Ridgeline Zoning Hearing

Tomorrow night, Tuesday April 14th, at 7 pm in the township office, Leland Township's Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on a proposed zoning ordinance to regulate the development of ridge lines.

The purpose of the proposed ordinance is "to naturally reduce the pronounced appearance of structures on a dominant ridgeline without interfering with the scenic views from within those structures." There are restrictions on how much tree cutting can go on around ridgeline construction, and a provision for siting structures below the ridgeline instead of at the top "so as not to be the primary ridgeline element seen from a public road during the first week of July."

I see problems with the ordinance as proposed, since it would pretty much eliminate our township's best sites for wind generation. I also suspect that the oversized house on the hill is the dream home of the last century; the dream home of the future is likely to be of a more reasonable size and built into the hill to conserve energy.

As township trustee, I will go to the hearing to listen, rather than to advocate one side or the other. But I hope that the hearing will be well attended, and that we will hear a variety of perspectives on this issue.