Rochester Hills — The Rochester Hills City Council on Oct. 20 approved the final site condominium plan and a modified wetland use permit for the Auburn Oaks (also called Angara Oaks) development, clearing the way for construction of 9 single‑family homes, multiple condominium buildings and neighborhood amenities on about 9.7 acres south of West Auburn Road.

The developer and Rochester Housing Solutions presented a plan that includes 45 multifamily condominium units and nine single‑family lots. Nineteen of the condo units are dedicated to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The project includes a farm stand and a neighborhood plaza, and portions of the site sit in the city’s flex business overlay, which permits the mixed‑use elements.

At the planning presentation and during council public comment, neighbors raised questions about drainage, stormwater engineering, sanitary sewer routing, and traffic safety at the Auburn/Angara driveway onto West Auburn Road. Planner and developer responses described a multi‑component stormwater design (detention basins, underground piping) intended to control existing uncontrolled sheet drainage on the site and to discharge stormwater at rates consistent with natural runoff. Engineering staff said those controls will improve current wet‑year standing water conditions.

Sanitary sewer work will be installed by directional drilling to avoid open‑cut trenches through natural features and will be inspected and accepted by city engineering before transfer to the city sewer system, the applicant said. The city’s engineering reviewer confirmed the sanitary sewer permit process is under review at state and regional agencies.

Several residents voiced support for the project’s IDD‑housing model. One speaker described her adult daughter’s needs and said a permanent, locally owned unit would give her daughter a secure home. Advocates and Rochester Housing Solutions said the project’s ownership model is designed to provide long‑term housing stability; if an IDD‑designated unit cannot be sold, Rochester Housing Solutions can buy and hold the unit and rent it to a qualifying IDD adult.

Council members asked whether the special‑use designation for IDD units could later be reversed. The developer and Rochester Housing Solutions said there will be a separate recorded declaration outside the condominium association bylaws to preserve the IDD designation and prevent the association from changing the use through a routine amendment process.

The council approved final site condominium plans (based on materials received Aug. 20, 2025) and separately approved a modified wetland permit authorizing impacts of 39,625 square feet to two wetlands (Wetland A and Wetland B) related to the development, with standard findings and conditions. Both approvals passed unanimously.

Why it matters: The project expands housing types in Rochester Hills and includes an approach intended to provide ownership and long‑term housing options for adults with IDD—an approach municipal officials and advocates said is relatively uncommon and intended to keep residents in their community as they age out of school‑based services. The approvals also require careful ongoing oversight of stormwater and sanitary infrastructure because the site currently exhibits standing water and complex drainage patterns.

Follow up: The approvals require the developer to record required maintenance agreements for stormwater facilities, to complete construction plans for city review, and to coordinate sanitary sewer permitting with state agencies. City staff said the HOA will carry long‑term maintenance responsibility for private stormwater infrastructure; the draft development declaration creates deed‑recorded protections for the IDD units.