By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


In an effort to help clear resident confusion, the Howell Township Board of Trustees will be preparing a document to answer many frequently asked questions on a potential affordable housing project.

Indianapolis-based developer Union Development Holdings LLC is proposing a 220-unit apartment complex that would be located at Oak Grove, behind Kroger. The complex would be in accordance with Michigan State Housing Development Authority guidelines, with about 60% of the units being marked as “affordable housing.” Clerk Jean Graham has previously stated that it would not be Section 8 housing, with Treasurer Jonathon Hohenstein stating that rent could be up to the average median income of the area for the units that fall under that designation. At Monday night’s online meeting of the Board of Trustees, Supervisor Mike Coddington said they are getting a lot of calls from residents with many of the same questions. He suggested gathering these questions and posting an F.A.Q. with answers on the website.

During the second call to the public, Judith Minton, who is running for Howell Township Trustee, asked the Board to reflect upon the lack of information on the project getting out to the community. She said she after attending a recent meeting, she talked with neighbors who were unaware of the project, still. Minton said not everyone has a computer and a lot of senior citizens prefer snail mail.

Coddington said all the information about the project is out there, but that he also understands that residents might not know where to find it. Trustee Jeff Smith said that none of the information on the project has been secret, and that he hopes the complaints aren’t politically motivated or being done for name recognition, to which Minton took exception. Coddington also proposed an informational session for the public be placed on their next agenda, but that idea was struck down. Trustee Matthew Counts said it might look like a second public hearing and that could cause problems. While there was a public hearing at the Planning Commission level, with the documents being public, he thought putting together the F.A.Q was an excellent idea.

When completed, it will be posted to the township’s website, www.howelltownshipmi.org.

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