Planning Commission recommends approval for 28-townhouse PUD at 12 Mile and Middlebelt

Aaron Schafer, representing Schafer Development, told the Planning Commission on May 15 that his company seeks PUD approval for a 28‑unit townhouse community at 12 Mile Road and Middlebelt designed for first‑time buyers, young families and active adults.

The applicant said the 4.55‑acre site is zoned RA‑1A for single‑family residential but was proposed as a transition between higher‑intensity uses to the west and lower‑density single‑family lots to the east. Schafer told commissioners the plan keeps the 28‑unit density previously qualified in October 2024, raises total open space to roughly 62.8 percent and maintains building heights at about 26 feet 6 inches.

The PUD package shows two townhouse footprints, clustered four‑ and five‑unit buildings to increase setbacks along the northern, eastern and western property lines, and a revised landscape plan that adds evergreens and native species along the eastern boundary at a neighbor’s request. Schafer said the design also contemplates a Knox box and a gated secondary emergency access to AIM Academy under terms of a recorded 02/2007 shared access agreement.

Why it matters: The proposal would…