Council approves amendment to Westlake conditional rezoning, adding bridge and speeding timeline

South Lyon City Council on Monday approved the first amendment to the conditional rezoning agreement for the Westlake development off Dicksboro Road, authorizing a full-span bridge over wetlands, a reduction in phasing from three to two stages and a shortened project timetable.

The amendment replaces the development’s previously approved three-barrel wetland crossing with a full-span bridge that city planning staff and the applicant say will reduce both temporary and permanent impacts to the wetlands. The developer also moved multifamily construction from three phases into two, shortening the final completion deadline from February 2033 to August 2031.

City planning staff said the bridge design was submitted to and approved by Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). The applicant provided an exhibit comparing anticipated impacts of the original design, the detailed-design impacts of the original three-barrel crossing, and the lower impacts of the proposed bridge. Bob Langan of Elevate Property Partners told council the bridge aligns the development entrance with Singh Boulevard and would facilitate a future traffic signal by the Oakland County Road Commission.

Council members pressed the developer on timing for related public improvements. Bob Langan said paving of Dicksboro Road and construction of the first industrial building would occur contemporaneously with multifamily construction, and estimated preliminary timing as spring of next year, subject to permits and coordination with the road commission. Council member Kurzweil and others asked whether the developer intended to complete the entire project in the six-year maximum shown in the agreement; the developer said the deadlines are conservative and said continuous work could shorten construction to roughly three years.

The amendment also adjusts minor plan details: small increases in minimum floor area for two- and three-bedroom units (moving unit sizes closer to ordinance requirements), and a one-space increase in parking from 568 to 569 spaces. The plan still shows single-family lots (labeled future lots A, B and C) to be developed through the standard single-family permitting process.

Public concerns submitted to council included use of the bridge by construction equipment, protection of an adjacent mature forest (on a separate parcel), an estimate of future population (the staff estimate was roughly 650 additional residents if all units are occupied), potential dewatering noise and the county’s jurisdiction over a traffic signal. City staff said the construction entrance will be limited to the Dicksboro side and that the bridge is designed to accommodate emergency vehicles; the mature forest sits on a separate property and is not expected to be affected; dewatering, if required, was described by the applicant as a matter of days rather than months.

A motion by Council member Hanson to approve the amendment and authorize the mayor and city clerk to sign it was seconded by Council member Kurzweil and passed on roll call (Kurzweil: yes; Hanson: yes; Bogart: yes; Kennedy: yes).