New Buffalo Township Board approves zoning ordinance amendment regarding fences

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New Buffalo Times

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CITY OF NEW BUFFALO JOHN HUMPHREY, MAYOR CITY COUNCIL MARK ROBERTSON, ROGER LIJESKI, JOHN HUMPHREY, BRIAN FLANAGAN, VANCE PRICE City Council meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 6:30PM CITY OF NEW BUFFALO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS to be determined NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP BOARD PETE RAHM, MICHELLE HEIT, JUDY H. ZABICKI, PATTY IAZZETTO, JACK ROGERS Board meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7PM NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Meets on the 1st Tuesday of each month at 6:30PM

NEW BUFFALO AREA SCHOOLS BOARD FRANK MAGRO, LISA WERNER, HEATHER BLACK, DENISE CHURCHILL, BRADLEY BURNER, VANESSA THUN CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP BOARD DAVID BUNTE, PAULA DUDIAK, LIZ RETTIG, RICHARD SULLIVAN, BILL MARSKE Chikaming Board meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 6:30PM CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Meets on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 6:30PM THREE OAKS THREE OAKS TOWNSHIP BOARD Meets on the 2nd Monday of each month at 7PM VILLAGE OF THREE OAKS BOARD Meets on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7PM GRAND BEACH Meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7PM MARY ROBERTSON, CLERK DEBORAH LINDLEY, BLAKE O’HALLORAN, JAMES BRACEWELL, PETER DOERR, PAUL LEONARD, JR. MICHIANA VILLAGE OF MICHIANA COUNCIL Meets on the 2nd Friday of each month at 1PM

New Buffalo Township Board approves zoning ordinance amendment regarding fences

Azoning ordinance amendment regarding fences, which removes some of the definition of “Building Height” and adds some language to it, was adopted by members of the New Buffalo Township Board of Trustees Monday, Nov. 21.

Per the recommendation of the building and zoning administrator, the following addition was made to the definition of Building Height under Article 13: “The vertical distance measured from the average grade to the highest point of the building. Height shall be measured from the average grade to the highest point of the roof surface or parapet wall that extends above the roof, whichever is higher.”

Cheryl Marie Lynch said the new zoning ordinance that went into effect last December “omits the previous ordinance’s provision pertaining to the jurisdiction of the Zoning Board of Appeals,” which states that the ZBA “shall not have the authority to hear appeals from a decision made in respect to any special land use.”

On Nov. 9, the ZBA approved a variance pertaining to the business Carts on 12, “which is operating under a Special Land Use Permit that runs with the property,” she said.

Lynch added that the ZBA granted the business a “12-foot-tall sideline fence right next to my home.”

“Not only did they not have the power to do that, but they also could not find a single operable fact in the variance application that would warrant a fence height beyond the 6-foot height that is shown on the approved site plan,” Lynch said.

Lynch said it’s a “fact” that the board will approve a “township-built spite

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA fence,” which was what was approved by the ZBA, “to be constructed unless you act to nullify the ZBA’s grant due to the clear absence of jurisdiction.”

Board members adopted a Resolution in Opposition to Short Term Rental Legislation House Bill 4722 and Senate Bill 466.

Per the resolution, the township opposes the proposed bills because they would “further erode local governments’ control over zoning and land use decisions.”

It also states that property owners have “unalienable rights, which include the right to rent their property and the township has an appropriate process in place to regulate them.”

Supervisor Michelle Heit said she and trustee Pete Rahm worked on “tweaking” its language since it was tabled at the last meeting.

Rahm said that, while the resolution states it’s an “unalienable right” to property owners to rent the township still wants to “retain the right to control short term rentals.”

“We think that we as the township board should have the right to control short term rentals and to keep it here locally,” he said.

Board members reached a consensus that they weren’t interested in any kind of shared collaboration with other municipalities and their police departments

Heit said that discussion on possible shared services took place at two cross municipality collaboration meetings.

She said the township doesn’t “have a lot of other issues that other municipalities have,” adding that they contract with the sheriff’s department and don’t have to worry about “hiring and firing people” as well as the purchasing of items.

Rahm said that “if anybody wants to expand, we’ve got a fantastic police department here.”

“I’m pretty happy with what we have - our coverage is excellent,” he said.

Clerk Judy Zabicki said she didn’t think any of them want to “deal with the liability issues that go along with it - the hiring, the firing, the training.”

“We’re paying for their knowledge and their expertise on all of that, including if there was something here - their SWAT team, their dive team, everything,” she said.

Board members adopted a salary stipend resolution for $200 salary stipends for the treasurer, clerk and supervisor.

Board members adopted a resolution that restates the rules and regulations for the Galien River Sanitary Sewer District Authority. Heit said that the authority has made changes over the years to its rules and regulations that have never been formally adopted.

Board members approved a lease agreement with Pleasure Island Marina office space, as the previous renter had moved out.

The fifth payment application to Selge Construction for lift station work was approved.

A bid from Pay Jay Construction for a parks department truck for $8,500 was approved.

Board members approved a water tap fee increase to $4,000 effective Dec. 1, 2022. Heit said the increase is with regards to the changing of the structure and it’s more of a flat rate.

Open house highlights final design plans for Sawyer Road Project

Berrien County Road Department Engineering Supervisor Kevin Stack said certain factors, such as more federal aid money and watching the “bigger picture here of the region and what we’re trying to do” caused the road department to hit the brakes on the Sawyer Road project – from Red Arrow Highway to Flynn Road – at an open house at Chikaming Township Center Thursday, Nov. 17.

Design wise, Stack said, nothing has changed in the final plans since he spoke at a similar open house a year ago, other than a couple driveway cuts. Currently, the curb throughout the entire downtown stretch is a rolled curb and there’s “no defined” entrance and exits to roads and drives. Stack said that the road department will be cutting it out and putting a new curb in, which will be “defining the drive and making it a flat concrete gutter.”

The project will exist strictly between the existing curb lines, which will involve the milling of two inches of asphalt and the replacement of two new inches of asphalt.

There’s a possibility of two crosswalks, including one with a pedestrian activated signal by the proposed park that would be on land where the former fire station once sat.

Moving outside the downtown area toward Red Arrow Highway, the road department will still be going with a 5-foot paved shoulder on each side that will connect Red Arrow and the downtown area for nonmotorized bike and pedestrian access.

Stack said there will be hardly any clearing in terms of trees and brush unless there’s a safety issue with it being close to the edge of the road, which will be “very minor.”

At the area around Fifth Third Bank at Three Oaks Road, the curb and gutter will return, and the concrete edging all will stay.

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA

Taking a look at the final design of Sawyer Road at Chikaming Township Center

“Then we’ll just remove the asphalt in between there, go down the intersection of Three Oaks for about 50 feet, tie that all in - make it nice and smooth - all the way up to Red Arrow and repaint the lines,” Stacks said.

Regarding the four to three lane conversion in a section of Sawyer Road, Stacks said that the accident history on that stretch of road indicates that, in five years, there’ve been 21 accidents, 13 of which were a type of “sideswipe rear end angle collision between the ramps of I-94.”

A traffic count indicated that less than 5% of traffic on that road is commercial.

Stacks said that the road department has had “nothing but a 100% success rate” with four to three lane conversions throughout the county. While it’s still early, in two years since the conversion that was done on Red Arrow Highway in Union Pier, there have been a reduced number of accidents at that intersection.

The road department will be painting the road to three lanes and there will be a five-and-a-half-foot shoulder underneath from one side to the other – “from where it starts to where it ends.”

Regarding the conversion, the road will taper down and there will be an “oversized center turn lane” for semis and vehicles to seek refuge.

Stack said the conversion will just involve painting lines and not changing the width of the road – which will make it easier to switch back should there be issues.

“If we see an increase in the number of accidents, we will address that,” he said.

The intersection at Tatro Drive is going to be redefined “as a typical roadway side street intersection,” as the big concrete apron that’s in there now is going to come out and the intersection will be oversized to a commercial graded access with a new curb.

Stack added that the road department will be applying to get federal funding to put ADA ramps with a pedestrian push button at all four corners of the intersection of Sawyer Road and Red Arrow Highway.

Part of the creation of the ramps involves getting funding to finish the non-motorized path from Harbert Community Park up to that intersection – which will require the county to “show connectivity.”

“We’re connecting a small future park in Chikaming, we’re connecting a downtown urban area to an intersection to a nonmotorized path that connects to community park, township hall and, eventually, New Buffalo,” Stack said.

Noting that this is a “next year project,” Stack said that there’s a chance that, by the end of next year, cyclists will have the ability to “bike from downtown Sawyer all the way across Cherry Beach, jump onto Lakeshore Avenue all the way down to Union Pier on the side streets until we get the rest of the paths.”

“So, we’re making big strides here in getting that nonmotorized path built,” he said.

Stack said it’s hoped the Sawyer Road project will be sent out to bid next month and a contractor will be onboard by the middle to the end of January.

The current “game plan” is to be done by Memorial Day 2023.

Since the asphalt plants “fire up” around the middle to end of May, the road department needs to get preparation work done before then.

“So, the road’s not going to shut down in any way, shape or form – we will provide access to all businesses and all residents at all times,” Stack said, adding that the road department will install digital message boards indicating that businesses are open throughout the construction.