Saline Township Planning Commission
Special Meeting, December 5, 2007

Members Present:
Richard Zahn, Neil Bohnett, Trudy Feldkamp, Laurie Leinbach, Gary Luckhardt, Robert Prehn, Chuck Rankin.

Members Absent:
None.

Others Present:
Don Pennington, Rodney Nanney, approximately 10 others.

Meeting was called to order at 7:32 pm.

Pledge of Allegiance was led by Rankin.

Development Plan Revision:
No discussion

Public Comments:
None.

Zoning Ordinance Revision:
Prehn - comment that the efforts of Pennington and Nanney are greatly appreciated. Concern with having a noise ordinance written. How to enforce, general nuisance, etc. Do we need it?

Bohnett - agreed. Noise is part of the landscape in rural areas.

Rankin - noise also depends on weather conditions, how far it will travel, etc.

Leinbach - pointed out the that section in question (5.506) is for recreational.

Nanney - anything covered by the Right to Farm act is exempt.

Prehn - complaints may have been isolated cases. If noise becomes a chronic problem, an ordinance can be created. Best to try to resolve between parties.

Looked at section 5.506, item 5. Pointed out items on noise list (provided by Nanney). Alex Feitel pointed out that in professional racing all bikes must have a muffler.

Nanney - having a noise level indicated makes it easier to enforce the ordinance. Enforcement would be on a complaint basis.

Fred Feitel - once was an enforcement officer for the DNR. Enforcement is difficult, as issue is gone by the time the officer appears.

Feldkamp - having a set number (noise level) would give a starting point for any enforcement.

Pennington - Densities are not comparable to urban areas, this is a farming community. How long does a sound last (30 seconds, 30 minutes, i.e.)? Need to keep some flexibility. May be better to enforce on a complaint basis. Some discretion needs to be used.

Nanney - Perhaps look at duration rather than sound level.

Prehn - Questions regarding sound dissipation.

Nanney - believes sound dissipates exponentially; weather conditions make a difference.

Pennington - after research, sound dissipates exponentially. More factors enter in, barriers, etc.

If there is no limit indicated, the zoning inspector has discretion.

Bohnett - suggest delete the second sentence (referring to any sound limit) from the paragraph.

Nanney - there is a similar section (6.208.B). Perhaps delete this section, also.

All agreed.

Discussion moved to section 5.108 Private Riding Arenas and Boarding Stables and section 5.109 Public or Commercial Riding Stables.

Nanney provided updated language for each. Basically, private arenas/stables would have a minimum 10 acre requirement and public stables would have a minimum 20 acre requirement, with no limitation on the number of horses. Also, the public stables setbacks were made consistent with other commercial entities.

Discussion.

All agreed that the changes were satisfactory and would be made to the final version of the Zoning Ordinace.

Public Comments:
None.

Rankin moved for adjournment, Prehn support; meeting adjourned, 8:25 p.m. Next regular meeting is December 12, 7:30 pm

Trudy Feldkamp
Saline Township Planning Commission, Secretary