Zoning/Planning
Board approves re-zoning in Old Allouez
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At
a March 27 public hearing in the Courthouse in Eagle River, the
Keweenaw County Zonin g/Planning Commission approved
re-zoning a residential area of Old Allouez to Resort Service in
order to bring businesses in the area into compliance with the
County Zoning Ordinance. Board members pictured clockwise from
left end of table are David Latvala, Eric Bjorn, Mark Pavolich,
Robert Crampton, Zoning Administrator Jane Pelto and Chairman
James Regis.
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EAGLE RIVER ’Äì
In a public hearing Tuesday, March 27, the Keweenaw
County Zoning/Planning Commission approved a request
for re-zoning a group of lots in the plat of Old
Allouez in Allouez Township from Resort Residential
(RR) to Resort Service (RS) after residents
presented views both pro and con. The zoning change
must be approved by the County Board of
Commissioners and the State of Michigan Department
of Consumer and Industry Services to go into effect.
The hearing was called after John Karvonen, owner of
Allouez Automotive, requested re-zoning for his
business, which is located in a residential
neighborhood.
Although
Karvonen’Äôs request for re-zoning was
made only for his automotive repair facility, the
Commission decided to re-zone a total of eight lots
in the immediate neighborhood to bring several
non-residential buildings into compliance with the
Keweenaw County Zoning Ordinance and to join the
lots to an adjacent RS district near the Amoco
service station on U.S. 41 north of Mohawk.
Zoning/Planning
Commission Chairman James ’ÄúReggie’Äù Regis said
since the adjacent area is already zoned RS, ’Äúit
won’Äôt be spot zoning.’Äù
Zoning
Administrator Jane Pelto said the zoning change
allows the businesses to be consolidated all in one
area as well as making sure the existing businesses
conform to the Zoning Ordinance requirements.
’ÄúIt
was the opportune time to ’Ķ bring the other
businesses into conformance,’Äù Pelto said. ’ÄúIt
gave us an opportunity to look at the entire area to
see how it was zoned, and when we did check it we
realized the other businesses were
non-conforming.’Äù
Besides
Karvonen’Äôs business (Lot 30), other
non-residential buildings affected by the proposed
zoning change included the Amoco Station (Lot 33),
the Allouez Township Community Hall (Lot 29), and
the Family Independence Agency building owned by
Maple Hills Co. (Lot 32). The Amoco station was
built before the 1975 Zoning Ordinance went into
effect but was still considered out of compliance.
Other lots to be re-zoned from RR to RS include
Karvonen’Äôs residence (Lot 31), a vacant lot (Lot
34) owned by Donna Effinger, the Donald Effinger
residence (Lot 35) and a vacant lot (Lot 37) next to
the Effinger residence on U.S. 41.
Karvonen’Äôs
attorney, Joel Tuoriniemi, presented his client’Äôs
reasons for requesting the zoning change to RS for
the automotive repair facility located on Lot #30.
’ÄúThose
of you who’Äôve seen the building itself would
hopefully agree with me that it’Äôs kept
immaculately. It’Äôs providing a needed service to
this county.’Äù
Houghton
Township resident Ray Quicksilver said he favored
the zoning change. He noted the Karvonen business ’Äì
since it is physically in a complex with the gas
station, the Community Hall and the FIA building ’Äì
’Äúreally doesn’Äôt stick out in ’Ķ an inhibiting
way.’Äù He said its ’Äústate-of-the-art’Äù
appearance fits into the neighborhood.
’ÄúWe
need a place like this up here,’Äù Quicksilver said.
’ÄúI had to use this service twice already, and it
has saved me a large amount of money that I could
use up here for other things.’Äù
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During
the March
27 public hearing, several residents attested to the clean
appearance of John Karvonen's automotive repair business, but some
had concerns about the re-zoning. Allouez Township residents
pictured here are (front row from right) Al Gunnari, chair of the
Allouez Township Land Use Planning Committee, Mike Stefanich,
unidentified resident, Terry Budreau (far left). In the second
row, from right, Attorney Joel
Tuoriniemi is seated with the Karvonens.
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Karvonen’Äôs
neighbor, Terry Budreau, said he opposed the zoning
change for the automotive repair business because of
the increased traffic and potential danger to
children playing and riding bikes in the area. He
noted a playground is located near the business.
’ÄúThere are no
stop signs on any of the streets back through
there,’Äù Budreau said. ’ÄúIf somebody gets in an
accident there, if somebody hits my child, who’Äôs
liable ’Äì the county? the board? the state?’Äù
Commissioner
David Latvala said Mohawk had no stop signs on any
of the back streets and he didn’Äôt know who had the
power to put up stop signs. Latvala noted Calumet,
Laurium and Mohawk have playgrounds adjacent to
business districts.
Said
Budreau, ’ÄúI am for progress, but there are other
issues here too with children and families.’Äù
A
resident who did not wish to be identified asked
Budreau about his own business (a beauty salon in
his home) and the fact that cars drive past the
Karvonen business to get to his.
When
Budreau attempted to reply, Regis interrupted their
conversation, noting
those comments should be addressed to the
chair.
While
Budreau agreed with other residents that Karvonen
kept a clean business, he added he was also
concerned about hazardous waste.
Karvonen
said his used motor oil was stored in barrels and
picked up by a company that re-uses it.
Bill
Hallwachs, who said he lives directly across from
the auto repair business, said he was neither for
nor against the zoning change but was concerned
about what could follow re-zoning of the area.
’ÄúOnce
you’Äôve re-zoned this whole area, what’Äôs to
prevent somebody from throwing up a bar or putting
up more businesses?’Äù Hallwachs said. ’ÄúIn and of
itself it’Äôs a fine little shop, (but) is there
anything that’Äôs going to prevent this area from
all of a sudden turning into a commercial area?’Äù
Bill
and his wife Susan Hallwachs both noted they wanted
to see Karvonen succeed in his business but they
wondered what might happen if the Karvonens
left and were replaced by a less considerate
business owner. Susan also expressed concern about
the proximity of a playground (behind the Community
Building) to the businesses.
Tuoriniemi
said questions about the playground were not
relevant to the Karvonens’Äô request for re-zoning
since the decision to put the playground next to
businesses was made long before this request.
Zoning/Planning
Commissioner David Latvala noted, ’ÄúWe can’Äôt stop
everything for fear of the worst.’Äù
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Allouez resident Pauline Johnson, right,
opposed the re-zoning "after the fact" of the business
being built from a personal garage in a residential neighborhood.
Also pictured are Houghton Township resident Ray Quicksilver and
Grant Township resident Diana Jones.
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Allouez
resident Pauline Johnson said the fact that the
Karvonens put up their building as a personal garage
and then turned it into a business without the
proper zoning affects all residents of Keweenaw
County, not just property owners in that
neighborhood.
’ÄúMy
big concern is this building was put up as a
personal garage and it has grown into a business and
this is in an area that is residential,’Äù Johnson
said. ’ÄúI do not like the fact that they are
allowed to come to you after the fact for something
that didn’Äôt belong there in the first place.’Äù
Budreau
said later, ’ÄúMy concern was just the safety for my
(four-year-old) child.’Äù
He
added he did not think the board answered people’Äôs
questions before voting unanimously for the zoning
change.
Ed
Kraai, chairman of Sherman Township’Äôs Land Use
Planning Committee, said he was in attendance for
the board meeting following the hearing, not really
for the hearing, but found the hearing interesting.
’ÄúThere’Äôs
a lot of issues, a lot of public concern; and I
don’Äôt think the board addressed that,’Äù Kraai
noted.
Pelto
said John Karvonen’Äôs request for re-zoning was in
response to a violation notice she sent him about
two months ago. When the Zoning Ordinance took
effect, she explained, there was no zoning allowing
businesses in Old Allouez.
’ÄúIt’Äôs
something that’Äôs been long overdue,’Äù she said.
Al
Gunnari, Allouez Township Land Use Planning
Committee chairman, said he agreed
with the Zoning Board's decision to rezone the area
to RS.
’ÄúI am not sure of the impact
the other lots will have as I have not had a chance
to see the map,’Äù Gunnari said Wednesday.
While some residents expressed
fears of what might be built in the empty lots
rezoned to RS, Pelto said she wasn’Äôt aware of any
present plans for building on those lots.
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Bill Luokkanen, Allouez Township supervisor
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Allouez Township Supervisor
Bill Luokkanen said Wednesday a request for stop signs in the
area could be addressed to the Township Board, but
it could entail as many as a dozen signs, which he
estimated could cost about $100 each.
’ÄúYou don’Äôt just put one
sign; you have to set up a common-sense traffic
pattern with your signs,’Äù Luokkanen said. ’ÄúThe
problem has never been addressed to the Township
Board that I’Äôm aware of, so possibly the board
would consider it.’Äù
He noted since Allouez Township
does not have equipment for installing the signs,
the board would have to request that from Keweenaw
County Road Commission Engineer Jim Heikkila. The
next Allouez Township Board meeting is at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 11. The Allouez Township Land Use
Planning Committee will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday,
April 3. Both meetings will be in the Township Hall
in Mohawk.
A letter from George Hite of
Eagle Harbor was submitted to the board. Eric Bjorn,
County commissioner and Zoning/Planning Board
member, mentioned the letter; but it was not read
aloud at the hearing.
In the letter, Hite states,
’ÄúI understand that Jim Heikkila, chair of the
Zoning Board of Appeals, has advised the Zoning
Administrator that the ZBA would likely rule that
automotive repair is a permitted use in the RS
District because the listed Permitted Use, 'Consumer
services,' would be interpreted to
include automotive repair. This seems quite
inconsistent with the stated purpose of the RS
District: '’Ķto provide recreation or vacation
convenience shopping center foods and services for
families living in or using the variety of resort or
vacation areas.'
’ÄúIf the ZBA were to rule
automotive repair as 'Consumer services,' it is
hard to imagine what types of businesses would not
be permitted in the RS zoning. We have several
hundred acres of RS zoning east of Mohawk, including
strips along M26 in Eagle Harbor and Eagle River, a
full section with two miles of U.S. 41 frontage at
Delaware, considerable acreage at Lac La Belle and,
of course, much of the Copper Harbor community
’Ķ’Äù
Hite states also that the only
zoning classification that allows automotive repair
as a permitted use is Highway Service. He further
suggests the property be zoned B-1 Business District
and the Ordinance amended to include ’Äúautomotive
and truck repair’Äù as a Special Use under B-1 to
give the county control over the use and prevent
precedent problems.
However, Pelto said the
decision to re-zone the area RS was based on the
fact that RS allows single-family residences, while
Highway Service and B-1 do not.
’ÄúBecause there was a mixture
of the two (businesses and residences) so close
together in that area, it was felt that RS was more
appropriate,’Äù she explained.
’Äì Michele
Anderson
March 28, 2001
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