Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - 2024-02-14

Detailed briefing

Harbor Springs Zoning Board of Appeals — February 14, 2024 ATTENDEES: Roll call identified Kim Morris, Michael Berman, Sue Stewart, John Leo, Bob Thoma, and Bob Buckner. Michael Berman served as the alternate for the variance vote. • The board unanimously approved its January 10 meeting minutes. No public comments were offered on matters not on the agenda, and the board reported no old business. • The board opened a public hearing on a variance request for 2 Beach Drive. The request concerned a proposed six-foot-wide boardwalk across the lagoon/wetland area to connect the property to a dock in Lake Michigan. City staff said the board’s zoning discussion was limited to the portion landward of the high-water mark; permissions for work farther out would fall to other agencies. • The applicant’s representative, John Evans of Hirschfeld Landscape Architects, said the property is the only one among 67 homes in the area that lacks land access to its dock. He said the Army Corps of Engineers had approved the lake dock and EGLE had approved the boardwalk. However, he also said the boardwalk was later shifted east by about 10 feet to reduce its visual presence and that EGLE might need to review that shift. • Board members discussed the proposed boardwalk’s visual and environmental effects. The applicant said it would be low-profile, about eight inches in profile, use real wood material, have no handrails, and be placed to retain as much existing vegetation as possible. The representative said there was no intent to remove vegetation. The owner of Lot 1 provided a letter of support; the applicant said the owners of Lot 3 had been contacted but did not provide a written response at the meeting. • Members debated whether to require a vegetation buffer or maintenance standard. They ultimately did not adopt a specific vegetation condition. Staff cautioned that a condition would need to be accepted by the property owner and noted the city does not have comparable vegetation regulations for other properties. Members instead referenced shoreline best practices and the proposed new zoning code. • The board approved the variance after finding practical difficulty. The motion required EGLE approval to be provided before zoning approval and included a strong recommendation that the project comply with vegetation requirements in the new zoning code. Bob Buckner, Bob Thoma, John Leo, Sue Stewart, and Kim Morris each voted yes. Worth watching: • The revised eastward boardwalk alignment may need EGLE review or approval. • EGLE approval must be submitted before zoning approval. • The vegetation language was a strong recommendation, not a specific enforceable maintenance condition stated in the motion. Upcoming: No future meeting date or project follow-up date was announced. Why it matters: The approval allows a dock-access boardwalk in a wetland setting while leaving state-agency review and shoreline-vegetation follow-through as key safeguards.

No open public follow-ups are linked to this meeting yet.