NOVI, Mich. (WXYZ) — More than 150 Novi residents have formally submitted a petition opposing a proposal to build 161 townhome units, and some plan to show up Monday night when the full city council reviews the project.
Watch Christiana Ford's video report:
Robertson Brothers Homes is seeking city approval to rezone a property near Grand River Avenue across from a hospital to change it from light industrial to high-density multiple family housing.
Ann Nelke, a Novi resident whose backyard borders the proposed development site, said she has been closely following the proposal since it was introduced.
"What's left of our woodlands and wetlands is what they're telling me — is everybody's backyard, so nobody wants this basically over-development to keep going on," Nelke said.
Nelke said the pace and density of development in the city concerns her.
"As we keep developing, developing, developing, it's putting a strain on our infrastructure. It's happening, I think, too quickly and too densely and not the right fit," Nelke said.
A neighbor, Sathia, says her husband also signed the petition and said the project would have a direct impact on the area's natural environment.
"It destroys the nature, the wildlife and our privacy," Sathia said. "We all paid an extra premium lot to have this wood-facing view."
The developers agreed to a 60-foot setback, so some of the woods behind their home would remain.
Fellow Novi resident Doug DeHuff shares concerns others have.
"I hope that it doesn't go ahead. I mean, we love the wildlife around here. It's just getting very, very busy around here. I mean, traffic is getting crazy," DeHuff said.
Steve Emmenecker, another Novi resident, said the city's infrastructure cannot keep pace with continued growth.
"Novi is just simply overbuilt for the infrastructure at this time and they need to address that before they start adding hundreds of more people," Emmenecker said.
City Manager Victor Cardenas said the city is in the early stages of reviewing the project and welcomes residents to provide feedback as part of the discussion.
Previous report from January 2026: Townhouse proposal in Novi sparks debate and concerns over impact of wetlands
After moving through the planning commission, the plan is now going before the full city council Monday night for an eligibility review. A vote is not expected at that meeting, but residents say they intend to be there.
Some comments made by the commission were:
- Concerns about changing the character of this area since it isn’t in line with the 2025 Master Plan, which was so recently adopted
- Concerns with the number of deviations from City standards.
- Commissioners thought the layout was thoughtfully designed to take into account the wetland areas and noted that any development of the parcel would have woodland and wetland impacts.
- Commissioners asked the applicant whether they had considered ranch-style units, given the demand for that style of housing in Novi, or even a portion of the units.
- Commissioners appreciated that the project does not exit onto Grand River.
- Commissioners thought the connection with Henry Ford Hospital could make sense.
- Commissioners reiterated that additional public benefits should be looked at to justify the PRO.
- Commissioners thought the traffic light at Providence Parkway should be considered as shown in the Traffic Study, but recognized that the residential use would have fewer trips than a medical office.
- Some commissioners thought the facade designs were fine as designed, while others thought the applicant could consider doing different color brick or other materials so all buildings are not the exact same.
Nelke said she wants the council to understand what community opposition represents.
"I want them to know that we show up, we sign the petitions, we take time away from our lives because we care about the community," Nelke said.
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