Present:  Jen Gregory, Tom Swan, Fran Fruehan, Larry Harvilchuck, Peg Miller, Steve Whitmore, Tony Trecoske, Bud Sodon, Kate Bouman, Sandy Payne, Terry Dugan, Jerry Derham, Carson Helfrich.

Absent:  Jonny Norton, Bryan Young, Brian Gardner

The Silver Lake Township Planning Commission and Ad Hoc Committee held their scheduled work session on Wednesday, September 10, 2008.  Larry Harvilchuck called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm.

Larry encouraged anyone from the committee that receives any kind of comment regarding zoning to please bring it to the meeting for discussion since public comment during the meetings is being limited so as to keep the meetings moving along. 

Community Planner, Carson Helfrich, attended the meeting. 

Community Conservation and  Development Goals and Objectives and the Goals and Action Summary from the Northern Tier Coalition Comprehensive Plan were reviewed.  How can these goals best be reflected whether as part of the SALDO or as Zoning or otherwise.  Also sections of the Municipal Planning Code were reviewed. 

The purpose of Mr. Helfrich’s attendance was to give the differences between zoning and SALDO and general ordinances.  SALDO regulates how land is subdivided and how infrastructure is provided.  Zoning is to regulate how the land is used.  SALDO can also regulate a commercial development as far as making sure there is adequate water and sewer and adequate access.  Can also regulate setbacks to an extent.  Cannot setup districts – commercial district, residential district, rural agricultural district.  Under SALDO everything is spread out through the entire township.  Under Zoning you can create districts and setup different setbacks and allow various users and various lot sizes – gives more management tools.  Under the conditional use section in Zoning you can apply more detailed standards to commercial and industrial uses.  Under SALDO you can include some standards like parking or lighting standards but does not get into noise and glare.  Conditional uses in Zoning gives the ability to attach reasonable conditions to anything that is listed as conditional use – a body shop that is next to a residence may require dense evergreen buffer between the two but cannot do that under SALDO.  You can also require greater setbacks for commercial uses in Zoning when it is next to a residential area.  Mr. Fruehan felt that there was a section in SALDO that allowed different setbacks for different uses.  He would try to find the section for the next meeting.  Mr. Helfrich pointed out that if a property is already a commercial establishment and the use changes under SALDO there is nothing you can do when the use changes – if there is a store that sells and the new owner wants to open an adult business then SALDO can do nothing since there is already a building there and the building was used for commercial purposes.  Can be regulated under Zoning or under a Special Purpose Ordinance.  But you would have to have a lot of Special Purpose Ordinances for all the various uses.  There are still costs involved in enforcing all the various special ordinances just as there is with Zoning.   

There is currently an Intermunicipal Agreement that states all member townships agree to cooperate.  If a township wishes to go on their own, then that township would have to provide for the uses that the other participating municipalities had been providing.  Have to provide for every use in a particular area covered by zoning.

The Committee was tasked with reviewing Chapters 1 and 2 of the proposed Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance and Chapters 1, 2 and 3 of the proposed Zoning Ordinance.  This meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm.