For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCESSORY BUILDING. A subordinate building on the same premises with a main building, or portion of a main building, and occupied or devoted to an accessory use; for example, a private garage.
ACCESSORY USE or ACCESSORY. A use of a zoning lot which is clearly incidental to the principal use of the lot and customarily found in connection with the principal use. When ACCESSORY is used in this text, it shall have the same meaning as ACCESSORY USE.
ADJACENT GRADE. Adjacent grade shall be construed as the average grade measured at a point three feet on each side of the fence. In the case of a fence on a retaining wall, adjacent grade shall be the grade of the top of the wall.
ADULT BOOKSTORE, ADULT NOVELTY STORE, or ADULT VIDEO STORE. A commercial establishment that, as one of its business purposes or services, offers for sale or rental for any form of consideration any one or more of the following:
(1) Books, magazines, periodicals, or other printed and/or electronic or digital matter, or photographs, films, motion pictures, video cassettes, compact discs, slides, or other visual representations or media which depict or describe specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas; or
(2) Instruments, devices, or paraphernalia that are designed for use in connection with specified sexual activities.
ADULT CABARET. A nightclub, bar, restaurant, lounge, or similar commercial establishment that regularly features:
(1) Persons who appear in a state of nudity;
(2) Live performances that are characterized by the exposure of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas; or
(3) Films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, electronic, digital, other photographic reproductions or visual media that are characterized by the depiction or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
ADULT MOTION PICTURE THEATER. A commercial establishment which, for any form of consideration, regularly and primarily shows films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, or other photographic reproductions or visual media that are characterized by the depiction or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
AGRICULTURE. The cultivation, tilling, or use of soil for the purpose of growing or storing crops thereon or use of land for the purpose of animal or poultry husbandry, including the preparation and marketing of agricultural products for commercial purposes. All reasonable dust, spray drift, water drift, noise, odors, and other conditions normally association with the foregoing agricultural uses are considered a part of the AGRICULTURE and are permitted.
ALTERATIONS. Any change, addition, or modification in construction or type of occupancy, or in the structural members of a building, such as walls or partitions, columns, beams, or girders, any substantial change in the roof, or an addition to or diminution of a structure or building.
ANIMAL UNIT. A unit of measurement used to compare relative differences in the odor producing characteristics of animal wastes with the following equivalencies applicable to various animals (see chart).
Animal | Unit |
Cattle | 1.0 |
Fowl | 0.10 |
Horses | 1.0 |
Other animals | As determined by the Zoning Administrator |
Sheep | 0.5 |
Swine | 1.0 |
AVERAGE GRADE-DEFINED GRADE. The average finished ground elevation at the center of all walls of a building established for the purpose of regulating the number of stories and the height of buildings. The building grade shall be the level of the ground adjacent to the walls of the building if the finished grade is level. If the ground is not entirely level, the grade shall be determined by averaging the elevation of the ground for each face of the building or structure being measured.
BASEMENT. 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 the vertical distance from the average grade to the ceiling. A BASEMENT shall not be counted as a story.
BEACHED or BEACHING. Placing or securing a watercraft on or adjacent to the shore of a separate frontage.
BED AND BREAKFAST ESTABLISHMENT. A house, or portion thereof, where short-term lodging rooms and meals are provided as a commercial operation.
BERM. A mound of earth graded, shaped, and improved with landscaping in such a fashion as to be used for visual or audible screening purposes.
BOAT LIFT, BOAT CRADLE, BOAT STORAGE DEVICE. A device for the purpose of mooring, anchoring, or holding a watercraft in, on, or above the water.
BODY SHOPS. Any building, premises, or land in which or upon which the primary use is the servicing, repair, or painting of motor vehicles.
BOTTOM LAND. The land area of an inland lake or stream that lies below the ordinary high-water mark and that may or may not be covered with water.
BUFFER STRIP. A strip of land required between certain districts reserved for plant material, berms, walls, or fencing to serve as a visual barrier.
BUILDING. A structure erected on site, pre-manufactured or pre-cut structure, above or below ground, designed primarily for the shelter, support, or enclosure of persons, animals, or property of any kind.
BUILDING CODE. The code or codes governing the erection and maintenance of buildings as currently adopted by Silver Creek Township.
BUILDING HEIGHT. The vertical distance measured from the established grade at ground to the highest point of the roof surface for flat roofs; to the deck line of mansard roofs; and to the average height between eaves and ridge for gable, hip, and gambrel roofs. On a structure having a flat roof, the parapet, if provided, may exceed the maximum building height by three feet. Where a building is located on sloping terrain, the height shall be measured from the average ground level of the grade at the building wall.
BUILDING INSPECTOR. The person designated by the Township Board to administer the provisions of the adopted Building Codes for Silver Creek Township
BUILDING LINE. The outline formed by the outermost horizontal extents of the building, including eaves, cornices, bay windows, gutters, chimneys, pilasters, and similar features, except as described in § 155.025.
CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY. A document signed by an authorized township official as a condition precedent to the commencement of a use of a structure or building which acknowledges that such use, structure, or building complies with the provisions of the Michigan Building, Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical Codes and all final inspections have been approved.
CERTIFICATE OF ZONING COMPLIANCE. A document signed by an authorized township official, after an inspection has been made, stating that all provisions of this chapter have been adhered to at the completion of permitted work.
CHILD CARE CENTER.
(1) A facility, other than a private residence, licensed by the Michigan Department of Social Services, in which one or more children are given care and supervision for periods of less than 24 hours per day, and where a parent or legal guardian is not immediately available to the child. CHILD 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.
(2) CHILD CARE CENTER does not include a Sunday School, a Vacation Bible School, or a religious class that is conducted by a religious organization where children are in attendance for not greater than four 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, or a facility operated by a religious organization where children are cared for not greater than four hours while persons responsible for the children are attending religious classes or services.
COMMERCIAL STORAGE WAREHOUSE. A building or buildings used primarily as a commercial business for the storage of goods and materials.
COMMERCIAL WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES. Licensed telecommunication services including cellular, personal communication services (PCS), specialized mobilized radio (SMR), enhanced specialized mobilized radio (ESMR), paging, and similar services that are marketed to the general public, but are not considered an essential public service.
CONVALESCENT or NURSING HOME. A structure with sleeping rooms where persons are housed or lodged and are furnished with meals, nursing and medical care.
DAY CARE.
(1) GROUP DAY CARE HOME. A private residence in which the operator permanently resides as a member of the household, licensed by the Michigan Department of Social Services, in which more than six but not more than 12 minor children are given care and supervision for periods of less than 24 hours per day, unattended by a parent or legal guardian, except children related to an adult member of the family by blood, marriage, or adoption. GROUP DAY-CARE HOME includes a home that gives care to unrelated minor children for more than four weeks during a calendar year.
(2) FAMILY DAY CARE HOME. A private residence in which the operator permanently resides as a member of the household, registered with the Michigan Department of Social Services, in which one but less than seven minor children are given care and supervision for periods of less than 24 hours per day, unattended by a parent or legal guardian, except children related to an adult member of the family by blood, marriage, or adoption. FAMILY DAY-CARE HOME includes a home that gives care to an unrelated minor child for more than four weeks during a calendar year.
DISH ANTENNA or SATELLITE DISH ANTENNA. An apparatus capable of receiving communications from a transmitter or a transmitter relay located in planetary orbit.
DOCK or PIER. A structure, platform, or fixture extending from the shore or bottomlands into a lake.
DOCKED or DOCKING. The anchoring, tethering, or mooring of a watercraft directly to a pier, structure, platform, pole, anchor, pier, or dock adjacent to a separate frontage; and also means the placement of a watercraft in an off-shore boat cradle or shore station, or the regular or overnight beaching of a watercraft or anchoring or tethering to the bottomlands of a lake adjacent to a separate frontage.
DRIVEWAY. An improved or unimproved path or road extending from a public or private road or right-of-way to a building, dwelling, or structure intended to provide ingress and egress primarily for the occupants and visitors thereto.
DRIVE-THROUGH FACILITIES. A business establishment so developed that its retail or service character provides a driveway approach or parking spaces for motor vehicles to serve patrons while in the motor vehicle, either exclusively or in addition to service within a building or structure, or to provide self-service for patrons and food carry-out.
DWELLING, MULTIPLE-FAMILY. A dwelling, or a portion of a building, designed exclusively for occupancy by three or more families living independently of each other.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY. A detached dwelling designed exclusively for and occupied exclusively by one family.
DWELLING, TWO-FAMILY. A dwelling designed exclusively for occupancy by two families living independently of each other.
DWELLING UNIT. One room or suite of two or more rooms designed for use and occupancy by one family for living and sleeping purposes, with housekeeping facilities.
ERECTED. Built, constructed, altered, reconstructed, moved upon, or any physical operations on the premises which are required for construction, excavation, fill, drainage, and the like.
ESSENTIAL PUBLIC SERVICES. The erection, construction, alteration, or maintenance by public utilities or municipal departments of underground, surface, or overhead gas, electrical, steam, fuel, or water transmission, distribution, collection, communication, supply, or disposal systems, including towers, poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm and police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants, and similar equipment. The definition does not include buildings and storage yards necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by utilities or municipal departments for the general health, safety, or welfare, or commercial wireless telecommunication services.
EXCAVATION. Any breaking of ground, except common household gardening and ground care.
FAMILY.
(1) An individual or group of two or more persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption, together with foster children and servants of the principal occupants, who are domiciled together as a single 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, non-transient 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, half-way house, lodge, coterie, organization, group of students, or other individual whose domestic relationship is of a transitory or seasonal nature; is for an anticipated limited duration of school term or during a period of rehabilitation or treatment; or is otherwise not intended to be of a permanent nature.
FARM.
(1) Land directly farmed or used for commercial agriculture by the owner-operator, manager, or tenant farmer by his or her own labor or with assistance of members of his or her household or hired employees. A FARM can or cannot include a farm dwelling and accessory buildings necessary for the storage or housing of farm implements, products, or animals, or used for the operation of the farm. FARMS may include greenhouses, nurseries, orchards, plants, and animals useful to human beings produced by agriculture and includes, but is not limited to, forages and sod crops, grains and feed crops, dairy and dairy products, poultry and poultry products, cervidae, livestock, including breeding and grazing, equine, fish, and other agricultural products, bees and bee products, berries, herbs, fruits, vegetables, flowers, seeds, grasses, nursery stock, trees and tree products, mushrooms, and other similar products, or any other product which incorporates the use of food, feed, fiber, or fur.
(2) Beginning June 1, 2000, it is the express legislative intent that this Act (Right to Farm Act, being M.C.L.A. §§ 286.471 through 286.474) preempts any local ordinance, regulation, or resolution that purports to extend or revise in any manner the provisions of this act or generally accepted agricultural and management practices developed under this Act. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a local unit of government shall not enact, maintain, or enforce an ordinance, regulation, or resolution that conflicts in any manner with this Act or generally accepted agricultural and management practices developed under this Act.
FARM MARKET. As described by Michigan Right to Farm Act, Public Act 93 of 1981, being M.C.L.A. §§ 286.471 through 286.474.
FENCE. A fixed structure or gate, constructed of standard fencing materials readily available on the retail market such as wood, vinyl, or metal that is erected as a dividing marker, barrier, or enclosure, encircling either wholly or any portion, of any area. No tarps, visquene, tires, or other junk is allowed.
FLOOR AREA, GROSS (GFA). The sum of the total horizontal areas of the several floors of all buildings on a lot, measured from the interior faces of exterior walls, but excluding porches, patios, terraces, breezeways, carports, verandas, garages, and basements.
FLOOR AREA, USABLE (UFA). That area used for, or intended to be used for, the sale of merchandise or services or for use to serve patrons, clients, or customers. Floor area which is used or intended to be used principally for the storage or processing of merchandise, for hallways, or for utilities or sanitary facilities shall be excluded from the computation of USABLE FLOOR AREA. Measurement of USABLE FLOOR AREA shall be the sum of the horizontal areas of the several floors of the building measured from the interior faces of the exterior walls.
FOOD TRUCK.A licensed, self-contained vehicle (motorized or towable) which is temporarily permitted to park in a designated area of an established use in Special Land Use Permitted Zoning District within Silver Creek Township.
FOOD TRUCK PARK. A permitted area specifically designed to accommodate the temporary parking and operation of food trucks. The park shall include public restrooms and may include an outdoor seating area.
GRADE. The gradient, the rate of incline or decline expressed as a percent. For example, a rise of 25 feet in a horizontal distance of 100 feet would be expressed as a grade of 25%.
GREENBELT. A strip of land of definite width and location reserved for the planting of shrubs, trees, or grasses to serve as an obscuring screen or buffer strip in carrying out the requirements of this chapter.
GROUND LEVEL. The elevation of the natural ground. On built sites, or sites that are proposed for development, GROUND LEVEL is the average grade of the proposed finished ground.
GUEST. A person who is staying with an individual in his or her home or a person whom an individual has invited to a social occasion, such as a party or a meal.
HEIGHT. The average distance between the top element in the fence and the adjacent grade over a straight section of fence with no corners.
HOME BASED BUSINESS. A business or profession carried on by a member of the immediate family residing on the premises. A HOME BUSINESS is one in which no commodity is sold on the premises, except that incidental to the home based business; not more than one person is employed there other than a member of the immediate family residing on the premises; and no mechanical equipment is used, except such as is permissible for purely domestic or household purposes within the dwelling, a garage or accessory building. Beds and breakfasts or similar uses shall not be deemed to be HOME BASED BUSINESSES.
HOME OCCUPATION. An occupation or profession carried on by a member of the immediate family residing on the premises. A HOME OCCUPATION is one in which no commodity is sold on the premises; no person is employed there other than a member of the immediate family residing on the premises; and no mechanical equipment is used, except such as is permissible for purely domestic or household purposes, when engaged in by only residents entirely within the dwelling and not in a garage or accessory building or with the use of any non-residing employee. Tea rooms, veterinarian’s offices, bed and breakfast establishments, animal hospitals, kennels, and other similar businesses or occupations shall not be deemed to be HOME OCCUPATIONS.
HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY. A building or group of buildings containing dwellings where the occupancy of dwellings is restricted to persons 60 years of age or older, or couples where either the husband or wife is 60 years of age or older.
ICE CONTROL. An aerator, bubbler, circulation pump, or any other device, activity, or equipment used within a lake that affects the water’s surface so as to prevent the normal formation of surface ice.
INOPERATIVE VEHICLE. A motor vehicle which can no longer propel itself.
INTENSIVE LIVESTOCK OPERATIONS. Any feedlot, piggery, or other livestock raising, breeding, or feeding facility involving more than 300 but less than 1,000 animal units, including any buildings, structures, or enclosed areas used for such activities, and any associated waste storage structures or areas.
JUNK. Any worn out, previously used, dilapidated, discarded materials including, but not necessarily limited to, scrap metal, inoperative motor vehicles and parts, construction material, household wastes, including garbage and discarded appliances, and yard debris.
JUNK YARD. An open area where waste, used or secondhand materials are bought and sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled, or handled. These materials include, but are not limited to: scrap iron and other metals, paper, rags, rubber tires, and bottles. A JUNK YARD includes automobile wrecking yards and includes any area of more than 200 square feet for storage, keeping, or abandonment of junk, does include uses established entirely within enclosed buildings.
KENNEL, COMMERCIAL. Any lot or premise on which three or more dogs, cats, or other household pets, six months of age or older, are either permanently or temporarily boarded for commercial purposes. A KENNEL shall also include any lot or premises where household pets are bred or sold for commercial purposes.
LAKE. A navigable body of water, situated partially or wholly in the township borders.
LOADING SPACE. An off-street space on the same lot with a building, or group of buildings, for the temporary parking of a vehicle while loading and unloading merchandise or materials.
LOT. A parcel, vacant land, occupied land, or land intended to be occupied by a building and accessory buildings, or utilized for the principal and accessory use(s) together with yards and open spaces required under the provisions of this chapter, either platted or unplatted. A LOT may or may not be specifically designated as such on public records. A LOT may also mean a portion of a condominium project, as regulated by Public Act 59 of 1978, being M.C.L.A. §§ 559.101 through 559.272, as amended, designed and intended for separate ownership and use.
(1) LOT, CORNER. Any lot having at least two contiguous sides abutting upon a street, provided that the interior angle at the intersection of such two sides is less than 135 degrees. A lot abutting upon a curved street or streets shall be considered a corner lot if the tangents to the curve, at its points of beginning within the lot or at the points of intersection of the side lot lines with the street line, intersect at an interior angle or less than 135 degrees.
(2) LOT, INTERIOR. A lot other than a corner lot or through lot.
(3) LOT, THROUGH. Any interior lot having frontage on two parallel streets. In the case of a row of double frontage lots, all yards of lots adjacent to streets shall be considered frontage, and through yard setbacks shall be provided as required.
LOT AREA. The total horizontal area within the lot lines, excluding areas within streets or road right-of-way.
LOT COVERAGE. The part of the lot occupied by any building, including accessory buildings.
LOT DEPTH. The horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines, measured along the median between the side lot lines.
LOT LINES. The lines bounding a lot as defined herein.
(1) FRONT LOT LINE. On waterfront lots in the Waterfront District, the front lot line is the ordinary high water mark. In the case of an interior lot, the front lot line is the line separating the lot from the street. In the case of a through lot, the front lot line is that line separating the lot from either street.
(2) REAR LOT LINE. That lot line opposite the front lot line. In the case of a lot which is pointed at the rear, the rear lot line shall be an imaginary line parallel to the front lot line, not less than ten feet long, lying farthest from the front lot line and wholly within the lot.
(3) SIDE LOT LINE. Any lot line other than the front lot line or rear lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from a street is a side street lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from another lot is an interior side lot line.
LOT OF RECORD. A parcel of land, the dimensions of which are shown on a document or map on file with the County Register of Deeds or in common use by township or county officials, which actually exists as shown, or any part of such parcel held in a record ownership separate from that of the remainder thereof.
LOT WIDTH. The horizontal straight line distance between the side lot lines, measured between the two points where the required front yard setback line intersects the side lot lines.
MAIN BUILDING. A building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot upon which it is situated.
MANUFACTURED HOME. A transportable, factory-built home designed to be used as a year-round residential dwelling.
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK. A parcel or tract of land under the control of a person upon which three or more manufactured homes are located on a continual non-recreational basis, offered to the public for that purpose regardless of whether a charge is made, together with any building, structure, enclosure, street, equipment, or facility used or intended for use incident to the occupancy of a manufactured home and which is not intended for use as a temporary trailer park.
MARIHUANA. This term shall have the meaning given to it in the Michigan Public Health Code, Public Act 368 of 1978, being M.C.L.A. §§ 333.1101 et seq., as is referred to in § 3(d) of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, Public Act 2008, being M.C.L.A. § 333.26423(d).
MARIHUANA COLLECTIVE OR COOPERATIVE. Any facility, structure, dwelling or other location where medical marihuana is grown, cultivated, processed, stored, transmitted, dispensed, consumed, used, given, delivered, provided, made available to and/or distributed that is formed by a group or individuals in a group acting together as a collective enterprise or by an organization owned collectively by members who share in the benefits owned as a cooperative or in any way structured like a collective or a cooperative.
MARINA. A private or commercial boat basin with facilities for berthing and securing any type of recreational watercraft. MARINAS may also provide supplies, provisions and service, or fueling facilities. Waterfront establishments that offer watercraft for hire or rental shall be defined as MARINAS.
MASTER PLAN. The Master Plan currently adopted by Silver Creek Township, including graphic and written proposals, indicating the general location for streets, parks, schools, public buildings, and all physical development of the township, and includes any unit or part of such plan and any amendment to such plan.
MEDICAL USE OF MARIHUANA. The acquisition, possession, cultivation, manufacture, use, internal possession, delivery, transfer, or transportation of marihuana or paraphernalia relating to the administration of marihuana to treat or alleviate a registered qualifying patient’s debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the debilitating medical condition, as defined under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, Public Act 2008, being M.C.L.A. § 333.26423(d).
MOORAGE. The anchoring, tethering, or mooring of a watercraft directly to a pier, structure, platform, pole, anchor, pier, or dock adjacent to a separate frontage; and also means the placement of a watercraft in an off-shore boat cradle or shore station, or the regular or overnight beaching of a watercraft or anchoring or tethering to the bottomlands of a lake adjacent to a separate frontage.
MOORING. A space for a single watercraft at or adjacent to a dock, in an offshore boat cradle or shore station, anchoring, or beaching location.
MOTEL/HOTEL. A building or group of buildings on the same lot, whether detached or in connected rows, containing sleeping or dwelling units which may or may not be independently accessible from the outside with garage or parking spaces located on the lot and designed for, or occupied by, travelers. The term shall include any building or building groups designated as motor lodges, transient cabins, or by any other title intended to identify them as providing lodging, with or without meals, for compensation on a transient basis.
NONCONFORMING BUILDING. A building or portion thereof lawfully existing at the effective date of this chapter, or amendments thereto, and not conforming to the provisions of the district in which it is located.
NONCONFORMING LOT OF RECORD. A legally recorded lot that conformed with all zoning requirements at the time of recording of the lot, but which no longer conforms to the zoning regulations and requirements for lot area, lot width, or both.
NONCONFORMING USE. A use or activity which lawfully occupied a building or land at the effective date of this chapter, or amendments thereto, and which does not conform to the use regulations of the district in which it is located.
NON-RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT. The C and IND Districts.
OFF-STREET PARKING LOT. A facility providing parking spaces, along with adequate drives, maneuvering areas, and aisles, for the parking of more than three vehicles.
OPEN AIR BUSINESS. Retail sales establishments operated substantially in the open air, including:
(1) Bicycle, utility truck or trailer, motor vehicle, boats, or home equipment sales, repair or rental services;
(2) Outdoor display area and sale of garages, motor homes, recreation vehicles, manufactured homes, snowmobiles, swimming pools, and similar activities, but not including farm implements or commercial construction equipment;
(3) Retail sales of trees, fruits, vegetables, shrubbery, plants, seeds, topsoil, humus, fertilizer, trellises, lawn furniture, playground equipment, and other home garden supplies and equipment, but not including lumberyards; and
(4) Tennis courts, archery courts, shuffleboard, horseshoe courts, miniature golf, golf driving range, children’s amusement parks, or similar recreational uses (transient or permanent).
ORDINARY HIGH WATER MARK or SHORELINE. The line between upland and bottomland which persists through successive changes in water levels, below which the presence and 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 the vegetation. Where the water levels vary for purposes of water level management, the ORDINARY HIGH WATER MARK shall be the higher of the levels generally present.
PARCEL. A tract of land which can be legally described with certainty and is capable of being located by survey.
PARKING SPACE. An area of definite length and width, said area shall be exclusive of drives, aisles, or entrances giving access thereto, and fully accessible for the parking of permitted vehicles.
PERMANENT PIER (DOCK). A structure so installed on the lake bottomland and shoreline of such material and design that it is intended to withstand all weather conditions year round and not to be removed, in any part or completely, on any temporary basis.
PERSON. A human being, partnership, corporation, association (including a condominium association), and any other entity to which the law provides or imposes rights or responsibilities.
PERSONAL SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT. A commercial business conducting services that are performed primarily on the premises.
PERSONAL WATERCRAFT. A vessel that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) Uses a motor-driven propeller or an internal combustion engine powering a water jet pump as its primary source of propulsion;
(2) Is designed without an open load carrying area that would retain water; and
(3) Is designed to be operated by one or more persons positioned on, rather than within, the confines of the hull.
PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT. A development of land that is under unified control and is planned and developed as a whole in a single development operation or programmed series of development stages. The DEVELOPMENT may include streets, circulation ways, utilities, buildings, open spaces, and other site features and improvements.
PLANNING COMMISSION or COMMISSION. The Silver Creek Township Planning Commission.
PRIMARY CAREGIVER or CAREGIVER. A person as defined under M.C.L.A. § 333.26423(h) of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, and who has been issued and possesses a registry identification card under the Act.
PRIMARY ROAD. A county primary roadway, as designated in the Silver Creek Township Master Plan or by the Cass County Road Commission. For purposes of this chapter only, a state trunk line shall also be considered as a county primary.
PRINCIPAL USE. The primary use to which the premises is devoted.
PRIVATE ROAD.
(1) Any undedicated path, trail, or road which provides or is intended to provide the primary means of ingress and egress to two or more parcels or two or more main buildings, dwelling units, or structures, or combination thereof, whether created by a private right-of-way agreement, license joint ownership, easement, or prescription. Any and all extensions, additions, or branches of or to a private road shall be considered part of the primary private road which abuts the public road.
(2) A private road shall also include:
(a) An access serving one parcel if that parcel does not have the requisite amount of frontage on a public road as required by this chapter;
(b) Where two or more parcels or dwellings share or utilize a common access drive, even if each parcel has the required frontage on a public road; and
(c) A private road shall also include a path, trail, or road which is privately built or maintained and which is located on a public right-of-way or easement.
PROTECTIVE MEASURES FENCE. A fence erected for the express purpose of protecting an enclosed area and the property therein, or a fence intended to deny access to a dangerous property or location.
PUBLIC UTILITY. A person, firm, corporation, municipal department, board, or commission duly authorized to furnish to the public under federal, state, or municipal regulations, gas, steam, electricity, sewage disposal, communication, telegraph, transportation, or water.
QUALIFYING PATIENT or PATIENT. A person as defined under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, being M.C.L.A. § 333.26423(i), and who has been issued and possesses a registry identification card under the Act.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE OR EQUIPMENT.
(1) Vehicles or equipment used primarily for recreational purposes. For the purpose of this chapter, recreational vehicle shall mean:
(a) A vehicle primarily designed and used as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel purposes, including a vehicle having its own motor power or a vehicle mounted on or drawn by another vehicle, such as a motor home or camper;
(b) Boats and trailers designed to transport boats;
(c) Snowmobiles and trailers designed to transport snowmobiles;
(d) Off-road vehicles and trailers designed to transport off-road vehicles;
(e) Pop-up tent and camper trailers; and
(f) Other similar vehicles deemed by the Zoning Administrator to be a recreational vehicle.
(2) This term shall not include motorcycles or motorbikes or other similar means of transportation intended primarily for on-street use.
REQUIRED YARD. That set forth as the minimum yard requirement for each District.
RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT. The AR, WD, R-1, R-2, and MHP Districts, as described in this chapter.
RIGHT-OF-WAY. Public or private land, property, or interest therein, devoted to transportation or utility purposes and/or providing access to property.
ROAD. See STREET/ROAD.
ROAD COMMISSION. The Cass County Road Commission.
SALVAGE YARD. An open space where waste, surplus, discarded, or salvaged materials are brought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, cleaned, packed, disassembled, or handled, including house wrecking and structural steel materials and equipment and automobile wrecking.
SEPARATE FRONTAGE. That portion of a lot or parcel of land lawfully existing on documentation recorded with the Cass County Register of Deeds which abuts or intersects with the ordinary high water mark of a lake, whether such lot or parcel is owned by one or more persons, is commonly owned by several persons or combinations of persons, or occupied by a multiple-unit residential development.
SETBACK. The distance required to obtain minimum front, side, or rear yard open space provisions of this chapter.
SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESS. An adult bookstore, video store, or novelty store, adult cabaret, adult motion picture theater, or a commercial enterprise that regularly features the sale, rental, or exhibition, for any form of consideration, of books, films, videos, DVDs, magazines, or other visual representation of live performances which are characterized by an emphasis on the exposure or display of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
SHORE STATION. A device for the purpose of mooring, anchoring, or holding a watercraft in, on, or above the water.
SIGN. A lettered board or other notice advertising an individual, firm, profession, business, or other thing and visible to the general public.
SIGNIFICANT NATURAL FEATURE. A natural area as designated by the Planning Commission, Township Board, or the Michigan Department of Natural Resources which exhibits unique cultural, topographic, ecological, hydrological, cultural, or historical characteristics such as a wetland, floodplain, water features, or other unique natural features.
SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREAS.
(1) Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttock, or anus; or female breast immediately below the top of the areola; or
(2) Human male genitals in a discernible turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.
SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITIES.
(1) Human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal;
(2) Acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse, or sodomy; or
(3) Fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttock, or female breast.
STORAGE TANK. A stationary device located above or below the ground’s surface designed to contain liquid, which is constructed of non-earthen materials, which provide structural support, with a capacity of 30 U.S. gallons or more.
STORY. That part of a building included between the surface of any floor above the average grade or ground at the foundation and the surface of the next floor, or if there is no floor above, then the ceiling next above.
STORY, HALF. An uppermost story lying under a sloping roof having an area of at least 200 square feet with a clear height of seven feet. For the purpose of this chapter, the usable floor area is only that area having at least five feet clear height between floor and ceiling.
STREET/ROAD. Any publicly dedicated right-of-way which affords traffic circulation and principal means of access to abutting property, other than an alley. Also, a private access easement which affords the principal means of access to abutting property.
STRUCTURE. Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires location on the ground or attachment to something on or in the ground.
TOWNSHIP. Silver Creek Township, Cass County.
TOWNSHIP BOARD. The Township Board of Silver Creek Township.
TRUCK TERMINAL. A building or area in which freight brought by truck is assembled and/or stored for routing or reshipment, or in which semi-trailers, including tractor and/or trailer units and other trucks, are parked or stored.
TRUE CASH VALUE. The value placed on a property by the Township Assessor on the last tax day, being December 31 of each year, as kept in the records of the township.
VEGETATIVE STRIP. A strip of land at least 25 feet bordering each bank of a waterway as measured from the ordinary high water mark, whichever is furthest inland. Where required, a VEGETATIVE STRIP shall be maintained in its natural vegetative state, except for the clearing of dead or noxious plants.
VEHICLE SALES. An establishment engaged in retail or wholesale sales from the premises of motorized vehicles, along with incidental maintenance servicing. Typical uses include new and used automobiles or truck sales, boat sales, or recreational vehicle sales.
VEHICLE SERVICE STATION. Building and premises where the primary use is the supply and dispensing at retail of motor fuels, lubricants, batteries, tires, and other similar motor vehicle accessories.
WASTE DUMPSTER. A container used for the temporary storage of rubbish and/or materials to be recycled pending collection, having capacity of at least one cubic yard.
WATERCRAFT. Every kind of boat, vessel, tug, tender, however propelled, and any boat, pontoon boat, hydrofoil, hovercraft, jet ski, personal watercraft, jet boat, or similar vessel having a propulsion system of more than six horsepower, marine construction or maintenance equipment, barge, research vessel, weed harvester or dredge, or sailboat over 12 feet in length, but does not include canoes, kayaks, paddle boats, rowboats (without an engine) or other human-powered craft or sailboards.
WATERWAY. Any natural or artificial lake, pond or impoundment, river, stream, creek, or any other body of water which has definite banks, a bed, and visible evidence of a continued flow or continued occurrence of water.
WATER FRONTAGE. A parcel of land’s measurement along the water’s edge at the ordinary high water mark. If more than one high water mark has been set by a state agency or court of jurisdiction for seasonal or other reasons, then the higher elevation shall be used for determinations in this chapter. The measurement shall be made only along a natural shoreline and shall not include any human-made channel, lagoon, canal, or the like.
YARDS. The open spaces on the same lot with a main building that are unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, and as defined herein.
(1) FRONT YARD. An open space extending the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the minimum horizontal distance between the front lot line and the building line of the main building. On waterfront lots in the Waterfront District, the front yard is upland from the ordinary high water mark.
(2) REAR YARD. An open space extending the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the building line of the main building.
(3) SIDE YARD. An open space between a main building and the side lot line, extending from the front yard to the rear yard, the width of which is the horizontal distance from the nearest point on the side lot line to the building line of the main building.
ZONING ACT. The Michigan Zoning Enabling Act. (Public Act 110 of 2006, being M.C.L.A. §§ 125.3101 et seq.).
ZONING ADMINISTRATOR. The person designated by the Township Board to administer the provisions of this chapter.
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS. The Zoning Board of Appeals of Silver Creek Township.
(Ord. 09-11, passed 11-11-2009; Ord. 11-03, passed 5-11-2011; Ord. passed 7-30-2015; amended 4- -2013; amended 8- -2015; Ord. 16-04, passed 11-9-2016; Ord. 17-04, passed 5-10-2017; Ord. 17-06, passed 9-13-2017; Ord. 18-02, passed 8-8-2018; Ord. 20-26, passed 12-9-2020)