The Dorr Township Planning Commission will have three public hearings at its 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday, Nov. 19.
One of the hearings will be to try to define rules for home occupations, or home-based businesses, for which regulations are hazy in attempting to separate occasional garage sales from actual continuous sales businesses, sometime referred to as pallets.
A visit last month at the Dorr Township Board meeting from Julie Cassety, who runs an in-home pallet sales business on Ranchero Drive. She has gathered petitions supporting revision of the local ordinance for fewer restrictions.
Cassety told the Township Board the items she sells are left outside the house on her lawn and driveway for prospective customers to pick up. An honor system is used most often for the transactions.
A problem for her surfaced recently when a neighbor complained about traffic and parking issues. The local ordinance then calls for the seller to pay $350 for a special use permit to continue her business in a residential area.
Cassety said she doesn’t make a lot of money with her sideline, but enjoys providing local people with bargains on certain items. She added that she’s a local taxpayer and does charity work.
The Planning Commission will attempt to clarify what can be considered something akin to a garage sale or a yard sale, both of which are not regulated at all in the current ordinance.
Jason Derry, zoning administrator from Professional Code Inpsections, said, “With these (pallet) businesses, they (the sales) are pretty continuous.”
Derry, Supervisor Jeff Miling and Clerk Debbie Sewers has advised Cassety to obtain a special use permit, especially since her activity generated neighbors’ complaints.
The commission also will have hearings on a revised solar ordinance and on minor zoning ordinance amendments. Both issues were discussed at Tuesday night’s meeting.
Thanks so much for the clarified definition and tireless dedication to bringing the most accurate and available current information.
Admittedly I initially thought someone was selling pallets. Words and communication are variable, often miss the mark. It is too bad so many choose to exploit this pitfall, using it to miss direct the masses.