Georgetown Township’s master plan update goes to a Nov. 4 hearing without the accessory-dwelling language the board cut

JENISON, Mich. — Georgetown Township’s Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Nov. 4 on the township’s draft master plan, the long-range land use guide that no longer mentions accessory dwelling units after the township board voted to take them out.

The hearing starts at 7 p.m. at the township office, 1515 Baldwin St., according to a notice signed by Clerk Kelly Kuiper. The current and proposed master plans, the future land use map, and the zoning map and ordinance can be examined at the office during regular hours until the hearing closes. Written comments are accepted at the office before the hearing date, and the township has also invited comments by email at contact@georgetown-mi.gov.

The township board approved the draft for distribution in late August, for what the zoning administrator described as a 63-day public comment period, and the township held an open house on the plan Oct. 6. After the hearing, the commission is to recommend a resolution adopting the plan to the township board, the zoning administrator told commissioners in August, according to the meeting’s minutes.

The accessory-unit debate: An earlier draft included accessory dwelling units, such as an attached mother-in-law suite, in a list of housing styles. Commission Chairman Josiah Samy said at the commission’s Aug. 19 meeting that the language was a nod to the many responses in the master plan survey about affordability and mother-in-law suites, which do not fit the current township ordinance, the minutes say. The board voted to remove it.

Samy said it was his understanding the board was still open to a conversation about the units, and that he was fine taking the text out for now. Commissioner Jeannine Bolhouse said she would have kept it but could accept removing it for now. Commissioner Tom Healy said a concern from Gary Veldink, a township trustee who also sits on the commission, was understandable: that a unit built for family could become a rental once the relative moves out.

Commissioner Geoff Brown was blunter. He said dropping the language makes it look like the township is afraid of the units and ignores the residents who raised them, and he said some board members did not appear to understand what they are, according to the minutes. Asked what happens when a homeowner wants to build one, Zoning Administrator Ryan Schab said a variance would be unlikely under the high standard for granting one, and that the likelier path is the commission and board agreeing on ordinance language. Healy said the commission could write such an ordinance, for example within 18 months.

The commission voted 5-1 to accept the board’s changes and send the revised draft back to the board. Brown voted no and said the accessory-unit decision was his only reason. Veldink was absent.

A new Rural Estate category: The draft adds a Rural Estate future land use class for single-family homes on larger lots in outlying parts of the township, with overall density assumed at one home per three to five acres. New homes there should connect to public water and sewer when it is available and feasible; otherwise wells and septic systems are allowed. The draft designates the area south of Parsons Drive and west of 8th Avenue as Rural Estate.

Commissioners also discussed private property rights in August. Brown relayed a concern Kuiper had raised at a board meeting about owners being kept from digging wells, and commissioners said the plan’s hookup language applies to new suburban residential development, not agricultural or rural residential land. Samy and Bolhouse both favored keeping the township’s northwest corner in the Agricultural category for now.

What residents said: The draft says an online survey in September and October 2025 drew 1,137 responses. Respondents named safe neighborhoods, good public schools and closeness to Lake Michigan as the top reasons to live in the township, and ranked protecting natural areas and preserving farmland as top priorities. Participants also saw a need for more housing for first-time buyers, young families and low- and middle-income households, the draft says, although many thought no new residential development was needed. The township grew from 41,658 residents in 2000 to 54,091 in 2020, according to the draft.

Sources:
Georgetown Charter Township, “Notice of Public Hearing for the Master Plan,” posted Sept. 2, 2026, accessed Oct. 15, 2026, https://www.gtwp.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=454
Georgetown Charter Township, “Draft of the Georgetown Township Master Plan” and Sept. 28, 2026, board synopsis, News Flash, accessed Oct. 15, 2026, https://www.gtwp.com/CivicAlerts.aspx
Georgetown Charter Township, “Master Plan Open House,” Oct. 6, 2026, calendar, accessed Oct. 15, 2026, https://www.gtwp.com/Calendar.aspx?EID=12219
Georgetown Charter Township, Georgetown Township Master Plan draft (low-resolution copy), accessed Oct. 15, 2026, https://www.gtwp.com/DocumentCenter/View/10085/Low-Rez-Copy---FINAL-Georgetown-Twp-MP---draft-8212026
Georgetown Charter Township Planning Commission, Oct. 7, 2026, agenda packet, including minutes of the Aug. 19, 2026, meeting, accessed Oct. 15, 2026, https://www.gtwp.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10072026-1713?packet=true
Photo: Dwight Burdette, “New House Under Construction, 310 Huntington Drive, Saline, Michigan - panoramio.jpg,” Oct. 25, 2012, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_House_Under_Construction,_310_Huntington_Drive,_Saline,_Michigan_-_panoramio.jpg

Georgetown Township

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