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County of Antrim |
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PLANNING COMMISSION |
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Minutes |
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August 7, 2007 7:00 p.m. |
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Antrim County Building - Board of Commissioners Room |
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Members present: |
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Jim Gurr, Alan Martel, Joe Allen, Al Luurtsema, Laura Stanek, Barb Bradford, Jill Barnard, Tom Maleck, and Marshall Wright |
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Members absent: |
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Terry Morris |
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Advisory present: |
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None |
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Staff and others: |
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Rolland Kotz, Linda Gallagher, and Jeff Cullen |
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1. Meeting called to order at 7:03 p.m. by Al Luurtsema. |
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2. Public Comment |
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None. |
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3. Minutes |
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Motion by Barb Bradford, supported by Jim Gurr, to approve the July 10, 2007 minutes as presented. Motion carried – unanimous. |
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4. Conflict of Interest Disclosure |
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None. |
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5. Milton Township Re-zoning Request |
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Joe Meyers handed out a map to help the Commission understand the requests.
Discussion ensued over the ordinance 07-05 and 07-06.
Marshall Wright indicated that he would like to see the properties along Birch Lake Road be turned back to Residential/Agriculture with only a small access to the Manufacturing district.
Discussion ensued over the amendments.
Motion by Marshall Wright, supported by Barb Bradford, to recommend Milton Township approve of Ordinance 07-05, but recommend that the Township work to further minimize the Manufacturing district along Birch Lake Road. Motion carried – unanimous.
Motion by Laura Stanek, supported by Marshall Wright, to recommend Milton Township approve of Ordinance 07-06 as presented. Motion carried – unanimous. |
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6. Kearney Township Zoning Ordinance Amendments |
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Jeff Cullen, Kearney Township resident, indicated that he would like us to recommend the Township require setbacks from environmentally sensitive sites on the amendments. He indicated setbacks would be compatible with the DEQ standards. Jeff also indicated that he is talking to appraisers to get an idea if and how much this land use would alter his property values. Mr. Cullen stated that he was not in favor of the ordinance amendment.
Linda Gallagher, Kearney Township resident, spoke on the law, and how the property owner in question broke the law and then flaunted it to the Township. Linda also discussed the problems with Finch Creek on the west side of the property, and how it is a state designated trout stream that has suffered due to the county road but keeping horses on the property definitely would not help to revive the creek. Linda stated that she was not in favor of the proposed ordinance amendment.
Rolland Kotz, Kearney Township Planning Commission Chair, spoke on the history of the Township Zoning Ordinance.
Discussion ensued over the Canniff property and the circuit court decision.
Jeff Cullen spoke on the history of the Canniff property.
Barb Bradford, Kearney Township resident, spoke on the Kearney Township Zoning Ordinance and the letters from the attorneys regarding this amendment. Barb also felt like this is going to redo an entire ordinance for one person. Ms. Bradford stated that she wan not in favor of the proposed ordinance amendment.
Jim Gurr spoke on the size of the lot and how he would not like to see it cut up into smaller lots.
Laura Stanek spoke on how the industry standard is 1 horse per 5 acres to make sure the horse has enough room and to make sure that there is not over usage of the land. Laura indicated that because of this she felt that it was a mistake and they should reevaluate their formula. Laura also indicated that it was a mistake to change to the zoning ordinance to fit one person.
Discussion ensued over the Canniff property.
Barb Bradford spoke on the different issues involved with a horse stable.
Al Martel spoke on the issue of the density of horses but felt that horses were a pet and they should reevaluate the ordinance.
Jill spoke on the business plan for the stable and felt that this was turning into a commercial operation.
Rolland Kotz spoke on the problems with the zoning ordinance and how they are trying to correct them.
Jim Gurr indicated that the Township should take into consideration the density of the animals and potential setbacks.
Discussion ensued over the Right to Farm Act and property rights and whether or not this would apply to this situation.
Joe Allen spoke on how the person in question regarding the ordinance broke the law.
Marshall Wright spoke on neighbor property rights, the density of the animals and environmental protection.
Al Martel spoke on the phosphates in animal excrement.
Tom Maleck spoke on how we should not support this amendment because we did not support a similar amendment in Torch Lake Township.
Barb Bradford spoke on the real amount of grazing land for the animals (although there is 12 acres much of it is used for housing out buildings, etc. leaving substantially less than 12 acres for grazing).
Motion by Jim Gurr, supported by Al Martel to recommend approval of Kearney Township’s Zoning Ordinance amendment 5 of 2007 with the condition that they address the issues of setbacks, animal density, and the environmental concerns. Motion FAILED – Yes: Al Martel, Jim Gurr, and Jill Barnard; No: Al Luurtsema, Tom Maleck, Joe Allen, Barb Bradford, Laura Stanek, Marshall Wright; Absent: Terry Morris.
Motion by Marshall Wright , supported by Al Martel to recommend denial of Kearney Townships Ordinance 5 of 2007 due to concerns of density not being adequate, concerns of the real amount of grazing land and environmental considerations.
Tom Maleck spoke on how he felt that this was a zoning change to the ordinance for just one person and felt that this was not right.
Discussion ensued over the amendment.
Motion carried – Yes: Al Luurtsema, Al Martel, Jill Barnard, Barb Bradford, Laura Stanek, Marshall Wright; No: Tom Maleck, Joe Allen, and Jim Gurr; Absent: Terry Morris.
Tom thanked the people who attended our meeting. |
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7. Recall of Charlie Koop |
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Barb Bradford indicated that she felt that the Planning Commission should write a letter to the newspaper in support of the prosecutor Charlie Koop who is the subject of recent recall efforts.
Discussion ensued over Mr. Koop.
Motion by Barb Bradford, supported by Marshall Wright to write a letter supporting the prosecutor in wake of the recall that has been started over a memo to the Planning Commission.
Discussion ensued over why the memo was written and what it entailed.
Motion rescinded. |
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8. Correspondence to Star Township |
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Laura Stanek thanked the people who took the time to write the memo in regards to the injection well proposed for Star Township. |
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9. Public/Member Comment |
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Barb asked if the Commission could purchase plat books for every member for reference. Staff was directed to look into the budget and see if we had enough or if we needed to go to the Finance Committee to get the money. This issue will be addressed next month.
Marshall Wright spoke on how he wanted to attend the MAP Conference in October.
Joe Allen spoke on how we appreciate the Chair for his work.
Jim Gurr spoke on the letter regarding the injection well in Star Township. |
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Meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m. |
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