Earlier this year the
Township Board authorized a complete rewriting of the Township’s Zoning
Ordinance. To date, staff has reorganized the existing language into a new
format without altering any of the actual language from each section. To
continue progress with the creation of a new ordinance, staff has begun
organizing and conducting meetings throughout the community to gather input on
potential areas of the ordinance which should be amended. Key outreach groups
include but are not limited to the Wine Owners of Old Mission Peninsula (WOMP),
Protect the Peninsula Citizens Group, and other local constituents (i.e. Park
Commission, Fire Department, etc.).
Attached to this document is
a copy of a proposed schedule for both the general public and staff to keep
focus of the tasks at hand. This organizational chart should also help the
Planning Commission to accomplish the goal of the ordinance’s rewrite in a
timely fashion. Over the upcoming year’s worth of work this schedule may need
to be amended; however, with it in place members of the community will have a
tentative schedule to which they may refer to and keep touch with when
concerning items are scheduled for discussion throughout the Township.
Presentation of each of the
following topics will take place through multiple mediums over the course of
the next year. Staff will be organizing “workshops” on a monthly basis to
initiate discussion with the general public for each of the outlined subjects.
After community input has been gathered for each topic, staff will then present
the results of each “workshop” to the Planning Commission for their review. A
draft language would then be developed and later presented to the P.C.,
discussed, amended if necessary, and then reviewed by the Township’s legal
counsel. Once approved by both legal counsel and the PC, staff would then place
that subject into the overall rewritten zoning ordinance and move to the next
topic for discussion.
It is likely that several
items could be under discussion at the same time with various portions of the
community, but before any language is drafted, staff and the PC would have
already given the general public at least two (2) separate forums to discuss
the issues at hand. Community support is crucial for these new regulations to be
adopted by the Township Board. It is staff’s opinion that with the proposed
presentation schedule the amendment process will bring forth a document which
will serve the public interests efficiently, effectively, and gather support
for its inception.
Thank you again for the time
to address this issue and if there should there be any questions, concerns or
comments regarding the issues at hand, please do not hesitate to contact me
directly at (231) 223-7314.
Daniel Leonard; Peninsula
Township Planner
