Lake Districts and Overlay Districts
AKA: Lakeshore Residential Districts, Green Belts District, Waterfront-Shoreland Overlay District, Waterfront Residential District
Special zoning provisions to protect inland lakes and especially shoreline areas are implemented in two ways:
Conventional lake/shoreline districts – Zoning ordinances include zoning districts, such as agriculture, commercial, residential and industrial districts, that have distinct lists of permitted uses, setbacks and other standards. Some communities establish one or more additional lake or shoreline districts that include special protection standards unique to those areas.
Shoreline overlay districts – An overlay district is a special kind of zoning district placed over existing base zones (such as residential or commercial) that adds additional standards in those areas. This technique works well for shoreline protection. Overlay districts can be defined as being a certain distance – 500 to 1,000 feet, for example – from the lakeshore, or follow the parcel lot lines in the areas targeted. Areas commonly targeted by overlay zones include floodplains, watersheds, environmental areas, lakeshore/shoreline, river corridors, and high risk erosion areas.
Additional References
Municipality | County | Resource Description | Resource Link |
---|---|---|---|
Macomb County | Macomb County | Resource Protection Overlay | Click here |
Additional Ordinance Examples
Municipality | County | Resource Description | Resource Link |
---|---|---|---|
Clyde Twp | Allegan County | ARTICLE 8: R-4 LAKE RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT | Click here |
Evangeline Twp | Charlevoix County | Section 5.05: Walloon Lake District (W) | Click here |
Melrose Twp | Charlevoix County | Section 6.11: Shoreline Protection Overlay District | Click here |
South Arm Twp | Charlevoix County | Section 5.02: Greenbelt Residential District | Click here |
Cheboygan Cnty | Cheboygan County | Article 10: Lake and Stream Protection District | Click here |
Village of Isabella | Isabella County | Chapters 1234-1238: Lake Residential Districts | Click here |
Rollin Twp | Lenawee County | Article Xa: Lake Residential District | Click here |
Portage Twp | Mackinaw County | Section 6.2: Riparian Protection Overlay | Click here |
Winfield Twp | Montcalm County | Section 3.23: Lake Access/Frontage; Keyhole Dev. | Click here |
Albert Twp | Montmorency Cty | Section 4.12: Greenbelt District | Click here |
Brooks Twp | Newaygo County | Article IX: Lakefront District | Click here |
Springfield Twp | Oakland County | Section 40-892: Resource Protection Overlay District | Click here |
Almena Twp | VanBuren County | Section 7: Waterfront Residential District | Click here |
Porter Twp | Van Buren County | Section 111.800: Lakefront Residential District | Click here |