REALTORS® and Property Owners Fight Restrictive Zoning in Isabella County
By Brian Westrin, MAR Manager of Legal Affairs

The Michigan Association of REALTORS® and the Central Michigan Association of REALTORS® have joined property owners in opposition to a proposed zoning ordinance in Isabella County that would have a damaging impact upon property values and property rights.
The proposed ordinance would cover nine townships that currently fall under county zoning: Coldwater, Gilmore, Vernon, Nottowa, Isabella, Denver, Broomfield, Rolland and Lincoln. The ordinance would drastically reduce the ability of property owners to divide and maintain their property in a manner consistent with current state law.

The existing zoning ordinance in Isabella County follows the State Land Division Act, relating to the number of land divisions available to property owners. The existing ordinance does not generally set parameters on parcel size, allowing landowners to divide their land in a variety of ways. The proposed ordinance creates substantial limitations on parcel size and parcel access. The maximum lot size for a conventional split would be three acres and one and a half acres maximum for a proposed open cluster design. In both instances, the limitations would have an unacceptable impact upon the rights of property owners to maximize the value of their current land holdings.

The threat that the proposed ordinance might be implemented was enough to bring REALTORS®, property owners, farmers, and other interested parties together to take a closer look at the proposed changes. In addition to the reduction in land division and permissible lot sizes, the proposed plan would eliminate the ability to access a back lot parcel by easement. Instead, the property owner would be forced to assume a great expense in the creation of a private road to access the property.

On December 8th, 2005, the Isabella County Planning Commission had the first of two public hearings on the proposed ordinance. The meeting, held in the Isabella county building, was relocated to a larger room to accommodate the impressive turnout of concerned property owners and members of the business community. Members of the standing room only crowd addressed the Planning Commission for over an hour and 30 minutes. No audience members spoke in favor of the proposed plan.

A second public hearing will be held in the coming weeks. If you are located in one of the townships that are being impacted, you are encouraged you to attend the hearing and support the property owners’ rights.