Council approves zoning overlay for development at 10 Mile and Novi roads

NOVI — Despite some pushback from residents, the Novi City Council decided Jan. 26 to move forward with a planned rezoning overlay for a development to be built on approximately 34 acres of land east of Novi Road, south of 10 Mile Road.

After nearly two hours of discussions with the petitioner, and after hearing from residents, the council voted unanimously to give the developer the green light for the planned rezoning overlay to switch the land from light industrial and office service to community business and low-density multiple family.

The development, which is located near the Novi Athletic Club, will feature 71 townhome units and approximately 35,900 square feet of commercial space.

“This project has been around a long time, and it’s gone through a lot of iterations. These iterations have had several start-stops,” said Lonny Zimmerman, president of Siegel/Tuomaala Associates, Architects and Planners. “So, we are optimistic that we’ve got a great solution. It solves residential. It solves the neighborhood and commercial. It’s a walkable community.”

He said that they want to make it so that people can go from the retail end to the nearby Novi Dog Park by walking through natural areas.

Zimmerman said that they believe it is compatible with the needs listed in the 2025 master plan for quality and variety of housing. He said that according to the master plan, townhomes are the second-most requested type of housing.

“If you look through the aims and goals of the new master plan, we are heartened to see that we really fit in there pretty well,” said Zimmerman.

Several local homeowners came to the meeting to speak out against the development, expressing their concerns that the development will be situated on wetlands, woodlands and a floodplain area.  

However, according to the city, the project’s wetland impacts have been minimized to 0.1 acre, which means that less than 1% of the wetland area on the property is impacted. The plan for the development has 15.87 acres of wetlands, woodlands, and floodplain area that is to be protected by a conservation easement. 

“There’s a floodway that runs through that area, but there’s no development occurring in that, and none of the condominiums in Ridgeview (of Novi) or in this new neighborhood will be built within the floodway,” said Jason Lacoangeli, a planner with Toll Brothers. “So, no flood insurance through FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) would be required for homeowners based on all of the maps and the data that we have.”

The motion to approve was made by Councilman Dave Staudt. 

“When I see 15 acres of permanent conservation easement, it makes me smile,” Staudt said. 

The approval for the PRO was for a third option for a pathway to be made as a berm cut-through at the nearby River Oaks West apartments. 

The developer had originally planned to use the existing stub on the Ridgeview of Novi townhomes community pathway, but they eliminated that after talking with the Ridgeview homeowners association. 

The homeowners requested that the developer not connect the two communities because of liability and to provide a barrier. The developer has agreed to put in evergreen trees.  

“I think we initially did not want to see this project come to fruition, but I think the writing is on the wall and something is going to happen, whether it’s a commercial development or it’s a planned residential,” said Brad Wayne, who represented the Ridgeview homeowners association. 

“We are totally in agreement with what we heard with the three items with the Ridgeview homeowners association,” Zimmerman said.

Several council members complimented the developer on the willingness to work with the neighboring homeowners.