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November 06, 1987 - Image 15

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1987-11-06

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

6 aftsmanship is not a lost art ...

Facing recall: Jeffrey Leib, Raymond Holland, Betty Sue Dupree.

decongest the crowded streets,
state and county officials
again proposed the long-
deposed plan of extending
Northwestern Highway past
the overly-saturated intersec-
tion of Orchard Lake and 14
Mile Road through the
township to Haggerty Road.
(The intersection presently
carries some 140,000 cars a
day.) But this week, the West
Bloomfield Board, having
heard about the Nor-
thwestern proposal in a
newspaper article, voted
against the extension after
hearing pleas from the Con-
cerned Citizens For West
Bloomfield.
Last week, a planning com-
mission public hearing was
held to discuss developer
Robert Sosnick's proposed
development of 1,200 apart-
ments, offices and stores on
260 acres at the northwest
corner of the same intersec-
tion — a development which
OUST vehemently opposes.
The issue was tabled pending
further study of its potential
impact on local traffic.
"This rezoning will create
such havoc you won't be able
to get out of the south end of
the township," said OUST
treasurer Schwartz. The
township is already so inun-
dated with vehicles that peo-
ple can't get around.
The four board members
OUST is trying to recall were
chosen due to their failure to
call for a building
moratorium and a repeal of
the cluster housing or-
dinance, which the board con-
siders a way to allow houses
to be clustered more closely
together to protect wetlands
and woodlands. OUST insists
that cluster housing results
in high-density development.
Dupree, Holland and Leib
voted against a building
moratorium three times in
October. Doherty has been ill
and has not attended several
board meetings, including
last Monday night's meeting.
"How do you tell people
they can't develop land?" ask-
ed Leib.
"I don't think the govern-
ment can tell people who own
land here that they can't
develop," said Doherty,
township supervisor for the
last 20 years.

But OUST supporters
disagree and want to settle
the situation by terminating
the members' terms a full
year before the next schedul-
ed election.
At times the catfighting
between residents and board
members has gotten rather
heated.
"They are extremely rude,"
said Leib of the nearly 100
residents who have spoken at
board meetings in protest of
local developments. "It's
amazing how critical and how
nasty they've become."
OUST Vice President Geof-
frey Fieger countered Leib's
remarks. "(The Board)
flaunts their power and ig-
nores the citizens and do as
they damn well please. They
have to be removed. They're
no more responsive to citizens
of West Bloomfield than Mar-
tians if they landed. Who can
support what they've done to
West Bloomfield?"
Despite OUST's strong
words and high level of
publicity,not all West Bloom-
field residents are in favor of
the recall.
Beatrice Hartman, a
37-year resident, is sickened
by the idea. "It's disgusting.
It's entirely out of keeping
with this community. They
(OUST) are newcomers and
they don't know what the
tradition is in this township.
It's amazing how ignorant
these people are about all
this. They are blowing where
they have no business to blow.
They ought to get a feel for
the community first."
Pat McGinty, a 34-year resi-
dent and former board can-
didate,is also opposed to the
recall. "In 1984, residents
had an opportunity to turn
around any office and they
chose not to. Now a recall will
cause more problems than it
can solve."
Some new residents are op-
posed to the recall as well. Vic
Habersmith, who only recent-
ly moved to his house on Pon-
tiadPrail said, "It casts a
detrimental light on the
township. As a new resident,
I'd like to see everybody work
together. A tremendous
amount of talent and energy
is going to waste with this in-
fighting."
The language of the recall

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