Salem Township's newly elected board has ordered its attorneys to drop a lawsuit filed against residents seeking a referendum to let voters decide the fate of a proposed 360-acre subdivision, according to township Supervisor Fred Roperti.
Court action filed by the previous board sought to stop 15 people who circulated the referendum petitions - a grassroots group of residents led by Richard D. Connnors, an attorney with Plunkett & Cooney in Ann Arbor and a former chairman of the township's Planning Commission. The plaintiffs also included Roperti's daughter, Gina M. Roperti, and the newly elected township treasurer, Linda Hamilton.
The board did, however, ask the court to rule on its request for a clarification on ballot language, and what legal effect a referendum might have on the project, Roperti added.
The previous board in a 3-2 vote OK'd Real Estate Interests' plan to bring sewers to the southeast corner of the township and build 310 homes on 360 acres at Ridge and Napier roads.
Development was a hot issue in the August and November elections, and is at least partly credited with ousting the supervisor and one trustee, and triggering the treasurer's decision not to seek re-election. Clerk Marcia Van Fossen and Trustee William Baxter, the two dissenting votes, won re-election.