Public notice: Freedom Township

Freedom Township Hall

Freedom Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan

ORDINANCE NO. 55

BLIGHT ORDINANCE

An ordinance to provide for the exercise of certain municipal powers of the Township of Freedom to promote the health, safety, and welfare of persons and property in the township and to provide penalties for the violation of the provisions thereof.

THE TOWNSHIP OF FREEDOM HEREBY ORDAINS:

1. Purpose

Consistent with the letter and spirit of Public Act No. 344 of 1945 (MCL 125.71 et seq.), and as authorized by Public Act 246 of 1945, being MCL 41.181 et seq., it is the purpose of this article to enhance and protect the health, safety and welfare of township residents by preventing, reducing or eliminating blight or potential blight in the township through the prevention or elimination of certain environmental causes of blight or blighting factors which exist or which may in the future exist in said township.

2. Causes of blight or blight factors.

It is hereby determined that the following uses, structures and activities are causes of blight or blighting factors which, if allowed to exist, will tend to result in blighted and undesirable neighborhoods. On and after the effective date of this Ordinance, no person shall maintain or permit to be maintained any of these causes of blight or blighting factors upon any property in the township owned, leased, rented or occupied by such person.

1. • a. In any area, the storage upon any property of junk automobiles, except in a completely enclosed building. For the purpose of this section, the term “junk automobiles” includes any motor vehicle which is not licensed for use upon the highways of the state, and shall also include, whether so licensed or not, any motor vehicle which is inoperative.
   • b. In any area, the storage upon any property of building materials unless there is in force a valid building permit issued by or for the township for construction upon said property and said materials are intended for use in connection with such construction. Building materials shall include but shall not be limited to lumber, bricks, concrete or cinderblocks, plumbing materials, electrical wiring or equipment, heating ducts or equipment, shingles, mortar, concrete or cement, nails, screws, or any other materials used in constructing any structure.
   • c. In any area, the storage or accumulation of junk, trash, rubbish or refuse of any kind without a landfill permit, except domestic refuse stored in such a manner as not to create a nuisance for a period not to exceed 15 days. The term “junk” shall include parts of machinery or unregistered motor vehicles, boats, unused stoves, refrigerators or other appliances stored in the open, remnants of woods, metal or any other material or other cast-off material of any kind whether or not the same could be put to any reasonable use. Active farms and farm operations in compliance with Generally Accepted Agricultural Management Practices of the Michigan Department of Agriculture shall be exempt from this section as it applies to machinery or parts of machinery, wood or remnants of wood, metal or other materials used for or in the production of farm products as such term is defined in the Michigan Right to Farm Act.
   • d. In any area, the existence of any structure or part of any structure which, because of fire, wind or other natural disaster, or physical deterioration, is no longer habitable, if a dwelling, nor useful for any other purpose of which it may have been intended.
   • e. On any property in any area, the existence of any vacant dwelling, garage or other outbuilding which is not kept securely locked or neatly boarded up and otherwise protected to prevent entrance by vandals or illegal occupancy. “Vacant” shall mean a building, or structure that is not legally or currently occupied and has not been occupied for a period of six (6) months or more.
   • f. In any area, the existence of any partially completed structure, unless such structure is actively under construction in accordance with a current building permit issued by the Township.

3. Enforcement and penalties.

The building inspector, or any duly constituted law or zoning enforcement officer of the Township, is hereby charged with the enforcement of this ordinance. The owner, if possible, and the occupant of any property upon which any cause of blight or blighting factors set forth in this Code are found to exist, shall be notified in writing by the enforcement officer to remove or eliminate such cause of blight or blighting factors from such property within ten (10) days after service of the notice upon such persons. Such notice may be served personally, by registered mail, return receipt requested, or by posting such notice in a conspicuous place upon the structure or use, and by first class mail addressed to the owner of the property where the blighting factors are found. Additional time may be granted by the enforcement officer when bona fide efforts to remove or eliminate such cause of blight or blighting factors are in progress. Failure of the owner and/or occupant to comply with such notice within the time allowed by the enforcement officer shall constitute a violation of this Code. Violations of this ordinance shall be municipal civil infractions and shall be punishable as provided in the resolution to establish schedule of civil fines and costs for the municipal civil infraction ordinance.

In addition to the fine designated above, each person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, or government entity who violates or authorized, allowed, or permitted a violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance or fails to comply with a duly authorized order issued pursuant to this ordinance shall be summarily taxed the costs of the action, which are not limited to the costs taxable in ordinary civil infraction actions and may include all expenses, direct and indirect, to which Freedom Township has been put in connection with the municipal civil infraction, up to the entry of judgement. Costs of not more than $500.00 shall be ordered. Except as otherwise provided by law, costs shall be payable to the general fund of Freedom Township.

4. Enforceability or Mandatory Injunction

In addition to the penalties in Section 3, above, any violation of the Ordinance shall be deemed a nuisance per se, permitting the Township Board, its officers, agents or any private citizen to take such action in any Court of competent jurisdiction to cause the abatement of such nuisance, including injunctive relief.

5. Severability

If any court of law of equity within the State of Michigan determines that any provision within the Ordinance is unconstitutional, void, voidable, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of the same Section and other Sections of this Ordinance shall be deemed separate, distinct and valid in all respects from said provision.

6. Effective Date

This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after the date of publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the Township.

YEAS:Layher, Bristle, Schaible, Huehl, Lindemann

NAYS: none

ABSENT: none

ORDINANCE DECLARED ADOPTED ON January 13, 2026. 

Larry Lindemann

Township Supervisor for the Township of Freedom

 CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION AND PUBLICATION

I, Valisa Bristle, the duly elected Clerk of the Township of Freedom certify that the foregoing ordinance is a true and correct copy of the ordinance enacted by the Township Board of the Township of Freedom on January 13, 2026, and published in the Manchester Mirror, a newspaper circulated in the Township of Freedom on  January 21, 2026.

Valisa Bristle
Township Clerk for the Township of Freedom

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