MONTAGUE — The White River Township planning commission unanimously agreed to refer two ordinance changes to the board at a special meeting Thursday.
The second of the two changes drew discussion. The changes removed a requirement that an enlargement or extension to a nonconforming building or structure shall not exceed 50% of the area of the original building or structure at the time it became nonconforming, and it also remanded approval of nonconforming setbacks to the zoning administrator rather than the Zoning Board of Appeals as had been in place previously. Planning commissioner Marisa McGlue said this change was made because zoning administrators' responsibilities have changed over the past five years, while zoning administrator Bill Schmiege stated in his view, he cannot issue variances because his job is to enforce ordinances, which are functionally the law in the township.
However, most of the discussion revolved around an apparent discrepancy between the text and an illustrative diagram in the ordinance. The diagram caption states that nonconforming side yard setbacks should be not less than 50% of the required setback, when the text seemingly indicates that it should be not more than 50%. After some discussion of whether the image should be changed to match the text, the commission declined to address the issue; Deb Harris stated that if there were a dispute, she believes what the text reads would hold despite the apparent error in the diagram.
The commission also unanimously approved a change governing private roads and short-term rentals. The change allows STRs to be served only by a private road as long as the road is at least 15 feet wide at all points; there is a turnaround point of at least 120 feet in diameter; and the road is suitable for at least a 20-ton fire truck to operate upon it year-round. The ordinance also states that renters utilizing the home must sign a contract disclosing that the road is private and not maintained by the township. There was no discussion regarding that change.
