Township officials argued it was too dense.

Hundreds of neighboring residents signed petitions opposing it.

A home-building firm has scrapped plans to construct more than 140 homes in Hamburg Township.

Pine Cove Building Co. will not be moving forward with Waters Edge Village, a subdivision the company had proposed to township officials.

"They withdrew their application," Hamburg Township Supervisor Pat Hohl said Friday.

The company's original proposed plan was to build a $50 million, 154-home subdivision onvacant agricultural land on the 6700-block of Winans Lake Road between Chilson and Hamburg roads, partially bordering the Huron River. The site is approximately 92.5-acres.

Waters Edge Village Project Engineer Robert Wagner of Midwestern Consulting said developers decided not to move forward for several reasons.

"When the project began, the developers needed the density for the project to move forward in order to make enough money," Wagner said. Between the township's density requirements and other costs, "it turned out in the end that the numbers didn't work out."

Township officials and planners voiced concerned the subdivision would have been too dense. The land is zoned for medium-density housing. Pine Cove Building Co. was looking to build a higher-density neighborhood.

The company revised plans, decreasing the number of home to 144, but it did not appease township planners.

The township's Board of Trustees voted in December to send developers back to the drawing table and asked them to submit a proposal for fewer homes to township planners.

Finding a way to get water to the homes was also problematic, Wagner said.

In June, at least five residential wells failed after Pine Cover Building Co.'s environmental consulting firm Engineered Logic, LLC drew too much water too quickly while conducting a groundwater supply test. The rest involved drawing water out of the ground to determine if the land would sustain new residential wells.

At least three wells broke on Eagle Run Drive and two broke on Riverdale Road, costing several residents about $1,000, which Pine Cove Building Co. agreed to reimburse.

During testing, the water level of several nearby residential wells dropped by about 30 feet, according to Livingston County Environmental Health Director officials.

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Why some neighbors are against the 154-home subdivision proposed in Hamburg Township

As a result, the company changed gears and started pursuing a connection to municipal water instead of wells.

Wagner said connecting to municipal water was one of the factors that made the project too costly.

Other home builders have expressed interest in the land, according to Hohl. No formal proposals had been submitted to the township.

A November public hearing drew more than 80 residents, many who spoke out against the project.

The Huron River Highlands homeowners association circulated a petition opposing the subdivision, collecting more than 500 signatures.

Township resident Jim Clement said he was glad when the project got scrapped.

"The density really was the main thing that we objected to," Clement said Monday. "The only way to go forward is less quanitity and higher quality of development."

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Contact Livingston Daily reporter Jennifer Timar at 517-548-7148 or at jtimar@livingstondaily.com. Follow her on Facebook @Jennifer.Timar99 and Twitter @JenTimar99.