Moceri Speaks Out as Residents Unite Against Blossom Ridge

After more than 100 residents packed last month's to hear and comment on the , the Planning Commission will again hear comments from both the public and Moceri at tonight's meeting.

The recently formed Residents for Responsible Growth in Oakland Township, at just a few weeks old, plans to fight the rezoning request until Moceri's design plans for Blossom Ridge – a 284-unit, 42-acre continuing care senior residential community located on the northwest corner of Adams and Dutton roads – are "substantially modified to conform to Oakland Township guidelines and rezoning requirements," according to the organization's Oct. 4 executive summary (attached).

"Fundamentally, our whole group doesn’t have an issue with a senior community," Ron Hein, a resident of the adjacent Hills of Oakland subdivision and an organizing member of the group, said in an interview with Patch. "But something as jam-packed as (Moceri) is proposing, which includes a three-story building … we just don’t think it's right."

Meanwhile, Dominic Moceri of Moceri Companies said he is sad to see residents opposing something he believes the community really needs.

"We're in a crisis," Moceri said. "Not just a crisis in regards to not serving seniors, but we’re in a crisis by violating federal fair housing and state laws. We are in that severe of a crisis."

Residents unite to oppose Blossom Ridge

Many residents in the adjacent Moceri-built subdivisions – where the average home is worth roughly half a million dollars, according to Moceri – have joined Residents for Responsible Growth in Oakland Township in order to make their concerns about Blossom Ridge known. Hein estimates the group has a database of more than 100 residents with another 3,000 on the group's mailing list.

In its executive summary from Oct. 4, the group stated: "We do not oppose senior residential facilities for the residents of Oakland Township done in a manner that fits our Township’s special character. However, for reasons described in this paper we strongly urge the Planning Commission to reject the proposed development unless and until it is substantially modified to conform to Oakland Township guidelines and rezoning requirements."

The group of concerned citizens also outlined several of its concerns regarding Blossom Ridge, which included the size of the project, the high density of the residences and the effects Blossom Ridge might have on the rural character of the area.

"What we’re trying to do is be proactively constructive," Hein said. "We’re not trying to say ‘poo poo this, you can't do it, it’s a stupid idea' – we're trying to say, 'do it the right way.'"

Hein said the most frequent complaint he hears from residents concerns the increased traffic the senior living community will generate.

" is right down the road, and then we have Brewster (Elementary) and down the roads. It’s chaos, for sure."

The second biggest concern, Hein said, is the residential area. With its current Medium Residential Density (MRD) zoning, 61 single-family homes could be built on the property. The senior living community would have 284 much smaller residences, which Hein says is a problem.

"I’m sorry, but with 284 new residents … that’s a 14 percent increase in the traffic," he said. "That’s going to be noticed, no doubt about it."

Housing for an aging demographic

Moceri, who lives in the adjacent Kingsridge subdivision, said he is dismayed by the information being circulated by his community – information he says is just plain incorrect.

"What they’re holding onto is this 284 units," he said. "You can't compare a one-bedroom efficiency that Grandma Jones is going to reside in to this home," he said, referring to his own large, upscale home in Kingsridge.

Moceri said the need for more high-density housing and upscale single-family housing just isn't there in the township right now, but the need for senior housing – of which Oakland Township currently has none – is significant and increasing.

According to data from SEMCOG, the number of seniors 65 years and older in Oakland Township will increase by 119 percent over the next projection (from 2010 to 2035) while the number of seniors living alone will increase by 222 percent. No other demographic in Oakland Township is projected to grow as rapidly as the senior population.

"We’re looking at need – not wants – and we have to really balance that," he said.

Why build Blossom Ridge here?

Hein said he and other residents are wondering why such a high-density senior living community has to be built in Oakland Township when there are other communities nearby.

"There’s a whole separate thing, whether there’s a need for a community when there are a dozen within a few mile radius, and they all have vacancies," Hein said, though he added, "It’s kind of silly to argue that a senior commuity is out of the question, so it really comes down to OK, let’s develop and design a senior living community that is befitting of Oakland Township. That’s the bottom line."

Some residents have suggested simply decreasing the number of units in Blossom Ridge, though Moceri said that doing so would make the units unaffordable to seniors.

"The idea of adjusting the number of senior living residents downward would reduce efficiency and drive costs up exponentialy, rendering the ability to have affordable senior housing (in Oakland Township) a lost opportunity," Moceri said.

Moceri also pointed out that Blossom Ridge, with its significantly smaller buildings – 650 square feet compared with 4,500 square feet, which Moceri said is the average size of the homes his company built in the surrounding subdivisions – would take up less area and leave more open space in the community than if they were to build another subdivision like Kingsridge or the Hills of Oakland.

"It's not apples to apples," Moceri said. "Are there going to be more persons per area residing? Yes, but will there be an increase in public services to service those residents? No. All private roads, 24-hour private security, amenities and facilities on site.

Moceri, who has heard residents express concern about increased traffic at past Planning Commission meetings, noted that a Traffic Impact Study (attached) submitted as part of his proposal shows that Blossom Ridge residents will have a minimal impact on traffic at the already congested Adams and Dutton intersection.

Moceri also refuted the assertion that Blossom Ridge will take away from the rural characteristics of the township, as Residents for Responsible Growth in Oakland Township maintains. The southwestern corner of the township is already primarily residential with little open space when compared to other areas of the township, he said.

"There are 1,833 households along this southwest portion of Oakland Township," he said. "Thirty-two percent of all the households occupy 8 percent of the land. This is rural?”

What's next for Blossom Ridge?

The township's Master Plan, which outlines the future of the community, has been used by both sides to argue the fate of Blossom Ridge.

Residents for Responsible Growth in Oakland Township argue that the development violates the township's Master Plan because it does not reflect "the community’s deep concern for the rural character and natural appeal in Oakland Township," as outlined in the introduction to the Master Plan.

Moceri, on the other hand, argues that his company is fulfilling the township's desire for senior housing as outlined in Chapter 12 of the Master Plan (attached). The Master Plan states that high density conservation areas like the Blossom Ridge site are "intended to serve as receptors for senior living environments and care services."

Ultimately, it is up to the Oakland Township Planning Commission to either recommend or not recommend the rezoning request to the Oakland Township Board of Trustees, though it is unclear if the commission will vote on the rezoning request at today's meeting.

The meeting, held at 7 p.m. at , is open to the public.