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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS


LAMAR OCI NORTH CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellee, v CITY OF NORTON SHORES, Defendant-Appellant.

UNPUBLISHED May 1, 2008

No. 272583 Muskegon Circuit Court LC No. 05-043703-AA

Before: Jansen, P.J., and Donofrio and Davis, JJ. PER CURIAM. Defendant appeals by leave granted the circuit court's judgment reversing the decision of the Norton Shores Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and ordering defendant to issue the building permit requested by plaintiff. We affirm. This action involves plaintiff's request to complete certain billboard repairs and alterations. Plaintiff acquired the billboard in 1998, but the billboard had been in existence at the same location since before defendant enacted its Zoning Ordinance in 1981. Plaintiff's billboard does not comply with the Ordinance because freestanding, off-premises signs are not permitted in the zoning district where the billboard is located. However, it is undisputed that the billboard constitutes a valid nonconforming use. In 2002, plaintiff began work to replace the billboard's supports and facing and to reduce the billboard's overall size by 21 percent. However, Norton Shores police officers ordered plaintiff to stop work and defendant refused to allow plaintiff to finish the project. Plaintiff applied for building permits to complete the project in 2003 and 2004, but defendant did not respond to these requests. When plaintiff again applied for a permit in September 2004, a Norton Shores community development official informed plaintiff that its request required a variance from the ZBA. Plaintiff then filed a variance request with the ZBA. The ZBA denied plaintiff's request, and plaintiff appealed that ruling to the circuit court pursuant to the former

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MCL 125.585.1 The circuit court remanded the case to the ZBA, concluding that the record was inadequate to conduct the review required by the former MCL 125.585(11). The ZBA again denied plaintiff's request, and that ruling was again appealed to the circuit court. The circuit court examined Norton Shores Ordinance

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