By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


The Howell City Council has approved some updates to different procedures for appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Council met virtually Monday night and approved an ordinance to amend language in a section dealing with the procedure for appeals to address technical errors. The section of code specifically outlines the procedure for appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals. A memo states that the language that was currently in place referenced special land use requests, as opposed to variance requests.

The majority of language in the section is said to be taken directly from State enabling legislation, which was last updated in 2008, and most municipalities updated their ordinances shortly thereafter to reflect the changes. Given that the section is technical and most planners follow the provisions without needing to consult with the ordinance, the typos were said to have gone un-noticed until a detailed review of the ordinances was completed. It was noted that the proposed changes did not make any substantive changes to the ordinance.

The Planning Commission reviewed the request at a public hearing held in December and recommended approval to the City Council for the ordinance changes. The ordinance was introduced at the December 21st Council meeting and there were no comments or concerns at that time. It was approved unanimously at Monday’s meeting.