Brandon Twp.? By a 5-1 vote the board passed a revised disorderly conduct ordinance at Monday’s meeting.
Clerk Jeannie McCreery, treasurer Linda Owen, and trustees Charlene Carlson, Tom Stowell and Sandra Willett voted yes, while trustee Bob DeWitt opposed the revison. Supervisor Ron Lapp was absent.
About 20 citizens attended the meeting, with several declaring their concern over the revisions, which expanded the previous noise section within the ordinance from one paragraph to nearly two pages. The ordinance grants greater latitude to enforcing agents in determining what is a nuisance.
Building and Planning Director Tim Palulian defended the ordinance as legitimate and said he believes the fears expressed were misplaced.
‘With any ordinance you may have a spurt of activity initially with agents responding to complaints,? he said. ‘But eventually they become a tool for self-regulation? the vast majority of the people are sensitive to that.?
Palulian noted that he was familiar with most of the people at the meeting and the township doesn’t get complaints regarding them because they are sensitive to their neighbors.
‘This ordinance is made for the inconsiderate,? he said. ‘There are people out there who have a different view on what mutual property rights should be. Those are the type of people we may be chatting with in the future. We bend over backwards to come to equitable solutions when enforcing an ordinance.?
Sgt. Glen Walker of Oakland County Sheriff Brandon substation was present at the meeting to clarify how deputies would enforce the ordinance.
‘We don’t want to take people to court over this,? said Walker. ‘Officers have discretion and will work it out when possible. It’s about being reasonable.?
Abby Hotchkiss has ten acres of land with a racetrack on which her three sons ride dirtbikes. The boys compete nationally and she has mixed feelings over the revised ordinance. She is concerned because the township has recently sold the Seymour Lake property that adjoins her land. She sees the township growing and as a real estate agent, Hotchkiss feels progress is good. She said she understands and appreciates that the township needed to do something, but as a property owner, she is sad.
Her sons do kick up dust and are noisy when they ride, she admits, but they are respectful of the niehgbors. She worries that when new homes are built on the recently sold property, her sons will no longer be able to ride their dirtbikes.
‘It’s a beautiful area, people want to live here,? Hotchkiss said. ‘I hope we’re not changing so much that we lose our rural roots. People being neighborly and respectful of each other is the most important thing. If we were all kind to each other, we wouldn’t need this ordinance.?