Appropriate zoning and land use has always been a major focus of officials in Addison Township; and now with proposed House Bill No. 4919, that focus has turned into a major concern.
Bill 4919, is designed to amend the state’s “Township Zoning Act” so that all township’s are required to include in their zoning ordinances the following provisions:
n If public water and sewer are available or can be made available to the land, the land may be developed at a maximum density of eight dwellings per acre.
n If public water and sewer are not available and can not be made so, the land may be developed at a maximum of one dwelling per acre.
n The land owner may develope the land with mixed uses that include residential use.
n That the land may be developed, at the discretion of the land owner, with cluster development.
These zoning requirements would superceded all zoning ordinances already in place by the townships. This means that Addison Township would not be able to enforce many provisions of the master plan approved by area residents to maintain the community’s rural characteristic.
The Addison Township Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution opposing House Bill 4919 at the Oct. 6 regular meeting. According to the resolution, the township disagrees with the bill on the following grounds:
n The bill unfairly and unwisely targets townships such as Addison for unprecedented and unwarranted high-density residential and mixed-use development.
n The bill fails to take into account the township’s future plan and would essentially dismantle the master plan and zoning ordinance book.
n The bill would restrict the township’s ability to preserve open space and protect its natural resources.
n The bill is contrary to “smart growth” and would most likely accelerate the movement of populations from existing urban communities and expand the difficulties of problems such as eroded tax bases and underutilized infrastructures.
n The bill does not recognize the financial burden placed on townships by possible infrastructure upgrades.
n The bill promotes an unwise “one size fits all” approach to land use.
“This is probably going to be the first of may such bills to come along,” said Township Clerk Pauline Bennett during the last regular meeting. “There are many land use issues that will be becoming bills and I encourage everyone to get involved with this. It’s so important to watch this new legislation.”
“Bills like 4919 are simply developers and realtors trying to expand the market to their advantage,” said Trustee Sandra Campbell. She emphasized that the control of zoning should be on a local level.
“This effects people’s way of life so dramatically and affects the people of America’s choice to live the way they want to,” she stated. “I see bills like this as Big Brother telling us how to live.”
“People buy into an area and into a life-style, and they expect the zoning that a local government establishes to be honored, not changed by big government.”
Bennett and Campbell have both been actively watching and participating in the Land Use Council. Over the past several months, the pair have attended numerous meetings, including some in Lansing, spoke with Rep. Ruth Johnson and have been working to bring state officials to Addison Township to see what they are fighting to maintain.
“There are some people who will go out and fight for some things with all their heart, and I just want everyone to know that Sandy and Pauline have fought this thing all the way to Lansing,” said trustee Ed Brakefield. “I just really want to commend them for their hard work on this.”
Both Campbell and Bennett mentioned that at the last Land Use Council meeting, all parties left the table with the understanding that talks would continue along the following, mutually agreed upon lines: intensive land use development would be allowed if the infrastructure is already in existence; however, areas of minimal or no infrastructure would be developed sparsely.
Bennett has voiced the opinion numerous times that local zoning ordinances already provide for the issues being discussed, and creating a “blanket” requirement for everyone would not be beneficial.
“This is important for us to follow because in an area with such fragile land and areas that could perk slowly due to wetness, one unit per acre may not protect the natural resources,” she explained.
Campbell said she feels these issues are important statewide in order to maintain diversity and the people’s freedom of choice.
“Sometimes these bills try to make all of Michigan like vanilla ice cream, smooth and uniform,” she explained. “There should be diversity – chocolate, vanilla and strawberry – and then, people can choose the flavor they want.”
To try and bring their point across to state representatives, Addison Township is participating in the Northern Oakland County Natural Features Tour on Oct. 13. The goal of the tour is to show how Northern Oakland County municipalities and groups have worked to maintain natural resources while allowing development and continuing to enhance the quality of life for Michigan families. The event was arranged by Rep. Johnson.
During the tour, Addison officials will present some of the community’s most beautiful resources: Drahner and Lake George roads, both natural beauty roads; a few working farms; a few horse farms; the Watershed Preserve and the Lakeville Swamp Sanctuary.
“This covers several townships, and they will be visiting Addison last,” said Bennett. “We want them to come here and see what we are trying to protect.”