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Big-box stores line I-75 in Oakland County, and some Independence Township residents hope to keep the chains out.Rural twp. residents plead: Tax us to keep sprawl out
Lisa Sheppard and her kids, Brandon, 10, and Nicholas, 8 months, enjoy Independence Beach at Deer Lake.Population
2000 Census: 32,581
July 2005 SEMCOG: 34,612
2030 forecast: 38,103
Housing
Median housing value in 2000: $203,600
Land use in 2000
48 percent woodland and wetland; grassland and shrub; barren; water; outdoor recreation, cultural and cemetery and active agriculture
44 percent single-family and multiple-family
4 percent commercial and office; institutional and industrial
Source: SEMCOG
Citizens for Orderly Growth has proposed a one-time half-mill tax to create a defense fund to fight unwanted development. The township board has yet to approve the measure for placement on the ballot. As proposed by the group, here is how the tax would work:
The tax would be triggered if the township is sued by a developer or property owner over a project that defies the township's master plan who claims the zoning classification of their property is unconstitutional or that zoning approval was unlawfully denied.
Because of time constraints, the township would have to pay the initial costs of litigation and be reimbursed by the defense fund once the money is collected, according to Neil Wallace. The township has not yet agreed to this provision.
The tax would be levied only once, in any one year between 2006 and 2010, for the purpose of creating a defense fund.
The proposal does not include any minimum size or cost of the proposed development project. Any project, no matter how small or large, would be eligible.
The fund may be used for legal fees; planning, engineering, appraisal, expert witness fees and costs; and related litigation expenses.
If the fund is used, the township must defend the litigation through a final decision at the circuit court level. The litigation may not be settled through consent judgment at the circuit court level without prior voter approval of the proposed consent judgment.
The tax may never be triggered and therefore never collected.
Any money collected but not used from the defense fund by Dec. 31, 2012, may be used by the township to acquire land or rights in land to preserve open space.
Source: Citizens for Orderly Growth
Supporters say:
Independence Township would have money on hand to fight such lawsuits instead of dipping into its general fund.
The ordinance would gives residents and local municipalities a tool to fight influential development companies.
The ordinance would limit sprawl and slow development in a community.
Unused funds would be used to purchase open space.
Opponents say:
A special election would cost the township $20,000 to $25,000.
Property taxes are meant to serve the needs of all property owners. The proposed tax would force developers to pay taxes that may be used against them.
Not all township supporters support the tax.
Promotes one special interest group's cause.
Blocking sprawl
To keep suburban spawl at bay, grassroots activists in Independence Township are proposing a .5-mill tax that would be collected only if the township is sued by a developer pushing a project that defies the townships master plan. Would you pay a tax to help fight unwanted development in your community?
"My fears are about the unbalanced development. I see the big boxes at the opposite end of where we want to go," says Robert Ferer, with his wife, Megan, and daughters Kiley, 8, left, and Alison.
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INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP -- Robert Ferer lives just across that imaginary line in north Oakland County where an endless glut of retail stores gives way to lush green forest, roving deer and starlit skies.
"I drive I-75 every day, and I really can't tell until I'm north of The Palace what town I'm in. It's just constant development," said Ferer, a General Motors Corp. engineer. "Then it's just trees. I'd like to keep that separation. We are right on the edge of it. There is a lot of pressure to develop here."
Independence Township is home to a fierce group of grassroots activists who are doing something quite extraordinary: imploring their elected leaders to tax them in order to preserve a way of life they see threatened by sprawl and so-called big-box stores such as Wal-Mart.
Citizens for Orderly Growth has proposed a one-time, 0.5-mill tax that would be collected only if the township is sued by a developer or property owner pushing a project that defies the township's master plan.
The measure -- under study by the township's legal counsel and being watched by communities and governments across the region -- is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.
Dominic J. Moceri, president of the Builders Association of Southeast Michigan, calls it "quite unconscionable."
"We are all property owners. It's a property rights issue. Taxes paid on property are to serve all property owners in the township," he said. Moreover, not all residents support the tax.
Countless anti-sprawl groups have raised money for defense funds, but none has asked to be taxed by their own government, said Al Norman, founder of Sprawl Busters, a national clearinghouse on big-box fights.
"This idea of a legal defense fund is a leveler to make sure developers don't get the upper hand just by threatening elected officials with a lawsuit," he said. "It's not a bad idea at all to have money on hand to show a community is prepared to back up its officials in court if need be. It's a form of insurance."
Wal-Mart plan sparked group
Neil Wallace, leader of the 300-person group, said the idea evolved after a developer approached the township about building a massive shopping center with a Wal-Mart on 70 acres at the northwest corner of Sashabaw and Waldon roads.
The project would include two big-box stores, a hotel convention center, two restaurants, an assisted living facility and a 55,000-square-foot shopping center. A rezoning request by Orco Development is now on hold as township officials await a study looking at how to develop the entire Sashabaw corridor.
An official with Orco Development declined to comment.
Like other property owners, developers also pay taxes when they build up communities. The idea of putting money into a coffer that could be used to fight developers didn't sit well with Moceri. And it could set an unhealthy precedent, builders say.
"I don't see this as a big-box store issue," Moceri said. "It (the ballot measure) is not laden specifically toward big box. That in itself would be unconstitutional. You are disqualifying a use in general for all 36 square miles. So what's next -- affordable housing?"
Wallace, an attorney, said when the project was first proposed, many residents thought it was futile to try to fight it "because (developers) have so much money."
But as the group brainstormed, they thought a special tax would give the township the means to fight unwanted projects without taking money out of its budget for parks or roads. Most communities can't afford lengthy legal fights.
"It's really a way to stand up to bullies," said Wallace, a former Independence Township planning commissioner who in the past has helped fight a Home Depot, 400-acre gravel pit and 22-story hotel atop Pine Knob in the 1970s.
"We recognize they have rights as land owners, but we have rights as a community, too," he said. "We just think you don't need to have regional development at every exit. One exit away is Great Lakes Crossing."
Tax would add $69 to bill
The tax request, which would need voter approval, would cost the average homeowner $69 and generate up to $750,000.
A majority of the 100 residents who attended an Aug. 2 Township Board meeting supported the measure with applause. Several said they jumped at the chance to take action against a force some have deemed unbeatable.
"My fears are about the unbalanced development. I see the big boxes at the opposite end of where we want to go," said Ferer, the GM engineer who lives near the proposed development site. "We aren't saying we don't want these types of stores to shop in. We have them five miles down I-75. We don't want them at every exit."
Resident David Lohmeier described the fund as a tool that will give the community leverage and strength that would make developers think twice about threatening lawsuits against the township.
"We are willing to defend with our dollars. Despite the best-laid plans, you are still vulnerable to big developers," Lohmeier said.
A small minority expressed concerns over the cost of holding a November election -- $20,000 to $25,000 -- at a time when no other measure would be on the ballot. One resident asked the board what would happen if the fund ran dry and litigation was ongoing.
Township Supervisor Dave Wagner said the township has a $250,000 defense fund in the budget. Once that is gone, officials would dip into the general fund.
Resident Fred Neumark didn't like that idea. The Township Board, its Planning Commission and master plan are enough to control development in Independence, he said.
"We are looking at a perceived evil, not an evil that exists. I think the whole idea is questionable," he said.
There is already one sticking point between township officials and grassroots organizers. If the defense fund is created, the group wants voters, not the Township Board, to approve or reject legal settlements.
After receiving a petition with 1,093 signatures in support of the tax, the Township Board is reviewing the measure. The greatest fear stemmed from whether such a measure is constitutional or if it usurped the board's power.
Wagner said he also sent the ballot language to the Michigan Townships Association for a review and legal opinion.
To place the measure on the November ballot, the board must make a decision by Tuesday.
Wallace said if the township couldn't make a decision by then, the group would push them to place the measure before voters in the next election in 2006.
You can reach Jennifer Chambers at (248) 647-7402 or jchambers@ detnews.com.
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