BYRON CENTER, Mich. — The nonprofit, Housing Next, projects Kent County will need roughly 30,000 new homes by 2030, and developers are working to meet that demand — but not everyone is welcoming the growth.
Eastbrook Homes is seeking to rezone more than 14 acres of land at 84th Street and Burlingame Avenue in Byron Center, along with approval for a planned unit development, or PUD. Some neighbors say they have seen enough housing development come to the area.
"PUDs take all of our very hard work on ordinances and throw them out the window," neighbor Darlene Potter said.
Potter and other neighbors are raising concerns about high-density housing and its potential impact on the character of the community.
"Why does it have to be such high-density housing? Put a nice development in there and do the commercial (PUD) along 84th street and preserve Byron Center," Potter said.
Traffic near the intersection — which sits across from Byron Center high school — is also a top concern for neighbors
"Putting that many more houses and cars across from the high school, in addition to all the additional traffic that will be on the northeast corner, Burlingame's going to be a mess, and I'm sure there's ways around it, but it is going to be a mess," Potter said.
Eastbrook Homes disputes those traffic concerns, pointing to comparisons with a previously approved commercial PUD in the township.
"If you look at a 15-hour window, 6am to 9pm, that's about 600 cars per hour generated by an intense commercial use. By comparison, our residential layout will generate about 700 trips per day," Kelly Kuiper, Manager of Land Planning and Entitlement for Eastbrook Homes, said.
WATCH: Byron Center neighbors push back on Eastbrook Homes rezoning plan near 84th and Burlingame
Kuiper also noted the significance of the property's current zoning designation.
"This is one of the few locations in the township that the master plan specifically allows for mixed and attached housing, and this matters because it may actually be the only property left within the township that has that SFR (Single Family Residental) district designation," Kuiper said.
The Byron Township Board heard from both sides at a meeting Monday. Trustee Jay DeKleine acknowledged PUDs can benefit multiple parties when done right.
"Our last PUD we voted in was a win for the developer, it was a win for the township, and it was a win for the neighbors," DeKleine said.
But DeKleine was direct about one principle guiding his position.
"A PUD should not sacrifice density. Period," DeKleine said.
The board ultimately tabled the discussion and vote, but trustees made clear the issue is not going away.
"This doesn't mean that's going to go away by no means," said Donald Tillema, township supervisor. " I think you know we get the best we can get for the area, like I said, guaranteed something is going to happen on these places,"
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