By James Windell
When the South Haven Zoning Board of Appeals met on Monday, August 25, 2025, there were three new members present.
Newly appointed members included Don Bemis, Amy Nichols, Brandi Coulombe, and alternate Lisa Krupiarz.
With regular meetings in the offing for 2025-2026, the Board needed to select a new Chair, since that position has been vacant. In accordance with the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Rules of Procedure, each year, at the first regular meeting following the appointment of members in May, the ZBA must elect from its regularly appointed membership a chairperson and vice-chairperson to serve for the following year.
The Zoning Board of Appeals decides on requests for appeals of administrative decisions, interpretations of the zoning ordinance, and variances from the zoning ordinance.
Nominated and unanimously approved for Chair was Randy Timmer, who has been on the Board since 2024. Also, Don Bemis, was nominated for Vice-Chair, and he, too, was unanimously approved for that position.
Following the election, the Board had the task of considering a request for approval of a variance for the property at 713 North Shore Drive, South Haven.
Segard Builders, on behalf of the property owners of 713 North Shore Drive, applied for two dimensional variances in order to construct a new single-family home. The property is a nonconforming 4,965 square foot lot located in the in the R-1B zoning district. The lot is unusual in that it is small compared to a typical 8,400 square foot R-1B lot, and it is irregularly shaped. There is an existing single-family home on the lot that has deteriorated, and the property owners would like to demolish it and construct a new home in a similar footprint. The proposed home would have a footprint of 1,280 sq ft and, including the decking, a proposed lot coverage of 30%. Dimensional variances were requested from Section 403.02 in order to permit a rear yard setback of 17 feet (instead of 25) and a south side yard setback of 10 feet (instead of 12).
The R-1B Single-Family Residential Districts are designed to preserve and maintain the character of the City’s single-family residential neighborhoods by following historic development patterns and limiting the potential for incompatible land uses. Most lots in the R-1B districts have lot widths of 66 feet and 33 feet.
The Board opened a public hearing on the matter and the only public comment came from a resident in the neighborhood who asked a question about the easement on the property. After the public hearing was closed, the Board considered the nine factors that must be satisfied to qualify for a dimensional and nonuse variance request. The Board agreed that the proposed variance request met the requirements and a vote ended with the Board approving the variance.
With the approval, the contractor and the property owner must submit final plans for the new house and obtain all applicable permits.
