By Tom Tolen/news@whmi.com


Neighbors opposed to a proposed 70-home development on Brighton’s northeast side will have their day in court Monday at a special meeting of the city Planning Commission. The developer of The Bluffs at Spring Hill, Farmington Hills-based Schafer Development, is proposing a rezoning from single-family residential to a planned unit development. It would be located on 31 forested, hilly acres off Flint Road, near I-96.

Residents of the adjacent development on Spring Mountain Drive are concerned that allowing the development to proceed would exacerbate the erosion and drainage problems they have had with their own development, called Spring Hill, which led to a lawsuit and the city forcing the developer to take corrective measures. However, Brighton Community Development Director Mike Caruso tells WHMI a review of The Bluffs at Spring Hill proposal by the city’s engineers should allay neighboring residents’ fears about erosion problems.

The Bluffs at Spring Hill is being proposed as a Planned Unit Development, which gives the city considerably more leeway in requiring certain steps be undertaken by the developer. Although classified as single-family homes, the houses in actuality would be detached site condominiums. The proposed builder is Pulte Homes, and the 2,000-3,000-square-foot homes would be priced in the upper $300,000 to $400,000 range. If the Planning Commission approves the rezoning following Monday’s public hearing, it would then go to the City Council for final action.