My lot is smaller than the Township minimum — can I still build?

Usually yes. Many lots at Lake of the Pines were platted long before the current zoning ordinance, and the Township has a rule for exactly this situation.

**The Township's standard lot.** In the Single Family Residential district, the ordinance calls for a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet and a minimum width of 100 feet. A good number of lots here are smaller than that.

**The rule for older lots.** A lot that was already recorded with the Clare County Register of Deeds when the ordinance took effect may still be used for a single-family residence, provided the lot size and open space are **within 50 percent** of what the ordinance requires. In practice that means roughly 5,000 square feet and 50 feet of width.

Two conditions come with it:

- The minimum **front yard requirement may not be reduced**
- **No individual side yard may be less than 10 feet**

So an undersized lot does not get smaller setbacks. It gets permission to be built on at all, while still meeting the setbacks.

The ordinance explains its own purpose here — to allow recorded lots that lack the required size and open space to be used, as long as reasonable standards can still be met.

**If your lot falls below the 50 percent threshold**, this rule does not carry you, and the question becomes whether the Township's Board of Zoning Appeals will grant relief. That is a formal process with a public hearing, published notice, and written notice to property owners within 300 feet.

Start with the Township Zoning Administrator, who can tell you which category your lot falls into. Association approval is still required separately.

*Source: Freeman Township Zoning Ordinance No. 8, Sections 5.06 and 15.06, and Table 1.*