In what was seen as a crucial test of the new planning process in Elmwood, the Elmwood Township Board of Trustees voted Thursday night to pass an amendment to its zoning ordinance, 6-1. Trustee Terry Lautner was the lone vote opposing the passage of an amendment defining clear standards for the Resort Commercial (RC-1) District. The so-called Milliken property on M-72 which was recently proposed as the site of a massive water park project (since withdrawn) is zoned RC-1.

The amendment was rejected by the Board in an earlier vote, but reconsidered after the Planning Commission declined to revise its earlier recommendation according to the Board's wishes. Township Attorney Jim Young's energetic insistence that the township's Master Plan could not be arbitrarily ignored seemed to be the crucial argument in turning the Board around Thursday night.

~ Steve Van Zoeren

Update 12/9/06: The Record-Eagle story on the vote is here

The amendment is the first substantial piece of zoning legislation to emerge from newly constituted Elmwood Planning Commission and is seen by many as providing a crucial window onto the reception that can be expected for the new Zoning Ordinance which the Planning Commission is slated to deliver in early 2007.