Royal Oak residents oppose plan to build apartment complex on old bank site

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (FOX 2) - Neighbors in Royal Oak have joined forces to stand against a plan to build an apartment complex on the site of an old bank, approved by the Royal Oak Planning Commission Tuesday night.

The complex, which will provide affordable housing, will be a three-and-a-half-story building with 42 homes, according to city records.

The lot at the corner of Rochester Road and Genesee Drive, near 14 Mile in Royal Oak, has been abandoned for at least a few years, local residents said. While something should be built there, the building would be "too big" for what they call "a rural area."

"We’re totally against it," said Rich Hetrick of Royal Oak. "It’s just too big, it’s too tall – 42 units we feel is too big for this property."

The concerns do not end there.

"It’s going to increase a lot of traffic on our street," said Ray Allen, another Royal Oak resident. "Loitering comes with apartment complexes, and we’re just all really worried about it."

Some of the same neighbors who spoke with FOX 2 made their voices heard at the Royal Oak Planning Commission meeting, where members voted 6-1 in favor of building the complex late Tuesday night.

City officials got a briefing with visuals from the proposed project’s developers. A member of the development team said they have already been listening to neighbors and have made changes.

"We reduced the number of units from 48 to 42. We increased the parking from 66 to 79, which is about a 20% increase," a spokesperson for the project said during the meeting.

While most who spoke out at the meeting do not want the apartment complex –at least in its current draft– there were a few takers.

"This type of project, in my opinion, exemplifies the type of Royal Oak that we want for the future of our city," one resident said.

The plan will now go to the Royal Oak City Council for a vote. Some of the city council members are also on the city planning commission.