Planning commission approves special use to keep existing barn at 5540 Whitneyville Avenue

The Cascade Charter Township Planning Commission on June 2 approved a special-use application allowing an existing accessory barn to remain in the front yard at 5540 Whitneyville Avenue.

Planning staff reviewed the site and told commissioners that section 17031(b) of the township zoning ordinance permits an accessory structure in the front yard by special use under certain conditions and recommended approval. Kendra Locker, the applicant, told the commission she and her husband plan to move the existing house back on the lot, keep and renovate the structurally sound barn and repaint it to match the new home. "We're really excited to join the neighborhood," Locker said, and added that "it would be a shame to tear down something that's perfectly fine".

Commissioners said the barn is preexisting and that keeping trees and restoring the outbuilding would preserve neighborhood character. One commissioner asked that the application include removal of other front-yard outbuildings so the property would not end up with multiple accessory structures facing the road. The commission added that condition to the staff-recommended package.

A motion to approve the Type 1 special use for the residential accessory structure at 5540 Whitneyville Avenue, with the packet's standard conditions and the additional condition that other front-yard outbuildings be removed once the house is relocated, was moved, seconded and carried by voice vote.

The approval allows the applicant to proceed with plans subject to the conditions recorded in the township's approval and any required building permits and inspections by township staff. The commission did not record a roll-call vote in the meeting transcript; the item passed on the commission's voice vote.