Your Government
Our Community
Township Services
Our mission is to provide guidance and to encourage and promote efficient, coordinated development in accordance with the Township’s Zoning Ordinance and Master Plan, while observing the zoning goals for future growth, in a manner, and for the purpose of, protecting the health, safety, and general welfare of the public.
Planning and Variance Department Hours
Monday-Friday
8:00AM-4:00PM
To contact the Planning and Variance Department please call 810-653-4156
A variance is the process by which an applicant can request deviation from the set of rules Davison Township Municipality applies to land use and land development, typically a zoning ordinance, building code or municipal code. There are two types of variances, area and use.
An area variance is the most common type. It can be requested by a builder or landowner when an odd configuration of the land, or sometimes the physical improvements (structures) on the land, requires a relaxation of the applicable regulations to avoid denying the landowner the same rights and use of the property enjoyed by owners of neighboring properties. A textbook example would be a house built on an oddly-shaped lot creates a hardship. If the odd shape of the lot makes it onerous for the landowner or builder to comply with the standard building setbacks specified in the code, a variance could be requested to allow a reduced setback.
A use variance is a variance that authorizes a land use not normally permitted by the zoning ordinance. Such a variance has much in common with a special-use permit. Grant of a use variance also can be similar, in effect, to a zone change. This may, in certain cases, be prohibited.
In either case, the variance request is justified only if special conditions exist on the lot that create a hardship making it too difficult to comply with the code’s normal requirements. Likewise, a request for a variance on a normal lot with no special conditions could judiciously be denied. The special conditions or hardship typically must arise from some physical configuration of the lot or its structures. The financial or personal situation of the applicant normally cannot be taken into consideration. Under variances governing codes, approval of the variance must not result in a public health or safety hazard and must not grant special privilege to the property owner. In other words, when a variance is granted, any other property owner with similar site conditions should be able to obtain a similar variance; this criterion is often addressed by citing precedent.
If you would like more information about variance please call the Building Department at 810-653-4156.
0