Oakland Referendum Clears Hurdle

A petition seeking a referendum on an Oakland Township rezoning has been found to be sufficient to schedule the matter for election.

At the Tuesday, Nov. 27 special meeting of the newly elected Oakland Township Board of Trustees, the board will be asked to schedule the referendum for a Feb. 26 vote, the next available election date, and to approve ballot language.

Petitions were submitted to the township Sept. 19 asking for a referendum on the previous township board’s decision to rezone 41 acres of land at the northwest corner of Adams and Dutton roads for the proposed Blossom Ridge senior-housing development. The land was rezoned from medium residential density to multiple family.

Separately, the board is also scheduled to go into a closed session with its attorney to discuss his written opinion on the process for rezoning referendum petitions.

The agenda also includes board discussion on amending the consent judgment governing operations at the Rochester Cider Mill. At the Nov. 13 meeting, a member of the owners’ family asked permission to sell Christmas trees this year. The request was referred to the township attorney to draft the wording and bring it back to the board for consideration. If approved by the board, it will need to be approved by the judge overseeing the consent judgment.

A proposed budget will also be presented and the board is expected to appoint representatives to the Older Persons Commission and the planning commission. A discussion is also planned about whether to seek proposals for televising and webcasting township meetings.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the township hall.