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Board of Adjustment

Orange County · Board of Adjustment
Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Regular meeting Appointments and personnelEnvironment and sustainabilityLand conversion and large developmentParks and recreationSchools and educationSolid waste and recyclingStormwater and flooding

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved 4Approval of Minutes Approved unanimously

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

Orange County's Board of Adjustment heard one case on November 13, 2024: a special use permit for Canine Adventures to run a Class II kennel off Monotropa Trail in Efland, in Bingham Township. A second case, a watershed variance, came off the agenda when the applicant withdrew it.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The board granted the kennel permit in three unanimous votes, taking the findings of fact, the conclusions and the permit itself in turn. No one established standing to oppose it. Two members of the public attended and neither testified.

The applicant's case was that the use adds little to the site's surroundings. Existing vegetation would be kept to muffle noise, the site sits low relative to the land around it, and the owner said he collects the dogs himself rather than having clients drive to the property. Staff reported no comments of concern from the agricultural, parks and recreation, environmental health or solid waste departments, none from the State Environmental Clearinghouse, and no correspondence from neighbors. Concerns raised at the Development Advisory Committee had been settled with the applicant before the hearing.

The withdrawn case is the more interesting procedural story. That applicant had been before the board earlier and was sent away to specify where a building would sit, what the setbacks would be, and where the septic system would go. Working with a soil scientist, the applicant's engineer found a provision that removed the need for a variance at all: UDO Section 4.2.2(I) lets a lot created before January 1, 1994 build in the watershed protection area if the owner commits to no more than four bedrooms and no more than 20,000 square feet of septic area including tank and drainage, subject to review by the county engineer and environmental health. The case was withdrawn rather than decided.

The board also received its annual report and work plan, which staff described as information for commissioners rather than something requiring a vote, and welcomed a new member.

How the votes went

Three unanimous votes granted the special use permit: findings of fact, conclusions, and the permit. Minutes of the prior meeting were approved unanimously. Case A-5-24 was withdrawn by the applicant and not voted on.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (8)

Procedural · 4Appointment · 1Minutes approval · 1Public hearing · 1Staff or committee report · 1
  1. 1 Call to Order
    Procedural
    Call to order.
  2. 2 Consideration of Additions to Agenda
    Procedural Stormwater and flooding
    Staff reported that the applicant in the pending watershed variance case had withdrawn it. The engineer, working with a soil scientist, found the property qualifies under UDO Section 4.2.2(I), which lets a lot created before January 1, 1994 build within the watershed protection area if the owner commits to no more than four bedrooms and no more than 20,000 square feet of septic area including tank and drainage, subject to review by the county engineer and environmental health. That removed the need for a variance.
  3. 3 Introduction of New BOA Member
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    A new member of the Board of Adjustment was introduced.
  4. 4 Approval of Minutes
    Minutes approval
    Approved unanimously.
    Approved unanimously
  5. 5 & 6 Public Charge & Potential BOA Conflict of Interest Statement
    Procedural
    The board's standing statements on decorum and on conflicts of interest, read before a quasi-judicial hearing.
  6. 7 CASE A-6-24 (SUP23-0011): Special use permit for a Class II kennel, Canine Adventures
    Public hearing Environment and sustainabilityLand conversion and large developmentParks and recreationSolid waste and recycling
    A quasi-judicial evidentiary hearing on Canine Adventures' application for a special use permit to develop a Class II kennel off Monotropa Trail in Efland, in Bingham Township. The applicant argued the existing vegetation would be retained to muffle noise, that the site sits low in the surrounding land, and that dogs are collected by the operator rather than dropped off, so the use generates little added traffic. Staff reported no concerns from the agricultural, parks and recreation, environmental health or solid waste departments, none from the State Environmental Clearinghouse, and no correspondence from neighbors. No one established standing to oppose. The board approved the findings, th…
    Special use permit granted, three unanimous votes
  7. 8 BOA Annual Report and Work Plan
    Staff or committee report Schools and education
    The board's annual review and work plan for the coming year, largely unchanged from the previous one: hearing the variances and special use permits that come in. Staff described it as information for commissioners rather than a document needing formal approval. Training for members was discussed, including a School of Government course.
  8. 9 Adjournment
    Procedural
    Adjournment.

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