ARVON TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION QUARTERLY MEETING
JANUARY 12, 2022
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER: 6:10 P.M.
ROLL CALL AND RECOGNITION OF VISITORS: Nancy Strohschein, Trustee; Dorothy Nankervis, Trustee; Robert Lindert, Trustee; Bob Janda, Township Board Representative; Linnea Barron, Secretary, Acting Chariperson. Absent: Joe Bollech, Trustee, illness; Jay Loman, Trustee, unknown reason. Guest: Bette Gabe.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Pledge recited.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Nancy made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Dorothy. All approved, motion passed.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Nancy made a motion to approve the minutes from the October 2021 quarterly meeting, seconded by Bob. All approved, motion passed.
SCHEDULED PUBLIC HEARINGS: None.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
OTHER MATTER TO BE REVIEWED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION: None.
OLD BUSINESS:
- Solar energy: We discussed that our ordinance does not address this in any detail. We feel it may be necessary to include it in our ordinance. Individuals can install solar panels on their property. So far no interest in building a solar farm has occurred in this township. Concerns of maintenance, feasibility, etc. were discussed. Marquette county has a solar farm going up in Sands Township, 2300 acres, called the Superior Solar Project. We decided we would each check various other townships on-line as to how they address solar energy. We already have information from Baraga Township.
- Master Plan: We went through Section 5 that Jason McCarthy had revised per our corrections. Section 5, Existing Land Use, looked good. We worked hard on Section 6, Community Services, Recreation & Culture. There were questions that Jason included for us to answer, which we could on some and need to inquire on others. We made some corrections and included updated material. The recreation portion of Section 6 was revised quite a bit. We added Roland Lake information, portions of Aura that belong to Arvon Township such as the Town Hall and ballfield. We clarified the waterfront parcels that the township owns, and areas of recreation on the Huron River. We will still work on some of the wording on those changes. Section 6 still needs work.
OPEN DISCUSSIONFOR ISSUES NOT ON THE AGENDA:
- Correspondence received: None.
- Planning commission members concerns, if any: None.
- Members of the audience concerns: None.
REPORT OF TOWNSHIP BOARD REPRESENTATIVE, Bob Janda: None.
REPORT OF ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS REPRESENTATIVE, Jay Loman.
REPORT OF PLANNING CONSULTANT: No consultant yet.
NEW BUSINESS:
- Tents: Ken requested a change on page 27 in the ordinance under Recreational Unit, to delete the word ‘tent’ from the definition. Make another definition for ‘tent’ to read: Tent: A temporary movable fabric or membrane shelter or enclosure for transient recreational activities. Ken had another request regarding tents under Article XV General Provisions Section 1511 Temporary Uses that was overlooked by me and will be discussed at a future meeting.
- Off-grid provisions. Ken has been getting requests for allowable off-grid provisions. Ken printed off that the only allowable provisions he has available is for sanitation facilities from Upper Peninsula Environmental Health Care and the Michigan Residential Code Section 306 Sanitation & Technical Bulletin Requirements for Plumbing Fixtures for Remote Cabins. Ken also has checked with other townships regarding this and finding nothing. Per our discussion, we were not sure there is anything more to address than sanitation concerns. We will table this topic for future discussion, especially when Ken can attend.
- Junk Storage and Accumulation. Ken wanted us to discuss if we need to have something in the ordinance on this. We printed off what Ovid Township included in their ordinance on this issue, and we discussed it. Ovid’s ordinance on this were thorough, rather strict, with provisions to follow up on it. We felt if there was a kinder way to approach this, such as encouraging cleanup for increased property value. We respect property owners’ rights, and this discussion should be shared with the community.
DISCRETIONARY PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
NEXT QUARTERLY MEETING DATE: Wednesday, April 13, 2022, at 6 p.m. at the fire hall.
ADJOURNMENT : Bob made a motion to adjourn, Robert seconded it. All approved, motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 8:22 p.m.
Submitted by Linnea Barron, Secretary, Acting Chairperson