Lodi Township Finalizes Initial Draft of New Zoning Ordinance

The Lodi Township Board of Trustees may soon be voting on a new zoning ordiance to update the one that has been on the books for more than 40 years.

The proposed document, which spans more than 250 pages, still needs to be reviewed for inconsistencies and basic errors before being presented to the public.

It details the different types of zoning in Lodi Township, as well as what can be built where and the process to apply for a change in zones. The redesigned ordinance will undergo a review by many different eyes, including township attorney Jesse O’Jack.

The old zoning ordinance has been in effect since 1967 with some modifications.  This one will be somewhat of a departure from it; it has a much broader range of definitions to clarify things,” said Jack Steeb, who heads the Lodi Township planning commission.

The new ordinance, which Steeb hopes to have before the public in the spring and adopted by the summer of 2012, is the product of more than a year of work by the planning commission.

“Hopefully, it will clarify terms and systems for application and approval or disapproval of development. It’s an offshoot of the master plan that was adopted on Jan. 5, 2010. It incorporates things that were in the master plan and incorporates them into zoning law,” Steeb.

Board considers deputy supervisor role

The Board of Trustees also discussed the hiring of a deputy supervisor. Lodi Township’s current supervisor, Jan Godek, is currently on medical leave. The board is looking for someone to fill most of her duties while she is away. 

“A deputy supervisor is not the moderator of the board meeting and can’t vote, but pretty much can do everything else,” O’Jack said at the meeting.

With Godek currently unable to fulfill her duties, a deputy supervisor would evaluate properties that might be considered blight to the township. Also, the deputy supervisor would oversee a zoning officer, should the board appoint one.