Several developers convinced Lake Orion Village Council members on Aug. 25 to turn down any changes in a current screening ordinance.
Chuck Schneider and Terry Winter own M-24 land on and near the waters of Lake Orion. Schneider’s property includes the Lakeshore Motel. Winter is a partner in a proposed development that’s near Pelton’s Pointe.
“I’m surprised to see you’re contemplating ordinance changes. I thought re-evaluation was to be done as a whole by McKenna (village planners) as part of the Master Plan so everything could be coordinated,” Schneider told council members.
He said he was puzzled as to why the council would pick this particular ordinance when others, such as parking requirements and building height rules, have more of a critical need to be improved.
Several years ago, council members were asked to look at their current laws regarding protective screening required whenever a commercial use was proposed right next to existing residential uses.
According to LO Village Manager JoAnn Van Tassel, the request was passed along to the village’s planning commission who at the time decided to do nothing.
Planning commission members recently took another look at the current ordinance and added more specific details as to what and where screening would be required.
Schneider targeted a section of the ordinance that asked for a 20 foot setback between a commercial use that abuts a lot occupied by an existing non-conforming single-family residence.
“I’ve never seen a community give standing to non-conforming use. How did this one get into the screening ordinance?” Schneider asked.
Winter said he also had not seen communities protecting non-conforming use. He asked council members how the proposed changes would impact his development.
“It’s not fair to commercial owners to change the setback and screening without giving them notice that it would affect their property,” said James Cummins, a former village council member. “The current ordinance provides adequate screening.”
Councilman Douglas Dendel said notice of the Aug. 25 public hearing on the proposed changes was published in The Lake Orion Review.
“The intent of this (amendment) is to help residents who are abutting commercial. The homes were there before any ordinance was made to make them non-conforming,” he added.
“People said in a survey done way back that they want open spaces, not commercial/residential abutting right up next to each other.”
“This (ordinance changes) has been two years in the making. A lot of ordinances come out of residents’ concerns,” councilman Tom Albert said. “We’re here to assist residents and offer them a certain amount of protection.”
Albert didn’t believe grouping the screening ordinance into the planners’ coordination of ordinances was a good idea.
“We’re looking at a one year timetable for looking at ‘the big package.’ A developer could come in and do what he wanted to do by then,” he added.
Councilman Ken Van Portfliet asked that Albert not be allowed to vote on the proposed changes because he has a conflict of interest.
Albert owns non-conforming property on the lake that abuts a commercial area. He said there was no conflict of interest because he would receive no financial gain from the outcome of the vote.
Council members did vote on Portfliet’s request. It didn’t pass by a 3-3 vote. The vote would have had to be unanimous.
Proposed changes in the ordinance were turned down by a 5-2 vote.