City Council

Armada Township PLANNING COMMISSION 23121 E. Main Street, P.O. Box 578 Armada, Michigan 48005 Telephone: (586) 784-5200 Facsimile: (586)784-5211 DRAFT MINUTES March 6, 2013 – 7:00 p.m. Regular Meeting Call to order 1. Pledge of Allegiance 2. Roll Call 3. Approve/Amend Agenda 4. Approval of minutes: Regular Meeting January 2, 2013 5. Public Comments 6. Public Hearing 7. Reports and Correspondence 8. Unfinished Business: Zoning Ordinance Amendments 9. New Business: a.) Annual Report for 2012 b.) Election of Officers 10. PC Projects: Educational Session-How to Make a Motion 11. Public Comments 12. Adjournment Next Scheduled Regular Meeting: April 3, 2013 Call to order: Chair Kehrig called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance: Chair Kehrig led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call: Present: Finlay, Jabara, DeCock, Kehrig, Abercrombie, LeMieux. Absent: Finn Also present: Chris McLeod, Planner, Christine White, Recording Secretary. Finn arrived at 7:25 p.m. Approve/Amend Agenda: Motion made by Abercrombie, seconded by Finlay, to approve the agenda as presented. All ayes; Motion Carried. Approval of Minutes: Regular Meeting, January 2, 2013. Motion made by DeCock, seconded by Abercrombie, to approve minutes as presented. All ayes; Motion Carried. Public Comments: None. Public Hearing: None. Reports and Correspondence: Chair Kehrig noted a 2013 spring workshop for the planning commission, planning and zoning news for November, December and January, MTA question and answer handout directly related to the planning commission, letters from the Township Board, and a quote from Community Planning in regards to updating the township master plan. Motion made by LeMieux, seconded by Jabara, to receive and file as presented. All ayes; Motion Carried. Unfinished Business: Zoning Ordinance Amendments The Township Board sent letters back to the Planning Commission about what they like and do not like in regard to the draft ordinance #5. Title 16.24 Race Tracks, Motocross Tracks, Tractor Pulls, Mud Bogs and the Like for motorized vehicles. Planner, Chris McLeod and Chair Kehrig reviewed the letters from the township board. A discussion of having a deposit put into place for events of this nature to cover inspections and code enforcement took place. A legal opinion from the Township Attorney was suggested. The commission discussed if these events could be looked at on a yearly basis. Planner, Chris McLeod stated that this could not be done with a special land use. The planning commission sets the conditions and they run with the property. A yearly business license could be an option, but the township board would have to enact this and all businesses would have to abide, not just one. Commissioner Abercrombie suggested a special event permit process. By which, an applicant that meets certain requirements could obtain a permit for a certain number of events per year. A special events ordinance would be a regulatory ordinance and the township board is responsible for drafting them. They could keep the requirements the planning commission puts forth or they could change them. A special event should become a special land use after a certain amount of times. A special events permit fee and bond could be charged if the requirements are not met so that taxpayers are not charged if inspections or code enforcement becomes an issue. Commissioner DeCock is in favor of the special land use because you can critique a situation to the location and surrounding area to be tailored to specific sites. Motion made by DeCock, to submit to the township board to consider options and benefits to special land use and pros and cons of a regulatory special events ordinance, seconded with amendments by Finn: to increase notification to 500 ft., require a deposit, contingent on an annual review. Motion withdrawn. Motion made by DeCock, seconded by Finn, to recommend to the township board to consider the following options: the pros and cons of a special land use, and a regulatory special event permit ordinance. Amendment by Jabara, seconded by Finn, to have the planner present the options to the Township Board. All ayes; Motion Carried. New Business: a. Annual Report: An annual report that included August was received by all commissioners. This report gets sent to the township board for their next meeting. Motion made by DeCock, seconded by Finlay to approve the 2012 annual report and forward to the Township Board. All ayes; Motion Carried. b. Election of Officers: A Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary shall be elected by a majority vote of the members of the Commission present in session each year at a regular meeting. The Chair shall preside at all meetings. He or she shall be an ex-officio member of all committees. The Vice-Chair shall preside and exercise all the duties of the Chair in his or her absence. The Secretary shall preside and exercise all the duties of the Vice-Chair in his or her absence. Nomination made by DeCock, seconded by Finn, to nominate D.J. Kehrig for Chairman. Kehrig accepted. Motion by DeCock, to elect by unanimous consent. All ayes; Motion Carried. Nomination made by Finlay, seconded by Kehrig, to nominate Ken DeCock for Vice-Chair. DeCock accepted. Motion by Finlay, to elect by unanimous consent. All ayes; Motion Carried. Nomination made by Jabara, seconded by Finn, to nominate Maureen Finn for Secretary. Finn accepted. Nomination made by LeMieux, seconded by Finlay, to nominate Beth Abercrombie for Secretary. Abercrombie accepted. Vote: Abercrombie: Finlay, DeCock, Kehrig, Abercrombie, LeMieux. Finn: Jabara, Finn. Abercrombie will be secretary. PC Projects: Educational Session-How to Make a Motion Planner, Chris McLeod went over the anatomy of a motion. The most important reason for making clear and thorough motions is to ensure the Township is getting the development they expect. Should the Township ever be challenged legally, the motion is the most important portion of the meeting in defending the Township. Three steps should be followed for every motion on an application. The three steps are findings of fact, the motion itself, and pertinent conditions. A motion should always be clear and concise. There is a delicate balance between trying to expedite the development process to help a landowner or business owner and approving an application and having too many conditions some of which may end up falling through the cracks. Conditions must always be relative to the application and issues of the site plan. Conditions that require improvements or expenditures not relative to the application may cause issue. The hope is that if the motion is drafted in a clean concise manner there should not be discussion. Not to say you couldn’t have discussion, it is there for a reason. The pre-discussion is realistically where it should all occur. That way it is discussed freely, add items freely, you are not going to an official vote or official motion, you do not have to do amendments or having to withdrawal motions, you are simply having discussion. Then when you get to the motion and it has been seconded and you have a point that was not considered a member can then say I really want this and make an official amendment and see how the vote goes. The idea is that when the motion is made in most instances usually it is done the first time. Having laminate sheets for the Planning Commission members with details was suggested. Planner, Chris McLeod was asked by the township Clerk, Mary Swiacki to ask the planning commission its thoughts on a Pre-planning committee. The planning commission discussed the benefits of having such a committee, and who would reside on it and any fees associated with having it. Applicants would have their plans reviewed by a committee made up of the planner, engineer, planning secretary, and whoever the township board deems necessary. Ordinance and engineering requirements could be reviewed at that time and prior to the planning commission review. This idea is to help in planning by having all parties in the review process, review together the proposed project. Any corrections could be made prior to the project being reviewed by the planning commission. Motion made by DeCock, seconded by Finn, to recommend to the township board to consider a pre-planning committee to help expedite things in Armada Township. Amendment made by Abercrombie, to strike “things in Armada Township” and to replace with “planning projects.” Ayes: Finlay, Finn, DeCock, Kehrig, Abercrombie, LeMieux. Nay: Jabara. Motion Carried. Public Comments: None Adjournment: Motion made by DeCock, seconded by Jabara to adjourn at 9:30 p.m. All ayes; Motion Carried. Respectfully submitted: Christine White Recording Secretary Approved: DJ Kehrig, Chairperson_________________________________Date_____________________________