REGULATING KEYHOLE DEVELOPMENT: Carrying Capacity Analysis BACKGROUND ISSUES Keyhole Development Increased population, leisure time and disposable income have combined to place enormous strains on many inland lakes across the state. Nowhere are these pressures as great as on inland lakes near large urban areas. Yet even lakes within three-four hours of major metropolitan areas are showing signs of severe strain from "wall to wall" cottage (and increasingly, year-round residential) development and intensive surface use. As a result, lakefront property owners (of land often worth more than $l,000/rront foot) are increasingly going to court to protect riparian rights felt threatened by intensive waterfront development proposals that present the prospect of greater surface water use. "Keyhole" development (also known as "funnel" development) is the use of a waterfront lot as common open space for waterfront access for a larger number of users then are typical from a single family lake front lot. These users could reside or temporarily stay in dwellings, tents, or travel trailers away from the waterfront (on a beach lot or adjoining parcel) or could park and launch a boat as at a public access site. increasingly, keyholing occurs with the purchase of a small waterfront lot by a "backlot" owner, who then grants either access (by license or easement) or a share in ownership to the waterfront lot, to backlot owners/residents/users. Many ownership or easement combinations are possible. If unchecked, a proliferation of keyhole developments could dramatically alter both the surface use characteristics and appearance of a lake. Keyhole development is not new. Many old plats reserved a waterfront lot as access to the lake for backlot owners. Many granted easements allowing legal access, but not full riparian rights. However, as seasonal cottages became permanent year round residences/ and lake use increased, water quality often decreased (often due to faulty septic tanks). As surface water use increases, so do concerns about: • Shore erosion from speedboats and waterslders (and loss of natural habitat as shorelines are artificially altered to prevent erosion) • Damage to bottom dwelling plants and animals near the shore .• Property values Oil and gas spillage from powerboats Determining Inland Lake Carrying Capacity Planning & Zoning Center, Inc. 2 Ordinance No. _________ ORDINANCE OF THE COUNTY OF SHIAWASSEE TO AMEND THE ZONING ORDINANCE At a regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the County of Shiawassee held at 4:00 p.m., on July 19,2001 in the Surbeck Building, 210 N. Shiawassee St., Corunna, MI at which the following members were present: Commissioners, Buginsky, Capitan, Cole» Fuja, Sparkes, and Van Pelt, and Weaver. None were absent Commissioner moved ______supported by Commissioner _ ___ to Adopt the following ordinance. PREAMBLE: The Shiawassee County Zoning Ordinance, an Ordinance adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the County of Shiawassee, pursuant to Act #183 of 1943, as amended, may be amended from time to time following the procedures outlined in Article 19 of the Shiawassee County Zoning Ordinance of 1982, as amended; and WHEREAS: The Shiawassee County Planning Commission initiated a petition to add new rules to limit the practice of allowing non waterfront lots access to nearby lakes, commonly called "keyholing"; and WHEREAS: the Shiawassee County Planning Commission held a duly advertised and noticed public hearing on June 27, 2001; and WHEREAS: comments and recommendations have been received from the effected agencies; and Page 1 of 1 B. Definitions Use in this Section: 1 - "Boat" a watercraft having a motor, engine or other propulsion system that is rated more than five (5) horse power including a "personal watercraft" as defined in the Marine Safety Act, Part 801 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, MCL 324.80101 etseq. 2. Watercraft are defined as canoe, row boat, paddleboat, etc. with 5HP or less. 3. "Common Boating Access Site" a boat launching, mooring, docking or overnight anchoring facility which is used by authorized non-riparian property owners. 4. "Original parcel" The contiguous parcel of riparian land shall be that parcel as ,it existed at the time when the developer manifests intent to develop the lake frontage. Conclusive evidence of intent to develop includes but is not limited to: an application for the creation of a new lake front lot under the Michigan Land Division Act; the filing of a tentative preliminary plat under the Michigan Land Division Act; the filing of a request for a Site Condominium under this Ordinance; or a request for approval of a private road under this Ordinance. C. Applicability and Timing: 1. The following regulations apply to common boat/watcrcraft access sites that are created after the effective date of this amendment. A common boat/watercraft access site that existed before this amendment must be have either been established before the effective date of the Michigan Inland Lakes and Streams Act 346 of 1972 or have been permitted and established under said Act. 2. Continuation of Existing Uses; As to common access sites, the lawful mooring, docking, or launching ofmotorboats or boats or usage of docks, shore stations, boat cradles, or rafts on or from a particular lot, site condominium unit, parcel, or separate frontage occurring prior to the date of adoption of this Ordinance shall be Page 3 of 3 permitted to continue without change. However, any change, alteration, or expansion of such prior usage which occurs after the date this Ordinance becomes effective shall fully comply with the provisions of this Ordinance. For purposes of this Section, normal maintenance and repair of docks due to normal wear and tear shall not be deemed a change, alteration, or expansion of prior usage. 3. Calculations used in the this Section shall be based upon the total amount of riparian lake frontage that exist at the time a developer first manifests an intention to undertake the residential development of lake frontage. No artificially created shoreline may be used to increase the amount of riparian frontage use in the calculation. Any determination of the number of non riparian dwelling units that may be given boating access at a common boat access site or sites shall be in die form of a zoning permit issued by the zoning administrator. D. Required Notice of Right of Access: Each non-riparian parcel (lot) that has the right to use a common boating access site shall be given notice of said right on its deed. The notice shall indicate the number of dwelling units (normally one for a single-family residential development) which may enjoy the right of access and that only one (1) boat per dwelling unit may access the lake any time. E. Calculation: The total linear feet of shoreline existing on the original parcel shall be established by a Surveyor who is registered in the State of Michigan. Total shoreline shall not include land that is below the ordinary high water line of the inland lake. Non riparian access to an inland lake shall be allocated exclusively to lots dial are created from the original parcel. The allocation shall be made on the basis of one (1) permitted boat access for each (forty) 40 linear feet of total lake frontage rounded down to a whole number. A dwelling unit shall be granted a single boat access. Each lot may be granted a boat Page 4 of 4 access for each dwelling unit, provided that the total number of boat access rights granted does not exceed the total amount of linear feet of waterfront divided by forty (40). F. Common Boat Access Site Requirements common boat access site that includes a boat-launching facility shall be sufficient size to allow vehicle and trailer maneuvering. A common boat access site lot that contains a boat launching facility shall be at least thirty (30) feet in width at the waterfront. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the above-mentioned is to be know as Amendment Number to the Shiawassee County Zoning Ordinance.