Discussion about blight control continued at Bingham Township at their Monday regular meeting.
Township officials are waiting to hear back from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) about possibly fencing in a home adjacent to M-22, hiding the blight that is reportedly on the property from neighbors.
Residents have been reporting blight on a Shady Lane property. The Bingham Township Board has been considering how to address these complaints on and off for about a year.
The township does not currently have its own laws or ordinances regulating blight. If a property violates state health laws, its owner would have to clean up or face criminal penalties. But several inspections from the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department have shown the property does not present a health hazard.
Township Supervisor Midge Werner said that health department staff have not seen evidence of infestation by mice, rats, or other vermin at this residence. They have also studied water soil samples and found no signs of contamination. These samples were taken due to concerns that gas and oil from the many vehicles on the property were leaking into the ground.
However, the health department’s latest report recommends that township contacts MDOT, which could regulate the property since it’s next to a state highway. As of the township’s Jan. 20 regular meeting, officials had reached out to MDOT and were waiting for a response.
“I do not have any reason for issuing a public health violation on the property. However, since this property is adjacent to an MDOT highway right-of-way, I would encourage you to contact MDOT to discuss if this property is considered a junkyard and regulated under their authority,” Werner read from the health department’s letter.
According to the law in question, junkyards near highways must be “screened by natural objects, plantings, fences, or other appropriate means so as not to be visible from the main traveled way of the highway, or otherwise removed from sight.” Werner believes that hiding the property from view would satisfy some of the neighbors.
The township board postponed action on expanding Boughey Park to include additional parking spaces. The board’s representative on the Planning Commission, Trustee Todd Stone, said they are waiting on approval for the designs from the Leelanau County Road Commission, and will come back to the full board with a recommendation at a future meeting.
