Royal Oak OK's Plans For New Apartment Despite Pushback From Residents

ROYAL OAK, MI — Royal Oak city commissioners unanimously passed a resolution in support of building a new apartment complex during a Monday night heated meeting, despite pushback from local residents.

Officials are planning to build a new three-story, 42-unit apartment complex on Rochester Road and Genesee Drive, where an abandoned bank sits.

Most local residents voiced parking and traffic concerns in the area where officials are planning to build the new apartment complex.

"Have you noticed how the number of cars parked on the curbs in the neighborhoods are increasing, where driveways and passing drivers have blocked views? Will this increase even more with multi-use structures that might be going up," one resident said.

Another resident said he had a petition with 300 signatures from other residents in nearby neighborhoods opposing the site plan for the new building. Another resident said he would get even more signatures to try and halt the development.

However, not everyone who spoke at the meeting was against the development. One woman asked commissioners to approve the measure to help support housing for local teachers and other officials who live in the area.

She also suggested the apartment complex could help reduce traffic in the area because some people could end up living closer to their job, and could walk or ride a bike to work.

"Building an apartment complex that will house more than 40 people, couples or families should be something Royal Oak is celebrating not opposing, because it means we have more affordable and attainable homes for the people who make our city run," she said.

Royal Oak Mayor Michael Fournier said the new building will help provide more affordable housing in the city. He also downplayed the concern about traffic, saying residential areas will always have less traffic congestion than commercial areas.

"It will take an abandoned property and turn it into something nice that will grow and keep growing property values in the city and in the area," Fournier said.

More details about the next steps in the development will be forthcoming in future meetings.