2010 Michigan Townships Association Educational Conference Session

Thank you to everyone who attended our recent session on regulating small wind turbines at the recent Michigan Townships Association conference in Grand Rapids. Click here to view our PowerPoint presentation, and to download the handout materials. Click here to contact Mr. Nanney directly with any additional questions.

The following was adapted from an update prepared by Kurt Schindler at MSU-Extension; reprinted with permission from the author:

The Michigan Commission on Agriculture has adopted a new Generally Accepted Agricultural Management Practice (GAAMP) for farm markets (effective January 2010).

NOTE:  Under Michigan’s sweeping Right to Farm legislation, if the subject is covered by GAAMP standards issued by the Michigan Department of Agriculture, then it entirely preempts local zoning, including any special use approval or prohibition of the land use!

What is a “farm market” under the new GAAMP?

(more…)

The following case summary was adapted from one prepared by Kurt Schindler at MSU-Extension; excerpts reprinted with permission from the author. The Zoning Guru chose this case because it answers the $Million question elected officials face when confronted with a development-related lawsuit:

“Do we defend our master plan?“

(more…)

From the Planning and Zoning Center at Michigan State University:

Registration for the Fall 2009 Michigan Zoning Administrator Certificate Program offered by the Planning and Zoning Center at MSU is now open.  There are eight modules included in each training program leading to a certificate of completion for those that pass an exam associated with each module. Each module is about three hours of instruction (24 hours total).

Dates and locations:

(more…)

Apparently we should designate August as the “Planners in Literature Month” here at the Building Place Notebook.

It is true that the dog days of summer are a great time to enjoy a quiet evening with a little light reading.  We have a great “light” book to recommend today as part of the Building Place “planning fiction” series of short stories or vignettes.

Today’s posting is an excerpt from the Tom Bodett book, The End of the Road – a collection of light-hearted short stories about the people of the town of “End of the Road, Alaska.”  This book is a rarety in that it includes a couple of stories involving a professional land use planner (Mr. Emmitt Frank) as a major character.

A summary of The End of the Road from the back cover:

It’s a small Alaska town where people leave their pretensions back where they came from, and urban planners push more snow than pencils. Where New Age missionaries make appearances at the bowling alley, and the police chief weeps over the plight of Bambi. And where the Mayor stays in office mostly because folks don’t want the bother of trainin’ up a new one….

Excerpt from The End of the Road, by Tom Bodett

(more…)

The Zoning Guru frequently receives suggestions on new community planning and urban design related websites to check out.  Dwell.com and Inhabitat.com are two of the latest.

Intriguing e-magazine sites covering architecture, urban design, and sustainability topics, these two websites recently co-sponsored the “Reburbia” design competition, which was intended to “to come up with some radical new ideas as to how turn the bleak future of the suburbs around.”

One of those “radical” ideas is entitled, “Entrepreneurbia,” which takes the concepts of “home occupation” and “home-based business” out to and far beyond their logical extreme…

(more…)

The following case summary was adapted from one prepared by Kurt Schindler at MSU-Extension; excerpts reprinted with permission from the author.  For the Zoning Guru, this case raises an important question for planners and zoning administrators:

“Do you know what’s in your zoning ordinance?“

Court: Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished No. 283202, March 17, 2009)

Case Name:  Richie v. Gladwin County

Background:

Mr. Ritchie (the plaintiff) removed a barn from his square (four sides of equal length), corner lot at Highwood and Hay Roads in Gladwin County, and constructed a quonset hut on the barn’s foundations.

“At issue was whether the portion of plaintiffs’ property on Hay Road was…

(more…)