Dexter City Council Considers Preliminary Plans for “The Pelham” Condos Amid Public Debate

At its November 27th meeting, the Dexter City Council considered accepting the planning commission’s recommendation to approve a preliminary PUD (Planned Unit Development) for “The Pelham” condominiums.

The Pelham is a residential development of two 4-story buildings, each with 14 condos, 40 underground parking spaces (20 for each building), and 16 surface parking spaces. The proposed site is the empty, triangular 1.57-acre lot across Mill Creek from the fire station.

Some members of the public expressed their opposition to the concept during public comments. Comments included:

“Many from the local and greater community are outraged at this proposed development and have spoken out at various meetings, as you guys well know. A week ago, after the planning commission meeting, I started a petition to help unify and add volume to our voices. As of today, the petition has around 600 signatures, and it's steadily growing.”

“Who’s going to live (there)? Empty nesters? And they’re going to, what, walk up that hill to go downtown Dexter? That’s a big hill. Or the young professionals, they’re going to move here, and what, be bored with the nightlife we don’t have?”

“I don't understand why you don't expand Mill Creek Park to this side of the river or this side of the creek. It makes all sense in the world. You have more space. You're going to lose some of the parkland when you build a fire station.”

Property owner Nate Pound pushed back against the criticism, saying, “I wish everyone had the facts months ago when this rally cry against (sic) anti-Pelham started because the rallying cry was based on a non-factual information…The businesses downtown want this.”

Mayor Keough informed those in attendance that this was not the owner’s original intent for the property. Pound bought the property seven years ago to make it a canoe/kayak livery. Instead, he purchased Skip's Huron River Canoe Livery. His next iteration was for a nanobrewery/bike shop, which was well-received by the public. But, as the concept developed, costs got too high, and the project was ditched.

Josh Bloom from Bloom General Contracting, developers for the condos, opened the council’s discussion. Bloom reviewed changes such as a reduction in building height and the number of buildings that resulted from public input.

“At the last planning (commission) meeting, it was unanimously approved,” said Bloom. “When everyone reviewed it, including some folks here as well as Carlisle-Wortman, OHM, the fire department, the experts, and consultants here, have all felt that this does meet your requirements for PUD approval.”

Bloom addressed one of the leading public criticisms of the development, namely that it will significantly increase traffic to the already problematic intersection of Main St and Dexter-Chelsea Rd. “Carlisle-Wortman, in their report, said that our kind of project will actually produce the least amount of car trips per day compared to other possible developments that would go here,” he explained.

Speaking directly to the public criticism The Pelham has received, Bloom stated, “I also wanted to point out that though there are folks that are against this development, there are many letters that we received in support of this project.” Bloom also said they have received calls from Dexter residents interested in the condos looking to downsize.

Bloom pointed out that the developers have included a 1,100-foot city water line extending from Alpine St. beyond The Pelham to the entrance of the Westridge subdivision. “OHM and our consultants estimate the cost of that to be $500-$600,000,” said Bloom. “This is a massive infrastructure investment that we are doing for the City of Dexter.”

Another public concern was the impact The Pelham would have on Mill Creek. Bloom’s team presented a multi-year plan to clean up and stabilize the creek bank.

The council’s discussion opened with Community Development Manager Michelle Aniol confirming that the plans meet the PUD requirement.

Councilmember Michels stated he supported the concept but struggled to see it meeting all the requirements of a PUD, specifically citing landscaping and water concerns.

Councilmember Hubbard said that while The Pelham wouldn’t be her personal choice for the parcel, the developer has “done everything in their power to respond to the community and listen to our feedback and try to make it better for us.”

Councilmember Griffin acknowledged all sides of The Pelham – developers, public, city - saying, “I appreciate the passion on both sides of this project.” Griffin noted that while approval of a PUD has room for flexibility, requirements dictate that “the PUD shall not change the essential character of the surrounding area.” Griffin summed up her view: "I guess taken all together, I have a hard time supporting this development in this location for those reasons. I think it could look nice somewhere else.”

Councilmember Semifero challenged Griffin’s view, stating the “character of the land” is defined by the zoning ordinance, which The Pelham meets. Semifero also pointed to the council’s legal responsibility in such matters, “It says under Michigan law, if the site plan 1) contains all the information required by the zoning ordinance, and 2) meets all the requirements of the zoning ordinance and any other ordinance or statute, it must be approved.”

Semifero emphasized that if another plan were presented to the council that was “ugly as all get out and didn’t have any of the features that this development has…we would have to approve it.”

Councilmember Aldag added, “In front of us, we have a project that it might not be the favorite of many of us, but it’s a project that, even in this preliminary phase of it, the developer has listened a lot, has changed the project a lot, has brought the landscape architecture to a level of detail that we seldom seen in any other project.”

Councilmember Schlaff recalled the housing developments he has seen in his 37 years working for the city and said, “This development that is proposed in front of us, I don’t believe that it’s going to have that big of an impact on traffic in town…I think the public benefit of the water main is huge. It doesn’t just support Westridge. It also supports The Cedars out there.”

Mayor Keough told the council that there was still concrete and metal debris along the creek bank left over from when the dam was removed in 2008. He called the developers “partners” who are ready to restore the area as a part of their project.

“I don’t feel forced to develop (The Pelham),” said Keough. “I think that our ordinances have done exactly what they were laid out to do. I think our planning commission, our staff, and our consultants have done an excellent job of working through those requirements that we’ve all voted for at one time or another…I like the way this looks, and I want it to work, and I’m not afraid to say that. I want everybody here to know that.”

The council approved the preliminary site plan by a vote of 5-2. Yes: Aldag, Hubbard, Schlaff, Semifero, Keough. No: Michels, Griffin.

Developers must now prepare a final site plan that meets the conditions of approval, including full engineering details. Developers must also submit a development agreement and condominium documents. The planning commission will review the submissions and make its recommendation to the council for final action. The city anticipates on seeing the final plan in the spring.