Clark Township trustees denied a request from the township's planning commission to re-zone properties along Weston Avenue in Cedarville from residential to commercial at the board's Thursday, January 21, meeting. The township board also discussed an inconsistency between the zoning philosophies of the township board and the planning commission, sent a letter to Marquette Township requesting compensation for ambulance coverage, heard updates on proposed energy projects for the township, and approved the possibility of raises in ongoing negotiations with township's Department of Public Works employees.

Cedar Cove assisted living facility approached the township's planning commission to ask it to re-zone a portion of property the business planned to purchase along Weston Avenue. Cedar Cove wants to build a driveway to provide better access to the facility.

The planning commission, saying that approving such a request could be seen as unfair "spot" zoning, instead suggested that the entire Weston plat of land be re-zoned commercial, something commissioners said would be consistent with the township's master plan in expanding Cedarville's commercial district to the south.

One Weston Avenue resident, Linda Hudson, commented at Thursday's meeting, saying such a change could negatively affect both the natural environment in the area and the way of life of people who live along the street.

"The convenience of having the right colors on the map is really not a sufficient reason to change the neighborhood and the way of life of people there," she said. "The current zoning serves as a buffer from commercial development that would threaten Pearson Creek and Cedarville Bay."

Trustee Mike Lofdahl agreed that the re-zoning is unnecessary, saying that there are undeveloped or underdeveloped areas in Cedarville that are already zoned commercial.

"We are having problems enough developing our current commercial areas," Mr. Lofdahl said. "Our downtown is dying. If we are going to develop something, we should develop what is zoned commercial now."

Trustees also discussed the difficulty in getting a fixed-rate mortgage that may face residents if the properties are re-zoned commercial.

"When a property is zoned commercial, it's a red flag for second mortgages," Mr. Lofdahl said. "That is bad government. We would not be helping the people we were elected to help."

Township Clerk Mike Miller said he had called a local bank to ask if zoning would affect residents' chances of receiving a loan, and was told that national banks may deny a request based on the property being zoned commercial, but that it would not affect the decision at the local level.

Trustee Katie Carpenter pointed out that both the township board and the planning commission should not consider the suggested use of a property, like Cedar Cove's proposed driveway, when considering re-zoning, since it changes the approved uses of a property in the future, as well.

Mrs. Carpenter made the motion to deny the re-zoning request, citing reasons for the decision as inaccurate and inconsistent zoning maps and the possible economic impact on residential properties and mortgages. T he denial passed the board with township clerk Mike Miller providing the lone dissenting vote.

Mr. Miller said he voted against the motion because he believes that re-zoning the Weston plat would be consistent with the township's master plan and could improve the downtown area in Cedarville.

"The county planning commission agreed that it is consistent with our master plan," he said. "It is right in the downtown area and abuts commercial property. People want walkable areas in their downtowns and this would help create that."

When the planning commission decided to recommend re-zoning for the entire Weston plat, it tabled Cedar Cove's initial request to rezone only the piece of property it wanted to purchase to build the driveway to Weston Avenue. At any time during a Clark Township Planning Commission meeting, commissioners can revisit this initial case and consider whether to make a recommendation to re-zone the single piece of property as commercial.

If the planning commission were to decide to recommend re-zoning the property, the matter would go to the Mackinac County Planning Commission for consideration and then come back to Clark Township's Board of Trustees for final denial or approval.

Development Perspectives

Questioned

Township trustee Gary Wellnitz, who also sits on the township's planning commission, brought up the fact that there seems to be a disconnect between zoning philosophy at the township board and at the planning commission.

Trustees pointed out that planning commissioners incorrectly cited a proposed 300-foot corridor along M-134 in the township master plan when approving the rezoning of a portion of property along the highway at the Tuesday, January 12, planning commission meeting.

"That is nowhere in the master plan," Mr. Lofdahl said. "There are some interpretations, I think, that are getting skewed."

Mr. Miller said there was some informal discussion of 300 feet alongside the township's major highways becoming commercial areas, although there is nothing in the master plan about that.

Mrs. Carpenter said contradictory and confusing zoning maps in the township are causing much of the confusion, and recommended that the town board discuss contracting for an up-to-date set of zoning maps to solve the problem.

Mr. Wellnitz said the planning commission was under the assumption that members should work to re-zone areas commercial along M- 134 and M-129, since their understanding was that these corridors were part of the township master plan.

Mr. Miller said he would encourage all members of the planning commission to read the actual master plan document.

Ambulance Service

Payment Requested

Trustees signed a letter to Marquette Township Thursday requesting Marquette Township pay Clark Township for the homes Clark Township EMT serves there.

Mr. Miller estimated that about 300 homes in Marquette Township are served by the Clark Townshiup ambulance service, which collects a millage of 0.75 mills from Clark Township residents. This would add up to a payment of about $4,700 from Marquette Township, he said.

Representatives from Clark Township approached the Marquette Township board at its December 7, 2009, board meeting to make a similar request, but decided to submit a formal letter of request since they had not yet received a response.

Energy Update

Mike McMaken came before the board Thursday to give an update on several projects his company is pursuing to provide wind and solar power additions to township facilities.

Mr. McMaken said he has a solar electric panel that will be donated to Hessel's marina, but has not yet found a grant to fund a proposed solar-powered hot water system for the marina.

The proposed wind turbine at the township hall has reached 90% funding through donations by both the manufacturer and Mr. Mc- Maken's company.

Mr. McMaken is also considering proposing the installation of a wind turbine at the township's wastewater treatment plant, although funding has not yet been secured for it.

He also proposed help planning and building a fish cleaning station as a part of proposed improvements to Cedarville's boat launch area. Trustees said they would all be in favor of such an idea, but state and federal restrictions on the area surrounding the Cedarville boat launch would mean such a project should be held for a later time.

DPW Raises

Township trustees voted to approve raises over three years for Department of Public Works (DPW) employees, for which a contract is still being negotiated. If contract negotiations confirm the raises approved Thursday by the board, and the contract meets final approval from trustees, DPW employees will receive a $300 bonus for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, a 3% raise for 2010-2011, a 2% raise for 2011-2012, and another 2% raise for 2012-2013.

Casting dissenting votes were Mr. Miller and Mrs. Carpenter, who voted not to approve these raises, saying the $300 bonuses would technically be a gift of taxpayer money, something neither of them would agree to vote for.

Trustees also voted to officially accept the 2008-2009 financial audit, agreed to destroy older editions of "The Township Guide to Planning and Zoning" to prevent any confusion among residents about current procedures and guidelines, approved spending up to $450 for the purchase of a new vacuum cleaner for the township hall, approved the hiring of a new cleaning person for the hall, and voted to allow the Mackinac County Road Commission to service Swede Road, a township road.

Clark Township meetings are open to the public and are held at the Clark Township Hall on Blind Line Road in Cedarville. The next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, February 11.

Special Meeting Called

A special meeting of the township board has been called for Monday, February 1, at 3:45 p.m. at the township hall.