If you have a question about the status or procedure for obtaining permits for a project, please call 231-744-1621 and ask for the Building Inspector. He is available on Monday morning between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
SPECIAL LAND USES
The Zoning Ordinance provides for an application for a special land use permit after a determination has been made by the Zoning Administrator.
Application Procedures
a. A completed application. (fillable form) Special Land Use Application.
b. A suitable number of copies of a site plan as determined by the Zoning Administrator containing all setback information.
c. Payment of an application fee, which shall be non-refundable, as established from time to time by resolution of the City Council.
The Planning Commission may approve, approve with conditions or deny the Special Land Use Permit request, based upon review and consideration of materials submitted with the application, comments received at the public hearing and the applicable standards of Chapter 17.
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
The Zoning Board of Appeals essentially has two functions:
1. Appeals from determinations made by the zoning administrator; and
2. Variances
While appeals from the Zoning Administrator do not occur very often, state law and zoning ordinances provide an appeal process from an administrative decision of the Zoning Administrator.
A variance, on the other hand, is a mechanism by which the Board of Appeals allows a landowner to do something that the ordinance prohibits. Whether the variance is a use variance (permitting the land to be used for a purpose which the ordinance prohibits) or a dimensional or non-use variance (allowing a landowner to build on the land in a way which doesn’t meet minimum ordinance standards), the focus is upon a single piece of property.
See Section 22.05 of the City’s Ordinance for the complete procedure.
Variance Application (pdf)
