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CURTIS OSTRANDER	DUAINE HARDING
ELEANOR TODD	ELMER "BUD" HAHN
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ORLO KIRKUM	SLAVA KOKOTOVICH
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Ordinance changes raise
questions from residents

by CHRIS GRAY
Observer Staff Writer

      Around four to six months of research by the Bruce Township Planning Commission has culminated in the recommendation of more than two dozen amendments to various ordinances.
       A room full of curious residents listened as the Planning Commission unanimously approved 27 amendments to various township ordinances on Aug. 27. Among the changes are accessory building regulations and adding new subsections for special land use requests, including dog grooming and training facilities.
       The amendments will not become law until the Board of Trustees approve and publish the changes.
       The changes were inspired by various instances the township has dealt with, from dog kennels to soil removal, as well as general clarifications to help establish credibility for the township.
       During the public hearing portion, Stony Creek Orchards co-owner Carol Ross questioned whether her kennel operations on the orchard would fall under a grandfather clause. The ordinance change says kennels will be allowed under special land use requests in residential one-family (R-1) zones.
       "We started the business way back when," she said. "I don't want to cause problems, I just want to make ends meet."
       She said they got into the dog business to receive funding from the U.S. government, and currently house 20 dogs. The farm offers obedience, grooming and agility training for dogs.
       Clerk Karol Regius said that dog kenneling is not a permitted agritourism business.
       "If it's a legal use it's grandfathered," she said. "But it's not a part of our agritourism ordinance."
       Principal Planner Chris McLeod said the township would have to determine whether the use was legal or not for it to be grandfathered, but any future endeavors with the facility would require special land use.
       "If any expansion was anticipated or sought by the applicant, the special land use would be triggered," he said. "We are allowing kennels to be in an R-1 with the amendments though."
       Chairperson Ken Scott said once the amendments are officially adopted, Ross should request a special land use to continue the operations.
       "You'll come back to us with a plan and we'll deal with it," he said.
       Regius also requested the criteria for having a kennel with a special land use state that a minimum of five acres of property are required.
       Along with dog-related amendments, a provision for farm animals in residential areas was amended to say two acres of land must be provided for the first animal, and an additional acre for every animal after that.
       In regards to building amendments, resident Darrel Sanrope asked if the three buildings on his nearly three-acre property would be grandfathered in, as they were established in 1915. Scott assured it would be, since the township stops the grandfather clause after 1973.
       "We've amended the zoning ordinances whenever the need arose over the years, so the ordinance that existed in 1973 was just a skeleton of what we have today," Scott said. "But that is our established starting point."
       The ordinance amendments state for property at least five acres but less than 10 acres<the typical parcel size in Bruce<require the owner to sign a Zoning Compliance for an accessory building over 850 square feet. Two accessory buildings may be permitted without a special land use, but the combined gross total ground floor area of all structures must not exceed 2,000 square feet.
       Other amendments approved included changes to fencing and walls, stating when constructed, a wall, fence or other barrier must be located on all property or road right-of-way lines, and that the height of the fence be measured by the established grade of the property.
       "Basically it doesn't allow for someone to build a berm and put a fence on top of it for a higher height," McLeod said.