Way of Life, New Subdivisions Top Reasons for Oakland Township Population Boom

It's no secret: Oakland Township residents love their way of life.

The township itself boasts 36 square miles of rolling hills, quiet streets, safe neighborhoods, top-tier schools and more than 1,000 acres of beautiful parks.

It's enticing, especially to those looking for privacy and a quiet existence, so it's no wonder the population of the township has boomed in recent years.

For Oakland Township resident Joan Wilson, the space and the views are what she enjoys most about living here, and she thinks the township is doing all it can to keep the township picturesque and serene.

"I just think that they've been really responsible in their planning over the years in considering the ecology and the terrain out here," said Wilson, who added that the people, especially her neighbors, are "just wonderful."

"When you get here, it looks like the town that got lost in time," said Tom Markaj, who owns the new in downtown Goodison. "It's kind of like how I would imagine it was back in the day."

This quiet, laid-back way of life has drawn 3,600 new residents since 2000. According to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Oakland Township swelled from 13,071 in 2000 to 16,779 in 2010 – an increase of more than 28 percent in just 10 years.

The growth in population is largely due to several new housing developments, mostly in the southwest corner of the township, said Oakland Township Manager Jim Creech.

"The majority of that population increase came in 2001-2003 with the development of the Oaklands Planned Unit Development, Silvercreek and a couple of other subdivisions," said Creech. "The additional 400 to 500 ebbed and flowed over the last six or seven years."

Creech acknowledges that it is the way of life that brings most new residents into the township.

"The reason people like it here is that it is close to everything, yet separate," he said. "It’s very picturesque. ... We’ve got a thousand acres of township parks, as well as the Stony Creek Metro Park and Bald Mountain State Park, and there are six golf courses in the township.

"Rochester Road is the closest thing to a major road," Creech continued. "There is no M-24 or I-75 or M-59, so while people still complain about traffic, it’s never like the traffic generated in those communities because of those main arteries."

He says the low tax rates for township services, along with all of the above, are the main reasons people move to Oakland Township and want to stay.

"They (township planners) just haven't allowed the overgrowth and the density," said Wilson, who added that she hopes the township will not allow excessive population growth.

"I just feel like you're not going to wake up and see an apartment complex around the corner," she said.

For a closer look at the census data for Oakland Township, .