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County of Antrim |
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PLANNING COMMISSION |
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Minutes |
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January 3, 2006 7:00 p.m. |
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Antrim County Building - Board of Commissioners Room |
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Members present: |
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Joe Allen, Barb Bradford, Jill Barnard, Marshall Wright, Laura Stanek, Jim Gurr and Al Luurtsema |
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Members absent: |
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Alan Martel, Terry Morris and Tom Maleck |
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Advisory present: |
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Stan Moore |
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Staff and others: |
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Peter Garwood, Joe Meyers, Suzanne Kelley, Klaus Heinert, Tim Roache, Kent McNeil, and Ed Martel |
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1. Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Pete Garwood, Coordinator/Planner. |
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2. Election of Officers |
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Pete Garwood, Coordinator/Planner, chaired the meeting during the process for the election of officers.
Chairperson Mr. Garwood opened the floor for nominations for Chairperson.
Marshall Wright nominated Al Luurtsema for chairperson of the Planning Commission.
Motion by Jill Barnard, supported by Marshall Wright, to close nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Al Luurtsema for Chairperson of the Planning Commission. Motion carried – unanimous.
Vice Chairperson Mr. Wright nominated Tom Maleck for Vice Chairperson.
Motion by Barb Bradford, supported by Jim Gurr, to close nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Tom Maleck for Vice Chairperson of the Antrim County Planning Commission. Motion carried – unanimous.
Secretary Ms. Bradford nominated Alan Martel for Secretary.
Motion by Jill Barnard, supported by Marshall Wright, to close nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Alan Martel for Secretary of the Planning Commission. Motion carried – unanimous. At this point of the meeting the newly elected chairperson, Al Luurtsema, chaired the remainder of the meeting. |
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3. Approval of Minutes |
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Motion by Marshall Wright, supported by Joe Allen to approve the minutes of December 6, 2005 as amended. Motion carried – unanimous |
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4. Conflict of Interest Disclosure |
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None. |
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5. Public Comment |
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Kent McNeil addressed the Commission to discuss topics including: Antrim County Master Plan General Law vs. Charter Counties Visioning sessions County zoning
Jim Gurr spoke to Mr. McNeil about how he shares many of his feelings but he informed Mr. McNeil that this Commission is listening to his concerns.
Ed Martel addressed the Commission to inform them that they have no authority and also read from an Attorney Generals opinion.
Joe Allen informed the entire Commission and the public that we are making a general plan and he further noted that in his opinion the County will never adopt County Zoning. Jim Gurr noted that the label of Master Plan is an unfortunate choice of words.
Mr. Luurtsema welcomed the newest member to the Commission, Mr. Gurr. |
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6. Interview Gosling Czubak |
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Suzanne Kelley, from Gosling Czubak, introduced herself as the main contact for Gosling Czubak and further introduced Klaus Heinert and Tim Roache. Ms. Kelley further informed the Commission of the other staff members that would be working on the project, more specifically Nathan Elkins, Jim Lumley, and Julie Rhodes. (Proposal attached).
Ms. Kelley gave a presentation on the Gosling Czubak approach to completing the Antrim County Master Plan (attached). She noted that the 1964 Comprehensive Plan was a good plan but a little out of date. Ms. Kelley noted that they will first complete one section to give to us and let us pick the form of the master plan.
Ms. Kelley informed the Commission of the sections that they will be completing. Furthermore, Ms. Kelley stated the importance of an implementation section.
Mr. Wright expressed concern of where we are so far and also noted that we need to have a future land use map as soon as possible. Mr. Wright further inquired about any problems Gosling Czubak had while completing the Kalkaska County Master Plan.
Mr. Roache noted some constraints of the Kalkaska County Master Plan being that it was funded by a Rotary grant. Mr. Roache further noted that they almost wanted to have no words in the Plan and have pictures and maps speak on behalf of the words. Ms. Kelley noted that they could not always find the exact picture and often needed to use words.
Motion by Laura Stanek, supported by Barb Bradford to recommend the Board of Commissioners contract with Gosling Czubak for the Antrim County Planning Commission Master Plan. Motion carried – unanimous. |
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7. Interim Rules of Procedure Update |
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Mr. Meyers informed the Commission that the Board of Commissioners received the Planning Commission Ordinance and the Rules for the Transaction of Business at their last meeting and should act on them at their January 12, 2006 meeting.
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8. Wilson Township Master Plan |
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Mr. Meyers informed the Commission that they had one more month to act on the Wilson Township Master Plan and asked if there were any comments at this time.
Mr. Wright asked to get some clarified maps on page 6-2.
Stan Moore, MSU Extension Director, noted that some numbers were wrong on page 4-1. |
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9. Focus Group Reports |
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Ms. Barnard questioned if we should continue to have focus groups now that we are hiring a consultant. The Commission decided that the work should progress but it should be given to the consultant. |
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10. Communication |
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None. |
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11. Public/Member Comment |
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Ed Martel informed the Commission that the Kalkaska County Master Plan was not changed in any way to accommodate zoning. Mr. Martel further thanked Mr. Allen for making the statement that County Zoning will never come to Antrim County.
Jill Barnard expressed concern about having a big box corporation come in and sue the county because they have more money, similar to what happened in Acme Township, (in regards to Meijer Stores).
Joe Allen stated that the Master Plan is a guide and not law.
Al Luurtsema noted that we are not giving enough consideration the Townships in the County. Mr. Luurtsema further stated that the plan is being written for them and we need to think about their needs.
Barb Bradford directed her comment to Mr. McNeil. She wanted to inform him that she felt like he threatened the Commission and she was offended by it. Ms. Bradford asked Mr. McNeil to report the good that the Commission is doing and not just the bad.
Mr. McNeil expressed his opinion that the public believes that the government does not care and so why should they. Mr. McNeil further noted that he did not want another situation like the visioning sessions where he felt that the voice of the people was not heard and the results were disregarded once completed.
Mr. Moore indicated that he took issue with Mr. McNeil comments about the visioning session’s process and report. Mr. Moore informed Mr. McNeil that the visioning sessions were accurate and the results were reported to the Commissioners, the community, and will be used for the process of the master plan. |
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Meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. |
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Submitted and Approved
Alan Martel, Secretary Date: Antrim County Planning Commission |
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