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Developer asks Harris Township to relax riparian buffer signage for recorded Spencer subdivision; board seeks engineer input
Summary
Developer Tom Songer asked the board to waive riparian buffer sign installation on a recorded subdivision that he says has no imminent earthwork; the board asked the township engineer to work with the developer to identify a reduced, practicable number and placement of buffer markers rather than strict 50‑foot spacing.
Tom Songer, representing the Spencer subdivision property owner, asked the board to waive the ordinance requirement to install riparian buffer markers on a recorded plan he said will see no site disturbance in the near term. Songer argued the ordinance's intent is to require markers prior to disturbance and said installing stakes now in heavily overgrown areas would require cutting and surveying that produce no public benefit if no construction is planned.
Staff and board members noted the ordinance triggers the marker requirement when a subdivision plan records to allow the preserved riparian area time to establish vegetation over a three‑year period. Board members recalled prior cases (Akins) in which the township engineer negotiated a reduced number/locations of signs to reasonably notify the public without requiring markers every 50 feet in inaccessible areas. The developer estimated the plan originally showed about 85 signs and suggested that marking entrances or key locations would meet the ordinance's purpose without burdensome placement in remote, overgrown tracts.
The board asked the township engineer to meet with the developer to identify an appropriate number and locations for riparian buffer markers that satisfy the ordinance's purpose without unnecessary costs or impractical placement. Staff will contact the developer to schedule a site visit with the township engineer and return findings to the board.
