Joe Eger of the Clark Township Planning Commission will attend his last meeting Tuesday, October 13, then move to Corpus Christi, Texas, with his wife, Carol, for the winter. Heart surgery last year has made it harder to endure the winters here.

"Time is short," he said. "I got a rude awakening when I had that surgery. It really changes your outlook on life."

Mr. Eger was appointed to the Planning Commission in July 2007, to complete the remainder of Selma Edsinga's four-year term, which began in January of that year and ends in December 2010. He has also been the Planning Commission's liaison to the Clark Township Zoning Board of Appeals.

His replacement will be chosen by the Clark Township Board of Trustees at a future meeting.

Revision of Zoning Articles

Continues

The planning commission and the township board have differing views on the impact of setting minimum standards for landscaping. The issue was discussed as the Planning Commission continued reviewing the township board's suggested changes to articles of the township zoning ordinances Tuesday, September 8.

The township board wants to remove the proposed article nine, landscaping, because trustees believe it imposes too many requirements on property owners to landscape their land at too much extra cost, said commissioner Gary Wellnitz, who is the board's liaison to the planning commission.

"A lot of the decisions that were made at the township level were the feeling that we are prohibiting businesses from wanting to come and settle here because we are so restrictive," he said.

The commission, however, contends the township board is misreading the article and that it is to be used as a guideline to beautify new development in the area.

The article states that any landscaping done must be with species native to northern Michigan of a minimum size, including deciduous trees at least two inches in diameter, coniferous trees at least six feet in height when planted, and shrubs be the size that requires at least a five-gallon container. All landscaping is to also be neatly maintained, and diseased or dead plants should be replaced within the following planting season. The rules do not apply to single-family or duplex homes.

"In commercial development, the first thing to happen with someone coming to our community is they come get our ordinances and go, 'Ooh, I can get away with that,'" Commissioner Eger said. "If you don't have [minimum requirements] in there, they'll take you for a ride. Then they come to the Planning Commission and they know fully that we don't have anything about landscaping."

The article is to be sent back to the township board to be reconsidered with the planning commission's explanation and recommendation.

Commissioners Vaughn Rye, Mike Freel, John Grenier, Jeff Davis, Paul Smith, Mr. Wellnitz, and Mr. Eger attended last week's meeting. Commissioners Pam Thompson and Steve Honnila were absent.

The township board is reviewing the individual articles of the zoning ordinance and recommending changes to the planning commission for final revision. The ordinance will be approved and enacted once all revisions are complete. The township board has completed its review of eight of the 23 zoning articles.