BRADY TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION

MINUTES OF MEETING HELD NOVEMBER 19, 2009

A regular meeting of the Brady Township Planning Commission was held on November 19, 2009 commencing at 7:30 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Members present: Chairman Gary Miller

                                                          Vice Chairman Dave Locey

                                                           Ed Haberle

                                Mike Henderson

                                Julie Skrzypek

                                                          Scott Oswalt

 Absent: Randy Smith.

 Also attending: Township Attorney Craig Rolfe and 3 others.

Chairman Gary Miller welcomed the two new Planning Commission members.

Mike Henderson made a motion to accept the agenda as printed. Ed Haberle supported, and the motion was carried unanimously.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Mike Henderson made the following corrections to the minutes of October 22, 2009: page 2, paragraph 9, change “after going through each item” to “all relevant criteria have been met”; page 3, paragraph 1, change the sentence to read “All relevant criteria have been met and Mike Henderson made a motion to approve the Craddock’s Site Plan Review with the condition that adequate off-street parking shall be maintained.” Craig Rolfe suggested the following changes: page 3, paragraph two, and change the words “eliminate both” to “avoid having to accept”; page 3, paragraph 5, insert the word “proposed” before revisions in sentences 1 and 5.

Mike Henderson suggested a motion to approve the minutes of October 22, 2009 as corrected. Ed Haberle supported, and the motion was carried unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING --- PROPOSED AMENDMENT OF LAND USE PLAN (MASTER PLAN)

Chairman Gary Miller opened the Public Hearing and asked Township Attorney Craig Rolfe to give background information on the proposed amendment to the Land Use Plan. The Planning Commission has been working on a required review of the Land Use Plan for several months, and has concluded that no substantial changes are needed. The Planning Commission has made some technical changes to bring the Land Use Plan into compliance with the Michigan Planning Enabling Act and has updated some of the demographics. There were no changes to the Future Land Use Map.

There was no public comment, and the Public Hearing was closed.

It was noted that the title for the Land Use Map (just before page 21) should be changed to Future Land Use Map.

Mike Henderson made a motion to resolve that the Proposed Master Plan be approved, with the change cited in the preceding paragraph. Dave Locey supported, and the motion was carried unanimously. This approval will be forwarded to the Township Board for final adoption action.

The Planning Commission and the Township Attorney expressed thanks to Randy Smith for all of the hard work he has done on this review of the Land Use Plan.

PUBLIC HEARING --- PROPOSED ZONING ORDINANCE TEXT AMENDMENTS (Section 15.3, Article XIV, and Section 3.11 subsection 59E)

Chairman Gary Miller opened the Public Hearing. Attorney Rolfe went through the text of the proposed amendments.

John Wilks, 11898 Highview Shores, suggested that the Planning Commission prepare a clear, legal definition of “shoreline”.

Gary Miller responded that there is a definition in Section 15.6, paragraph 3, but it is specific to that section. Mike Henderson agreed that it is a good idea to add a definition to the definition section of the Zoning Ordinance.

There was no further public comment, and the Public Hearing was closed.

Mike Henderson stated that page 3, section (b), of the proposed text is confusing. After some discussion, it was decided that this text would be changed to read “repeat preceding step (3a) for the other side of the subject lot.”

Mike Henderson stated that page 6, on minimum side yard setbacks, the language should be changed to state, for example “70’ or less, but greater than 60’” and so on for the entire set back listing.

Craig Rolfe questioned the inclusion of a date on page 1 item 2(a). After discussion, it was decided to delete Section 15.3.2(a). The order of the lettering of the remaining items in Section 15.3 will have to be revised accordingly.

Mike Henderson made a motion to recommend to the Township Board to approve the proposed zoning ordinance text amendments to Section 15.3 and Article XIV with the revisions as discussed by the Planning Commission in the preceding 3 paragraphs. Dave Locey supported, and the motion was carried unanimously.

Mike Henderson agreed to meet with SCMCCI administrator Chris Hamilton to go over the amendments with her if the Township Board approves the amendments.

After some discussion, there was a motion by Mike Henderson to appoint Township Attorney Craig Rolfe to draft a definition of watercourse setback to go along with the text of the proposed amendments. Dave Locey supported, and the motion was carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS

 none

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

A. WIND ENERGY STRUCTURE DISCUSSION

Mike Henderson is developing the Schoolcraft Township Ordinance into an ordinance that will work for Brady Township.

B. OUTDOOR FURNACE ORDINANCE

The Township Board has referred this matter back to the Planning Commission to draft a General Ordinance dealing with outdoor furnaces.

REPORTS

There were no reports.

Dave Locey made a motion to adjourn at 9:00 p.m. Mike Henderson seconded and the motion was carried unanimously.

The next regular Planning Commission Meeting is scheduled for February 18, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

____________________________

Gary Miller, Chairman

Brenda Brock,

Recording Secretary