Brighton Township Gravel Pit Survey

Resolution Survey

The purpose of this survey is to poll the residents of Brighton Township regarding the future of Sunset Park & Sunset Estates located on the NW corner of Kensington & Buno roads. The results of this survey will be shared with the BT Board of Trustees as the voice of the residents.

The current owner (Clearwater) of the previous gravel pit (Sunset) purchased the land with recorded covenants of a Joint Planned Development Agreement (JPDA) to develop Sunset Park & Sunset Estates. After attempting to convert the property back into a gravel pit, the township sued Clearwater for failing to comply with the JPDA. Since then, Clearwater stated they have no money to develop the JPDA and will need to operate as a gravel pit and mine for up to 20 years in order to generate the money by extracting and filling to develop the obligation.

The Brighton Township Board of Trustees will be voting soon on options to resolve the dispute with Clearwater; A) Allow the appointed county arbitrator to decide on the enforcement of the JPDA, or B) Settle with Clearwater with strict requirements.

This resolution will be critical in preserving our drink water, safety, rural setting, property values, and ultimate usage of our tax dollars for a township park as described in this Impact Study.

Please review this summary detail document for history and details of the options.

1.Which option do you believe is better for Brighton Township residents?(Required.)

A) Allow the Arbitrator to decide.

Enforce the JPDA with the minor change to the Township Park now becoming a passive park instead of an active park. A passive park would be hiking, biking and walking trails. Active park was to have soccer/football fields, tennis courts, etc. This saves Clearwater >$500K. Please see the BTHOA’s website to review the JPDA and recent Engineering Assessment of Restoration.

Changing to a passive park would decrease Clearwater’s cost and efforts in the work left to be done on the Township Park side, which would reduce the amount of fill and excavation/removal activity that would otherwise be required of the active park and the time that it would take for Clearwater to complete such work. It would also decrease the costs to the Township in maintaining an active park (maintenance, plowing, security, scheduling, bathrooms, etc.). In recent years, many active parks and sports centers have been placed nearby.

Clearwater states they have to mine and utilize the funds to complete the work, even for the passive park. See recent engineer study for reclamation in the BTHOA’s resource page. Engineers believe there is sufficient material on site to balance both properties for reclamation before adding topsoil.

If the Township prevails in enforcing the JPDA in the arbitration, there is no time limitation in the JPDA for the completion of Clearwater’s work and the only operational restrictions on Clearwater’s work are the limitations in the JPDA and the Township’s ordinances. The arbitrator will likely not impose a time limitation by which Clearwater must complete its work under the JPDA and the arbitrator has no authority to impose any operational restrictions on Clearwater’s work other than what is contained in the JPDA and the Township’s ordinances.

Pros
+Reduce offsite mining activities
+Less cost for Township and Clearwater

Cons
-No end date

B) Settle with Clearwater.

Residents would support changes to the JPDA (see below) allowing Clearwater to mine for a maximum of 8 years within the general framework of their recent proposal. This would allow the Township and BTHOA to add strength to the final determination endpoint and the operational restrictions of their work during that time period that do not currently exist in the JPDA.

Clearwater is asking to mine for 8 years to generate revenue which includes the sale of 615,000cyd of material from their site and import premium sifted topsoil to cover the land and ready the passive park as well as sites for building up to 22 lots on the Clearwater side. We want to limit any fill brought in to ONLY premium sifted topsoil and inert clay (no industrial dirt or concrete). Any other type of fill has the opportunity to taint our aquifer. Other fill could be from brownfields, crushed concrete and soil from road projects that have been found to have benzenes, oil, other car fluids, and more which will ultimately flow into our aquifer.

The BTHOA and residents would only support this option if the following is enforced and adhered to: (this is not an exhaustive list…please use comment section below to provide your input)

1.       No trucks on Buno (access is through Jacoby entrance which is already in place)
2.       A Bond for $5M shall be secured before ANY work is to start.
3.       If Clearwater is unable to secure a bond, have a forfeiture provision or place a lien on property.
4.       4 well testing sites shall be dug (3 already in place) and water tests must be performed monthly by a township approved independent party and through the National Testing Laboratories. Installation of video real-time surveillance cameras.
5.       The lake (exposed aquifer) shall be protected by a fence at the proper wetland setback. It is proven that gravel pits impact aquifer quality and hydrology.
6.        By changing to a passive park, minimal grading needs to be done and can be done with fill already onsite on Clearwater side which they propose to remove from site.
7.      ONLY clean and inspected premium topsoil and inert clay shall be permitted into the site on both the Township side and the Clearwater side.
8.       Township property work shall be completed first before work begins on the Clearwater site.
9. Township Park will be a passive park, decreasing cost, work and time Clearwater must invest.

Pros
+Fixed end date
+No trucks on Buno
+Ground water / video monitoring
+Bond to guarantee completion
+Defined what can be brought on site

Cons
-Put up with another 8 years of mining

2.How would prefer to communicate any questions or further information?(Required.)

Communication Preference

Public Meeting

3.If email is preferred, please enter your email address:

Please select the following priority for the decisions made by your elected officials:

4.The existing lake on the site is connected to underground aquifers which feed our wells and are in stream of the Huron Valley Watershed.(Required.)

Low

Water Quality Priority

High

5.Gravel pit operation will increase volumes of gravel trains commencing from the highest elevation of Kensington Road.(Required.)

Low

Safety Priority

High

6.In addition to truck traffic, gravel pits create significant noise, light pollution, and crystal silica dust.(Required.)

Low

Preserve Rural Setting Priority

High

7.Gravel pits are unattractive to residential areas and decrease property values.(Required.)

Low

Property Value (tax base) Priority

High

8.Brighton Township surveyed residents and adopted a Master Plan to include Sunset Park and a Pathway Master Plan to connect to Kensington Park.(Required.)

Low

Fulfill Master Plan Priority

High

9.Would you recommend an Active Park (Master Plan) or Passive Park (concession to Clearwater)?(Required.)

Active Park

Park Type Priority

Passive Park

10.Please express any additional thoughts on this topic to the Board of Trustees

This survey is supported by the Brighton Township Homeowners Association. The purpose of this association is to establish a closer relationship and cooperation with the township, county and state governments for the betterment of the community; to promote cooperation between homeowners for the common good; to exert an influence for good on the life of the community and to cultivate a spirit of brotherhood and good fellowship amongst its members; and to promote citizen participation in the community.

This association has been supported by resident contributions to sustain incorporation fees, legal fees, bank fees, and application fees.

11.Are you interested in supporting your fellow residents with a monetary contribution?(Required.)

Yes, please send a check to BTHOA, 12700 Buno Rd., Milford MI 48380

12.Please enter your, or referral, email for future notifications regarding this subject.

13.This effort could be very well served with experts. If you know somebody who is expert in water quality, environmental law, geology, land resources, DEQ, DNR, EGLE, etc. please forward this survey to capture an email address.