GRAND HAVEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A proposal to build 123 new homes on a former blueberry field in Grand Haven Township has neighbors raising concerns about traffic and the future of their quiet street.
WATCH: Grand Haven Township neighbor voices concerns over proposed 123-home development
The Baumann Residential Project would bring 87 single-family homes and 36 townhomes to a parcel off 163rd Avenue and Robbins Road.
Debra Sanders, who lives on 163rd Avenue, one of the proposed entrances into the development, said she is worried about what more than 100 new homes will mean for her neighborhood.
"I like sitting on my back deck and I can oversee the blueberry field, where now I'm gonna sit on my deck and I'm gonna see a bunch of houses down there," Sanders said.
Sanders said the character of her street is part of what makes it special.
"You know, every now see a neighbor talk to them, and see the kids out in the street playing all the time, summer, winter, whenever."
Her concerns go beyond the view. Sanders said the added traffic from the development poses a safety risk to the children who play on her street.
"Right now, worst thing I have to look for is kids in the street, where I'm going to have to watch all the traffic, you know," Sanders said.
At their meeting earlier in March, the Grand Haven Township Planning Commission sent the project back to the developer for revisions. Those revisions include adjusting setbacks, updating townhome building elevations, verifying a public right-of-way through the Robinson Landing development to the south, and revising the landscaping plan to better document existing trees intended to be preserved. The developer plans to have those revisions prepared for the board by April.
Grand Haven Township Planning Director Cassandra Chaphalkar said the commission heard neighbors' concerns, but noted the development pressure on that parcel is unlikely to go away.
"It's challenging, because nobody wants to have their dead end change into a thoroughfare, and we understand that. And there's a lot of empathy there, and I think the planning commission did a really good job of listening to those concerns, but it's almost an inevitable situation," Chaphalkar said.
Chaphalkar said the location of the parcel makes it a logical candidate for development.
"From just a infrastructure perspective, it makes more sense to develop that parcel because it's surrounded by development already," Chaphalkar said.
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