Meeting Minutes Lodi Township Planning Commission November 27, 2012 Lodi Township Hall 3755 Pleasant Lake Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 1) Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Jack Steeb at 7:35 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 2) Roll Call of the Commission Present: D Agostino, Veenstra, Steeb, Diuble Arrived Late: Swenson Absent: Canham-Keeley, Thelen Others Present: Donald Pennington, Planning Consultant Tami Elliott, 7706 N. Ann Arbor St., Saline, representing Northstar School In the absence of the Secretary, the Chair appointed Vice-Chair Veenstra as Acting Secretary. 3) Public Hearing to Add Section 55.20 "Regulation of Floodplain Areas" to the Current Zoning Ordinance Chairman Steeb opened the public hearing at 7:35 p.m. Comments from the public: None Moved by Diuble, seconded by D Agostino, to close the public hearing. Motion passed 4-0. The public hearing was closed at 7:36 p.m. 4) Approve Agenda Moved by D Agostino, seconded by Veenstra, to approve the agenda. Motion passed 4-0. Enter Swenson 5) Approval of October 23, 2012, Minutes It was moved by Diuble and seconded by D Agostino to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed 5-0. 6) New Business a. Floodplain amendment to current Zoning Ordinance The Planning Commission received comments from Township Attorney O Jack.
Mr. Pennington has revised Section 54.07 to the draft Zoning Ordinance to be consistent with the attorney s comments. The amendment to the existing ordinance adding Section 55.20 will be worded the same. Discussion among the Commissioners resulted in some minor wording changes. The commission discussed where the documents referred to in Section B.1 should be kept. The reason for this Amendment is that it is required by FEMA for the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA is the source for the documents, and they may be updated from time to time without our knowledge. We thought it would be better to refer to the online FEMA documents at the time of any inquiry rather than relying on a possibly outdated map -- a single version of truth. We also considered the work required to try to keep our documents up to date and decided it would be more straightforward to refer any inquiries to the FEMA website. Findings of fact: The Planning Consultant has made revisions to the first draft of the proposed Section 55.20 of the Zoning Ordinance to incorporate suggestions made by the Township Attorney and the Planning Commission. State and Federal laws require that the Township regulate development in floodplain areas. Moved by Swenson, seconded by D'Agostino to recommend that the Township Board adopt the attached proposed Section 55.20 of the Zoning Ordinance as required by state and federal law. Motion passed 5-0. b. Application for Minor Site Plan Amendment #SP 2012-004 Change to sign at Northstar School Discussion as to whether the proposed sign area is within requirements of the current ordinance. There was some debate as to whether the proposed sign was one, two, or four signs (the ordinance is somewhat unclear in this area). Section 53.02 of the Zoning Ordinance prohibits flashing internal light. The applicant agreed to minimize the changing messages. Findings of fact: The property is within the Agricultural District. Section 53.02.D of the Zoning Ordinance permits one sign identifying a school or other authorized use one sign not to exceed 18 square feet located off the public right-of-way. The area of the proposed sign does not exceed the area of the existing sign. The proposed sign meets the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. Moved by D Agostino, seconded by Diuble, to accept application for site plan approval #SP 2012-004 as a minor site plan amendment and to accept the proposed sign as submitted. Yes: D'Agostino, Diuble, Steeb, Swenson; No: Veenstra. Motion passed 4-1. c. Application for Minor Site Plan Amendment #SP 2012-005 Added sign at Tippins Market Tippins Market wishes to add an illuminated Post Office sign to the existing sign on the Ann Arbor-Saline Road side of the building. There was discussion regarding how to measure the area of the proposed sign. Total area of the signs is within the requirements of the ZO. Findings of fact: The property is within the Local Commercial District.
Section 53.04.A.1 of the Zoning Ordinance permits one identification sign affixed against the wall of a building. The total sign area is not to exceed two square feet for each foot in length of the wall. The wall is 80 feet long, allowing a total of 160 square feet of sign area. The calculations submitted by the applicant show that total sign area including the proposed sign will be less than 160 square feet. The proposed sign meets the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. Moved by Diuble, seconded by D Agostino, to accept the application for Site Plan Approval #SP 2012-005 as a minor site plan amendment and to allow installation of the Post Office sign as per the requested site plan amendment. Yes: D'Agostino, Diuble, Steeb, Swenson; No: Veenstra. Motion passed 4-1. 7) Old Business The Planning Commission continued review of the first draft of the proposed new Zoning Ordinance. The discussions that occurred during consideration of the two site plan amendment requests tonight raised some policy considerations for Article 53 - Sign Regulations in the proposed Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Pennington has incorporated Commissioners comments within the draft ordinance. Corrections have been to graphics. Some Commissioners comments need some clarification. Mr. Pennington will contact those Commissioners. The Table of Contents has been updated. The Definitions section is still being updated. A Committee meeting will be scheduled in December to review the Definitions section. 8) Other business There was no other business. 9) Public Comment There was no additional public comment. 10) Adjournment Moved by D Agostino, seconded by Swenson, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:29 p.m. The next regular Planning Commission meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Douglas Veenstra Vice-Chair, Acting Secretary
Section 55.20 Regulation of Floodplain Areas. A. Intent. The floodplains of Lodi Township are subject to periodic inundation of floodwaters which result in loss of property, health, and safety hazards, disruption of commerce and governmental service, and impairment of tax base. It is the purpose of this section to comply with the provisions and requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program, as constituted in accordance with the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, and subsequent enactments and rules and regulations promulgated in furtherance of this program by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as published in the Federal Register, Vol. 41, No. 207, October 26, 1976, and redesignated at 44FR 31177, May 31, 1979. The provisions of this section are intended to: 1. Help protect human life, prevent or minimize material losses, and reduce the cost to the public for rescue and relief efforts; 2. Restrict or prohibit uses which are dangerous to health, safety, or property in times of flooding or cause excessive increases in flood heights or velocities; 3. Require that uses vulnerable to floods, including public facilities which serve such uses, will be protected against flood damage at the time of initial construction; 4. Protect individuals from buying lands which are designated to be unsuited for intended purposes because of flooding; 5. Permit reasonable economic use of property located within a designated floodplain area. B. Delineation of Floodplain Areas.
1. The boundaries of the floodplain areas are identified in the report entitled, the Flood Insurance Study, Washtenaw County, prepared by FEMA, as may be revised from time to time. The study and accompanying maps are adopted by reference. C. Application of Regulations. 1. In addition to other requirements of this ordinance applicable to development in the underlying zoning district, compliance with the requirements of this section shall be necessary for all development occurring within designated floodplain areas. Conflicts between the requirements of this section and other requirements of this ordinance or any other ordinance will be resolved in favor of this section, except where the conflicting requirement is more stringent and would further the objectives of this section. In such cases, the more stringent requirement will be applied. 2. Upon application for land use permits, the Zoning Inspector will determine whether the use is located within a designated floodplain area utilizing the documents cited in this section. A land use permit within the floodplain area will not be issued unless it complies with the following standards: a. The requirements of this section must be met; b. The requirement of the underlying districts and all other applicable provisions of this ordinance must be met; and c. All necessary development permits must have been issued by appropriate local, state, and federal authorities, including a floodplain permit, approval, or letter of authority from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) under authority of Part 31 (Water Resources Protection) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (P.A. 451 of 1994, as amended). Where a development permit cannot be issued prior to the issuance of a certificate of zoning compliance, a letter from the issuing agency indicating intent to issue contingent only upon proof of zoning compliance will be acceptable. D. Floodplain Management Administrative Duties.
1. With regard to the national flood insurance program, and the regulation of development within the flood hazard area zone as prescribed in this section, the duties of the zoning administrator include, but are not limited to: a. Notification to adjacent communities and the department of natural resources of the proposed alteration or relocation of any watercourse, and the submission of such notifications to the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration; b. Verification that a land surveyor licensed in the State of Michigan has documented the actual elevation in relation to mean sea level of the lowest floor, including basement, of all new or substantially improved structures constructed within the flood hazard area, and in the case of floodproofed structures, the elevation to which the structure was floodproofed, and that the property owner has recorded a copy of the surveyor s record in the Washtenaw County Register of Deeds Office and submitted a copy of the recorded document to the Township; and c. Maintain a Township record of all certificates of floodproofing as required by this section, and written notification to all applicants to whom variances are granted from any provision of this section by the Zoning Board of Appeals within a flood hazard zone indicating the terms and any conditions of the variance. A record of all variance notifications and variance actions must be maintained together with the justification for each variance. 2. The zoning administrator is responsible for obtaining and utilizing the best available flood hazard data for purposes of administering the Ordinance in the absence of data from FEMA. E. Floodplain Standard and Requirements. 1. The following general standards and requirements must be applied to all uses proposed to be located within the floodplain area: a. All new construction and substantial improvements within a floodplain, including the placement of prefabricated buildings and manufactured housing units, must:
(1) Be designed and anchored to prevent flotation, collapse, or lateral movement of the structure; (2) Be constructed with materials and utility equipment resistant to flood damage; (3) Be constructed by methods and practices that minimize flood damage. b. All new and replacement water supply systems must minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems. c. All new and replacement sanitary sewage systems must minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems and discharges from systems into flood waters. d. All public utilities and facilities must be designed, constructed, and located to minimize or eliminate flood damage. e. Adequate drainage must be provided to reduce exposure to flood hazards. f. The code official must review development proposals to determine compliance with the standards in this section. g. Land must not be divided in a manner creating parcels or lots which cannot be used in conformance with the requirements of this section and Ordinance. h. The flood carrying capacity of any altered or relocated watercourse not subject to state and federal regulations designed to insure flood carrying capacity must be maintained. i. Available flood hazard data from federal, state, or other sources, must be reasonably utilized in meeting the standards of this section. Data furnished by FEMA shall take precedence over data from other sources. 2. The following specific standards will be applied to all uses proposed to be located within the floodplain area except those in the floodway portion of the floodplain area.
a. All new construction and substantial improvements of nonresidential structures must have either: (1) The lowest floor, including basement, elevated at least one foot above the base flood level; (2) Be constructed such that below base flood level, together with attendant utility and sanitary facilities, the structure is watertight with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water and with structural components having the capability of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of buoyancy. A registered professional engineer or architect must certify that the standards of this subparagraph are satisfied, and that the floodproofing methods employed are adequate to withstand the flood depths, pressures, velocities, impact and uplift forces and other factors associated with base flood in the location of the structure. 3. Manufactured housing park standards: The following general standards and requirements will be applied to manufactured housing units in a manufactured housing park located within flood plain areas: a. Anchoring must meet all applicable federal and state specifications, for such units. b. An evacuation plan indicating alternate vehicular access and escape routes must be filed with the county sheriff department for manufactured housing parks. c. Manufactured housing units in manufactured housing parks located within zones A1-30, as depicted on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps for Lodi Township must be located in accordance with the following standards:
(1) All such housing units must be placed on stands or lots which are elevated on compacted fill or on pilings so that the lowest floor of the mobile home will be at or above the base flood level. (2) Adequate surface drainage away from all structures and access for delivery, installation, and removal of such housing units must be provided. (3) In the instance of elevation on pilings, lots must be large enough to permit steps, piling foundations must be placed in stable soil no more than ten feet apart; and reinforcement must be provided for piers more than six feet above ground level. (4) In manufactured housing parks which exist at the time this subsection is adopted, where repair, reconstruction or improvement of streets, utilities, and pads equals or exceeds 50 percent of the value of the streets, utilities, and pads before the repair, the standards in the subparagraphs above must be complied with. 4. The following standards will be applied to all uses proposed to be located within the floodway portion of the floodplain area. a. Encroachments, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, and other development are prohibited. Exception to this prohibition will only be made upon certification by a registered professional engineer or the Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) that the development proposed will not result in any increases in flood levels during a base flood discharge, and that such encroachments are in compliance with all applicable requirements of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (P.A. 451 of 1994, as amended). b. The placement of manufactured housing units is prohibited within any portion of a manufactured housing park located in the floodway portion of a floodplain area.
c. The uses of land permitted in an underlying zoning district will not be construed as being permitted within the regulatory floodway, except upon compliance with the provisions of this section. 5. Warning and Disclaimer of Liability a. The degree of flood protection required by provisions of this section is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on engineering and scientific methods of study. Larger floods may occur on rare occasions. b. These provisions do not imply that areas outside the floodplain, and land uses permitted within those districts, will be free from flooding or flood damages. Also, these provisions do not imply that compliance with these provisions within the floodplain will prevent all flood damage. Lodi Township, and its officers, officials, trustees, employees, consultants, and independent contractors are not liable for any flood damages that result from reliance on the provisions of this section or any administrative decision lawfully made pursuant to law.