Farmington Hills council approves 52-unit Wellspring cluster plan after weeks of debate; developer agrees to expand conservation area

Farmington Hills City Council voted to approve a revised cluster site plan for Wellspring of Farmington Hills, clearing a site for 52 attached residential units on the south side of the property along 9 Mile Road.

Charmaine Kettler Schmolt, the city’s director of planning and community development, told the council the submission covers the southern portion of a roughly 79.61-acre site and that the concept presented calls for 13 single-story buildings with four units each. City consultant Giffels Webster reported that the plan meets the RA-1 cluster qualification and dimensional standards shown in the packet, with a noted discrepancy in tree-replacement counts that must be resolved prior to permitting.

The applicant and its consultants said the design keeps most development south of the Rouge River, avoids the bulk…