[00:01:15]
[1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER]
SO I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE CHARTER TOWNSHIP MERIDIAN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS, APRIL 16TH, 2025 TO ORDER. CAN WE GO AHEAD AND DO A ROLL CALL VOTE? DO WE NEED A ROLL CALL VOTE, MR. CHAIRMAN? YEAH. TO GET EVERYONE'S NAME. SO IS THAT THAT'S TYPICALLY THE CHAIR WHO DOES IT, ISN'T IT? YEP. OKAY, SO MEMBER BENOIT. HERE. MEMBER BROOKS, PRESENT.MEMBER TRESIZE. HERE. A ND VICE CHAIR KOENIG IS HERE.
SO, MOVING ON TO APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA. DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
[ 2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA]
CHANGES TO THE AGENDA TONIGHT? I MOVE APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED.SECOND, HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? IF NOT, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED.
THE SAME. ALL RIGHT, MOVING ON. NUMBER THREE.
[3. CORRECTIONS, APPROVAL AND RATIFICATION OF MINUTES]
CORRECTIONS. APPROVAL. RATIFICATION OF THE MINUTES. DID ANYONE GET A CHANCE TO SEE THE FEBRUARY 19TH, 2020 FIVE MINUTES? ANY CORRECTIONS OR ERRORS IN THAT? IF NOT, LOOK FOR A MOTION FOR APPROVAL.OKAY. YOU GO FIRST. I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 19TH.
AND I'LL SUPPORT. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT? IF NOT, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? SAME. NONE. MINUTES ARE APPROVED. I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY COMMUNICATIONS, CORRECT, MR. CHAPMAN, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY UNFINISHED BUSINESS. SO THAT WILL MOVE US TO NEW BUSINESS, WHICH WE HAVE ONE CASE TONIGHT, WHICH IS ZBA CASE NUMBER
[6.A. ZBA CASE NO.: 25-02 (Meridian Township), 5151 Marsh Road, Okemos, MI 48864]
25-02, WHICH IS ACTUALLY MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP IS THE APPLICANT 5151 MARSH ROAD, OKEMOS, MICHIGAN.MR. CHAPMAN, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO YOU. YEP.
IT IS PROPOSED TO RUN NORTH OF ROBINS WAY ACROSS THE SMITH CONSOLIDATED DRAIN, WHERE A CULVERT WILL BE INSTALLED ALONG THE CONCRETE PATHWAY, THEN CONNECTING TO OKEMOS PRESERVE. THE PROPERTY IS APPROXIMATELY 0.525 ACRES IN SIZE AND IS ZONED R, A SINGLE FAMILY, SO THE ZONING ORDINANCE SPECIFIES ACTIVITIES THAT ARE PROHIBITED WITHIN 25FT AND 50FT OF OPEN COUNTY DRAINS.
THE 50 FOOT OPEN COUNTY DRAIN SETBACK PROHIBITS ANY STRUCTURES OR GRADING, AND THEN THE 25 FOOT SETBACK REQUIRES SELECTIVE OR ALLOW SELECTIVE PRUNING OF TREES, SHRUBS, AND GROUND COVER.
AND THERE'S SOME EXCEPTIONS THAT ARE ALLOWED AT THE CLOSEST POINT.
THE PATHWAY WOULD BE LOCATED ZERO FEET FROM THE SMITH CONSOLIDATED DRAIN, ENCROACHING 25FT INTO THE 25 FOOT NATURAL VEGETATION STRIP AND 50FT INTO THE 50 FOOT OPEN COUNTY DRAIN SETBACK. SO A VARIANCE OF 25FT AND 50FT IS REQUESTED.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. CHAPMAN BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE APPLICANT? IF NOT THE APPLICANT OR THE APPLICANT'S REPRESENTATIVE, YOU WANT TO COME ON UP? JUST AGAIN, YOU'RE PROBABLY AWARE, BUT JUST STATE YOUR NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS AND WHO YOU'RE WITH FOR THE RECORD.
SO I THINK KEITH GAVE A PRETTY GOOD OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT.
JUST A FEW THINGS TO ADD. WE HAVE COORDINATED THIS DRAIN CROSSING WITH THE DRAIN OFFICE.
[00:05:01]
IT'S REALLY JUST PROVIDING LINKAGE BETWEEN THE SANCTUARY NEIGHBORHOOD AND GETTING IT UP AND CONNECTED TO THE OKEMOS HARTRICK TRAIL.SO AS KEITH MENTIONED, IT'S PART OF OUR MASTER PLAN AND WAS PLANNED WITH THIS DEVELOPMENT HERE.
SO I THINK I'LL JUST PAUSE THERE AND TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL MIGHT HAVE ON THE PROJECT.
OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE APPLICANT, MR. MEMBER TREZISE, GO FOR IT.
AS I READ THE MAP HERE, IT GOES FROM THE NEW DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE DRAIN TO THE PATHWAY BY AT THE PRESERVE OVER THERE. NO, THAT'S A DIFFERENT SUBDIVISION ON THE NORTH SIDE.
AM I CORRECT? SO IT'S STARTING ON ROBBINS WAY.
IT'S ON OUR MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP PARCEL. THAT'S IT'S ABOUT 50FT WIDE, AND THE DRAIN CROSSES IT.
IT GOES UP TO THE NORTH, AND THEN IT GETS ON TO THE CONSUMERS PROPERTY, AND IT RUNS EAST AND WEST, AND THEN IT JOGS UP TO THE NORTH, WHERE IT GETS BACK TO THE OKEMOS PRESERVE COMMON AREA, WHICH WE GOT AN EASEMENT FROM THEM TO BE ON THAT LITTLE STRIP.
AND THAT'S WHEN IT TIES INTO THE OKEMOS TRAIL.
OKAY. WHAT IS THE DOTTED LINE THAT IS FURTHER TO THE WEST THAT GOES DOWN TO.
YEAH. SO THAT'S AN EASEMENT FOR A WATER MAIN CONNECTION.
YEAH. OKAY. YEP. I THOUGHT THE PATHWAY FROM ROBBINS WAY UP TO THE PROPERTY LINE WAS ALREADY BUILT.
AM I INCORRECT? YES. ALONG THE CUL DE SAC OF ROBBINS WAY, THERE IS A PATHWAY CONSTRUCTED.
YEP. OKAY. THAT'S MY QUESTION. I WAS JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHERE IT IS.
I'VE BEEN THERE A NUMBER OF TIMES TO RIDE MY BIKE AROUND.
I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW IT'S GOING TO LINK. RIGHT.
GOTCHA. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO, I JUST HAD ONE.
I WORK FOR THE TRI-COUNTY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION. I KNOW, WHATEVER BUT WE ARE KIND OF A CLEARINGHOUSE FOR SOME MDNR GRANTS, AND SOME OF THOSE ARE BIKEWAYS AND THINGS THAT LOCAL COMMUNITIES APPLY FOR, FOR STATE GRANT FUNDS.
A FEW YEARS AGO, ONE OF THEM WAS PRETTY CONTENTIOUS BECAUSE IT WAS NEAR SOME HOMES.
I KNOW THERE'S A HOMEOWNER THAT LIVES LIKE RIGHT TO THE EAST OF THIS.
HAVE YOU HAD ANY COMMUNICATION, HAS THE TOWNSHIP REACHED OUT TO THEM AND GOT THEIR FEEDBACK ON, HEY, THERE'S GOING TO BE A PATH WITHIN 50FT OF YOUR HOUSE, ARE YOU OKAY WITH THAT? YEAH. SO WE HAD TO GO THROUGH EAGLE PERMITTING AS WELL.
AND DUE TO THE SCOPE OF THIS PROJECT, IT WAS A PUBLIC NOTICE TYPE OF PROJECT.
SO THEY DID GET NOTIFIED THROUGH EGLE, ALONG WITH EVERY OTHER RESIDENT WITHIN 500FT.
SO YES, THEY WERE THEY WERE NOTIFIED AND WE DID NOT GET ANY COMMENTS.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY COMMENTS? NO. OKAY. YEAH.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU, MISS HART.
SO IS THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS ANYONE WANTS TO MAKE, OR ARE YOU GUYS READY TO GO THROUGH THE ACTUAL CRITERIA AND REVIEW CRITERIA? I AM READY TO GO. I AM READY. READY TO GO. ALL RIGHT.
WELL, LET'S START WITH REVIEW CRITERIA NUMBER ONE, WHICH SAYS UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES EXIST THAT ARE PECULIAR TO THE LAND OR STRUCTURE THAT ARE NOT APPLICABLE TO OTHER LAND OR STRUCTURES IN THE SAME ZONING DISTRICT. AND THESE UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES ARE NOT SELF-CREATED.
SO DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY COMMENTS ON THAT? THE TOWNSHIP HAS NOT CREATED THE PROBLEM.
I THINK THIS IS A UNIQUE PASS WAY THAT'S ANY WAY TO CONNECT THE EXISTING PASS WAY TO THE NORTH TO THIS SUBDIVISION WOULD HAVE TO CROSS THAT DRAIN AT SOME POINT.
SO I THINK IT MEETS THAT CRITERIA. YEAH. AS LONG AS THIS IS THE OPTIMAL PLACE TO DO THAT, I WHICH I'M ASSUMING THAT IT IS, THEN THIS MAKES SENSE, BEING THAT IT'S CITY OWNED PROPERTY AND NOT GO THROUGH SOMEBODY ELSE'S PROPERTY.
THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. AND THERE'S A LOT OF WETLANDS IN OTHER PLACES THAT WOULD LINK, THAT WOULD MAKE IT EVEN MORE OF AN INTRUSION THAN THIS WOULD. I WOULD AGREE. SO I THINK WE CAN COME TO A CONSENSUS THAT REVIEW CRITERIA, NUMBER ONE CAN BE MET.
MOVING ON. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT? NUMBER TWO, STRICT INTERPRETATION, ENFORCEMENT OF THE LITERAL TERMS AND PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER WOULD RESULT IN PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES THAT WOULD PREVENT THE OWNER FROM USING THE PROPERTY FOR A PERMITTED PURPOSE.
ANY COMMENTS ON THAT? I MEAN, IT'S A PRETTY NARROW, PRETTY SMALL LOT.
[00:10:05]
I DON'T THINK IT'S I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY A GOOD USE FOR WHAT THE SIZE OF THE PROPERTY IS.IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE GOING TO PUT A SINGLE FAMILY HOME ON THAT. IT'S PRETTY TINY.
AND WHETHER IT'S BUILDABLE OR NOT WOULDN'T MEAN MUCH OF A PARK EITHER SINCE IT'S TOWNSHIP OWNED, SO. WELL, AND IF YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT A PARK, YOU MIGHT AS WELL GET SOME USE OUT OF IT THAT'S ACTIVE OTHER THAN JUST LETTING IT SIT AND NOT DO ANYTHING WITH. AND I SEE THAT AS A PRETTY GOOD USE.
AND LIKE YOU SAID, I COULDN'T REMEMBER THE NAME OF IT, BUT IT IS IN HERE.
PATHWAY MASTER PLAN. SO YEAH, IT'S BEEN PART OF THAT PATHWAY MASTER PLAN FOR A WHILE.
SO AND IT WAS PLATTED AND PRESERVED WHEN THEY BUILT THE SUBDIVISION THAT SURROUNDS IT.
SO IT WAS IT'S BEEN KNOWN TO THE PROPERTY OWNERS AS A POTENTIAL FOR YEARS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I THINK WE CAN MEET CRITERIA NUMBER TWO.
NUMBER THREE GRANTING THE VARIANCE IS THE MINIMUM ACTION NECESSARY, WHICH WOULD CARRY OUT THE SPIRIT OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE, SECURE PUBLIC SAFETY AND PROVIDE SUBSTANTIAL JUSTICE.
IT WILL BE RESTORED, AS WE ALWAYS DO IN WETLANDS AND DRAINS.
SO IT'S ALLOWING US TO WORK IN THERE, BUT IT DOESN'T HOPEFULLY ULTIMATELY HARM THE DRAIN.
YEAH, I THINK YOU SAID IT FOR NUMBER ONE AS WELL.
IS THAT THE DRAIN WAS THERE BEFORE THIS CAME, AND THERE'S NO WAY TO GET AROUND THAT DRAIN BECAUSE THE DRAIN TRAVERSES THE WHOLE WIDTH OF THAT PROPERTY. AND, YOU KNOW, I PERSONALLY I KNOW THIS ISN'T ANYTHING, YOU KNOW, FACT FOR THE RECORD, BUT MY OPINION IS I ENJOY NON-MOTORIZED PATHS.
I THINK ANYTHING NON-MOTORIZED, I KNOW THIS ISN'T A HUGE PATH THAT'S GOING TO TAKE CARS OFF THE ROAD, BUT, YOU KNOW, FOR SOMEONE WHO LIVES ON THAT SUBDIVISION TO, YOU KNOW, UTILIZE THAT NEW PATH AND GO THROUGH THE OTHER SUBDIVISION AND CONNECT AROUND IT GETS THEM FROM WALKING TO HAVING TO GO ALL THE WAY OUT TO HULETT ROAD, WHICH IS KIND OF A BUSY ROAD FROM TIME TO TIME. I THINK I CAN SEE THAT AS A AS A PUBLIC SAFETY FEATURE, AND IT ALSO COULD BE USED BY STUDENTS IN THAT AREA TO GET ACROSS AND WALK DOWN TO HULETT AND GET TO BENNETT WOODS, AS WELL AS THE 242 SCHOOL IN THERE, BECAUSE I THINK THE CROSSWALK IS FARTHER SOUTH SO THEY CAN COME FROM DOWN THERE, GO WITHOUT HAVING TO GO OUT TO HULETT AND WALKING DOWN AND FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE WALKING ON THAT ROAD.
SO JUST MY INPUT ON THAT. ANY OTHER COMMENTS QUESTIONS I THINK WE CAN MEET CRITERIA NUMBER THREE BASED ON THAT CRITERIA NUMBER FOUR GRADING THE VARIANCE WILL NOT ADVERSELY AFFECT ADJACENT LAND OR THE ESSENTIAL CHARACTER IN THE VICINITY OF THE PROPERTY.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I THINK WE I THINK THE CONCLUSION THAT IT'S I THINK ADVERSELY IMPACT.
YEAH. AND IF THE DRAIN COMMISSIONER THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO IMPACT THE FLOW OF THE WATER OR ANYTHING ELSE, HE WOULD HAVE PUT RESTRICTIONS ON THIS. THAT MADE IT MORE DIFFICULT.
SO IF HE'S APPROVING IT, THEN I TRUST HIS MANAGEMENT OF THE DRAIN SYSTEM.
I WOULD AGREE. AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, TO ME, IF I LIVED IN THAT SUBDIVISION AND HAD NON-MOTORIZED ACCESS GOING THROUGH THERE, I WOULD SEE THAT AS A BENEFIT, NOT SOMETHING THAT'S ADVERSELY AFFECTING THE NEIGHBORHOOD. I THINK THAT WOULD HELP THE PROPERTY VALUES KIND OF GO UP SOME, WHICH THEY MAY NOT WANT, BECAUSE THAT JUST MEANS HIGHER TAXES THEY GOT TO PAY. BUT I THINK WE ALL KNOW THAT THE LAST 2 OR 3 YEARS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OTHERWISE, I THINK WE CAN MEET CRITERIA NUMBER FOUR. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST GRANT. THE VARIANCE WILL BE GENERALLY CONSISTENT WITH THE PUBLIC INTEREST AND THE PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THIS CHAPTER.
DEFINITELY THIS IS REQUIRED TO INSTALL THIS AND FINISH THE PATHWAY.
SO I DON'T REALLY SEE HOW WE COULD NOT SAY THAT THIS ISN'T WITHIN THE PUBLIC'S INTEREST.
AND SO THIS JUST FURTHERS THAT CONNECTIVITY AND A WALKABLE COMMUNITY.
YEAH, I WOULD AGREE. I WOULD AGREE. I AGREE. ALL RIGHT.
SO WITH THAT DO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THIS CASE.
WHOEVER MAKES THE MOTION TO REPEAT THE CASE NUMBER. OKAY.
LOOKING FOR THE CASE NUMBER. THERE IT IS WAY AT THE TOP.
IT'S ON YOUR SCREEN. YEP. OKAY. I MOVED TO GRANT THE VARIANCE REQUESTED.
VARIANCE NUMBER 25-02 , MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP 5151 MARSH ROAD OKEMOS, MICHIGAN 48864.
[00:15:08]
MOTION'S MADE. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND THE MOTION.SECOND BY MEMBER [INAUDIBLE], ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION? IF NOT, I WILL DO THE ROLL CALL.
SO, MEMBER BENOIT. YES. MEMBER BROOKS. YES. MEMBER TREZISE.
YES. AND THE VICE CHAIR VOTES? YES. YOU ARE APPROVED.
AND YOU WOULD BE THE ONLY PUBLIC IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER SPEAKERS.
THERE'S NO KIDS HERE THIS TIME OR ANYBODY'S FAMILY HERE.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS. ANYBODY LIKE TO MAKE ANY BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS? WELCOME, MR.
[9. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS]
BENOIT. WELCOME. YEAH. HONORED TO BE HERE. THEY AREN'T ALWAYS AS EASY OR SHORT.YES. VERY TRUE. SO THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I CHAIR.
IT'S DONE IN 15 MINUTES. YOU HAVE TO TELL ALEXIA THAT.
THANK YOU.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.