BrokenWing2005
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Michigan, Oakland County
I had heard from my neighbor that the county was planning to widen the road that runs along the side of our property from a 2-lane road to a 4-lane highway in about 5-10 years. A drain commission employee confirmed that this is what is under discussion between the city and county.
This is still a long way off, but of course, I am NOT HAPPY about this. This road goes through a largely residential district and some of my neighbors (including the owner of a historic home) will have a 4-lane highway about 30 ft. from their front door if this project goes through. Although we are back from the road about 100 feet and have a large berm and spruce trees separating our house and the road, we still feel the traffic noise would be deafening and the house would be unlivable.
We've lived in the house for about six years and have made all kinds of improvements so we really don't want to move if we can avoid it.
My question is this: can we fight the county on this? If so, how much will it cost us and what are our chances of winning? We don't have a homeowners association right now, but I'd be willing to go door-to-door to gather signatures from neighbors and to hire an attorney. I've heard that residents in another city (Novi) hired an attorney and successfully fought a road widening project.
Alternatively, if the city does decide to do this, can we force them to erect a sound barrier and pay for soundproofing on the homes in the area?
Has anyone ever fought your local government on this and won? How did you go about it? What advice can you share? Or should we just give up and move now and leave the legal battles to the homeowners left behind?
I had heard from my neighbor that the county was planning to widen the road that runs along the side of our property from a 2-lane road to a 4-lane highway in about 5-10 years. A drain commission employee confirmed that this is what is under discussion between the city and county.
This is still a long way off, but of course, I am NOT HAPPY about this. This road goes through a largely residential district and some of my neighbors (including the owner of a historic home) will have a 4-lane highway about 30 ft. from their front door if this project goes through. Although we are back from the road about 100 feet and have a large berm and spruce trees separating our house and the road, we still feel the traffic noise would be deafening and the house would be unlivable.
We've lived in the house for about six years and have made all kinds of improvements so we really don't want to move if we can avoid it.
My question is this: can we fight the county on this? If so, how much will it cost us and what are our chances of winning? We don't have a homeowners association right now, but I'd be willing to go door-to-door to gather signatures from neighbors and to hire an attorney. I've heard that residents in another city (Novi) hired an attorney and successfully fought a road widening project.
Alternatively, if the city does decide to do this, can we force them to erect a sound barrier and pay for soundproofing on the homes in the area?
Has anyone ever fought your local government on this and won? How did you go about it? What advice can you share? Or should we just give up and move now and leave the legal battles to the homeowners left behind?
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