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Board of Zoning Appeals orders removal of pallets after administrative-appeal hearing
Summary
The BZA upheld a building-commissioner enforcement letter and ordered removal of wooden pallets at 7469 Michigan Road after an administrative appeal; the board clarified the appeal concerned pallets only and the property owner remains responsible for other cleanup and any outstanding fines.
The Plymouth Board of Zoning Appeals on Aug. 5 upheld a building-commissioner administrative order requiring the removal of wooden pallets from a commercial property at 7469 Michigan Road and reiterated that the broader property-cleanup fine remains in place.
Staff presented BZA2025-15, an administrative appeal filed after a violation notice and a June 25 letter from the building commissioner identified wooden pallets and the overall condition of the property as compliance items. Owner Lonnie Stepler told the board the pallets are part of a used-industrial-parts business and that persistent flooding in the back of the lot has prevented full organization. "If you take the pallets away, you take his business away," Stepler said, arguing the pallets are necessary to keep heavy items movable.
Building commissioner Dennis Manuel and staff said the June notice and earlier communications focused on overall property condition; the pallets were identified as one step toward cleanup but the fine was issued because "the property has not been cleaned up." Manuel described past communications, site visits and efforts to work with the owner.
The BZA limited its review to the single question in the appeal—whether pallets may remain—and after discussion moved to uphold the administrative determination that the pallets must be removed. The board's motion required the owner to remove pallets and continue the ordered cleanup; the transcript records the board's direction but does not set a new fine amount or a detailed schedule in the hearing record. The underlying code-enforcement fine (not set aside by this action) remains in place and was discussed in the hearing.
The board and staff advised the owner to coordinate drainage and cleanup steps with the county drainage board and city staff if further technical relief is needed.
