By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
ssoldan@mihomepaper.com
Ortonville— During the regular meeting on March 25, the Ortonville Village council unanimously approved three ordinances outside of the regular zoning ordinances. The purpose for approving them separately is that they can be changed more easily in the future if needed.
“The whole planning commission needs to be recognized,” said Planning Commission Chairman Bob McArthur. “They spent a lot of time and effort to get this right.”
The first ordinance approved is to require buildings to have visible address numbers on the outside of the building, either on the front of the building or at the driveway.
“Properties need to be identified for emergency vehicles and also for UPS and Amazon deliverers so they get the right package to the right front door,” said village president Ken Quisenberry. “I think it makes perfect sense.”
The ordinance would require property owners to come into compliance within 90 days.
“We have not, as a fire department, ever ticketed anybody for not having an address posted like they’re supposed to. We have never done that,” said Brandon Fire Chief David Kwapis. “What we have suggested is, hey, in the middle of the night, when you’re having that heart attack, and you can’t breathe, and you need help immediately, might be really wise to have some kind of an address so first responders can find your house in a timely manner. That’s usually enough.”
The Brandon Fire Department does have the numbers for the end of driveways for sale, but residents can purchase numbers from wherever they’d like. Numbers may also be on the front of the house as long as they are visible from the road at night.
The second ordinance that was approved pertains to private streets, outlining the parameters for residential and non-residential private streets.
“The width that they should be, sometimes the length, I’m sure that has to do with emergency vehicles being able to get proper entrance and just overall safety,” said Quisenberry.
According to the ordinance, residential private streets need to be a minimum of 18 feet wide and have a minimum easement width of 50 feet. A private residential cul-de-sac must have a minimum 47 foot radius and 50 foot radius easement.
For non-residential private streets, there must be a minimum 24 feet width and minimum 60 foot radius. The cul-de-sac requirements for private non-residential streets is a 47 foot radius and 60 foot easement.
The maximum length for dead-end, private streets is 900 feet.
The third ordinance that was approved pertained to signs within the village. Due to the federal Supreme Court rulings in past years, the sign ordinance is subject to change year to year.
“A lot of this is state-regulated, and that is changing as well,” said president pro tempore Melanie Nivelt. “So we are doing our best to keep up with it.”
Anyone with questions about the temporary sign ordinance can find the full ordinance at ortonvillevillage.com.