EATONCOUNTY
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
July 12, 2011
Call to Order:Brian Ross, Chair of Planning Commission called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Board of Commissioners Room, Eaton County Courthouse, 1045 Independence Blvd., Charlotte, MI48813.
Pledge:The Pledge of Allegiance was given by all.
Roll Call: Brian Ross,Ronald Wilson, Michael Hosey, Dave Roberts, Christopher Tennes,Michelle Stahl, Wayne Ridge, Marilyn Rutter and Raymond Whitaker
Staff Present: Claudine Hannold andBrandy Hatt
Agenda Approval:A motion was made by CommissionerRidgetoapprove the agenda for the July 12, 2011 meeting as printed. CommissionerStahlsupported. Motion carried.
Minutes Approval:A motion was made by Commissioner Hosey to approve the May 3, 2011 minutes as printed. Commissioner Whitaker supported. Motion carried.
Public Comment:none
CU-7-11-4: Request by Joseph Bontrager for a Conditional Use Permit to operate an Agricultural Business (sawmill) per Article 14.1 of the Ordinance, at 2065 N. Ionia Road, Parcel Code 050-033-400-076-00, Sec. 33, Vermontville Twp.
Staff Report: Ms. Hannold gave the staff report.
Commissioner Rutter asked Ms. Hannold if the Zoning Ordinance addressed the difference between an agricultural saw mill and an industrial saw mill. Ms. Hannold said no, the saw mill is listed in the Zoning Ordinance as an Agricultural Business only.
Commissioner Stahl asked Ms. Hatt to further explain her conversation with the Drain Commissioner’s Office regarding Mr. Bontrager’s proposed driveway. Ms. Hatt stated the location of the driveway on Mr. Bontrager’s site plan goes through the pond. Mr. Bontrager now proposes to move the proposed driveway to the west of the pond and to the east of the existing county drain. Ms. Hatt said Mr. Dick Brown, the Deputy Drain Commissioner, approved the new proposed location of the driveway without the use of culverts, however a Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Permit is still required to construct the proposed building.
Applicants Statement: Mr. Joseph Bontrager stated he would like to construct the saw mill to make a living. Commissioner Ross asked Mr. Bontrager if he has a problem with the bond the Eaton County Road Commission is asking for. Mr. Bontrager said he spoke with the road commission today and he is fine with the bond. Commissioner Roberts asked Mr. Bontrager if the road commission would require a bond if the driveway comes off from Ionia Road. Mr. Bontrager said yes.
Commissioner Stahl asked Mr. Bontrager if all of the equipment would be stored outside. Mr. Bontrager stated the loader, trucks and trailers would be stored outside.
Commissioner Rutter asked Mr. Bontrager if all of the sawing of lumber would be done inside the proposed building. Mr. Bontrager said yes. Commissioner Roberts asked Mr. Bontrager where the lumber will be stored. Mr. Bontrager stated the lumber will be stored outside prior to shipping. Commissioner Roberts asked Mr. Bontrager if the proposed building is completely enclosed. Mr. Bontrager said yes. Commissioner Rutter asked Mr. Bontrager if anything other than the logs and lumber will be store outside. Mr. Bontrager stated the trucks, trailers and loaders will be stored outside.
Commissioner Roberts asked Mr. Bontrager what he plans to do with the sawdust. Mr. Bontrager said he hopes to have someone buy it to make pellets for wood stoves. Commissioner Roberts asked if the sawdust would be stored outside. Mr. Bontrager said yes.
Commissioner Whitaker asked Mr. Bontrager to confirm the logs, lumber, sawdust, trucks, trailers and loaders will be stored outside. Mr. Bontrager said yes. Commissioner Whitaker asked Mr. Bontrager if the sawdust will be stored in containers. Mr. Bontrager said yes, most of the time. Commissioner Whitaker asked Mr. Bontrager if there would be a permanent sawdust pile located on the property. Mr. Bontrager said no. Commissioner Whitaker asked Mr. Bontrager what he plans to do with the scrap wood. Mr. Bontrager stated the scrap wood will be banded; once he has an entire load of scrap wood it will be removed from the property. Commissioner Whitaker asked Mr. Bontrager what species of wood he works with. Mr. Bontrager stated he primarily works with walnut.
Commissioner Stahl asked Mr. Bontrager where the driveway and semi-truck parking will be located. Mr. Bontrager stated the driveway will come in off Kinsel Hwy by the pond; the drivers will pull over by the building to unload the truck. He stated there will be a circle drive so they will not need to turn around. Commissioner Rutter asked if anyone would be backing out onto Kinsel Highway. Mr. Bontrager said no.
Commissioner Wilson stated there is an indication of possible noise and disruption to the neighborhood. He asked Mr. Bontrager if he would be willing to change the morning hours of the business to seven or seven-thirty rather than six-thirty. Mr. Bontrager stated he would not have a problem starting at seven in the morning.
Commissioner Hosey asked Mr. Bontrager if the mill will be powered by gas. Mr. Bontrager said yes, the diesel motor will be in a separate building. Commissioner Hosey asked Mr. Bontrager who is constructing the building the generator is going in. Mr. Bontrager said he is. Commissioner Hosey asked Mr. Bontrager if the building will be inspected. Mr. Bontrager said yes.
Commissioner Ross invited any speaker in favor or opposition to the request to make public comment.
Speakers in opposition:Michael Sams, 1969 Ionia Road, stated his property is located south of Mr. Bontrager’s directly across from the proposed driveway and sawmill. Mr. Sams stated he is concerned about the diesel generator, specifically the noise and storage of fuel. He stated walnut sawdust could be toxic to animals and noted he has two horses. Mr. Sams asked if Mr. Bontrager’s proposed building will be required to have a sprinkler system. He stated he does not have a problem with Mr. Bontrager making a living, however, he is currently opposed to the business; he does not want it in his backyard.
Speakers in favor: Mr. Harold Stewart, resident of Vermontville Township, stated the Township needs jobs in the area. He said there are containers to hold the diesel fuel. Mr. Stewart stated he has known Mr. Bontrager for a long time and he would not harm the environment or his own animals. He said the township needs jobs and Mr. Bontrager plans to hire four to six people.
Public hearing closed: 7:26 p.m.
Commissioner Whitaker said he believes the statement about walnut being toxic is accurate. Commissioner Roberts stated the dust can be harmful to horses if they stand or bed in it. He stated he is sure Mr. Bontrager is aware of that.
Commissioner Roberts asked Ms. Hannold if the proposed diesel building is identified on the site plan. Ms. Hannold said no. Commissioner Whitaker stated he would like to see a corrected site plan showing the proposed diesel building, correct location of the proposed driveway, parking and outdoor storage areas.
Commissioner Hosey asked the Commissioners if they were aware of any business with large diesel operations.
Commissioner Ridge stated he hunts on a property owned by a different Mr. Bontrager; he has a generator in a building, and it is not very loud.
Commissioner Rutter stated the Planning Commissioners may want to consider limiting the amount of lumber that is allowed to be stored outside. Commissioner Stahl asked Ms. Hannold if that is something the Planning Commission can do. Ms. Hannold said yes, but cautioned the Planning Commission about creating conditions that cannot be regulated. She added any conditions would need spelled out specifically in the motion for the permit if approved. She said the Planning Commission could require the sawdust to be stored in containers.
Commissioner Stahl asked Ms. Hannold if the Planning Commission needs to postpone the application to another meeting pending a new site plan. Commissioner Ross replied and said the Planning Commission has approved applications in the past with a condition/requirement that a new site plan be submitted to the Community Development Department for review. Commissioner Whitaker stated there was a lot missing from the site plan.
Commissioner Rutter asked Ms. Hannold if Mr. Bontrager submitted a new site plan with the correct location of the driveway. Ms. Hannold said no. Mr. Bontrager informed Ms. Hannold he had a new site plan with him. Ms. Hannold reviewed his new site plan and stated it did not include all of the information the Planning Commission was looking for.
Commissioner Whitaker moved to postpone CU-7-11-4 (Joseph Bontrager)to the August 2, 2011 Planning Commission meeting. A new site plan showing the proposed driveway with turnaround, location of all buildings (existing and proposed), parking and outdoor storage areas is required to be submitted to the Community Development Department before the meeting date. Commissioner Hosey supported. Motion carried.
Commissioner Stahl asked staff to research the toxicity of walnut saw dust. She suggested contacting the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Barry-Eaton District Health Department.
Other Business: Commissioner Ross stated Mr. Don Wortman is in attendance to give a presentation regarding the public hearing and adoption of the Eaton County Draft Master Plan. He asked the Planning Commissioners to move to the audience seats to watch the presentation.
Mr. Wortman said work on the Master Plan began three years ago and approximately thirteen meetings have been held to get to this point with the Draft. Mr. Wortman gave a power point presentation to outline the history of the Draft Master Plan and each of the chapters within the document.
After Mr. Wortman discussed the future land use maps Commissioner Tennes asked if the surrounding local jurisdictions further land use maps were taken into consideration when creating the Eaton County Future Land Use Maps. Mr. Wortman stated the process was very involved and extensive and said Ms. Hannold and some Planning Commissioners even attended township meetings. Ms. Hannold pointed out the maps were changed significantly after those meetings, so each township was then invited and attended individual meetings with Community Development Staff to discuss, review and make comments not only on their township, but boarding townships as well. She added the townships that have existing future land use maps were taken into consideration when creating the county future land use map.
Charamy Cleary asked Mr. Wortman if there has been any thought to updating the Census Data in the Plan. Mr. Wortman said it has been brought up, however some of the 2010 data has still not been released. Ms. Hannold added updating the census data was not included in the original contract. Mr. Wortman stated he does not believe the change in data from 2000 to 2010 will impact oraffect the land use in the Plan. He stated the Master Plan will have to be reviewed in five years and suggested adding the 2010 Census Data then. The Planning Commissioners returned to their seats.
Commissioner Ross announced and opened the public hearing for comments on the Eaton County Master Plan.
Public Comments:Ms. Andrea Stay, Eaton County Conservation District,said she attended the meeting to answer any questions there may be regarding the conservation district. She stated the 2008 Potential Conservation Area Assessment report information was included in the Master Plan. Ms. Stay explainedhow the priority groups were ranked/created in the report and added a lot of the information is based on land use,not ground evaluation truth. She saiddue to this, there are some areas in the report where data is truer than others. However, Ms. Stay stated it is still good scientific data.
Commissioner Ross called for any other comments, hearing none the Public Hearing closed at 8:07 p.m.
Ms. Hannold asked the Planning Commissioners what their thoughts were on comments staffreceived during the sixty-three day review period. Commissioner Stahl said she believes most of the comments were of a cosmetic nature. She stated she was going to ask about the Census Data and asked Ms. Hannold for her opinion on it. Ms. Hannold said she does not think the data is going to impact the land use of Eaton County. She said when the process for the Master Plan was started she never thought it would take three years and changing the information at this point is not in the budget.
Commissioner Stahl asked Ms. Hannold about the comment from the railroad company. Ms. Hannold stated she believes they wanted their company name and routes through Eaton County listed in the Master Plan.
Commissioner Whitaker moved to approve the adoption of the Eaton County Master Plan with all non-substantive changes to be made by staff. Commissioner Stahl supported.
A roll call was taken with nine (9) voting aye and none (0) voting nay. Motion carried.
Farmland Agreement: Commissioner Roberts moved to recommend approval to the Board of Commissioners for the Farmland and Open Space Agreement application submitted by Armon and Cynthia Southworth. Commissioner Whitaker supported. Motion carried.
Public Comments:Mr. Wortman thanked the Planning Commission for the opportunity to work with them on the Eaton County Master Plan. He also thanked the staff of the Community Development Department.
Public closed at 8:16 p.m.
Upcoming Cases: Ms. Hannold stated the Planning Commission has four postponed CUP applications, three new CUP applications and one DCA application to discuss at their August 2, 2011 meeting.
Commissioner Hosey moved to adjourn the meeting.Commissioner Stahl supported. Meeting adjourned at8:17p.m.
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