Belleville Planning Commission sets public hearing one more time

The Belleville Planning Commission agreed at its Nov. 9 meeting to have a public hearing on a proposed ordinance change to the city’s boat parking rules.
But, the public hearing wasn’t posted in accordance with the Michigan Open Meetings Act, so it wasn’t held on Dec. 14 as expected.
At the Dec. 14 meeting the public hearing was again set, this time for the 7 p.m., Jan. 11 meeting.
Several members of the community were present Dec. 14 and at the end of the meeting were allowed to comment briefly on the proposed ordinance change. Commission chairman Michael Hawkins urged residents to hold their comments for the Jan. 11 meeting, when they would be “on the record.”
At the beginning of the meeting, Commissioner Michael Renaud apologized for missing the last meeting and suggested the proposed ordinance wording be changed to “boats, pontoon boats, and personal watercraft” with no mention of motors.
City Manager Jason Smith said he had researched what other communities had done on summer parking of watercraft in residents’ yards. He said he could use the definition already in place in the ordinance and that would achieve what Commissioner Renaud suggested.
City Manager Smith said at the last meeting his proposed wording was tweaked to change it to “motorized watercraft.” This was at the suggestion of Commissioner Julie Kissel, who now is the city council liaison to the commission.
Renaud said people with boats in storage could take them out of storage for seven months and put them in their driveways to save the storage fees.
City Manager Smith said the boats have to be licensed and operable.
“I’m for it as long as it can be back behind the sidewalk,” Renaud said of boat storage in yards in between use in the summer.
“This is a boating community,” said Commissioner John Juriga, noting the commission chairman at the time 25 years ago said the cover on a boat in a yard can’t be blue and that’s when Juriga said to himself, “I’ve got to get on that board.” And, he did and he’s been on it ever since.
Smith said the intent is to not block the sidewalk and so they worked out wording that would keep the sidewalk free.
Project Administrator Steve Jones said in New Baltimore’s ordinance the boat has to be stored on a hard surface and not on grass.
Smith said it has to be a residential driveway.
At the end of the meeting when chairman Hawkins let the public speak, Adam Beyer said that after the the last meeting people told him that the newspaper article said he was representing Victoria Commons – and he wasn’t. He said he hasn’t read the story.
He said he was before the commission at that meeting speaking on behalf of parking his boat on his driveway. He also said he noted that the Victoria Commons Board would change its rules to coincide with the city rules.
Independent Editor Rosemary Otzman responded that he identified himself as president of the Victoria Commons Homeowners Association and she quoted his identification in the report of the meeting. She said she didn’t report he was representing the board.
Bill Emerson asked who enforces the city ordinances and Smith said there are several who have the authority to enforce the ordinances.
Kent Emerson, who identified himself as part of the Victoria Commons board, presented packets of information with pictures to commissioners and the administration and said he has no problem with Beyer’s boat, but the 225 homes in the subdivision are close together and enforcement is a problem.
He said in the past the police chiefs and others ignored the problems. But lately he was able to sit down with the police chief, the city manager, and project administrator face to face, and Jones said a couple of warnings have been issued.
Councilwoman Kissel said the boats in the pictures presented by Emerson would not meet the requirements of the amended ordinance.
Renaud said, for example, a big pontoon boat wouldn’t fit in a driveway and people might just have to rent storage space for them.
“We can’t cover everything. There are limitations,” Renaud said.
Bob O’Donnell said his wife Maria is on the Homeowners Assoction and they have no objection to Beyer’s boat. O’Donnell said he grew up in Northern Oakland County with lots of lakes and people didn’t park boats in their drives.
O’Donnell said there were a lot of questions, such as what does Van Buren Township do. He said there is a lot of push-back in Victoria Commons on this boat parking ordinance.
Mary Emerson said every week in the paper there are reports of teenagers rifling cars in people’s garages. She said boats will be an attractive nuisance for people to get into.
She said she and her husband Bill have lived in the city for 36 years and there was a boat across the street that never left the driveway for two years. She said she complained, but nothing happened.
“There’s no way to secure it in a driveway,” she said.
Councilman Randy Priest, who was a member of the planning commission before he was elected to the city council, said there is another topic that could be discussed at the upcoming public hearing, or maybe it should be a separate matter. He said it is not seasonal and concerns utility trailers.
Hawkins asked everyone to hold the rest of their comments until the Jan. 11 meeting.
In other business on Dec. 14, the commission:
• Was informed that commission vice-chairman Matthew Wagner resigned from the commission by e-mail that afternoon. Juriga said that is a great loss to the commission;
• Learned the election of officers for 2023 would take place at the Jan. 11 meeting;
• Discussed what took place at the Dec. 6 joint meeting of the planning commissions from Belleville, Van Buren Township and Sumpter Township. Commissioners wanted to keep the joint sessions going so they have set the next such meeting for May 1 at a place yet to be determined;
• Heard Smith say he would like the Michigan Municipal League attorney to come in and give information on the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act for all the boards, commissions, and employees. He said they also should discuss the master plan because work needs to begin on that; and
• Heard Hawkins report he has been on the Board of Zoning Appeals since 2004 and the group just met. He said he would like to see a Lakefront Overlay District for the city for existing non-conforming properties on the lake.