobblestone that took him almost two years to build, is concerned about what could happen to the 120 acres that just went up for sale “behind us.”

“That makes me nervous where that could end up,” he told officials.

Even though it’s currently zoned agricultural, which requires lots that are a minimum of 20 acres in size, Jarrett fears the “worst case scenario” of a subdivision being built that ruins his investment of money and time.

“That would be devastating to me and I think to the township as a whole,” Jarrett said.

Although he spent most of his life in Romeo, Jarrett noted he was born in Oxford and his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents all graduated from Oxford Schools.

“Most of the friends I have don’t really care about horses, but what we do care about is having a quiet place to raise our kids,” he noted.

Infrastructure concerns were also expressed.

“If that area out there was to have dense housing, the roads could never handle it,” Johnson said.

Roesner said the current condition of the roads in the northeast quadrant is something of which to be “ashamed.” As an example, he mentioned the “holes” along the stretch of Oxford Rd., between Ray and Gardner roads.

“It’s really pretty bad,” Roesner said.

The residents who spoke at the meeting want the township to clearly define the uses that are allowed in the northeast quadrant and spell it out as part of the master plan and zoning ordinance, so it’s followed and the area is protected.

“Unless it’s in the plan . . . it just won’t happen,” Roesner said.

According to Benson, all the master plans for Oxford Township that she’s ever seen talk about preserving the “hunt country” and describe it as a “jewel.”

“But nobody really says exactly what that means,” she said.

Meyers believes it’s “something that needs to be addressed now” before things start changing.

“That area is open for all kinds of uses and there’s so much property for sale now,” he said. “It’s almost like we need to lock that down.”

Jarrett also believes “things need to be defined” and the township needs to have something “legally substantial” in place, “not just talk,” to regulate potential uses and protect the northeast quadrant.

“There’s nothing keeping somebody with money from coming in and telling us what they’re going to do with (the land) and everybody in this room that thinks they have power, doesn’t really have power if we don’t put it into law,” he said.

In addition to quality of life issues and aesthetics, Benson indicated folks need to understand the economic importance of preserving this area.

“I don’t think that a lot of people realize how much money the horse industry brings into our area” from the equestrian community eating at local restaurants, buying equipment and vehicles, and purchasing tack (i.e. saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, etc.).

Yuzwalk told officials that protecting the northeast quadrant is important because it’s what helps make Oxford such a unique place.

As a semi truck driver, he’s “traveled the length and breadth of the nation” and “seen everything from the richest areas to the poorest slums.”

Based on what Yuzwalk’s encountered he “can count on (one) hand how many areas are like this,” places that contain “people from all walks of life,” whether they’re blue-collar workers or folks who can afford to fly their helicopter to a local restaurant for dinner.

“When you talk about the spirit of Oxford, that’s what it is,” he said. “It’s this idea that this place can be such a great area that everyone wants to live in it and coexist, no matter what.”

Yuzwalk then extolled the virtues of how safe and honest people are here.

“Oxford’s one of the only areas I know where if I leave my car unlocked somewhere, I won’t have to worry about it getting stolen, even if the keys are inside it,” he said. “There are shops out in horse country that operate on the honor system. No one mans it . . . You can walk in and take whatever you want. It’s up to you to pay for it. Nowhere else has that. It’s very rare.”

Yuzwalk told officials, “That’s what you want to maintain.”

“Because if you get rid of that, if that goes away, all the people that live in that horse country area will leave and they’ll never come back,” he said. “All the revenue that you’ve had is going to take a severe dip . . . because they pay an insane amount of taxes on their property.”

Yuzwalk warned officials that if the northeast quadrant gets cut up into subdivisions, there’s no going back. “What are you going to do? Tear down all the buildings and roads, and landscape it back into pasture?” he said. “This is your one opportunity (to preserve it) . . . There is no undo button.”

Roesner noted he tried to get more people in his area to come to the joint meeting, but many gave him the “standard answer” when it comes to why they choose not to attend – “I don’t want to waste my time. The board does what it wants to do.”

Despite that sentiment, planning commissioners Tom Berger and Ed Hunwick expressed their gratitude to those who attended and assured them that their words did not fall on deaf ears.

“I tried to write (down) as quickly as I could the things that I thought people had concerns over and I’m certainly (hoping) that we will try to work in that direction,” Berger said.

“It’s important for us as a planning commission to get the feedback,” Hunwick said.

With regard to the idea some people have that “we’re going to do what we want to do,” Hunwick said, “That’s not really true.”

He noted the planning commission has “turned down” developments that would have required zoning changes.

For example, in August 2017, the planning commission voted 6-0 to recommend the denial of a preliminary planned unit development for BeeHive Homes, which wanted to construct four buildings to house a total of 80 senior citizens on 4.85 acres at the south end of Gateway Drive.

“So, we do listen,” Hunwick said. “We’re here to listen to the community.”

Hunwick agrees that in the past, officials have “deviated” from the master plan, but “I think we, as a commission now, are committed to adhering (to) and following a master plan as we go forward.”