Welcome to the electronic newsletter from
Grand Haven Charter Township!
Stay informed on what is happening in the township. This newsletter will deliver up-to-date information including upcoming meetings, development news, township services and more!
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Please be aware that the burning of leaves or yard waste is strictly prohibited. However, the Township does provide a site for the
free
drop-off of leaves and yard waste located behind the DPW Building at 13300 168th Avenue
The dates for the Fall 2019 Leaf Drop Off program will be from Monday,
October 21
st
through Sunday,
November 24
th
. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.; Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.; and Sunday from 12:00 noon until 6:00 p.m.
The drop-off is only meant for leaves, grass and similar yard waste. There is no dumping of wood, limbs or brush allowed.
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On December 2
nd
, the Planning Commission will hold a second public hearing on the Township’s proposed new Zoning Ordinance, followed by a First Reading with the Township Board on December 9
th
.
The current ordinance is over 20-years old and not responsive to many of the societal changes that have occurred. For example, in the late 90’s outdoor living was not considered a critical component to owning property; but that is not the case today. Nowadays (
when the weather cooperates
) homeowners enjoy both backyards or front porches as much as possible and place greater value on indoor-outdoor living.
This new ordinance is intended to be responsive to what residents have told the Township. Staff also intend this new Zoning Ordinance to be a more straight-forward and understandable approach to zoning.
One way this is accomplished is making the new ordinance easier to read and understand by reducing the legalese and focusing on “
saying what we mean
” with illustrations to help.
If you’d like to learn more about the new ordinance please join us at one of the meetings, or you can review the document at
www.ght.org/zoningordinance-draft
. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Community Development Director Stacey Fedewa at
planning@ght.org
.
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The secret is out…everyone knows how wonderful it is to visit the Grand Haven area. With tourism continuing to grow and nearby communities limiting short term rentals (
i.e., VRBO, Airbnb
), the Township has noticed an uptick in these rentals within traditional residential neighborhoods and corresponding complaints from neighbors regarding noise, parking, trash, property maintenance or just poor behavior.
As a result, the Township Board has decided to address short-term rentals in order to protect the character of our neighborhoods.
The Short-Term Rental ordinances will be adopted simultaneous with the new Zoning Ordinance. That said, an overview of the basic regulations includes:
- All Short-Term Rentals (STRs) are required to be registered with the Township. Further, there will be a public hearing that will allow neighbors within 300 ft of the proposed STR to share any concerns.
- STRs will not be allowed in any platted subdivision, site condominium, single family residential planned unit development, or any “subdivisions” that are not platted but have at least 8 homes using a private road. In brief, when a person purchases a home in a residential neighborhood, they are also purchasing a set of reasonable expectations on the allowable usages and character of their neighborhood.
- The minimum duration for a stay is 6 days, and no less. That will help prevent any STR from being run like a hotel.
- The total duration for the year that a house can be rented is 16 weeks, which accounts for the majority of the tourism season.
- An inspection process will also be developed to ensure the safety of the tenants, and the safety of the surrounding neighbors.
If you want to review the text of the proposed Short-Term Rental Regulation ordinance or examine the proposed Short-Term Rental map (
i.e., areas in red will not allow for short-term rentals
), please use the following link:
www.ght.org/STR
.
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FEMA - Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map
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Over the last half dozen years or so, FEMA has been studying the Great Lakes and working toward creating new floodplain maps. The Great Lakes are not tidal like the oceans, meaning the water doesn’t have a cyclical rise and fall caused by gravity between the earth, moon, and sun.
Rather, the Great Lakes experience seiches. A seiche (
pronounced saysh
) is basically a standing wave that oscillates back and forth. If you have observed water sloshing back and forth in a swimming pool, bathtub, or cup of water you have witnessed a small-scale seiche. Seiches are typically cased when strong winds and rapid changes in atmospheric pressure push water from one end to the other. When the wind stops, the water rebounds back to the other side. This continues for hours to days and resembles a tide.
FEMA has determined that when you combine the wind and oscillation you can get “velocity hazard” or wave action that runs up the shoreline. This wave action causes 2 major problems that we’re all too familiar with right now—erosion and ponding. As the waves continually run up the shoreline, the ground becomes saturated that results in water ponding to a flood depth of 1 to 3 feet.
Because the Great Lakes are the only ones of their kind in the world, the scientists and engineers have had a difficult time creating the Flood Insurance Study (i.e.,
the work done to create the preliminary maps
). The Great Lakes are unpredictable, and the proposed floodplain maps will now try and account for the localized flooding that occurs on the Lake Michigan shoreline.
To view the proposed floodplain maps, visit
www.fema.gov/preliminaryfloodhazarddata
and navigate to the Flood Map Changes Viewer. To learn more, FEMA is hosting a Flood Map Information Open House on Wednesday, December 4
th
from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Ottawa County Emergency Management Training Room located at 12220 Fillmore Street, West Olive.
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Memorial for Building Official
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Township staff held a memorial and luncheon to honor Building Official Barton Lucas – a Township employee with over 30-years of service that recently succumbed to cancer.
There are three (3) trees that have been planted on the Township grounds. Two of the trees are Prairie Fire Crab trees, and the tree near the conference room entrance is a Cleveland Pear tree. These trees were donated by three (3) professional organizations that recognized the integrity that Barton brought to his job:
- The Metro Building Inspectors;
- The Lake Michigan Chapter of the International Code Council; and,
- The Code Officials Conference of Michigan
All of these trees will flower each Spring – and in doing what God and nature intended – these trees will become reminders of Barton Lucas
'
service to the Township.
The Township was fortunate that Barton’s wife and two of his children were able to attend this occasion where one tree was dedicated, and a plaque was unveiled.
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