Highland is an amazingly beautiful township! I know I was hooked when I first stumbled upon Highland with its rolling hills, parks, lakes, woodlands and horse farms. A recent survey showed that the majority of Highland residents resoundingly support protecting the natural beauty and rural character of our township.
To protect Highland, the Planning Commission has been working hard to draft the new Natural Features Preservation ordinance (Article 15) as part of revisions to the Master Zoning ordinances. For the full text, follow this link: http://www.highlandtwp.com/page/Twp+PlanningZoning-130.html Highland Conservancy members have been attending Planning Commission meetings for almost three years, voicing their concerns and providing input as the ordinance has gone through various drafts to carefully craft language with the goal of protecting Highland's natural resources as well as individual landowner’s rights.
Unfortunately, the current version has removed specific requirements for tree preservation, grading, and penalties for non-compliance. Requiring a natural features/tree inventory is important but it needs teeth by establishing a required percentage of tree canopy or establishing specific replacement tree percentage requirements.
The Highland Conservancy is asking for two basic requirements for new developments in Highland:
1. Preserve the trees as much as possible.
2. Stop wholesale grading of an entire construction/subdivision site.
Simply put, keep the lots in their natural condition thus allowing the individual lot owner to design their own landscaping. There is no reason why trees and top soil need to be stripped off building lots before there is any plan for the home that might be built there. When the trees and topsoil are removed, all plant and animal life is eliminated from the site.
Stopping these practices will allow for subdivisions with green meadows and mature trees, home sites that fit the gently sloping land with crystal clear rivers and lakes as opposed to tract homes on a barren flatland stripped of all topsoil, vegetation, and wildlife. We already have several of these unwanted wastelands in Highland with hundreds of lots still unsold. This is not the legacy we want to leave for Highland.
There will be a working session of the Planning Commission to review this ordinance on Thursday, February 18 in the township auditorium at 7:30 pm. The Highland Conservancy is urging the Planning Commission to reword this ordinance to protect the natural beauty, woodlands and watersheds in Highland. Please email your concerns or comments to the Planning Commission and to the Highland Township board asking for the following:
1. A return of the specific requirements protecting woodlands such as minimum tree canopy requirements.
2. Requirements preventing topsoil removal except for road construction and installation of public utilities.
3. Requirements to use native plants and trees in roadside beauty buffers and native vegetation in storm water protection.
Highland Township needs your support!
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