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Charlevoix’s New Ordinance Inhibits Blight

Charlevoix City Council has approved a property maintenance code to address declining properties before they reach blight status. The international Property Maintenance Code Ordinance is designed to supplement the Dangerous Buildings Ordinance.  According to zoning administrator Jonathan Scheel, the city didn’t have any type of property maintenance code to prevent a building from becoming dilapidated. The new code will give the city the ability to intervene and require deteriorating structures to be corrected before they become unfixable issues.

 

 

Washtenaw Conservationists Purchase Acreage

The Michigan Land Conservancy purchased 162 acres of wetlands, forest and former cropland for $1 million. The acreage is located east of Ann Arbor in Superior Township. This is a second purchase toward preservation efforts in Superior Township. Previously, Superior Township leaders voted unanimously to buy 300 acres known as the “Rock property.” The newly-purchased Michigan Land Conservancy parcel is next door to that property and the township-owned Cherry Hill Nature Preserve. The speedy transaction was financed through private loans and donations, including a loan and donation from Detroit Audubon.