Council approves Towns at Woodcreek PUD with conditions after neighbors raise access and safety concerns

Farmington Hills City Council on July 14 approved Planned Unit Development (PUD) application PUD 1‑2025 (Towns at Woodcreek), a proposed 24‑unit, two‑story townhouse development on a 4.55‑acre parcel at 29150 12 Mile Road, subject to conditions addressing buffering, emergency access and additional engineering review.

The developer, Schaefer Development, presented a clustered plan of six buildings (four units each) with two vehicle garages per unit. The proposal seeks modest exceptions from the underlying RA‑1A district: a lot coverage of 37.5% (the RA‑1A limit is 35%) and the possibility of up to 112 rooms if optional third‑bedroom upgrades are exercised; staff noted the baseline plan totals 94 rooms. The project dedicates roughly 62.8% of the site as open space, includes a stormwater detention basin in the northern portion of the property, and proposes sidewalks only along 12 Mile Road rather than within the interior of the development.

Why it matters: The site borders single‑family lots to the east and north and AIM High School to the west. Neighbors raised concerns about safety, privacy and the location of a proposed stub road and a proposed pocket park near an adjacent backyard. Council balanced those neighborhood concerns against the developer’s claim that the PUD layout preserves more open space and better manages…