Sumpter Planners set Dec. 10 public hearing on rezoning

At its regular meeting Nov. 12, the Sumpter Township Planning Commission set a public hearing for Dec. 10 on the requested rezoning of 21620 Sumpter Road from Local Commercial (LC) to Two-Family & Multiple Family Residential (R/MR).
The property is at the southwest corner of Sumpter and Judd Roads. The owners wish to turn the former commercial areas into residential spaces.
At the Nov. 12 meeting, the commission held a public hearing and then unanimously recommended denial of the requested rezoning of 51100 Willis Road from Light Industrial to Rural Small Farm. The request now goes to the township board for final action.
The applicant for rezoning of the 1.03-acre parcel on the north side of Willis Road and east of Rawsonville, the former Bokon property, was not present.
The township’s zoning administrator Matthew Lonnerstater of Carlisle Wortman, said the Future Land Use Master Plan calls for Industrial use in that area, but the owner wants the house there to be zoned Residential so he can rebuild it if it burns and expand it.
He said everything on the south side of Willis is zoned Residential and Commercial and the future land use is to promote residential development consistent with adjacent land uses on Willis.
Lonnerstater said RF is consistent with present uses and not many Industrial or Commercial uses can be put on one acre.
Trustee Matthew Oddy, who sits on the planning commission, said there was a foreclosure and in July 2013 the new owner bought the property. He said the 35-acre parcel to the east was purchased six months ago for possible use as a Provisionary Center.
Commissioner Joy Cichewicz said the owner could tear down the house and convert the property to Industrial or Commercial use.
Oddy said there is a strip of properties along Willis in that area that are Rural Small Farm in the front and Industrial in the back.
Oddy said an owner couldn’t get a residential mortgage on the property the way it is and if they wanted to sell it the terms would have to be cash.
A man in the audience, who did not identify himself, said when he bought his property on Rawsonville Road, across from Country Farms market, it was zoned AG and now he’s being sent tax bills saying it is is zoned Residential. He got a tax bill for $300-$400 and made him pay for three years back. He said the commission re-zoned his property without his approval and the commission insisted it did not rezone his property.
Oddy suggested when he gets his next tax bill she should go to the Board or Review and then to the State Tax Tribunal if necessary.
“The property is up for sale and I’ll be so glad to get rid of it,” the man said.
The commission got back to discussing the requested rezoning.
“We were considering rezoning all those dual-zoned properties” along Willis, Oddy said.
“I’m not comfortable with rezoning this property,” Cichewicz said.
The commission then voted to recommend to the township board that there be no change in zoning.
The commission also held a public hearing on the revised draft of the zoning ordinance on Detached Accessory Buildings.
Lonnerstater will fine-tune the accessory buildings wording and bring back a clear copy to the commission.
The setbacks will be determined by a chart and are dependent upon how big the pole barn is to be.
When Bob Coppock asked for clarification on the setbacks, Lonnerstater said they are reducing the setback that now is 50’ from the house to 10’ from the house. Coppock asked about the heights allowed.