8-19-2020 5:13pm

Andelina Farms Moves Forward Without the City of Saline

Andelina Farms:

It was a lack of communication that generated much of the discussion Wednesday evening at the August meeting of the Saline Township Board. Township Supervisor Jim Marion reported the developer of Andelina Farms was moving forward with its plans for the development, including the construction of an on-site water and sewage treatment plant, without any involvement with the City of Saline.

Marion said, “I thought I might hear from the City of Saline today but I didn’t.”

Those comments were echoed by Township consulting attorney Fred Lucas who said, “I haven’t heard anything.”

When questioned why the city isn’t engaging in discussions with the developer and township, both Marion and Lucas said, “you need to ask the city that.”

Lucas noted that Andelina Farms had previously signed an agreement with the City of Saline, committing millions of dollars to facilitate a connection to city water and sewer services. To date, the City of Saline has not acted upon that agreement.

Township Zoning Administrator Robert Marion noted that the developer was “moving a lot of dirt, creating roads within the development.” The board stated that engineers from the developer were scheduled to meet with township consulting engineer Dan Cabage at 9 a.m. on Thursday morning at the township hall for an engineering review of the development.

Township Zoning Ordinance:

Lucas told the board that he believed the township’s zoning ordinance was “overly complicated.”

"The township’s zoning ordinance is written as if it had a population of 200,000 people when in fact it is a rural township,” Lucas said.

He suggested that it might be more cost-effective if the township scrapped its zoning ordinance and looked at an ordinance from a similar township to adapt and adopt.

“The current ordinance includes regulations for things the township is probably not ever going to encounter,” Lucas said.

Township Recycling Service:

“A few people are going to ruin it for the rest,” is what Township Supervisor Jim Marion said following a discussion about the township’s recycling service. Marion reported that recently a mattress, large wooden boxes and other trash debris were left at the recycling station, forcing the township into an expense to clean up the trash. Township Clerk Kelli Marion noted that she has seen many bags of recycling left on the ground when the container is full though the expectation is that if the container is full, residents will return when there is room in the container.

As a measure of prevention, Treasurer Jennifer Zink suggested the township consider the installation of security cameras near the recycle container to serve as a possible deterrent.

Supervisor Marion said he did not think that there would be a township sponsored fall clean up day this year. Marion did indicate that the county has sponsored clean up days that township residents could access.

Next Meeting:

The next Saline Township Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 9/9/20 at 7 p.m. The next Saline Township Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 9/08/20 at 7 p.m. Both meetings will be held at the Saline Township Offices on Braun Road.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.