VBT board OKs new Agritourism ordinance

“I really want to see a winery somewhere,” said Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara after the township’s new Agritourism ordinance was passed into law at the July 16 meeting.
The zoning ordinance amendment provides definitions and regulations for Agricultural Retail and Tourism (Agritourism) on parcels ten or more acres in size.
The work on the amendment started as a result of DeBuck’s Corn Maze having to have annual special land use approvals for it to continue in business. The ordinance makes it easier for agricultural businesses to operate.
The kinds of businesses listed in the ordinance include a winery, thus Supervisor McNamara’s comment. Also included are cider mills, petting farms, animal displays, pony rides, wagon/sleigh/ hayrides, nature trails, gift shops, and many more activities.
The planning commission had set up a committee last year that worked on the ordinance with the staff. Commissioner Jackson Pahle, a member of the committee, said that he enjoyed the committee’s visit to DeBuck’s business last summer where they were treated to lavender-flavored ice cream.
A public hearing on the ordinance was held April 10, but a member of the audience said that although his property was big enough, his property would not qualify because the road frontage didn’t qualify under the new ordinance.
The commission sent the ordinance back to the planning consultants for a revision and the commission recommended the updated version for adoption on June 12. It was sent on to the township board where the first and second readings were held and it finally was adopted on July 16.
In other business at the 38-minute, July 16 meeting, the board:
• Approved the 2024 tax rate request of 0.8935 allocated millage plus 6.3931 extra voted millage for public safety for a total of 7.2866 mills. Taxable value on real and personal property is $1,447,210,931, so the tax amounts to $10,545,247. Supervisor McNamara stated that the tax did not go up;
• Approved the 2024 Township Hall Rental Fee schedule for rooms in the township hall. Rental of the Denton Room, the Otisville Room, or the Sheldon Room are all the same: $25 to a resident and $50 for non-resident. When the meeting area is opened up to include both the Otisville and Sheldon rooms for larger groups, the charge is $50 for a resident and $100 for a non-resident. The board room is not for rent. The renting of these rooms stopped for COVID and then construction of the new community center. Now they can be rented again;
• Approved allocating $45,000 for a Housing Readiness Master Plan Update by McKenna and Associates. The township received a $45,000 MSHSA reimbursable grant in February with a $5,000 match. This is to update the township’s master plan to encourage increased housing and affordability. McNamara said the state and federal government are coming up with money for first-time home buyers. This requires a municipal plan or update. Since municipalities wouldn’t be able to come up with planning money, they are giving grants, he said. Trustee Kevin Martin said there is a growing need for housing across the country for housing that meets the needs of all people;
• Approved the amended and restated Aerotropolis Interlocal Agreement that gives Wayne County two seats on the Aerotropolis board. Christopher Girdwood of Aerotropolis was there to explain what Aerotropolis does and that he is working to get developments for industrial properities north of I-94 in VBT. He said the township wants south of I-94 to remain rural. Among the acreage available in the township, he pointed out the 1,100 acres north of Willow Run that is in raw land form and the 287 acres south of Wayne County Community College. Girdwood said his role is the growth of the infrastructure, including wastewater and roadwork. He said he helped VBT get $5.5 million for Haggerty Road work. He said Aerotropolis took out an ad in Crane’s Business for McNamara to tell the Van Buren Township story during the Mackinac conference. VBT Downtown Development Authority executive director Merrie Coburn has been on the Aerotropolis board for seven or eight years, McNamara said;
• Heard Clerk Leon Wright say that his office has sent out 5,509 absentee ballots and only 1,332 have been returned as of that day, about 22%. Early voting will take place from July 27 until Aug. 3 at township hall, he said, and Election Day is Aug. 6;
• Heard Clerk Wright say the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority has refunded $341,476 to the township due to good risk-management practices. He said the MMRMA has returned $34 million back to its members this year. Wright sits on the MMRMA board;
• Learned Treasurer Sharry Budd will celebrate her 43rd anniversary of working for Van Buren Township on July 20;
• Heard McNamara announce the township has received a total of $1.98 million in grants to put in sidewalks along Tyler Road; and
• Heard residents Cassandra McDonald and Stephanie McDonald protest the firing of Stefan Harvey, who had been hired to be facilities manager of the new community center. They pointed to Community Services Director Elizabeth Renaud, Deputy Director Tammy Dohring, and Human Resources Director Nicole Sumpter as responsible and asked the board to investigate the matter. Supervisor McNamara said the State of Michigan allows the board to go into personnel matters in a private meeting, which underlines that the board can’t talk about personnel matters in public. After the meeting they talked privately with McNamara and Wright about their concerns.