Politics & Government

Rezoning Approved for Proposed Medical Office Building in Dearborn

A proposed rezoning of a property located near a residential area in west Dearborn has homeowners raising concerns and voicing opposition.

In a surprise decision, the Dearborn City Council reversed a recommendation by the Planning Commission and voted 5-0 Tuesday to rezone seven parcels of land on the north side of Hubbard Drive between Greenfield Road and Mercury Drive from Residential A (one family residential) to OS (business office district). The approval will clear the way for a developer to build a medical office building behind several houses on Rosalie Street.

The Planning Commission recommended against rezoning the property in January, citing the project’s inconsistency with the city’s master plan and the tendency to create spot zoning, something the city has long tried to avoid. The recommendation was received and filed during the council's Committee of the Whole meeting on Feb. 7 but no action was taken.

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During Tuesday’s council meeting, homeowner Yasmine Hassan spoke against the rezoning, stating that an office building would lower property values and diminish the quality of life in the neighborhood.

"This decision makes a mockery of zoning,” Hassan said.

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In addition to dealing with increased traffic, Hassan said she’s afraid the building's owners will come back before the council and ask for approval for residents to vacate the alley that serves three garages on the west side of Rosalie. The Planning Commission also previously denied that request.

“A portion of the alley is needed for planning projects, and myself and my neighbors, who only have access to our garages from the alley, will not vacate the alley under any circumstances. We do not want to enter or exit our garage through a business parking lot, nor will we share the alley,” Hassan said.

Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. said that while the city would like alleys to be vacated, it does not require it for homeowners whose only entrance to their garage is through an alley.

"All throughout the city of Dearborn there are homes that share an alley with commercial property," he said.

Hassan said homeowners are also concerned with a request by the mayor's office to rezone a wooded area — known as a greenbelt — from Residential D, or multiple family residential district, to OS (business office district) in order to accomodate the proposed office building. The woods currently serve as a buffer zone between the vacant land and the Fairlane Meadows apartment complex.

"The neighbors of Rosalie are being taking for a ride regarding these land parcels, and the mayor’s office has petitioned to change the greenbelt, which is under contract to remain a greenbelt for 20 years," she said. "Changing the greenbelt creates spot zoning. What this boils down to is money and profits to be gained by the property owner and developer while the neighborhood has to suffer."

In response to the allegations, O'Reilly said because the greenbelt is a city-initiated proposal, it can reverse the zoning where it makes sense to do so.

"No misrepresentations were made on this project,” he said. “The Planning Commission was concerned about spot zoning because of the greenbelt and the fact that it laid between the property that was proposed, therefore that property was put on hold while the greenbelt was rezoned."

O'Reilly said he also takes exception to the allusion that the city could gain financially from the project.

"To allude that I have any special interest in this project is totally false because I have been advocating that people have the fair use of their property as long as they are not impeding the rights of others," he said. "This project does not impede residential rights. This is simply a decision where property owners have competing interests."

Council President Tom Tafelski said even with the council's approval, any future building project requesting variances would still have to go before the Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.


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