Vergennes Township
Planning Commission Minutes
October 7, 2002
A meeting of the Vergennes Township Planning Commission was held on October 7, 2002 at the Township Offices at 7:00 PM. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Jernberg. Also present were Commissioners Gillette, Kropf, Mastrovito, Medendorp and Richmond. Absent was Commissioner Nauta. Also present were Township Clerk Mari Stone, Zoning Administrator Jeanne VanderSloot and Township Planner Jay Kilpatrick.
Approval of
September 9 and 16, 2002 minutes.
Motion by Gillette, seconded by Medendorp, to approve the minutes. All approved.
Approval of/changes
to Agenda: Jernberg said item number
one, Carolyn Way, is removed from the list.
Public
Hearing - Kazemier Private Road
Application Opened at 7:03 p.m.
No comments at this
time.
Public hearing
closed at 7:03 p.m.
Gillette - The Township Attorney has reviewed the maintenance agreement and is adequate.
Jay - The revised
plan that was distributed today has same date but addresses comments that were
expressed in the preliminary report with a few exceptions.
Parcel E
would not have access to road. An
advantage is that they can go with less cross section. In revised plan only four will have
access.
The street
name was approved by the Road Commission as Kazemier Woods.
The engineer
had questions about drainage and if the retention basin is properly sized. If
the Planning Commission wants to approve tonight suggests making it subject to
final approval of the drainage plans.
The attorney
has looked the maintenance agreement and it needs to be corrected from five
roads to four roads.
Medendorp
question to Jay if there is a conflict with ordinance accessing off a private
road and cannot access off main road?
Jay They
should have primary access off lesser-traveled road. No conflict.
Jay Suggest
motion today should also reference the site plan distributed today, October 7,
2002.
Jeanne -
received the fax of approval to proceed from the township engineer with culvert
size to be corrected.
Motion by
Gillette, seconded by Medendorp, to recommend approval for private road if
drainage is okay by Township Engineer, changes made to show there are four
lots, and approval of the road agreement, based on the site plan submitted
today, October 7, 2002.
All
approved.
Ordinance Amendments.
Public Hearing
Open Space Opened
No comments.
Public hearing
closed.
Public Hearing
PUD Opened
No comments.
Public hearing
closed.
Public Hearing
Site Condo Opened
No comments.
Public hearing
closed.
Public Hearing
Sign-Home Occupation Opened
No comments.
Public hearing
closed.
Public Hearing
Article-Chapter Opened
No comments.
Public hearing
closed.
Open Space
Jay
We have been working on this ordinance since last spring. It gives the Township opportunity to work
with developers. Changes to language
require Board approval.
Jernberg
asked Jeanne if she had any comments.
Jeanne Page
9 C2 limits the percentage on the number of buildings, restricts creativity,
will be able to save open space if going with all townhouses.
Jay Would
be a struggle to recommend a waiver for that.
Jeanne makes a good point.
Committee
feels that type of housing out of character.
Jernberg -
Can come with special request.
Jeanne - Page
11, C - Restricts creativity by separate clusters and may require more roads,
topography of land may affect the layout.
Jernberg
- A pod or cluster may be determined by
the size of land.
Jeanne - Main
issue of how you are going to cluster housing.
Jernberg
Question to Jay if we make it less stringent they dont have to come back
again?
Jay Yes.
Jeanne - Page
14 - 5 & 7 Questioned the material used for plans with overlays. Are these more difficult to copy and is the
material okay to use?
Jay - Useful
for illustrations for presentations but can be complicated.
Jernberg -
Say plans can be done on multiple drawings.
Gillette
Okay to show acetate layers at a public hearing.
Jay Likes
language of multiple layers or multiple drawings. It is important to have multiple drawings.
Jeanne Back
to the first one, on an all townhouse project, some buildings have four or six
or eight, limiting that to a certain number limits the design or layout. If they can ask for a waiver and give
reasons why, is comfortable with that.
Medendorp
Has more difficulty with 25% than with four units per building.
Medendorp -
Interested in a less restrictive approach.
Jernberg In
regards to streams and lakes does not have a problem.
Medendorp
Difficult to just pick a number and hope that people will come to us and say it
works better another way.
Gillette If
people see a better option will come to us.
Better to more restrictive to start, its easier to adjust downward than
upward.
Mari Stone
inquired regarding site plan reviews - consider where septic systems are
located?
Jernberg
Yes.
Motion by
Gillette, seconded by Medendorp, to recommend approval of ordinance with the
amendment to Page 14, Section E, Paragraph five, six and seven to eliminating
--- overlays and acetates to multiple drawings. All approved
PUD
Jay This is a
revised draft that distinguishes between the Open Space and PUD. It also establishes a two-step process;
first to the Planning Commission for preliminary approval and then to the
Township Board for final approval. Jeanne suggested technical changes that were
discussed previously. These changes are
to correct previous inconsistencies in the amendment. This does not include density bonus.
Jeanne - Question on page 15, number one, should it
read, "shall?"
Jay The
changes saves the Planning Commission and applicant a lot of time. It will help build collaboration between the
Planning Commission and applicant.
Recommends making it a compulsive requirement for the informal
discussion.
Jernberg
Will not eliminate a step in the process but being a team player.
Jay - Its
better to have informal discussion first.
Does not see problem with the wording "shall.
Jeanne - Page
16, number three, change Township Board to Planning Commission. Jay noted change.
Jernberg
Asked if it needs to come back because of the change. Jay No.
Motion by
Gillette, seconded by Mastrovito, make recommendation to the Township Board for
approval of the revised PUD ordinance.
All approved.
Site Condo
Jay - These changes
bring the Ordinance in line with what is currently being done. Previous changes to the manufactured housing
ordinance missed reference made to manufactured housing site condominiums. It does include a change in new language
referencing mobile home condominiums.
Another change is to make the Zoning Administrator responsible for
accepting applications for site condominiums instead of the Township
Clerk. Also, language on pages two and
three that permits minor amendments without taking the site condominium all the
way back to the approval process and approval can be made by the Zoning
Administrator.
Jeanne Happy with
the changes, especially the minor amendments that will now be specific.
Motion by Gillette,
seconded by Medendorp, to recommend approval of Amendment to Site Condo
Standards to the Township Board. All
approved.
Jeanne
Correcting language to the sign amendment done two months ago regarding the
front setback.
Motion by
Gillette, seconded by Kropf, to accept this amendment for Sign-Home Occupation
ordinance and recommend approval to Township Board. All approved.
Article-Chapter
Jeanne This
amendment corrects the formatting of the ordinance so that articles are
replaced with chapters and roman numerals are replaced with numbers. This will make it easier to add amendments
and page numbers in the future.
Motion by Medendorp, seconded by Gillette, to recommend approval of article modifications to the Township Board. All approved.
Todd Fuhr Represent ---- for property at 1515
Lincoln Lake Road. Requesting a private
road permit. Driveway plan has been submitted by application to the Kent County Road
Commission for the name of Victory Lane and is awaiting approval. Property was sold at real estate auctions
and now finalizing sale of lots.
Driveway plan in detail submitted to Kent County shows the drains and
complies with the maximum number of drains and drop-off. Site-plan shows lot detail. Asked Planning Commission if there are any
questions on the private road plan and profile?
Medendorp
Asked if the county has any restrictions on grates? Jay Yes, private road plan will have grate requirement.
Jernberg
Asked if parcels two and three are suppose to be one large piece? Todd Yes.
Jeanne - It
is one parcel now with a house on it.
Jernberg
Asked if there were three parcels? Todd
Yes.
Jernberg
Planning Commission will need a copy of the maintenance agreement.
Todd - It is
being written and will be ready in seven to ten days.
Jernberg
Make note to review road cross-sections.
Engineers will need to do water calculations.
Gillette
Asked if this needs to be set for a public hearing. Jernberg Yes.
Jernberg
Planning Commission will need more drawings to review before scheduling a
public hearing. Will need more
information, road cross-section, better location map, water calculations, road
cuts on Lincoln Lake, road maintenance agreement and the private drive to a 10
acre parcel to the east.
Jeanne The
topography lines need numbers and parcel two will need to show the location of
the house.
Jernberg -
What are your intentions? When did you
want to break ground?
Todd - Parcel
4 vacant and no plans for building.
Medendorp
Is this a designated wet lands?
Todd -
Wetland survey was done and analysis done prior to auction and sale.
Jernberg
Put all those pieces together and it will be easier to move forward and
schedule a public hearing, possibly for the December meeting.
Jay Memo
dated August 28, 2002. Two amendments
that address shortcomings in ordinance for lake residential lots. Suggest amending the ordinance to say that
lots that are not served by sewer meet the requirements of the RA district
three hundred feet of frontage.
Jay
Suggests a public hearing. There is no
pressure now, but there is nothing to regulate at this time.
Gillette
Recommends adding item to the other public hearing.
Jeanne
There may be a public hearing for a private road in December.
Gillette -
Put on for public hearing in December.
Jay The
other item in this ordinance is multi-tenant industrial buildings. Currently the ordinance addresses only one
tenant on one lot but many industrial building may be many suites leased
out. Suggest addressing less than and
greater than ten thousand square feet buildings. Suggest addressing larger than ten thousand square feet as special
use permits because the larger the building the more problems with parking,
lighting, etc. Also allows having this
type of facility in the industrial park.
Gillette -
Recommends putting this on a public hearing at a separate meeting in December.
Jernberg
asked if anything else.
Jeanne - Tom
brought up at last meeting regard the mini-storage and equine, putting lighting
section thats in the commercial district putting it also in the industrial
district too.
Jernberg -
Put proposed wording on next meetings agenda.
No comments
at this time.
Joint Lowell
Area Planning Commission Jeanne said the November 7th date needs
to be changed to November 13, or 20, 2002.
Planning commission to talk through issues to be discussed. Kilpatrick to assist Gillette, Medendorp and
Jernberg with development of topics for discussion.
Motion by Gillette
to adjourn, seconded by Medendorp. All
approved.
The meeting was adjourned
at 8:20 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Cindy Sullivan, Recorder