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ZBA allows bumper blocks along steep Macomb Drain embankment at Lutheran High North
Summary
The Macomb Township Zoning Board of Appeals granted a variance allowing parking bumper blocks along the far east edge of Lutheran High North’s parking lot adjacent to the Macomb Drain, citing existing sheet drainage and a steep embankment as the practical difficulty.
The Macomb Township Zoning Board of Appeals approved a variance for Lutheran High North to retain and use parking bumper blocks along the far east side of its paved parking lot adjacent to the Macomb Drain.
Planning staff said the parking area drains as sheet flow toward the drain and that a conventional curb installation would require substantial storm-sewer work. The record shows 33 bumper blocks already exist in a single row at the site; staff and engineering advised that the bumper blocks provide a protective barrier where the parking lot meets a steep embankment and that requiring a curb as part of a routine maintenance repaving would be disproportionate.
Mr. Box, planning staff, recommended approval and said the site’s slope and drainage present a practical difficulty for the standard curb requirement. Attorney or counsel and board members discussed durability and maintenance; planning staff noted the property owner remains responsible for maintaining the bumpers and the township could pursue code enforcement if they deteriorate.
Representatives for the petitioner included Ron Kuznicki (Shonczyk) and Jessica Stone, chief financial officer for the Lutheran High School Association; they told the board the bumper blocks existed prior to the recent repaving and that the work was maintenance rather than a full rebuild that would have required enclosed storm sewer.
Board member Mr. Costa moved to grant the variance to section 10.0323E4 for permanent parcel 16300026 and to allow bumper blocks anywhere along the parking lot’s far east edge in the future if needed; Mr. Piper supported the motion. The motion passed 4–1 (recorded as four yes votes and one no by Mr. Feil). The board explicitly recorded that approval authorizes use but does not require installation of additional bumper blocks; any future maintenance remains the owner’s responsibility.
Planning staff and the board discussed that township standards normally require curbs (6-inch standard curb height was cited) but that the existing lot was constructed without curbs and that adding curbs now would entail additional storm-sewer work beyond the scope of the maintenance the petitioner performed. The board’s decision included findings that the parking lot’s sheet drainage and the steep embankment adjacent to the Macomb Drain constitute the practical difficulty supporting the variance.
No members of the public spoke on the item, and the board closed the matter after the roll-call vote.
