McCormick Construction continues operating on Devonshire Street in Ypsilanti Township.
Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com
For years, a construction company has operated and fought to stay in a dense residential zone in Ypsilanti Township.
But those days could be numbered.
McCormick Construction set up shop at 322 Devonshire St. in Ypsilanti Township sometime around 1950. The company’s owner also owns the neighboring vacant lot with a single-family residential home.
For years, neighbors have complained that the full-blown construction yard was operating out of their neighborhood street.
“The neighbors have made numerous complaints about blight in general, the negative impact on their property value, commercial trucks going up and down the street. There are a laundry list of complaints that are always centering around those issues there,” Township Attorney Doug Winters said.
But shutting down the construction company has proved a difficult matter. The township's office of community standards has been unable to determine from its historic archives whether that land use was lawful around 1950.
The owner claims that a district court judge ruled that he is able to operate there and he also claimed he has a non-conforming use permit.
However, none of those documents have ever been produced to township officials.
"They say they got this or that over time, or a judge said this or that. If there is something a judge has ruled on, then show me,” Winters said. “I’m not sure what they could have that could trump the township’s ordinance on blight and storage of industrial equipment in residential neighborhoods."
The lawn is filled with shipping containers, construction equipment, commercial vehicles and general debris.
Township officials have found the properties are in foreclosure and owned by Deutsche Bank, although the construction company remains and still appears to be operating. Winters said he believes McCormick is fighting the foreclosure.
"This is essentially is a heavy equipment construction company that is in a dense residential zone and doesn’t belong there,” said Mike Radzik, director of the office of community standards, to the township of board of trustees before they unanimously approved taking action against McCormick at its June 25 meeting. “The time is right to go after it and rid this neighborhood of this nuisance once and for all.”
Winters said it is unfortunate that the construction company has been allowed to operate at the location for so long.
“Regardless of who owns it - the bank, the individual - anybody who has an ownership interest in the property will be named a defendant in the case, because it cannot continue to stay in this state any longer. Enough is enough. It has got to be cleaned up and cannot continue like this.”
Tom Perkins is a freelance reporter. Contact the AnnArbor.com news desk at news@annarbor.com.