This chapter is established for the purposes of:

1. Promoting and protecting the public health, safety, and general welfare;
2. Protecting the character and stability of the recreational, agricultural, residential, commercial and industrial areas within the township;
3. Promoting and regulating growth of the township to obtain orderly and beneficial development;
4. Conserving life, property, and natural resources;
5. Conserving the expenditure of funds for public improvements and services;
6. Providing adequate light, air, and privacy to property;
7. Lessening and avoiding congestion on highways and streets, and providing safe and convenient access for property; and
8. Conserving the taxable value of land, buildings, and structures of the township.

(Ord. No. 275, § 1.03, 10-21-2003)

1. If any court of competent jurisdiction shall declare any part of this chapter to be invalid, such ruling shall not affect any other provisions of this chapter not specifically included in said ruling.
2. If any court of competent jurisdiction shall declare invalid the application of any provision of this chapter to a particular parcel, lot, use, building, or structure, such ruling shall not affect the application of said provision to any other parcel, lot, use, building, or structure not specifically included in said ruling.

(Ord. No. 275, § 1.04, 10-21-2003)

1. Where any condition imposed by any provision of this chapter upon the use of any lot, building, or structure is either more restrictive or less restrictive than any comparable condition imposed by any other provision of this chapter or by the provision of an ordinance adopted under any other law, the provision which is more restrictive or which imposes a higher standard or requirement shall govern.
2. This chapter is not intended to abrogate or annul any easement, covenant or other private agreement provided that where any provision of this chapter is more restrictive or imposes a higher standard or requirement than such easement, covenant or other private agreement, the provision of this chapter shall govern.

(Ord. No. 275, § 1.05, 10-21-2003)

For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms or words used herein shall be interpreted as follows:

1. The term "person" includes a firm, association, organization, partnership, trust, corporation, or company as well as an individual.
2. The present tense includes the future tense; the singular number includes the plural, and the plural number includes the singular.
3. The term "shall" is mandatory; the term "may" is permissive.
4. The term "used" or "occupied" includes the terms "intended," "designed," or "arranged to be used" or "occupied."

(Ord. No. 275, § 2.01, 10-21-2003)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Accessory or ancillary use of a building, facility or structure means a use, building, facility or structure, on the same lot with, and of a nature customarily incidental to, ancillary to, or associated with, and subordinate to, the principal use, building or structure.

Accessory or ancillary oil and gas well use or structure means a use or structure used incidental to or in association with the exploration, drilling, operation, or completion of an oil or gas well, or use or structure used for or incidental to or in association with the processing, production, handling, loading/unloading, or transmitting of natural gas, oil, related hydrocarbons, or other associated substances; including, but not limited to, water wells, pipelines, flowlines, gathering lines, storage, handling, mixing, hauling, transport, transport structures, production or sweetening facilities, processing or compression facilities, or other ancillary and/or accessory buildings, structures, facilities or equipment. This definition includes all accessory and/or ancillary oil and gas structures and uses regardless of whether the structure or use is located on the same lot with the oil and gas well or other principal use, building, or structure.

Accessory Dwelling Unit: An accessory habitable living unit added to, created within, or detached from a single-family dwelling that provides basic requirements for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.

Adult-oriented commercial enterprise means an establishment which draws its customers from one or more segments of the public, including, but not limited to, the following:

1. Adult book store. An establishment which has a substantial or significant portion of its stock in trade sexually explicit verbal material. Sexually explicit verbal material is defined as a book, pamphlet, magazine, video, movie, printed matter reproduced in any manner, or sound recording that contains an explicit and detailed verbal description or narrative account of sexually explicit activity.
2. Adult cabaret. An establishment whose principal activity is the conducting or presenting of any sexually explicit performance. Sexually explicit performance is defined as a motion picture, video, digital presentation, exhibition, show, representation, or other presentation that, in whole or in part, depicts sexually explicit activity.
3. Adult video/motion picture theater. An establishment, which, as its principal activity, presents or offers for sale or rents, any sexually explicit visual material. Sexually explicit visual material is defined as a picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, motion picture film, or similar visual representation that depicts sexually explicit activity, or a book, magazine, or pamphlet that contains such a visual representation. An undeveloped photograph, mold or similar visual material may be sexually explicit material notwithstanding that processing or other acts may be required to make its sexually explicit content apparent.
4. Adult retail store. An establishment which has a substantial or significant portion of its stock in trade in items used or advertised as sexually explicit entertainment gimmicks, novelties, paraphernalia, any sexually explicit matter or any combination thereof. Sexually explicit matter is defined as any sexual explicit verbal material, sexually explicit visual material, or sexually explicit performance.
5. Body painting or nude modeling studio. Any building, structure, premises or part thereof used primarily as a place which offers as its principal activity the providing of models to exhibit, display or perform any sexually explicit performance for a fee, or which provides the services of body painting of the human body in conjunction with any sexually explicit activity.
6. Escort. A person who, for consideration, agrees or offers to act as a companion, guide, or date for another person, or who agrees or offers to privately model lingerie or to privately perform a striptease for another person.
7. Escort agency. A person or business association that furnishes, offers to furnish, or advertises to furnish escorts as one of its primary business purposes for a fee, tip or other consideration.
8. Pawnbrokers and pawnshops. The term "pawnbroker" as used herein is defined as any person, corporation or member or members of a copartnership or firm, who loans money on deposit, or pledge of personal property, or other valuable things, other than securities or printed evidence of indebtedness, or who deals in the purchasing of personal property or other valuable things on condition of selling the same back again at a stipulated price. The term "pawnshop" is defined as any location where a pawnbroker conducts business.
9. Sexually explicit activity. Sexually explicit activity is defined as any presentation, exhibition, narrative, show, representation, depiction, or other description of any of the following:
   1. Erotic fondling. The touching of a person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks or, if the person is female, breasts, for the purpose of sexual gratification or stimulation.
   2. Nudity. The showing of the male or female genitals, pubic area, vulva, anus, the showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering of any part of the nipple, the showing of the covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state or any lewd display of the human male or female genitals or pubic area.
   3. Sadomasochistic abuse. Means either of the following:
      1. Flagellation, or torture, for sexual stimulation or gratification, by or upon a person who is nude or clad only in undergarments or in a revealing costume; or
      2. The condition of being fettered, bound, or otherwise physically restrained for sexual stimulation or gratification, of a person who is nude or clad only in undergarments or in a revealing costume.
   4. Sexual excitement. The condition of human male or female genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.
   5. Sexual intercourse. Intercourse, real or simulated, whether genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex or between a human and an animal; or any intrusion, however slight, into the genital or anal openings of another's body.
10. Tattoo/body-piercing branding parlor. An establishment which provides external body modification, through the application of a tattoo, body-piercing, or branding.
    1. Body-piercing. The perforation of human tissue other than an ear for a nonmedical purpose.
    2. Branding. A permanent mark made on human tissue by burning with a hot iron or other instrument.
    3. Tattoo. An indelible mark made upon the body of another individual by the insertion of a pigment under the skin or an indelible design made upon the body of another by production of scars other than by branding.

Ambient noise shall mean regularly occurring background noise not produced by the object or device in question.

Animal means a nonhuman zoological species, classified for purposes of this chapter as follows:

1. Class I animal. Domesticated household pets weighing less than 150 pounds.
2. Class II animal. An animal which is normally part of the livestock maintained on a farm, including:
   1. Bovine and like animals, such as cows.
   2. Equine and like animals, such as horses.
   3. Swine and like animals, such as pigs and hogs.
   4. Ovis (ovine) and like animals, such as sheep and goats.
   5. Other animals, similar to those listed in subsection (b)(1)—(4) of this definition, weighing in excess of 75 pounds, and not otherwise specifically classified herein.
3. Class III animal. Rabbits (which are not maintained or kept as domesticated household pets); animals considered as poultry, animals considered as waterfowl, such as pheasant, quail, geese or grouse, and other animals weighing less than 75 pounds not specifically classified herein.

ANSI means the American National Standards Institute.

Attached wireless communications facilities means wireless communications facilities that are affixed to existing structures, such as existing buildings, towers, water tanks, utility poles, and the like. A wireless communication support structure proposed to be newly established shall not be included within this definition.

Banquet/meeting hall means a building or part of a building used for the purposes of entertaining a large group of people where food and beverage may be provided; and where a caterer's establishment may be included only if it is in conjunction with a banquet/meeting hall. This use shall also include a building or part thereof in which facilities are provided for such purposes as meeting, for groups of civic, educational, political, religious or social purposes.

Base flood means a flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

Basement means that portion of a building which is partly or wholly below grade but so located that the vertical distance from the average grade to the floor is greater than or equal to the vertical distance from the average grade to the ceiling. A basement shall not be counted as a story. (See Figure 1 in appendix A.)

Berm means a landscaped mound of earth which blends with the surrounding terrain.

Billboard. See Sign, outdoor advertising.

Bluff means bank that rises at a slope of 33 degrees or greater from within 50 feet of the river's edge. The top of the bluff is the first riverward facing area (approximately parallel to the river) that breaks to a slope of less than 18 degrees for a distance away from the river of at least 25 feet.

Buffer means a landscaped area composed of living material, wall, berm, or combination thereof, established and/or maintained to provide visual screening, noise reduction, and transition between conflicting types of land uses.

Building means a structure erected on-site, a mobile home or mobile structure, a premanufactured or precut structure, above or below ground, designed primarily for the shelter, support or enclosure of persons, animals or property of any kind.

Building height means the vertical distance measured from grade to the highest point of flat roofs, to the deck line of mansard roofs, and to the average height between eaves and ridge for gable, hip and gambrel roofs. (See Figure 2 in appendix A.)

Campground means a parcel in which sites are offered for the use of the public or members of an organization, either free of charge or for a fee, for the establishment of temporary living quarters for tents or recreational vehicles. The term "campground" shall not include a "seasonal mobile home park" licensed under Public Act No. 96 of 1987 (MCL 125.2301 et seq.).

Campground, modern, means a campground where water flush toilets and water under pressure are available at a service building or where a water outlet and a sewer connection are available at each site.

Campground, primitive, means a campground where a service building or where a water outlet and a sewer connection are available at each site.

Campground, temporary, means a campground used on a temporary or short term basis not to exceed a period of four weeks.

Club means buildings and facilities owned and operated by a corporation or association or persons for social or recreational purposes for members and guests, but not operated primarily for profit or to render a service customarily carried on as a business.

Collocation means the location by two or more wireless communication providers of wireless communication facilities on a common structure, tower, or building, with the view toward reducing the overall number of structures required to support wireless communications antennas within the community.

Communications tower means a structure that is intended to hold apparatus which transmits or receives radio, television, pager, or telephone communications, excluding those used exclusively for amateur radio operations, dispatch communications associated with an individual business establishment or domestic radio or television reception.

Community supported agriculture or CSA means a marketing strategy in which a farm produces farm products for a group of farm members or subscribers who pay in advance for their share of the harvest. Typically the farm members receive their share once a week, sometimes coming to the farm to pick up their share; other farms deliver to a central point.

Community wastewater utility system or systems (CWUS) means a facility which is owned by a nongovernmental entity and is designed, constructed, operated, and maintained to transport, collect, process, and treat sanitary sewage from more than one dwelling unit or structure. The system shall include any individual septic tanks, pumps, lines, and appurtenances serving each dwelling unit or structure in addition to facilities, sewers and appurtenances that serve more than one dwelling unit or structure. Single-family residentially zoned parcels with an approved accessory dwelling unit are exempt from this CWUS definition and the standards of Section 36-318.

Conditional use means a use which may be permitted after recommendation by the planning commission and approval by the township board. A conditional use may be granted in a zoning district only when there is a specific provision for such conditional use in this chapter. A conditional use is also referred to as a special land use as provided in Public Act No. 110 of 2006 (MCL 125.3101 et seq.).

Condominium. Condominiums shall include the following elements:

1. Condominium act. Refers to Public Act No. 59 of 1978 (MCL 559.101 et seq.).
2. Condominium documents. The master deed, recorded pursuant to the Michigan Condominium Act, and any other instrument referred to in the master deed or bylaws which affects the rights and obligations of a co-owner in the condominium.
3. Condominium lot. The condominium unit, including the contiguous limited common element surrounding the condominium unit, which shall be considered a lot as defined by this chapter.
4. Condominium unit. The portion of a condominium project designed and intended for separate ownership and use, as described in the master deed, regardless of whether it is intended for residential, office, industrial, business, recreational, use as a time-share unit, or any other type of use.
5. General common element. The common elements other than the limited common elements reserved in the master deed for use by all of the co-owners.
6. Limited common element. A portion of the common elements reserved in the master deed for the exclusive use of less than all of the co-owners.
7. Master deed. The condominium document recording the condominium project, to which are attached as exhibits and incorporated by reference with the bylaws for the project and the condominium subdivision plan for the project.
8. Site condominium. A condominium development in which each co-owner owns exclusive rights to a volume of space within which a structure or structures may be constructed, herein defined as a condominium unit. Such developments are also described in the master deed.

Conservation easement means a voluntary agreement between a private landowner and a municipal agency or qualified not-for-profit corporation to restrict the development, management, or use of land. That agency holds the interest and is empowered to enforce its restrictions against the current landowner and all subsequent owners of the land.

Crematorium means a building fitted with the proper appliances for the purposes of the cremation of human remains and includes everything incidental or ancillary thereto.

Critical root zone means the circular area surrounding a tree which is considered to contain tree roots within 18 inches of the ground surface. The radius of the critical root zone is, in feet, the same numerical value as the tree's diameter at breast height (DBH) in inches and is measured outward from the center of the tree. For example, the critical root zone of a 12-inch DBH tree has a radius of 12 feet.

Day care facility means the following:

1. Day care center. A facility, other than a private residence, receiving one or more preschool or school age children for care for periods of less than 24 hours a day, and where the parents or guardians are not immediately available to the child. The term "day care center" includes a facility which provides care for not less than two consecutive weeks, regardless of the number of hours of care per day. The facility is generally described as a childcare center, day care center, day nursery, nursery school, parent cooperative preschool, play group or drop-in center. The term "day care center" does not include any of the following:
   1. A Sunday school, a vacation bible school or a religious instructional class that is conducted by a religious organization where children are in attendance for not greater than three hours per day for an indefinite period, or not greater than eight hours per day for a period not to exceed four weeks during a 12-month period.
   2. A facility operated by a religious organization where children are cared for not more than three hours while persons responsible for the children are attending religious services.
   3. A program that is primarily supervised, school-age-child-focused training in a specific subject, including, but not limited to, dancing, drama, music, or religion. This exclusion applies only to the time a child is involved in supervised, school-age-child-focused training.
   4. A program that is primarily an incident of group athletic or social activities for school-age children sponsored by or under the supervision of an organized club or hobby group, including, but not limited to, youth clubs, scouting, and school-age recreational or supplementary education programs. This exclusion applies only to the time the school-age child is engaged in the group athletic or social activities and if the school-age child can come and go at will.
2. Family day care home. A private home in which one but fewer than seven minor children are received for care and supervision for periods of less than 24 hours a day, unattended by a parent or legal guardian, except children related to an adult member of the family by blood, marriage or adoption. The term "family day care home" includes a home that gives care to an unrelated child for more than four weeks during a calendar year. Child family day care homes shall be specifically exempt from regulations by this chapter but are otherwise subject to applicable state law. The operator of the child family day care home business must be a bona fide resident of the private home. (See Increased Capacity definition.)
3. Group day care home. A private home in which more than six but not more than 12 minor children are given care and supervision for periods of less than 24 hours a day, unattended by a parent or legal guardian, except children related to an adult member of the family by blood, marriage or adoption. The term "group day care home" includes a home that gives care to an unrelated minor child for more than four weeks during a calendar year. The operator of the child group day care home business must be a bona fide resident of the private home. (See Increased Capacity definition.)
4. Private home. A private residence in which the licensee or registrant permanently resides as a member of the household, which residency is not contingent upon caring for children or employment by a licensed or approved child placing agency.
5. Increased capacity. The addition of one (1) child in a family day care home and two (2) children in a group day care home when granted by the State of Michigan in accordance with Act 116 of 1973, as amended.

dB(A) shall mean A-weighted decibels. This is the unit used to measure environmental noise.

Deck means a structure without a roof having a foundation to hold it erect, and attached to or abutting one or more walls of a building or constructed separately from a building, with or without direct access to the ground, the floor of which is above finished grade, and intended for use as an outdoor living area.

Density, residential, means the number of dwelling units in relation to the number of acres of the lot on which such units are situated. The lot area to be used in the calculation shall be limited to the portion of the lot zoned for the district for which said density regulation applies, and shall not include any area in any street or other right-of-way, any area of such lot devoted to on-site sewage treatment facilities, or any area required for, or allocated to, any other lot.

Department means the State of Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA).

Diameter breast height (D.B.H.) means a tree's diameter in inches measured by diameter tape at 4 1/2 feet above the ground. On multi-stem trees, the largest diameter stem shall be measured.

Drive-through facility means an establishment that is designed to permit customers to receive products or services while remaining seated in a motor vehicle.

Dwelling area means the area of a dwelling unit which is composed of sleeping rooms, kitchen, dining room, den, studio, bathrooms, and family and living rooms.

Dwelling, multiple-family, means a building or portion thereof used for occupancy by three or more families living independently of each other and containing three or more dwelling units.

Dwelling, single-family, means a building containing not more than one dwelling unit.

Dwelling, single-family attached, means a building containing dwelling units, each of which has primary ground floor access to the outside and which are attached to each other by party walls without openings. The term "single-family attached dwelling" is intended primarily for such dwelling types as townhouses and duplexes.

Dwelling unit means one or more rooms connected together with principal kitchen and bathroom facilities designed as a unit for residence by only one family for living and sleeping purposes, constituting a separate, independent housekeeping establishment, and physically separated from any other rooms or dwelling units which might be in the same structure.

Dwelling unit, mobile home. See Mobile home.

Easement means the right of an owner of property by reason of such ownership, to use the property of another for purposes of ingress, egress, utilities, drainage and similar uses. In the context of this chapter, private road easements shall be designated for purposes of vehicle ingress and egress.

Essential services means the erection, construction, alterations, or maintenance by public utilities or municipal departments, commissions, or boards, or by other government agencies of underground, surface, or overhead gas, electric, steam, or water transmission or distribution system, collection, communications, supply or disposal systems, dams, weirs, culverts, bridges, canals, locks, poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, towers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, law enforcement call boxes, traffic signals, or signs and fire hydrants, and other similar equipment and accessories in connection therewith, reasonably necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by such public utilities or municipal departments or commissions, or other government agencies, or for the public health, safety, or general welfare, but not including buildings other than those buildings which are primarily enclosures or shelters for the installed central services equipment.

Family means:

1. An individual or group of two or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption, together with foster and step children and servants or the principal occupants, with not more than one additional unrelated person, who are domiciled together as a single, domestic, housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit; or
2. A collective number of individuals domiciled together in one dwelling unit whose relationship is of a continuing nontransient domestic character and who are cooking and living as a single nonprofit housekeeping unit. This definition shall not include any society, club, fraternity, sorority, association, lodge, coterie, organization, or group of students or other individuals whose domestic relationship is of a transitory or seasonal nature or for an anticipated limited duration of a school term or other similar determinable period.

Family Unit: Also known as a domestic unit, refers to a group of individuals related by blood, marriage or partnership, adoption or combination, who live together, share economic resources and carry out domestic responsibilities.

Farm means as defined in the Michigan right to farm act, Public Act No. 93 of 1981 (MCL 286.471 et seq.).

Farm animals means as defined under the term "farm product" in the Michigan right to farm act, Public Act No. 93 of 1981 (MCL 286.471 et seq.).

Farm buildings means any building or structure, other than a dwelling, used on a farm in a farm operation.

Farm market means a place or an area where transactions between a farm market operator and customers take place. This includes roadside stands. It does not necessarily mean a physical structure such as a building and is considered part of a farm operation. At least 50 percent of the products marketed and offered for sale at a farm market (measured as an average over the farm market's marketing season or up to a five-year timeframe) must be produced on and by the affiliated farm. Farm products may be processed more extensively into a form that adds value and makes them more marketable for direct customer's sales in accordance with Michigan laws, and then sold at the affiliated farm market, as long as allowed by local, state and federal regulations. A farm market may operate seasonally or year-round. Farm markets may include marketing activities and services to attract and entertain customers and facilitate retail trade business transactions, when allowed by applicable local, state, and federal regulations.

Farm operation means as defined in the Michigan right to farm act, Public Act No. 93 of 1981 (MCL 286.471 et seq.).

Farm product means as defined in the Michigan right to farm act, Public Act No. 93 of 1981 (MCL 286.471 et seq.).

Fence means an enclosure, especially an enclosing barrier erected to prevent straying from within or intrusion.

Flood or flooding means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas as a result of the overflow of inland waters, or the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff or surface waters from any source.

Flood hazard area means land which on the basis of available floodplain information is subject to one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

Flood hazard boundary means the official map issued by the federal emergency management agency, where the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazards have been designated.

Flood insurance rate map or FIRM means the official map of the township, dated August 3, 1989, on which the federal emergency management agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

Flood insurance study means the official report provided by the federal emergency management agency containing flood profiles, the water elevation of the base flood, and may include a flood boundary-floodway map.

Floodplain means lands which are subject to periodic flooding and have been defined by the Corps of Engineers, Soil Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or by any other relevant state or federal agency to have alluvial soil deposits, indicating that such flooding has taken place; or as defined by any registered engineer or land surveyor and accepted by the township board as such a floodplain.

Floodway means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas which must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood.

Floor area means the sum of the gross horizontal floor areas of the several stories of a building, as measured to the exterior of the face of the exterior walls, plus that area, similarly measured, of all other floors, except basements, that are accessible by a fixed stairway, ramp, escalator, or elevator; including all enclosed porches and balconies, and all stairways, breezeways, storage area, recreational rooms, boiler rooms, and other areas within or contiguous to the structure; and the measurement shall include the floor space of all accessory buildings measured similarly.

Floor area cover means the total floor area of a building or buildings divided by the area of the lot on which it is located, calculated as a percentage.

Floor area, dwelling unit, means the floor area as defined preceding, except that only those parts of a dwelling unit that are permanent, structural parts of the dwelling, meet all requirements of the Michigan State Construction Code, and are designed, constructed, and heated for yearround human occupancy, may be included in the computation of floor area used to meet minimum floor area requirements.

Foster care facilities, adult, means a governmental or nongovernmental establishment that provides foster care to adults. It include facilities and foster care homes for adults who are aged, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, or physically disabled who require supervision or an ongoing basis but who do not require continuous nursing care. An adult foster care facility does not include nursing homes, homes for the aged, hospitals, alcohol or substance abuse rehabilitation center, residential centers for persons released from or assigned to a correctional facility, or any other facilities which have been exempted from the definition of adult foster care facility by the Michigan adult foster care facility licensing act, Public Act No. 218 of 1979 (MCL 400.701 et seq.). The types of licensed adult foster care facilities include the following:

1. Small group home. A facility with the approved capacity to receive 12 or fewer adults who are provided supervision, personal care, and protection in addition to room and board, for 24 hours a day, five or more days a week, and for two or more consecutive weeks for compensation.
2. Large group home. A facility with approved capacity to receive at least 13 but not more than 20 adults to be provided supervision, personal care, and protection in addition to room and board, for 24 hours a day, five or more days a week, and for two or more consecutive weeks for compensation.
3. Family home. A private residence with the approved capacity to receive six or fewer adults to be provided with foster care for five or more days a week and for two or more consecutive weeks. The adult foster care family home licensee must be a member of the household and an occupant of the residence.
4. Congregate facility. An adult foster care facility with the approved capacity to receive more than 20 adults to be provided with foster care.

Foster family homes. Foster family homes shall include the following:

1. Foster family home. A private home in which one but not more than four minor children, who are not related to an adult member of the household by blood or marriage, or who are not placed in the household under the Michigan adoption code, chapter X of the probate code of 1939, Public Act No. 288 of 1939 (MCL 710.21 et seq.), are given care and supervision for 24 hours a day, for four or more days a week, for two or more consecutive weeks, unattended by a parent or legal guardian.
2. Foster family group home. A private home in which more than four but fewer than seven minor children, who are not related to an adult member of the household by blood or marriage, or who are not placed in the household under the Michigan adoption code, chapter X of the probate code of 1939, Public Act No. 288 of 1939 (MCL 710.21 et seq.), are provided care for 24 hours a day, for four or more days a week, for two or more consecutive weeks, unattended by a parent or legal guardian.

Garage, private, means an accessory building or structure used principally for storage of automobiles and for other incidental storage purpose only.

Generally accepted agricultural and management practices (GAAMPs) means as defined in the Michigan right to farm act, Public Act No. 93 of 1981 (MCL 286.471 et seq.).

Grade means the degree of rise or descent of a sloping surface. (See Figure 3 in appendix A.)

Grade, finished, means the final elevation of the ground surface after development.

Grade, natural, means the elevation of the ground surface in its natural state, before manmade alternations.

Greenbelt means a landscaped area, established at a depth of the minimum required front yard setback within a zoning district, which is intended to provide a transition between a public road right-of-way and an existing or proposed land use and/or between a conflicting land use and an existing or proposed land use.

Hazardous substances includes hazardous chemicals as defined by the state department of environmental quality; flammable and combustible liquids as defined by the department of state police, fire marshal division; hazardous materials as defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation; and critical materials, polluting materials, and hazardous waste as defined by the state department of environmental quality. Petroleum products and waste oil are subject to regulation under this section.

High volume water removal means the removal and use of 100,000 gallons or more per day over a 30-day average of water and or water mixed with chemicals or other substances from any water source, such as an aquifer, groundwater, creeks, streams, or lakes, where 25 percent or more of the water is not returned within 48 hours to the land surface overlying the aquifer from which the water is removed. It does not include large volume removal or use for farming and agriculture on contiguous land from which it is removed provided that the water is not diverted or transferred and used in another watershed and meets the less than 25 percent return requirement.

Home occupation means an occupation that is carried on in the home by resident members of the family, being clearly incidental and secondary to the principal residential use, provided:

1. That such home occupation shall be carried on within the dwelling or within a building accessory thereto;
2. That no article shall be sold or offered for sale on the premises except such as is produced within the dwelling or accessory building or is provided incidental to the service or profession conducted within the dwelling or accessory building;
3. That there shall be no exterior storage of materials or equipment;
4. That no nuisance shall be generated by any heat, glare, noise, smoke, vibration, noxious fumes, odors, vapors, gases or matter at any time;
5. That no hazard of fire, explosion or radioactivity shall exist at any time.

The term "home occupation" shall include, but not be limited to, giving instruction in a craft or fine art within the residence.

Hospital, general, means an installation providing health services primarily for inpatient medical or surgical care of the sick or injured, and includes related facilities such as laboratories, outpatient departments, training facilities, central service facilities and staff offices which are integral parts of the facilities.

Housing for the elderly means a building or group of buildings containing dwellings intended for, and solely occupied by, elderly persons as defined by the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. Housing for the elderly may include independent and/or assisted living arrangements but shall not include convalescent or nursing facilities regulated by the state.

Invasive plant(s) shall mean species that are not native to southeast Michigan and are undesirable because they are likely to cause harm to local ecosystems by crowding out natives and/or desirable species thus reducing the diversity of the ecosystem. The following plants shall be considered invasive.

ISO means the International Organization for Standardization.

Junkyard means a place, structure, parcel or use of land where junk, waste, discard, salvage or similar materials such as old iron or other metal, wood, lumber, glass, paper, rags, cloth, leather, rubber, bagging, cordage, barrels, containers, etc. are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled, or handled, including auto wrecking yards, inoperative machines, used lumber yards, house wrecking and structural steel materials and equipment and including establishments for the sale, purchase, or storage of salvaged machinery and the processing of used, discarded, or salvaged materials, for any 30 consecutive days.

Kennel, commercial, means any building, structure, enclosure or premises where five or more dogs or cats, six months of age or older, are kept for commercial purposes, including boarding, breeding, or sale, or the rendering of services for profit. For the purposes hereof, five animals over six months of age kept and maintained as a hobby kennel or for any other purpose, shall be deemed and considered a commercial kennel.

Kennel, hobby, means any building, structure, enclosure or other premises where four or fewer dogs or cats, six months of age or older, are kept, harbored or maintained:

1. For showing in recognized dog shows, obedience trails, or field trails.
2. For working and hunting.
3. For improving the variety or breed with a view to exhibition in shows and trials.
4. For household pets.

Landmark tree shall mean a woody plant, in a healthy, live condition (has a health and condition standard factor of over 50% based on standards established by the International Society of Arboriculture), as listed in the following table that meets or exceeds the size (DBH) requirement:

Large scale retail establishment means a retail establishment, commonly referred to as a "big box" store, which exceeds 50,000 square feet in gross floor area.

Livestock means horses, cattle, sheep, and swine.

Livestock production facility means a facility where farm animals as defined in the Michigan right to farm act, Public Act No. 93 of 1981 (MCL 286.471 et seq.), are confined with a capacity of 50 animal units or greater and/or the associated manure storage facilities. Pasture systems are excluded.

Loading space, off-street, means space logically and conveniently located for bulk pickups and deliveries, scaled to delivery vehicles expected to be used and accessible to such vehicles when required off-street parking spaces are filled. Required off-street loading space is not to be included as off-street parking space in computation of required off-street parking space.

Lodging means a series of attached, semidetached or detached rental units containing bedroom, bathroom and closet space. Such units shall provide for overnight lodging, are offered to the public for compensation and shall cater primarily to the public traveling by motor vehicle.

Lot means the contiguous land in the same ownership that is not divided by a street right-of-way or a street or drive easement, including any part thereof subject to any easement for any purpose other than a street or drive, and excluding any portion thereof in a street right-of-way or a street or drive easement of at least sufficient size to meet minimum requirements of the zoning district in which it is located. Such lot shall have frontage on a public street, or on a private street approved by the township board, and may consist of:

1. A single lot of record;
2. A portion of a lot of record;
3. Any combination of complete and/or portions of lots of record;
4. A parcel of land described by metes and bounds; or
5. Any parcel of land which constitutes or is treated as a condominium unit in accordance with the Michigan condominium act, being Public Act No. 59 of 1978, as amended, shall be defined and treated as a lot for all purposes of this chapter provided that in no case of division or combination shall the area of any lot or parcel created, including residuals, be less than that required by this chapter.

Lot area means the area within the lot lines, except any portion of a lot in a street right-of-way, a street or drive easement shall not be included in measuring minimum lot area necessary to meet district regulations.

Lot coverage means the percentage of the lot area covered by the ground floor of principal and accessory buildings.

Lot depth means the distance between the midpoints of the straight lines connecting the foremost points of the side lot lines in front and the rearmost points of the side lot lines in the rear. (See Figure 4 in appendix A.)

Lot frontage means the portion nearest the street. For the purposes of determining yard requirements on corner lots and through lots, all sides of a lot adjacent to streets shall be considered frontage. For the purpose of determining minimum lot width, the frontage of only one street shall be used.

Lot of record means a lot which is part of a subdivision and is shown on a plat or map thereof which has been recorded in the office of the county register of deeds prior to the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived; or a parcel of land described by metes and bounds which is the subject of a deed or land contract recorded in said office prior to said date.

Lot types (see Figure 5 in appendix A):

1. Corner lot. A lot located at the intersection of two or more streets. A lot abutting a curved street or streets shall be considered a corner lot if straight lines drawn from the foremost points of the side lot lines to the foremost point of the lot meet at an interior angle of less than 135 degrees.
2. Interior lot. A lot other than a corner lot with only one frontage on a street.
3. Through lot. A lot other than a corner lot with frontage on more than one street, and may be referred to as a double frontage lot.

Lot width means the required distance between the side lot lines, measured in a straight line at the two points where the required front setback intersects the side lot lines. For lots located on the turning circle of a cul-de-sac, the lot width may be reduced to 80 percent of the required lot width. (See Figure 4 in appendix A.)

Manufactured housing means a dwelling unit fabricated in an off-site manufacturing facility for installation or assembly at the building site and bearing a seal that it is built in compliance with the National Manufactured Housing and Construction Standards Code or the Michigan Construction Code.

Material change includes, but is not limited to, any commencement of mining, excavation, grading, or land clearance; deposit of refuse, waste, or fill on land not already used for that purpose or permitted to be used for that purpose by this chapter, or which extends the height of any existing deposit above the level of the land adjoining the site; alteration of a shore, bank, or floodplain of a river, stream, or of any lake or pond, natural or artificial.

Medical marihuana cultivation, use and distribution. The following terms associated with medical marihuana cultivation, use and distribution as a home occupation (section 36-100) are defined as follows:

1. Act means MCL 333.26421 et seq., and Michigan Administrative Rules, R333.101 et seq.
2. Department means the State of Michigan Department of Community Health.
3. Distribution means the physical transfer of any amount of marihuana in any form by one person to any other person or persons, whether or not any consideration is paid or received.
4. Distributor means any person, including, but not limited to, a caregiver, patient or any other person, who engages in any one or more acts of distribution.
5. Facility or premises means one premises having a separate or independent postal address.
6. Marihuana means the substance or material defined in section 7106 of the Public Health Code, 1976 PA 368, MCL 333.7106 et seq.
7. Primary caregiver or caregiver means a person as defined under MCL 333.26423(g), and who has been issued and possesses a registry identification card under the Medical Marihuana Act.
8. Principal residence means the place where a person resides more than half of the calendar year.
9. Qualifying patient or patient means a person as defined under MCL 333.26423(h) of the Medical Marihuana Act.
10. Registry identification card means the document defined under MCL 333.26423(i).

Mobile home means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without permanent foundation, when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical system contained in the structure. The term "mobile home" does not include a recreational vehicle.

Mobile home pad means that part of a mobile home site specifically designated for the placement of a mobile home.

Mobile home park means a parcel or tract of land under the control of a person on which three or more mobile homes are located on a continual nonrecreational basis and which is offered to the public for that purpose regardless of whether a charge is made therefor, together with any building, structure, enclosure, street, equipment or facility used or intended for use incident to the occupancy of a mobile home and which is not intended for use as a seasonal mobile home park.

Mobile home site means the entire area which is designated for use by a specific mobile home.

Motor home means a self-propelled, licensed vehicle prefabricated on its own chassis, intended for recreation activities and temporary occupancy.

Natural features means a wetland, as defined and regulated by the state and a watercourse, including a lake, pond, river, stream or creek, which has definite banks, a bed and visible evidence of a continued flow or continued occurrence of water.

Nature and wildlife preserve means a parcel of land which is established for the purpose of preserving and protecting natural communities of plants and animals for their scientific and/or aesthetic interest.

Neighborhood service retail shall mean small-scale service and retail uses that are located immediately adjacent to the residential area that they serve. Uses shall be limited to those permitted uses of the C-2 General Commercial district pursuant to subsection 36-74(l)(2).

Neighborhood service retail (NSR) uses shall be limited to a maximum lot area of 1.0 acre and a maximum floor area of 8,000 s.f. NSR uses shall have direct access to a public road with a minimum future right-of-way width of 86 feet or greater pursuant to the future right-of-way plan found within the township master plan.

Nonconforming building or structure means a structure or building lawfully constructed that does not conform to the requirements of the district in which it is situated.

Nursing or convalescent home means a state-licensed facility for the care of children, of the aged or infirm, or a place of rest for those suffering bodily disorders. Said home shall conform and qualify for license under state law even through state law has different size regulations.

Oil and gas well means any natural gas, oil, or related hydrocarbon well, or other wells drilled for oil or gas exploration purposes. It does not include mineral mining and extractive operations subject to regulation under section 36-145 of this Code.

Opacity means the state of being impervious to sight.

Open space means any parcel or area of land including wetland that is unimproved and set aside, dedicated, designated, or reserved for preservation purposes, and/or public or private use or enjoyment.

In addition to unimproved areas, open space may also include the following:

1. Stormwater detention or retention ponds and facilities meeting the low impact design criteria of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commission. In addition, to be considered open space all stormwater detention or retention ponds and facilities must be constructed using vegetation native to this area and in a way that appears to be a natural feature of the subject site.
2. Outdoor recreational facilities including but not limited to bike paths, trails, golf courses, community swimming pools, playgrounds, ball fields, court games, and picnic areas.
3. All buffer and greenbelt areas. Required setbacks for individual residential parcels shall not be included as open space.

Ordinary high-water mark means the line between upland and bottomland which persists through successive changes in water levels, below which the presence of action of the water is so common or recurrent that the character of the land is marked distinctly from the upland and is apparent in the soil itself, the configuration of the surface of the soil and vegetation. On an inland lake which has a level established by law, it means the high established level. Where water returns to its natural level as a result of the permanent removal or abandonment of a dam, it means the natural ordinary high-water mark.

Parcel means a piece or tract of land.

Park means a public or private area dedicated to recreation use and generally characterized by its natural, historic, and landscape features. It is used for both passive and active forms of recreation and may be designed to serve the residents of a neighborhood, community, or region. For purposes of this chapter, the following more specific definitions shall apply:

1. Community park. A park which is designed and equipped to serve the township, as well as neighboring residential areas.
2. Neighborhood park. A park which is designed and equipped to primarily serve neighboring residential areas.
3. Regional park. A park which is designed and equipped to serve areas outside the township, as well as the township.

Parking facility, off-street, means a land surface or area providing vehicular parking spaces along with adequate drives and aisles for maneuvering so as to provide access for entrance and exit for the parking of motor vehicles.

Parking space means one unit of parking facility provided for the parking of one vehicle.

Plant material means a collection of living evergreen and/or deciduous, woody-stemmed trees, shrubs, vines and ground cover.

Private road means an area of land which is privately owned, has not been dedicated to public use other than access by emergency and public safety vehicles, is maintained by its private owners, and vehicular access to more than one lot, unless otherwise specified herein.

Protected tree means a woody plant that is not an "invasive tree" as defined herein, is at least 15 feet tall, in a healthy, live condition (has a health and condition standard factor of over 50 percent based on standards established by the International Society of Arboriculture) and has a single stem trunk of six inches DBH or greater, or a multi-stem trunk system where one or more of the stems is four inches DBH or greater.

Public road means a traffic way dedicated to either the county road commission or the state, which provides vehicular access to abutting thoroughfares.

Public utility means any person, firm, corporation, municipal department or board duly authorized to furnish and furnishing under federal, state, or municipal regulations, to the public: electricity, gas, steam, communications, telegraph, transportation, water or sanitary sewer facilities.

Quarry means any pit, excavation, or mining operation for the purpose of searching for, or removing, any earth, sand, gravel, clay, stone, slate, marble or other nonmetallic mineral in excess of 50 cubic yards in any calendar year, but shall not include an oil well or excavation preparatory to the construction of a building, structure, or roadway.

Recreational equipment means equipment designed and used primarily for recreational use such as boats and boat trailers, travel trailers, pickup campers or coaches (designed to be mounted on automotive vehicles), motorized dwellings, tent trailers, and the like, and cases and boxes used for transporting recreational equipment, whether occupied by such equipment or not.

Regulatory flood datum means the 100-year floodplain contour line synonymous with base flood elevation.

Restaurant means any establishment whose principal business is the sale of food and beverages to the customer in a ready-to-consume state, and whose method of operation is characteristic of a carryout restaurant, drive-in restaurant, drive-through restaurant, standard restaurant or bar/lounge, or a combination thereof, as defined below:

1. Carryout restaurant. A restaurant whose method of operation involves the sale of food, beverages and/or frozen desserts in disposable or edible containers or wrappers in a ready-to-consume state for consumption primarily off the premises.
2. Drive-in restaurant. A restaurant whose method of operation involves delivery of prepared food so as to allow its consumption in a motor vehicle or elsewhere on the premises, but outside of an enclosed building.
3. Drive-through restaurant. A restaurant whose method of operation involves the delivery of prepared food to the customer in a motor vehicle, typically through a drive-through window, for consumption off the premises.
4. Standard restaurant. A restaurant that does not include a drive-through component as defined by this chapter, and the operation of which involves either:
   1. The delivery of prepared food by wait staff to customers seated at tables within a completely enclosed building; or
   2. The acquisition by customers of prepared food at a cafeteria line and its subsequent consumption by the customers at tables within a completely enclosed building.
5. Tavern. A type of restaurant which is operated primarily for the dispensing of alcoholic liquors, although the sale of prepared food or snacks may also be permitted. If a tavern is part of a larger dining facility, it shall be defined as that part of the structure so designated or operated.

Riding academy means any establishment where horses are kept for training, riding, driving, or stabling for compensation or incidental to the operation of any club, association, ranch or similar establishment.

River's edge means, in the case of the Huron River, the annual water line of the Huron River within the unincorporated portion of the township. In the case of Mill Creek, the annual water line of Mill Creek within the unincorporated portions of the township.

Roadside stand means a temporary building or structure operated for the purpose of selling only produce raised or produced on the premises where situated, and its use shall not make a commercial district, nor shall its use be deemed a commercial activity.

Salvage yard means an open area where waste, used or secondhand materials are bought and sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled or handled, including, but not limited to, scrap iron and other metals, paper, rags, rubber tires and bottles. The term "salvage yard" includes automobile wrecking yards and any area of more than 200 square feet used for the storage, keeping or abandonment of salvaged materials, but does not include uses established entirely within enclosed buildings.

Screen means a structure providing enclosure, such as a fence, and a visual barrier between the area enclosed and the adjacent property. The term "screen" may also consist of shrubs or other living materials.

Self-storage facility means a building consisting of individual, small self-contained units that are leased for the storage of personal and household goods.

Shopping center means a coordinated grouping of retail commercial and service establishments located on a single site or contiguous group of sites with common parking and access.

Sign means any structure or part thereof, or device attached thereto or painted or represented thereon, or any material or thing, illuminated or otherwise, which is intended to communicate a message and, which is located upon any land or in any building. The following additional definitions shall apply in the regulation of signs:

1. Abandoned sign. A sign which no longer advertises or identifies a business, lessor, owner, or activity conducted upon or product available on the premises where such sign is displayed.
2. Business center. A group of two or more stores, offices, research, or manufacturing facilities which collectively have a name different than the name of any of the individual establishments and which have common off-street parking and entrance facilities.
3. Canopy or marquee sign. Any sign attached to or constructed within or on a canopy or marquee.
4. District. Zoning district as established by this chapter.
5. Sign, Electronic Message (EMS). A sign or portion of a sign, that displays an electronic image or video, which may or may not include text, introducing any sign or portion of a sign that uses changing lights or similar forms of electronic display such as LED to form a sign message with text and or images wherein the sequence of messages and the rate of change is electronically programmed and can be modified by electronic processes. This definition includes without limitation television screens, plasma screens, digital screens, flat screens, LED displays, video boards, and holographic displays. The following additional definitions shall apply to an EMS:
   
   Display Time: The amount of time a message and/or graphic is displayed on an Electronic Message Sign.
   Dissolve: A mode of messaging transition on an Electronic Message Sign accomplished by varying the light intensity or pattern, in which the first message gradually appears to dissipate and lose legibility with the gradual appearance and legibility of the second message.
   Dynamic Frame Effect: AN Electronic Message Sign frame effect in which the illusion of motion and/or animation is used.
   Fade: A mode of message transition on an Electronic Message Sign accomplished by varying the light intensity, where the first message gradually reduces intensity to the point of not being legible and the subsequent message gradually increases intensity to the point of legibility.
   Frame: A complete, static display screen on an Electronic Message Sign.
   Frame Effect: A visual effect on an Electronic Message Sign applied to a single frame. See also Dynamic Frame Effect.
   LED: Light emitting diode.
   Scroll: A mode of message transition on an Electronic Message Sign in which the message appears to mover vertically across the display surface.
   Transition: A visual effect used on an Electronic Message Sign to change from one message to another.
   Travel: A mode of message transition on an Electronic Message Sign in which the message appears to move horizontally across the display surface.
6. Freestanding sign. A sign supported by a structure independent of any other structure.
7. Height of sign. The vertical distance to the top edge of the copy area or structure, whichever is higher, as measured from the adjacent street grade.
8. Overlay district sign. A sign located in the I-94 Overlay District.
9. Portable sign. Any sign not permanently attached to the ground or a building.
10. Temporary sign. A sign that is intended to be displayed for a limited period of time.
11. Wall sign. A sign attached to or erected against the wall of a building with the face in a plane parallel to the plane of the building wall.
12. Window sign. A sign installed on or in a window for the purposes of viewing from outside the premises. This term does not include merchandise located in a window.
    

Sound pressure means an average rate at which sound energy is transmitted through a unit area in a specified direction as measured at a receiver.

Stable, commercial, means a stable with a capacity of five or more horses, mules or donkeys which are rented, hired, used or boarded on a commercial basis or for compensation. For the purpose hereof, five or more animals kept and maintained as a hobby stable, or for any other purpose, shall be deemed and considered a commercial stable.

Stable, hobby, means a stable with a capacity of four or fewer horses, mules or donkeys which are used by the owners of the property.

Story means that portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above, or if there is no floor above it, then the space between any floor and the ceiling next above it.

Story, one-half, means a story under the gable, hip, or gambrel roof, the wall plates on which at least two opposite exterior walls are not more than two feet above the floor of such story and the floor area shall not exceed two-thirds of the area of the floor below.

Stream bank means the sides of a stream channel, encompassing the area from that exposed during the lowest flow of the typical year (operationally defined as the seven-day minimum flow based on a ten-year data record) to the top of the bank, defined as that level where water spills out of the channel and into the floodplain (operationally defined as the 1.5-year recurrence flow based on a ten-year data record.

Stream channel means an area that contains continuously or periodically flowing water that is confined by banks and a stream bed.

Stream, ephemeral, means a feature that carries flowing water only during, and for a short duration after, precipitation events in a typical year. Ephemeral streams may or may not have a well-defined channel, and the aquatic bed is located above the water table yearround. Stormwater runoff is the primary source of water for stream flow and groundwater is not a source for the stream.

Stream, intermittent, means a feature that carries flowing water during certain times of the year, typically during winter and spring when groundwater is high. Intermittent streams have a well-defined channel, and the aquatic bed is located below the water table during winter and spring months. The flow is primarily groundwater but may be heavily supplemented by stormwater runoff. During dry spells, intermittent streams may not have flowing water.

Stream, perennial, means a feature that carries flowing water yearround during a typical year. Perennial streams have a well-defined channel, and the aquatic bed is located below the water table for most of the year. Groundwater is the primary source of water for stream flow, but can be supplemented by runoff from rainfall.

Street means a public or private traffic way which provides vehicular access to abutting property.

Street line means the right-of-way line of a public street or the easement line of a private street approved by the township board.

Structure means anything constructed or erected which requires a fixed location on or under the ground or attachment to something having such location, including, without limitation, a principal, accessory, and/or ancillary walled or roofed building, mobile home, storage facility, tower, deck, pumps, fence, or facilities.

Substantial improvement means any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure either before the improvement or repair is started, or, if the structure has been damaged or is being restored, before the damage occurred. For the purpose of this definition, such term does not include any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications which are necessary solely for the reason of assuring safe living conditions, or any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a state inventory of historic places.

Temporary living quarters, as related to camping, means a recreational unit or a building within a modern camp, which is occupied or used for more than four hours between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., which is not intended to be occupied or used in excess of three consecutive months.

Time limits means calendar days, unless otherwise specified herein.

Travel trailer means a vehicular, portable structure built on a nonmotorized chassis, designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel and recreational purposes, having a body width not exceeding eight feet.

Tree means any self-supporting, woody plant of a species which normally grows to an overall height of 15 feet or more and/or has a minimum D.B.H of three inches.

Tree/woodland survey. In the site plan review process, the scale of the tree/woodland survey shall be the same as either the site survey and/or the site plan itself. For reviews under any other procedure, the tree/woodland survey shall be a scaled drawing and the scale shall not exceed 100 feet to the inch.

The tree/woodland survey shall contain the following:

1. Location of all protected trees and landmark trees plotted by accurate techniques;
2. Common and botanical names of those trees, their size in inches at their DBH, and a description of each tree's health;
3. All protected and landmark trees shall be numbered and non-corrosive tags bearing that number shall be attached to each respective tree.
4. The tree/woodland survey must be sealed by a landscape architect or a forester registered in the State of Michigan, or an International Society of Arboriculture certified arborist or a forester certified by the Society of American Forestry.

Truck stop means a facility which offers specialized and transient services for trucks, including: gasoline, diesel fuel, truck/auto repair, food services, lodging or truck parking areas.

U-pick operation means a farm that provides the opportunity for customers to harvest their own farm products directly from the plant. Also known as pick your own or PYO, these are forms of marketing farm products to customers, who go to the farm and pick the products they wish to buy.

Variance means a relaxation of the terms of this chapter where such variance will not be contrary to the public interest and where, owing to conditions peculiar to the property and not the result of the action of the applicant, a literal enforcement of this chapter would result in unnecessary and undue hardship.

Vehicle means, unless specifically indicated otherwise, a motorized vehicle intended to be driven on roads or trails, such as cars, pickup trucks, vans and motorcycles, and other vehicles defined as motor vehicles by the Michigan vehicle code.

Vehicle collision repair facility includes any procedure that is employed for the purpose of repairing, restoring, replacing, or refinishing, whether wholly or separately, any structural, life safety, or cosmetic component of a motor vehicle to a condition approximating or replicating the function, use, or appearance of the component prior to a collision.

Vehicle filling station means a building or premises used primarily for the dispensing, sale, or offering for sale of motor fuels directly to users of motor vehicles; together with the sale of minor accessories and services for motor vehicles such as filling tires with air, checking fluid levels, adding water to batteries or radiators, and similar activities; as well as selling convenience foods and other such items through a convenience store. Minor or major automobile repair is expressly excluded from this definition.

Vehicle repair facility, major, means a facility which offers and provides for, repair of mechanical, electrical, cooling, exhaust, brake, and power system repairs, including: transmission repair shops, shops used for the internal repair or engine components and drive train repair, and radiator repair shops.

Vehicle repair facility, minor, means a facility which offers or provides for, repair of mechanical, electrical, cooling, exhaust, brake, and power system repairs. Collision shops, transmission repair shops, shops used for the internal repair of engine components and drivetrain repair, and radiator repair, are expressly excluded from this definition.

Vehicle sales and service facility means a building or premises used primarily for the sale, lease or rental of new and/or used vehicles. These facilities may also provide both minor and major repair services in a completely enclosed building as an ancillary service.

Vehicle wash means a building, or portion thereof, the primary purpose of which is that of washing vehicles either by automatic or self-service means.

Water feature means a natural water body containing water at least part of the year and includes the following features that are natural in origin, even if subsequently modified by human activities: (i) perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral streams that have formed a channel; (ii) rivers, and lakes and ponds that are five acres or greater in size. This definition does not include wholly artificial channels or canals.

Water feature/wetland buffer means a natural or enhanced vegetated area lying adjacent to a water feature and/or wetland which is managed to maintain the integrity of stream channels and shorelines, to reduce the impact of upland sources of pollution by trapping, filtering, and converting sediments, nutrients, and other chemicals, and to supply food, cover, and thermal protection to fish and other wildlife.

Wetland means a protected wetland as defined in chapter 16, article V, pertaining to wetland and watercourse.

Wind energy conversion system (WECS) shall mean any device such as a turbine, windmill or charger that converts wind energy to a usable form of energy. The following definitions are to be used in relation to wind energy conversion systems:

1. Commercial wind energy conversion system shall mean any WECS that is designed and built to provide electric power to the electric utility grid rather than the electric power consumer on site.
2. Meteorological tower means a freestanding tower containing instrumentation such as anemometer that is designed to provide present movement wind data for use by the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. Such towers are used on a temporary basis to determine the feasibility of installing a wind energy conversion system (WECS) on site.
3. On-site wind energy conversion system shall mean a WECS which is used for generating electric power from wind that is accessory to a legal principal use and intended to primarily serve the needs of the electric power consumer at that site.
4. Shadow flicker means alternating changes in light intensity caused by the moving blade of a wind energy system casting shadows on the ground and stationary objects, such as but not limited to a window at a dwelling.

Wireless communication support structures means structures erected or modified to support wireless communication antennas. Support structures within this definition include, but shall not be limited to, monopoles, lattice towers, light poles, wood poles and guyed towers, or other structures which appear to be something other than a mere support structure.

Wireless communications facilities means all structures and accessory facilities relating to the use of the radio frequency spectrum for the purpose of transmitting or receiving radio signals. This may include, but shall not be limited to, radio towers, television towers, telephone devices and exchanges, microwave relay facilities, telephone transmission equipment building and commercial mobile radio service facilities. Not included within this definition are: citizen band radio facilities; shortwave receiving facilities; amateur (ham) radio facilities; satellite dishes; and, governmental facilities which are subject to state or federal law or regulations which preempt municipal regulatory authority.

Woodland Stewardship Plan means a written document listing activities that enhance or improve woodland resources (wildlife, timber, soil, water, recreation and aesthetics) on private land over a five-year period. All Woodland Stewardship Plans must be prepared by a qualified forester. Qualified foresters are registered foresters or a conservation district forester. Contents of a Woodland Stewardship Plan must meet the requirements for plans by the State of Michigan's Forest Stewardship Program.

Yard, front, means an open, unoccupied space extending the full width of the lot and situated between the street line and the front building line and parallel to the street line.

Yard, minimum, means the minimum distance which any building must be located from a property line, a street right-of-way line, an easement line of an approved private street, or a high water line.

Yard, rear, means an open, unoccupied space extending the full width of the lot and situated between the rear line of the lot and the rear building line and parallel to the rear lot line.

Yard, side, means an open, unoccupied space situated between the side building line and the adjacent side line of the lot and extending from the rear line of the front yard to the front line of the rear yard and parallel to the side lot line. (See Figure 6 in appendix A.)

(Ord. No. 275, § 2.02, 10-21-2003; Ord. No. 3386, § 2, 7-21-2006; Ord. No. 2009-01, § II, 1-27-2009; Ord. No. 2010-01, § 1, 2-23-2010; Ord. No. 2011-06, § 1, 12-13-2011; Ord. No. 2012-05, § 1, 8-28-2012)