VBT Planners OK special use for BYC to construct Tiki Bar

At its regular meeting May 24, the Van Buren Township Planning Commission held a public hearing and then voted unanimously to recommend special use approval to the township board for the Belleville Yacht Club’s request to build a Tiki Bar behind its building at 831 E. Huron River Drive.
But, the commission sent the BYC’s request for site plan approval back to the drawing board for minor modifications. It is expected to be back for consideration at the June 14 commission meeting.
BYC Commodore Scott Jones said the 1,665-square-foot building will have a lounge area, bar area, a kitchen, and restrooms. The BYC property is approximately 4 acres in size.
Jones said when the BYC is rented out to another group, the BYC members can go to the Tiki Bar for privacy.
Ron Akers, director of planning and economic development, said this is an expansion of Country Club use, which is in the new zoning ordinance.
He said the BYC membership is capped and just members will use this facility.
No permits will be issued before the site plan is approved, Akers said. No member of the public spoke for or against the plan.
Rezoning at Michigan/Denton
The commission also held a public hearing on a rezoning request by SCH, Inc. of Dearborn Heights, for the northwest corner of Denton Road and Michigan Avenue to bring all the 2.25 acres from C and C-2 into C-1 zoning so a gas station, food mart, and drive-through snack service can be constructed.
A gas station, drive-through restaurant, and food mart is now under construction at the northeast corner of that intersection. The representatives of the developers said they want to give the other gas station some competition.
The rezoning of 49412 Michigan Avenue was approved unanimously by the planning commission and sent on to the township board for final consideration.
No one spoke for or against this proposal during the public hearing.
Proposed changes to ordinances
Akers said as the new zoning ordinance was getting ready for approval, members of the township board in a work/study session suggested the planning commission might look at additional zoning ordinance changes for the future.
Proposed were:
• Open Storage of Trailers and RVs. Ordinances now allow for storage of these in the back yards out of sight. Should there be a limit on the numbers? There are none now. Can they be stored on property without a house or residence? A group of residents jointly own a property and all park their recreational vehicles there, which is allowed under the current ordinance. Akers was advised to look into changes and he said he will bring a recommendation back to the June 14 meeting.
• “Tiny Houses” Accessory Structures. Akers said these are not in the ordinances. “I won’t lie,” Akers said. “I have my concerns about accessory buildings on trailers.” Commission chairman Carol Thompson asked Akers to look into what is acceptable and enforceable. Akers will come back with information.
• Air BnB. Akers said with the airport nearby it was suggested short-term vacation rentals on the lake might be a good alternative to a hotel for some. He said there have been issues, since people on vacation are louder and stay up later. There have been neighbor conflicts in other communities. He said the State of Michigan is looking at requiring short-term rentals in residential areas. Akers said he went on the websites for Air BnB and Home Away and found no listings for VBT and he was glad. “Sometimes things get out of hand with raging parties ‘til 4 in the morning and people outside with bonfires,” Akers said. He said the township does not have a property rental ordinance, but it does have drunk and disorderly, blight, and property maintenance ordinances. Akers will look into the subject and bring back a recommendation.
• Medical Marijuana Update. Akers said the township was waiting to see what other communities were going to do about letting marijuana businesses into their neighborhoods and most seem to be opting out of this new law. He said the township is getting the medical marijuana committee together again to look into the issue and Donald Boynton said he would serve again and they would also ask Bryon Kelley if he is interested to serve again. Kelley was absent from the meeting. Medina Atchinson volunteered to serve as well and was welcomed to the group.