Townhouse Proposal Draws Fire

A proposal to develop 22 icres of land adjoining the scarlett-Mitchell Woods on ;he city's south side into townshouse usage drew considerable opposition from neighbors of a nearby townhouse complex at a meeting of the Planning Commission Tuesday night. A public hearing on a rezoning petition and an area plan for a 175-housing unit development at the northeast intersection of Platt and Ellsworth Roads brought more than an hour's worth of opposition from members of the Colonial Square cooperative, 3012 Williamsburg Dr., located just north of the proposed project. The townhouse development is being proposed by Meyer Korchak. The land is still located in Pittsfield Township and would have to be annexed to the city. The oposition 'tame from 16 speakers, most residents of that immediate area. Their objections included the location of the proposed townhouses and their proximity to 1-94; the overdevelopment of apartments and townhouses said to be evident in that part of town; and the added pressure that would be placed on schools in that area. But the overriding concern was that the land be kept as open space, as a natural área or as a park. Even though the developer plans to dedícate about 3.5-acres adjacent to the 22-acre parcel to the city as park land, the speakers said this would not be enough to save the beauty of the wooded area. No action on either the zoning petition or the area plan was scheduled, and Planning Commission Chairman John Laird said it might be a long time before use of the land is decided on. Laird said he has heard that the Michigan Department of Highways is interesteden the Korchak property, possibly to build exit ramps from 1-94 onto Platt Road. "This probably means nothing will be done with this property for some time," Laird said. Among the matters the commission acted on Tuesday night was approval of an anI nexation of the city-owned CAmpbell House on Packard I Roadadjacent to Buhr Park. This four-acre site is one of the pareéis the city is trying to annex from Pittsfield Township, but which the township is fighting. The comI mission was told since the I land is owned by the city and I next to a city park it is doubtI ful if the township would obI ject to the annexation if the I parcel is considered by itself ._