The Suttons Bay Township board agreed to allow personal/ commercial storage units in the township’s waste management zoning district at its October regular meeting.
The owner of a former waste transfer station plans to sell these types of units for storage, warehousing, and other industrial uses.
The board did this by approving an amendment adding storage/ warehouse units as special uses following an Oct. 6 public hearing, where no one participated in the public comment period. That was the only action taken by the township board this month; it was a short meeting.
The current township zoning ordinance has a one-acre minimum lot size in the waste management zoning district. Since storage units and containers are smaller than one acre, these kinds of units could be built as rentals but not sold in this district.
Planning and Zoning Administrator Steve Patmore and the township planning commission saw “a need for such units,” according to township documents. So, when the owner of a former waste transfer station added outdoor storage containers to his property, the planning commission prepared an amendment adding a special use exception for them.
Also at the October regular meeting, township Parks Manager Jared Pontius reported that the township’s Ice Rink Park was recently graded and reseeded in preparation for winter, and the entrance by the pavilion was regraded to make it shallower. Pontius also mentioned repurposing dock sections as boardwalks in 45th Parallel Park to help visitors avoid poison ivy.
Township Trustee Dorothy Petoskey added that the Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire Authority is reviewing its financial audit and employee healthcare plan. The next fire authority board of directors meeting will be held at the Suttons Bay Fire Station on 201 S. St. Mary’s Ave. at 6 p.m. on Nov. 12, according to their website.
