City Council

WATSON TOWNSHIP MICHIGAN 1895 118th Ave. Allegan, MI 49010 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING FINAL MINUTES DATE:SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 CALL TO ORDER: TIME/PLACE: 7:00pm - Watson Township Hall PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Recited ROLL CALL: Present: Bruce Bos; John Caras; Owen Ramey; Jay Roberts-Eveland; Brad Stalker Absent: Jim Davis; Nick Evans Quorum: Visitors: Zoning Administrator: Jason Derry, PCI ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None PUBLIC COMMENT: ( please sign in if wishing to address the Commission) None APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion: Jay Roberts-Eveland Second: Owen Ramey Approved APPROVAL OF MINUTES from June 28, 2023: with grammar corrections Motion: John Caras Second: Brad Stalker Approved 1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES from August 23, 2023: with grammar corrections Motion: Jay Roberts-Eveland Second: John Caras Approved OLD BUSINESS: (a) Continued discussion as to whether we should make any amendment changes to the definitions and requirements pertaining to minimum acreage and road frontage in the A-2 zoning ordinance. Chairman, Bruce Bos revisited the August 27th meeting with a review of Kevin Travis's, Kevin Kutcher’s and Jason Derry’s,PCI, explanation concerning A-2 Zoning. It was requested that the PC hear directly from the township assessor as to what he sees as trends, issues, potential concerns, as well as from the township supervisor, before the PC continues. The Planning Commission had a lengthy discussion addressing the many options for balancing growth, development, and keeping the rural nature of Watson Township. Some concerns involved the necessary infrastructure to sustain growth; requiring increase acreage and frontage - and the impact on property owners; land division/splits; tax revenue; wasting land with too many restrictions; high density areas vs. low density areas and long term sustainability; setting minimums; a holistic approach including the possibility of “overlay districts;” unintentional consequences; “spot zoning;’ and the possibility of setting up specific “corridors” for land use/development. The Planning Commission recognizes that this topic will take a lot of “fact finding” to determine the direction that will support the Master Plan and consider future land use for years ahead. It was addressed that the township assessor, Kevin Kutcher is attending some training this month and is willing to give us an update that will explain options, trends, concerns and direction. New Business: None Member Comments: John Caras gave an update on all the technology upgrades within the township hall and website. He explained the monetary savings per/month- that is substantial. The township has Starlink up and running and the Fire Barn has their own access point and can directly manage their responsibilities. Trevor is working daily from the Fire Barn. The integration of all documents to a safe server and cloud will provide safe keeping of township docs. A company has been hired to upload all township ordinances with amendments, updates and revisions to be streamlined. John Caras reported that the DNR grants for the 7 Generations Park have been submitted and we will hear more around December. He stated that the park trail is open after being cleared. 2 John Caras gave an update on the “old dump” being prepared for wells that will identify and monitor contaminants. Allegan County helped secure the EPA’s involvement and this will be the second phase to determine next steps in reclaiming the property. Motion: To adjourn the meeting Motion: Owen Ramey 2nd: John Caras Approved: Adjourned @ 8:36pm The Planning Commission next meeting will be October 25th @ 7:00 pm Submitted by: Jay Roberts-Eveland 3