Upcoming Meetings
Township Hall, 7:00 p.m.
unless otherwise specified
If a meeting date/description is
blue and underlined
you can click on it to view agenda.
NEW - BASED ON FEEDBACK
TO MAKE SURFING A LITTLE EASIER....
CLICK ON THE RED NAME OF THE PUBLIC BODY TO BE
TAKEN TO THE PAGE WITH LINKS TO THEIR MINUTES
Full annual schedules for each board and commission can be accessed by choosing
your area of interest (Board of Trustees or Planning & Zoning) from the
menu bar above and finding the link to their schedule on their individual web
pages.
Board of Trustees
May 13,
2008, 7:00 pm
(ONE WEEK LATER THAN USUAL DUE TO SCHOOL ELECTIONS)
Planning Commission
May 19,
2008, 7:00 pm (ONE WEEK EARLIER THAN USUAL DUE TO MEMORIAL DAY)
Zoning Board of Appeals (7:30
p.m.)
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What's New?
Updated
May 8, 2008
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MASONIC LODGE SPAGHETTI DINNER: The annual
Masonic Lodge Spaghetti Dinner benefiting Metro Fire Station 8 here in
Acme Township will be held on Saturday, May 17 from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. at
the lodge on the corner of M-72 and Acme Road. Prices are $7/adult, $5/children
5-up, kids under 5 eat for free. Raffle tickets are also available through your
friendly neighborhood Mason at a price of $1/each, $6/5 or $12/10. This is
usually one of THE Acme social events of the season, and we'd like to thank the
Masons for all that they do for our community.
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CLEAN-UP DAY: It's back! Saturday June
14, 2008, 8:00 am - noon, New Hope Church. Flyers good for one free load are now
available to township property owners at the township Hall. NO BATTERIES OR
TIRES THIS YEAR.... Click here for
more info.
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CONTENT-NEUTRAL ZONING ORDINANCE REWRITE UNDERWAY:
Recent changes to the State planning and zoning enabling acts have
rendered portions of our current Zoning Ordinance (adopted in September 1979 and
amended over 140 times since) obsolete. Some of these changes require provisions
our ordinance currently does not contain. And, as the ordinance was adopted in
September 1979 and amended over 140 times since then, many internal
inconsistencies have developed. Sometimes the organization is confusing, and
sometimes the language could be simplified from "legalese" to plain English. The
Planning Commission is working with legal counsel to update the ordinance to
address all of these issues.
This work is being undertaken as a "content neutral re-write." By this we mean
that for the most part the substantive changes to the ordinance are procedural
or legal in nature but the land use entitlements, dimensional requirements
review standards remain almost unchanged. If a use is allowed in a district
today, it will still be allowed in that district according to the proposed new
draft. There are some limited circumstances where changes to entitlements may
have occurred, but only in cases where the law requires it. For instance, if
State law requires us to permit a certain land use and we do not currently
permit it, it has been added to the text.
We want the public to be fully involved in this process. The Planning Commission
will be scheduling special meetings this summer to discuss only this zoning
ordinance amendment and prepare a final draft for recommendation to the Board of
Trustees. The first special meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 12 at 7:00
p.m. To prepare you to participate in the process, these three documents
prepared by legal counsel and provided to the Planning Commission are available
to you:
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Proposed
new ordinance - "clean copy:" This is the ordinance as it would appear if
adopted today.
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Proposed new ordinance - "mark-up:" Same as the "clean copy," except that
this document uses color to show you the current text of the ordinance and the
changes to it proposed by the attorneys
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Explanatory memo: It's a long one, about 62 pages. But, it's important - it
explains what the lawyers have suggested and why they have suggested it. Some of
what they have to say might normally be subject to attorney-client privilege,
but we are waiving that privilege in this instance because we believe it's
critical to the public's ability to understand what we are trying to do, to
reinforce that this re-write is intended to solve functional and legal problems
with our current regulations and to demonstrate fully that there is no hidden
agenda to change current landowner entitlements.
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CHIC-FIL-A KYLE PETTY CHARITY RIDE: The 14th
annual Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride will be starting at the
Grand Traverse Resort & Spa on July 13,
ending on July 19 in Savannah, Georgia. Here's a
link to a news
article about the event. Congratulations to the Resort for being the
host/starting point for this popular motorcycle fundraising event for critically
ill children!
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PARKS, RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE PLAN FIVE YEAR UPDATE: The Board
approved a new
Acme Township Parks System Plan 2008-2013
on March 4, and it has been approved by the The plan will now be sent to the Michigan Department of Natural
Resources for use through December 2012. The Parks & Recreation Advisory and the Shoreline
Preservation Advisory will now assist the Board in working towards the goals
expressed in the plan. Thanks to all of you who participated in the plan update!
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CHANGE IN ABSENTEE VOTER PROCEDURES:
The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that a township
Clerk may not mail unsolicited absentee voter applications as we have done in
the past to voters age 60 and up. We can create a permanent absent voter
application list for people who ask. If you would like to receive an absent
voter application form prior to each election, please write to the Township
Clerk to let us know.
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Signalization at US 31/M-72 Intersection:
Intersection improvements are complete. Many of you are disappointed because
there is not a left turn arrow for traffic southbound on US 31
turning east onto M-72. Risė
Rasch from MDOT's TC service center has prepared some information explaining why
they believe this is the best choice, and that they will reconsider if traffic
flows don't initially improve as expected.
Click here to read all about it.
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GET YOUR PASSPORTS HERE! Your township hall
is now a Passport Application Acceptance Agency! Office Assistant Nancy
Edwardson can process your request Monday through Friday from 8:00
a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. At this time only Nancy can perform
this function - you may wish to call ahead to ensure she will be available when
you need her.
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Any American citizen can apply for a passport here - you don't have to be a
township resident.
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You can get your passport photos at the Walgreens at Holiday Road and US 31.
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Fees are established by the US State Department. For adults the total fee starts
at $100 (additional fees apply for expedited service). $75 goes to the State
Department and $25 is retained by the issuing agency and will contribute to our
general operating fund.
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Normally it takes about 6 - 8 weeks to receive your passport after
application.
Plan ahead!
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The next nearest place to apply is at the County Clerk's Office or post office in Downtown T.C.
- we're convenient to the East side of town! Also, if you were born in GT County
you cannot obtain your passport through the County office due to new Homeland
Security regulations.
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Are members of your school, church, civic or social organization planning a
trip? Call Nancy to discuss having her come to your location/meeting to
conveniently process your applications.
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Forms and answers available at the office, or at
the State Department website
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BRUSH DROPOFF? HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL?
Click here
for information about the GT County Brush Dropoff Site, and household hazardous
waste disposal.
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