A Cushing Street couple is hoping that their third trip to the Orion Township Board of Trustees will be the charm.
Julie and Peter Stressman addressed the board for the second time on Jan. 16. The Stressmans are appealing the November denial of a lot division on their property at 480 Cushing.
The couple addressed the board in December and they’ll have to go back again in March after the board decided to postpone their decision yet again.
The Stressmans are hoping to split two lots that they own on the property into three.
As the property sits now, it does not conform with many township regulations, but the Stressmans argue that splitting the lots will actually make the property more conforming.
Trustee Matt Gibb agreed with that assessment and thanked the Stressmans for the detailed work they put into their proposal.
‘In this instance, they are extremely close to conforming,? he said. ‘They’re conforming a great majority of the non-conforming issues.?
The biggest issue in the debate revolves around frontage.
The Stressmans say that their lake frontage can be substituted for road frontage, which would then meet the requirements in Ordinance 78.
Building Official Tom Berger said that using lakefront for frontage is an ‘interpretation of the ordinance,? adding that ‘you still have to get to the property,? which is where the road frontage issue comes in to play.
Berger added, however, that he hadn’t looked into the lake frontage option to see if it was even plausible.
After his motion to approve the lot split was not garnering support, Gibb made a motion to postpone the issue until March 5, to allow the building official to look at the lake frontage option and citing a late addition to the packet from the fire chief.
Clerk Jill Bastian, who voted against the postponement along with Dywasuk, questioned Gibb’s comment that the fire chief’s letter arrived late.
The board passed the motion 4-2 with Bastian and Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk voting against it.
‘I don’t see the justification for allowing this proposal to go forward,? Dywasuk said. ‘We’ve got in-house departments that looked at it and they had concerns.?
Berger said that although the Stressmans are improving the site in their proposal, he could not grant a lot division if it didn’t fully comply with township regulations.
‘They’re proposing a 12-foot wide road,? he said. ‘That does not conform to any of our ordinances.?
The Stressmans disagree with Berger’s assessment of that road.
Their property, known as Alpine Villa when it was first constructed by Robert and Sofie Ewald in 1926, is profiled in Lori Grove and Jim Ingram’s book Images of America: Lake Orion.
The Stressmans believe that the potential split will aid in the preservation of the small cottage, which would then be located on the newly created parcel.
‘We think it increases the safety level of that lower house,? Julie Stressman said of the cottage.
She noted that a road would be added giving emergency vehicles a way to access the building. Currently there is no way to access the lower house in a vehicle.
The townships attorney’s office says the board has the power to adjust road width requirements.
Dywasuk noted that since the since the building department took on issues like this one a few years back, this is one of the first ones to get appealed to the board.
By allowing a lot split that is not fully conforming, Dywasuk said the township would be on a ‘slippery slope,? and added that he does not want to set a precedent that they would regret.
Though they’ll have to make yet another trip to the board, the Stressmans remain optimistic.
‘We’re glad it’s postponed if it gets us another chance to present our case and get the proposal approved,? Julie Stressman said
She said there is somewhere between 300 and 400 feet of lakefront between their proposed three lots that can be used as frontage in Ordinance 78. All three lots would be within the 8,400 square foot requirement.
‘Hopefully they’ll come back with that same conclusion,? she said.