Charter Township of Raisin

Minutes of Planning Commission November 11, 2008

Submitted by Cheryl Benham, Secretary

Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairperson, Dale Witt.

Members present: Dale Witt, Bob Utter, David McCrate, and Cheryl Benham.

Jimmy Colburn Absent – Excused

Ron Weber Absent – Un-Excused

Steve McGee Absent – Un-Excused

Agenda: McCrate motioned to accept November 12, 2008 agenda, seconded by Utter. Motion carried.

Minutes: McCrate motioned to accept October 28, 2008 meeting minutes, seconded by Benham. Motion carried.

Public Comments: There were none.

Public Hearings: There were none.

Communications: Wind Energy Sitting and Policy Issues seminar that MSU is sponsoring on December 1, 2008.

There was discussion on the water ordinance and a development that might be coming before the Planning Commission for site plan review / rezoning.

Meeting Business:

Old Business:

Sign Ordinance review – Harry Hutchinson, Building Inspector, was present for questions. He stated that for the majority of the current signs to comply with the ordinance the front yard setback should be reduced to 10’ (from the right-of-way line). Currently it is 37 ½ feet back for a commercial or industrial district.

The front yard setback has been the same since 1967 to present. The objective now is to find something that can be enforced and reasonable. It is reasonable to allow a 50 sq ft sign with a 10’ setback. If you want more than you move back 2 for 1 – a 52 sq ft sign would be setback 12’, with limits.

There was discussion regarding how the Township fixes our current sign ordinance. One problem is that a majority of buildings don’t even meet the setback of 75’ much less the sign setback requirement. The Township ordinance is un-enforceable as it is written right now. The goal is to get something that is workable so that when a business comes in to upgrade their sign they are able to.

If the setback was reduced from right-of-way line to 10’ 3 of the 4 Underwood signs would comply with the ordinance. An option is to bonus the ordinance. Ie: if you want to put up a pole sign that was at 10’ setback to the edge of the sign – it could be 12’ tall with 50 sq ft area. If they want bigger than that then it has to be a ground based sign that could be bigger in sq ft. This would have to be done on a case by case basis.

Mr. Hutchinson will attempt to get some sign representatives to come to a meeting and discuss the practicalities of signage and placement from a professional’s view. What is the effectiveness of a sign, what are some disadvantages of placement of sign?

Planning Commission to Board:

Agenda Set For: December 2, 2008

At 9:00 p.m. motion to adjourn was made by McCrate, seconded by Benham. Motion carried.