Erwin Township commission begins anew

ERWIN TOWNSHIP — Wednesday’s Erwin Township Planning Commission began with township Supervisor Larry Grimsby running the meeting before the commission elected its officers. William Hellen was elected chairman, John Nuce was elected vice chairman and David Pawlak was named secretary.

Prior to the meeting, all three officers as well as the two other commissioners — Roger Mussatti and Jim Anderson — were sworn in by Grimsby, which Grimsby told the Daily Globe was a precaution as the township was unable to find record of the oaths being administered at an earlier date.

With the officers elected and Hellen running the meeting, the focus shifted to a discussion about beginning the process of overhauling the township’s master plan and zoning ordinance.

The discussion was led by planners Nathan Fazer and Richard Smith, with the Central Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Regional Commission, who will be working with the township during the overhaul process.

Fazer, who will be leading the update of the master plan, explained the purpose of a master plan and said the process is expected to take roughly a year to 15 months.

“To have zoning you have to have a plan in place,” Fazer said. “Your master plan — it used to be called a comprehensive plan, in that it encompasses the comprehensive character of the unit of government — typically (in) your master plan, you have some background information, some history, demographics, population, all that kind of stuff.”

The process will also allow resident participation, Fazer said, including a survey that will be made available to residents over the next three months or so. The surveys will provide residents with the opportunity to tell township officials how satisfied they are with the existing township services and what they would like to focus on improving.

“Your public input is really going to help you formulate your goals and objectives,” Fazer said, “what does the township want to see with development and zoning.”

Following Fazer’s overview of the master plan process, which deals with the township’s long term objectives, Smith discussed revising the zoning ordinance.

He explained the zoning ordinance as a map to determine how land is used in the township.

“Zoning is a police power. It is the authority given to local units of government by Michigan to set the basic ‘rules of the road’ on how land is used in Michigan,” Smith said.

“Zoning needs to be fair, consistent and based on public purpose,” Smith told the commission, adding that effective zoning also requires good record keeping to ensure that decisions stayed consistent and logical.

Smith told the Daily Globe that this process is also a one to two year process and, while he would be working concurrently to the development of the master plan, he stressed that the length of the process depended entirely on how in-depth the ordinance needed to go and whether there would be resistance to any proposals.

Smith also discussed a brief walk-through of the zoning process and discussed some of the different zones that local governments create in their communities. He said, given the composition of the township, only a select few of the districts would be needed in Erwin Township.

Given the increased work load necessary to complete the overhaul process, the commission agreed to meet on the third Wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at the township hall.