The desire to develop our township is increasing and threatens environmentally sensitive areas as well as the safety, aesthetics, and property values for many of its established residents.

Development will affect everyone in our township directly through its impact on road traffic, safety and maintenance. If done poorly it will have a greater, and far more reaching impact beyond the township on the quality of our state's natural resources including air, water, and environmental diversity.

The most recent proposal before the township is to rezone a parcel of land surrounded by existing homes to allow for commercial sand mining off of Old Valley Rd SW. (see picture). This effort to commercially spot zone so close to established residential zoning is unfair to existing residents, potentially harmful to this sensitive watershed and will set a precedent for future commercial rezoning elsewhere throughout the township.

Join me in petitioning for all Rochester Township rezoning and development approvals to have at minimum, an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) completed and to have terms and duration of conditional use defined in advance .