"Kensington Phase 2" - proposed revision to the Central Park PUD
Lombardo Homes is planning to request a change to the Central Park Planned Unit Development (PUD) agreement with Shelby Township. Their proposal would affect a 15 acre parcel known as "Kensington Phase 2" that is located on the south side of Central Park North and on the east side of Central Park East, just east of the Gardens subdivision (see the aerial image below). The Central Park PUD calls for this parcel to be developed with 72 units of condominums arranged in three separate clusters of six buildings, each one containing four condo units. Underground utilities are already in place for the three clusters.
The Kensington Phase 2 parcel is
outlined with a bold yellow line in this aerial image where north
is to the left.
Click on the image to enlarge it.
At their April 5, 2010 meeting, the Central Park Master Association Board of Directors received a presentation from Greg Windingland of Lombardo Homes during which he outlined his company's proposal to revise the Central Park PUD. Mr. Windingland explained that Lombardo Homes is planning to submit within the next few months a request to the Shelby Township Planning Department that would change the current "Kensington Phase 2" portion of the Central Park PUD to single family residences built on 60 foot wide lots. Lombardo Homes estimates that based on street layout and other factors, there would be somewhere between 60 and 70 single family homes in the resulting proposed site plan for this parcel. They also envision that these single family residences would be organized as "site condos" similar to the nearby Gardens and Meadows subdivisions. They would have their own Association and would become the fifth subassociation under the umbrella of the Central Park Master Association.
The vacant 12 acre parcel (outlined above in red) immediately to the east of the current "Kensington Phase 2" is not a part of the Central Park PUD nor is it affected by Lombardo's proposal. It is already zoned for future multiple family development and should Lombardo Homes receive approval for this change to a lower density residential use on their 15 acre parcel, the higher density of the zoning on that 12 acre parcel still provides the necessary transition to the adjoining intense commercial zoning along Van Dyke.
The Board told Mr. Windingland that while they are supportive of seeing development occurring on this parcel sooner, rather than later, they also have several concerns with their proposal:
since a proposed site plan with street layouts was not shown during the presentation, the Board emphasied that they would not look favorably on any site plan that has lots with rear yards facing onto the existing streets
a deficiency of the current "Kensington Phase 2" site plan is that it has vehicular traffic for all 72 units entering and exiting from Central Park East; the Board feels that their proposal offers an opportunity to also have traffic entering and exiting from Central Park North. However, the location of the intersection of that new street has to be carefully positioned with respect to the curve on Central Park North and also with respect to the existing condominiums on the north side of Central Park North.
the types of single family models being considered by Lombardo Homes under this proposal all have first-floor brick on all four sides, minimum two-car attached garages and full basements. However, they have square footages that range from "approximately equal to" down to "significantly less" than the existing homes in the adjacent Gardens. The Board feels that Lombardo Homes needs to commit to limiting the percentage of smaller homes that will be built within the total number of homes on this parcel.
The Board also suggested that Mr. Windingland make a similar presentation to all interested residents of Central Park prior to any public hearings by the Shelby Twp. Planning Commission. Therefore, Mr. Windingland has reserved the Board Room at the Shelby Twp. Municipal Building for an informational meeting on their proposal that will be held at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, May 11, 2010. All are invited to attend. Lombardo Homes is offering this meeting as a courtesy to us and we should take advantage of it in the spirit that it is being offered.
Lombardo Homes anticipates that they will be ready to present their conceptual layouts to the Shelby Township Planning Commission at one of their study sessions in June 2010 and that the formal approval process for revising the Central Park PUD will begin shortly after that. The formal approval process will include public hearings at meetings of both the Planning Commission and Board of Trustees.
UPDATE:
The presentation slides shown by Mr. Windingland at the May 11th informational meeting can be viewed by clicking here (PDF file).
Lombardo Homes will be making the same presentation to the Shelby Township Planning Commission at their June 28, 2010 meeting. This is an informational agenda item and no action will be taken on the 28th. The public hearing on this issue will be held at a later date, most likely in July.
This web page will be updated with any new information that becomes available as the petitioner proceeds through the formal approval process.
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Created: 08 April 2010; Last updated: 27 June 2010
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