ARTICLE 11 - GC GREENBELT CONSERVATION/FLOODPLAIN DISTRICT    11.00

11.1   PURPOSE

            The Tittabawassee River is the Township’s most predominant natural feature, containing watercourses of various sizes and types as well as wet soils that are susceptible to high water tables at any time during the year. These watercourses and wet areas are subject to federal and state development restrictions and consequently are limited in their ability to become part of the Township’s built environment. These areas are valuable resources that should be retained and utilized to help define the open space (and recreation) fabric of the Township as well as act as a means of functional drainage of the land.

            The Greenbelt Conservation District is intended to preserve the natural drainage systems and unbuildable wet areas of the Township. In so doing, it is also intended to utilize these resources for the visual and recreational enjoyment of the Township’s residents by linking these waterways and wet areas in a linear fashion, preserving a continuum of open space and preventing ecological and aesthetic damage that may result from unwise and disorderly development.   The District is intended to provide for setbacks from these drainage systems in order to prevent physical harm, impairment  and/or destruction to the drainage way.  The regulations that apply within the GC District are designed to reserve such areas for the purposes outlined in this section and to discourage any encroachment by residential, commercial, industrial or other uses capable of adversely affecting the undeveloped character of this District. Excavation and mining are expressly prohibited in this district. 

11.2   DESCRIPTION OF THE DISTRICT

            The Greenbelt Conservation District along either side of the Tittabawassee River is defined by the boundaries of the river’s one hundred (100) year floodplain as designated on the Flood Insurance Rate Map for the Township. The ordinary high water mark is defined as the line between upland and bottomland which persists through successive changes in water level, 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.

11.3   PERMITTED USES

A.     Walkways/trails following as much as possible the natural topography in which they are located, with the base and surface limited to the use of natural materials and subject to Planning Commission review.  Structural improvements shall be limited to retaining walls and similar structures when required to maintain the integrity and safety of the walkway.

B.       Private boat dock or boathouse, limited to land adjacent to the Tittabawassee River .

C.              Publicly owned and/or operated park, open space, recreational facility or use, and the equipment necessary for serving the users of such facilities.

D.              Nature preserve.

11.4   USES ALLOWED BY SPECIAL PERMIT

A.           Golf course.

B.           Fishing area

C.           Accessory building for a use by right if there is no alternative to locating it in this district.

11.5   ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS IN THE GC DISTRICT

            The following restrictions and conditions are applicable to the GC District.

A.     No landfilling and no principal structures shall be permitted in the GC District except in accordance with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality requirements.

B.      The Planning Commission shall receive a copy of the permit application and approval of such application for those improvements that require a permit.

C.      For those portions of the GC District adjacent to a river or watercourse, to minimize erosion, stabilize the riverbank, protect water quality, keep nutrients out of the water, maintain water temperature at natural levels, preserve fish and wildlife habitat, screen man-made structures and preserve aesthetic values of the GC District, a natural vegetation strip of twenty-five (25’) feet shall be maintained. Within the natural vegetation strip, trees and shrubs may be selectively pruned or removed to achieve a filtered view of the river from the principal structure and for reasonable private access to the river or watercourse.

E.      All applications for physical alterations to properties located in this district shall  be subject to the site plan review requirements.