Wakefield city council eyes sidewalk ordinance

By P.J. GLISSON

news@yourdailyglobe.com

Wakefield — A sidewalk generally is viewed as a useful means of walking, or rolling, from one point to another without infringing on a stranger’s lawn.

However, a Tuesday evening discussion by members of the Wakefield Planning Commission proved that it’s not always a matter of simple practicality.

City Manager Robert Brown Jr. said homeowners of one Wakefield lot on have asked permission to remove the sidewalks from their property and replace them with grass.

Brown said current city code dictates that homeowners are responsible for maintaining the sidewalks on their property, but added that the freedom to remove them is not clear.

He asked commissioners to create an ordinance that addresses a broader perspective on the matter.

Brown did point out that many communities require sidewalks in residential areas.

After the meeting, Brown told The Globe that he cannot verify whether the city was solely responsible for the installation of all of the town’s sidewalks. “We’re probably talking 1914-ish for some of them,” he said.

But he did tell commissioners that the city has not budgeted for sidewalks for at least the past 15 years except for those on city property, as in next to the City Hall or within Lakeside Cemetery.

Brown said he will send commissioners copies of what some other communities have codified in relation to sidewalks. In addition, he will invite City Attorney Ray O’Dea to attend the next meeting to address any concerns.

In other news, commissioners also received a virtual report on their master plan from John Lacoangeli, a partner with Beckett and Raeder Inc., an Ann Arbor planning firm.

Lacoangeli said the plan will include two colored, digital maps: one for land use and one for zoning.

He said commercial districts for downtown and U.S. 2 should be classified separately. “The character is entirely different.”

Lacongeli provided the city with his pending suggestions, and the city manager said he will mark and submit any needed adjustments.

“I think it looks very good,” said Commission Chairwoman Tara Hamilton.

Brown said that he expects the council to pass the final draft of the master plan near the end of the year.

During the public comment session, two Wakefield men also addressed commissioners about the pending plan of Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources to study the feasibility of planting trout in Plymouth Lake.

The expectation is that such action would promote greater interest in public fishing there, particularly from land owned by the city.

Justin Sordahl said Plymouth Lake is not a public location and never has been. Nor, he added, have landowners there ever used the site for commerce.

“No one owns lots on Sunday Lake,” said Sordahl. “It’s public. The open pit is not what Sunday Lake is.”

He said that opening Plymouth Lake to the public would be to the detriment to landowners there, who could view it as trespassing and could result in liability issues.

Beyond that, he said the considerable depth of the body of water, which resulted from the former Plymouth Mine, results in “not the safest place” for recreation.

Brown suggested that Sordahl express his concerns to the MDNR.

“We’re not promoting use of the lake at this point,” said Brown, who added that if the city ever does consider opening to the public its land next to Plymouth Lake, the related discussion will include landowners from there, as well as attorneys.

“I think we all can agree that is a beautiful location out there,” said Brown, who said a compromise may be possible one day by installing a dock on the city property and allowing the public to access only the water within the confines of city parameters.

John Pera, who owns land on the lake, asked that commissioners notify lake landowners when any discussion of the lake is expected in future meetings.

The Planning Commission will have its next regular meeting on Sept. 12 at 5:30 p.m. in the meeting room of the Wakefield municipal building.