NORTH NOVI PARK
Location:
Between Twelve Mile Road and South Lake Drive, east of Dixon Road and west of the CSX Railroad. Trailhead in Lakeshore Park.
Size:
441 Acres
Facilities:
- Approximately 9 miles of natural trails
- Approximately 6 mile Mountain Bike Trail
History:
Most of the land that became North Novi Park was acquired with the proceeds of the 1993 Park Bond and the Road Bond funds used to construct West Park Drive. A small portion of the property was acquired using Federal CDBG Block Grant funds. Another small parcel was donated by the developer of the Bristol Corners subdivision.
During the late 1990s, the City's discussion of the potential to develop of a portion of the Park led to a citizen-initiated charter amendment that precluded developing City property for golf courses and banquet facilities without the prior approval of the voters. This charter amendment was approved by the voters.
In 2001, the City Council proposed turning over 95 acres of the Park to the Sandstone developers who had won a 30+ million dollar judgment against the City. This move was challenged in Oakland County Circuit Court by the Friends of Novi Parks as a violation of State law, which prohibits the sale of city-owned parkland without the approval of City voters. The judge presiding over the consent judgment proceedings between the City and Sandstone directed the City to either get voter approval before turning the land over to Sandstone or to amend the City's Master Plan to remove the park designation and satisfy the requirements of State law. The City chose to forego gaining voter approval and instead had the City's Planning Commission amended the City's Master Plan to remove the park designation from a portion of North Novi Park.
The final settlement was delayed due to several legal issues including resolving the status of the property purchased with Federal CDBG funds. In 2003, the City gave Sandstone the final approvals to develop the former park land for high-density single-family and multi-family development. Areas outside the 95 acres are also affected by the terms of the settlement agreement. This has led to the loss and re-routing of trails maintained by the Michigan Mountain Bike Association.
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