Lyon Township OKs water agreement with Milford, clearing way for Milford Road developments
Lyon Township officials will allow a proposed Milford housing development known as Kensington Ridge to connect to its water system, helping to clear the way for the construction of 851 homes on 335 acres on the west side of Milford Road between Interstate 96 and Maple Road.
The intergovernmental water agreement will go before the Milford Township Board at a special meeting Nov. 9. The agreement could also open the door to a water connection for the Crossings of Milford, a mixed use development with 175 apartments in 18 buildings as well as 5 commercial buildings 35 acres at the northeast corner of Milford Road and Pontiac Trail.
The agreement establishes a water main service district in which three additional Milford Township businesses already exist. Those businesses, AIS Equipment, Hines Park Ford and McNabb Carpet, are also eligible to connect to the system.
"This was a major, major project," Lyon Township Supervisor John Dolan said before the Lyon Township Board approved the agreement. "Believe me, we worked hard on this, everyone has worked super hard. It's a pretty good contract for the township."
In the agreement for the provision of water service between Lyon Township and Pulte Homes, Lyon Township declared it had "sufficient capacity in its water system" to serve the development and retained land, and that the agreement would serve the public interest by promoting the health, safety and welfare of its citizens.
According to the agreement, this will be achieved by:
- avoiding construction and operation of multiple water wells within close proximity and limiting environmental impacts;
- providing Lyon Township with significant additional revenue to help offset the cost of its water system, thereby reducing the economic burden to Lyon Township residents;
- promoting efficiencies and economies of scale to the benefit of both Lyon and Milford townships, including providing Lyon Township with a looped water system;
- and extending water at Pulte's cost to serve other Lyon Township properties to their benefit.
A water tower will be built on the southwest corner of the Kensington Ridge property that will be under the purview of Lyon Township, but for which Milford Township will get a permit fee for construction, as well as one-time only permit fees for the homes built at Kensington Ridge, Milford Township Supervisor Don Green said.
Green believes the water agreement between the two townships is a "really good agreement" and won't cost either township anything with any costs funded by the new users of the water system.
Kensington Ridge still has hurdles to clear, Green said, including approval by the township board of the PUD language, as well as site plan approval.
"I am thinking we should have most of this done by the end of the year," Green said. "They can't put a shovel in the ground until April."
The Crossings of Milford development would still have to work out their own agreement to tap into the Lyon Township water system, but it is now available. Green said the Triumph Builders' site plan for the development is currently under review by the township planning consultant.
"They will have to build the water tower and get it up and running before certificate of occupancy, but it won't stop them from building houses," Green said. "Construction on both of these projects could start next year."
Contact reporter Susan Bromley at email@example.com or 517-281-2412. Follow her on Twitter @SusanBromley10.