Bruce Township Planning Commission

6 February 2007

Members present: J. Fischer, B. Gardella, L. Little, L. MacDonald, C. Marsh

B. Osborne, C. Person, Supervisor D. Gallagher

Absent: no one

Public: one

Call to order: 7:00p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance

Approve minutes of 9 January 2007 and Public Hearing 16 January 2007

Motion C. March, 2^nd B. Osborn minutes approved as read.

Approval of agenda: add item 8a- Reclamation Plan submission. Approved with addition.

Public comments: none

Chairperson comments:

1. Chair proposed slightly more formal structure with meeting procedure esp. with audience comment. It is important to have feedback from audience, however, Robert’s Rules of Order are considered proper guidelines.

2.Chair indicated attempts were made to meet with S. Esch to go over the concerns that she presented to the Commission at the January meeting. As Supervisor, Chair and Ms. Esch were not able to meet, chair went over her concerns with the Commission citing the proposed response. Ms Esch has filed for information under the Freedom of Information act and Supervisor reported compliance within the required time limit.

a. Planning Commission did grant a permit for dock repair and slip rental to Hetherington property

b. Commercial dock requirements will be considered in conjuncti on with future Zoning Ordinance updates.

c. The fence issue cited by Ms. Esch was looked into by the Zoning Administrator and was deemed to comply with the current ordinances.

d. A form to record questions/complaints from the public concerning zoning issues has been prepared (will be presented to the Township Board) by the Supervisor. Commissioners supported this draft.

e. Ms. Esch will be advised that authority to enforce zoning violations rests with the Zoning Enforcement Officer.

3. Michigan Township Association Weekly Legislative Report advised that the governor has vetoed proposed legislation providing tax exemptions for farmland preservation.

Commissioner comments: None

Master Plan Update: No changes resulted in the Master Plan from input at the Public Hearing. Motion by L. Little, 2^nd by B. Osborn to adopt the presented Master Plan. Roll call vote: Fischer-yes, Gardella-yes, Person-yes, MacDonald-yes, Little-yes, Marsh-yes, Osborne-yes. Master Plan adopted as presented.

L. Little inquired if Plan will be posted on website and chair indicated there are no plans to do so. Other townships also do not include master plans on their websites.

Copies will be sent to the County Board, E.U.P. Regional Planning and adjacent Townships as required by the Township Planning Act.

B. Gardella inquired if the date of adoption should be indicated on the cover sheet. General Consensus was that the year of adoption was sufficient.

After discussion, B. Gardella made motion to rescind provision 28.605(D)(i),

Ground Water (quality monitoring requirement for gravel pit operation). L. Little stated the motion needs to say why this provision was removed. Gardella added "due to lack of available technical guidance from the Health Department and DEQ". 2^nd by C. Marsh. Motion passed unanimously. The Township Board will be advised that the suspension of this requirement will included in an upcoming proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment.

Chair continues to fine tune the ordinances. Minor wording changes are proposed under Sec 28.205 Essential Services by adding (…may include the erection, construction, and maintenance of underground…) J. Fisher inquired if the wording of "overhead gas, electrical, steam…" could be reorganized as she felt the order was not clear (overhead gas). Chair agreed.

Sec. 28.1601 states that the Planning Commission SHALL meet monthly. The provision should be revised to allow meetings to be cancelled if no business needs to be conducted.

Chair asked that a provision be considered to have mobile homes comply with H.U.D. standards. L. Little indicated that these standards are constantly changing and would prohibit many suitable mobile homes. She stated the city of Sault Ste. Marie requires a certain roof pitch. Supervisor added that our current square footage requirement covers any problems. Consensus that the problem is under control at the moment so do not change.

Chair pointed out the Ordinance (28.1400 sec. L) concerning gravel pits is not clear on allowing site preparation before a permit is granted. Discussion followed on whether home sites could be cleared before permits were issued. Consensus was to leave ordinance provisions as currently stated.

The site reclamation Plan presented by Burton Excavating was discussed. After discussion motion presented by J. Fischer, 2^nd by B. Osborn to not approve site plan as it fails to meet basic needs. Motion carried. Chair will prepare a letter to Burton Excavating indicating that a satisfactory plan must be presented before gravel production operations can be started.

Consensus of the commission is that our next focus should be on the commercial/light industrial district along M-129 as defined in the Master Plan.

Other: J. Fischer would like it on record that B. Osborne is the "under" secretary (backup secretary) for the Planning Commission. She felt this was not clear in the election of officers last month.

No other Public comment.

Motion to adjourn C. Marsh, 2^nd L. Little.

Meeting adjourned 8:58 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Carolyn Person secretary