Cascade Charter Township’s Planning Commission unanimously approved case 253902, allowing a large accessory structure (a roughly 21‑foot religious statue) to remain and be relocated within the lot at 5138 Thornapple River Drive SE subject to conditions intended to mitigate neighborhood impacts.

Staff framed the item as an accessory structure issue and noted prior enforcement contacts in 2023 and 2024 related to unpermitted work; staff recommended approval of an accessory‑structure permit to resolve the immediate siting question while the township continues to investigate whether the underlying property use constitutes a religious institution that would require a separate special‑use permit. The legal advisor explained that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) can be raised as a defense to enforcement if the township later imposes conditions that a court finds to be a substantial burden on religious exercise.

Applicant Trang Nguyen told the commission she ordered the statue from Vietnam for religious reasons, described weekly family gatherings of 5–7 people and occasional festivals of 20–30 people, and said she was willing to move the statue farther from the road and add screening. Neighbors raised concerns about parking, noise, visible change in neighborhood character, and septic/sanitation risks if gatherings increase.

The commission approved the accessory‑structure request with conditions: obtain a building permit from the township building department, provide a landscape bond (amount to be set by staff) ensuring evergreen screening between the statue and the roadway right‑of‑way, and ensure the structure’s total height does not exceed 22 feet measured from average grade. Commissioners and staff noted ongoing enforcement and the township’s separate review of underlying land use; the approval addresses the immediate structure-location and screening question but does not foreclose enforcement actions related to other ordinance violations.