VBT Planners present recommended ordinance for narrow lakeside lots

During a 10-minute meeting on Aug. 28, the Van Buren Township Planning Commission hosted a public hearing on an amendment to the zoning ordinance for narrow lakeside properties and then voted to send its recommendation for approval to the township board.
Vidya Krishnan of McKenna planning consultants, who is filling in for the planning and economic development director’s position while it is vacant, explained how this item on narrow lakefront lots got on the agenda.
She said the Board of Zoning Appeals had asked the staff to look into the concentration of narrow lots in the township, particularly on the lakefront, and whether the setback requirements should be amended for these lots.
The minimum lot width for any zoning district in the township is 70 feet. There are some legally nonconforming lots which are narrower than this.
Section 5.144 of the Zoning Ordinance requires a minimum 24-foot width across the front and rear and rear elevations of a home, and Section 4.102 requires the side yard setbacks to total at least 25 feet.
For lots that are 50 feet wide or narrower, these requirements do not leave a viable building envelope, she said.
Krishnan recommended the following amendment to R-1A, R-2A, R-1B and R-1C single family residential districts, Sub-section D, Dimensional Regulations:
“Lakefront lot setbacks. The structures on the parcel shall comply with the required front- and rear-yard setbacks for the underlying zoning district. Where the lot does not comply with the minimum required lot width, the narrowest side yard shall not be less than five feet or 15 percent of the lot width, whichever is greater, and the sum of the two side yards shall not be less than 30 percent of the lot width.”
Krishnan said the regulation will allow for the construction of a reasonable-size dwelling while providing adequate room in the side yards for maintenance and access in the event of an emergency.
On a 50-foot-wide lot, the required side yard setbacks would be 15% of 50 which equals 7.5 feet. A combined side yard of 15 feet would still allow a buildable width of 35 feet, she said.
During the public hearing on the amendment, Corey Gibson of 43160 E. Huron River Dr., asked if people could put together new lots, claiming they were “grandfathered” in by this amendment.
Commission chairwoman Carol Thompson said new lots could not be developed in a non-conforming way.
Krishnan said “grandfather” refers to what was in existence before the zoning ordinance.
“People would not be allowed to create non-conforming lots,” she said.
This amendment applies only to lakeside lots, she said.
At the commission’s June 26 meeting, intern Grace Stamper presented a report on 15 lakefront lots that were 50 feet wide or narrower, as well as some that barely exceeded 50 feet.
The smallest lakefront lot was at 13201 Ormond Dr., which was 50 feet along the road and 31 feet along the lake.
Nine of the small lots on the list were along Ormond Drive, four along E. Huron River Drive, and two along Ryznar Drive.