About 50 people attended a Lima Township public hearing for a special use application submitted by the owners of Camp Woodbury (Nordman Lake L.L.C.) and about 15 of them spoke for and against the request.
Janet Muhleman has owned the Camp Woodbury property surrounding Nordman Lake on Steinbach Road since 1999, and through land acquisition, has expanded the property to almost 150 acres from its original 95 acres. The camp proper sits on about 10 acres on the lake.
The campground has been in operation since the 1920s, and includes a lodge and four cabins, which have been restored, and three more cabins, which will be restored in the future. Muhleman and her husband Tom Hollyer have operated the campground offering a rural camp for family reunions, corporate retreats, and weddings.
The property is zoned Ag-2, which allows a campground as a special use, but since the camp was founded before Lima Township had a zoning ordinance, there is no official zoning documentation.
Neighbors of the property have complained about loud music and fireworks occurring late into the night, especially in the last year. In a statement by William Davidson, a neighbor to the immediate north of the campground property, “As a 22-year resident of Lima Township, and neighbor of the Nordman Lake property, I have enjoyed 21 years of peaceful rural harmony. However, in 2014, we experienced multiple instances of late night noise disturbance from weddings and parties across the lake.”
Muhleman, when addressing the board, stated her intent for the property. “We would rather keep it natural, and keep it agricultural to preserve the character, and quite honestly, to let more people enjoy it as a campground, because it is a wonderful place for families to gather, and our intention is to keep it as it is moving forward.”
According to neighbor Susan Filipiak, however, “It is my opinion that Janet Muhleman and Nordman Lake Associates L.L.C. have created a ‘hotel/resort’. The primary use of this business operation is an event facility.” Filipiak said, “I understand that Lima Township does not allow ‘party barns’, agriculturally zoned facilities renovated for conferences, parties, weddings, and wedding receptions. Nordman Lake has become such a ‘party facility’ and as such is not in keeping with our rural residential neighborhood.”
Other neighbors of the property, however, spoke in support of Muhleman. Judith Even, an immediate neighbor on Steinbach Road, said that “I truly have not been affected by the noise. Sometimes I’m surprised to see the cars parked there, because I don’t hear them go up and down the driveway.” Even went on to say that “Since Jan (Muhlemen) and John (Hollyer) have owned that property, I’ve felt more secure, because I know what’s going on back there.”
The public hearing was followed by the regularly scheduled meeting of the Lima Township Planning Commission.
Township planners Carlisle Wortman discussed a list of recommendations for the township in regards to the special land application.
Those recommendation included safety lighting, parking, landscaping to block headlights from disturbing neighbors, adherence to the township noise ordinance, and limits on number of people and hours of operation at the campground.
The Planning Commission tabled the matter pending review of these recommendations by both the township and the owners of the property.The issue will be on the agenda at the next Planning Commission meeting, which will take place on May 18 at 7 p.m. at the Lima Township Hall.
