By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com

Hamburg Township officials have amended their zoning amendment affecting requirements for future waterfront properties.

The Board of Trustees, at their latest meeting held online, approved the amendment focused on riparian access to properties. It added requirements for newly created lots that abut waterways and for existing lots with newly created riparian frontage.

Township Planner Scott Pacheco shared the new property width minimums. Going forward, parcels in waterfront (WFR) zoning have to have width of at least 50 feet, parcels in natural rivers zoning must be 100 feet wide, and all other districts 75 feet.

This amendment, for example, eliminates people from splitting their lot and creating a long finger from the household that extends out again as it gets to the shoreline. This was done to not only have newly created lots that are organized, but also to have less impact on neighbors. Pacheco said it also helps to preserve and protect the natural resources of the township.

The amendment also added clarification to dock requirements, requiring them to now be 5 feet from any lot line. Pacheco said what was happening was that in lots where the dock was accessed on the side of the lot and not in the rear, they couldn’t be 5 feet from the side property line. They now shall be 5 feet from any lot line not adjacent to the water body.

These amendments have been worked on going back to February and came to the Board with recommendations from both the township and county planning commissions. The Board of Trustees approved the amendments unanimously.