US-23 parcel rezoning request tabled

A rezoning request by Rogers City businessman Dick Bennett for US-23 property, between BJ?s Classic Auto and Mike Lynch Ford dealer, was tabled by members of the Rogers City Council Monday. That will give city manager John Bruning time to review the city?s Land Use Plan to see how the proposed change would apply to it. Council member Jim Sinclair also was absent from the meeting, so tabling the motion, which passed on a 3-1 vote, would give him a chance to have a voice in the matter at the next meeting.

Bennett is requesting council rezone two parcels along North Bradley Highway for potential sale. The property is currently zoned B-3, General Business District, and the request is for I-1, Light Industrial District.

Bennett received a call of interest about industrial property along US-23. Because the property remains undeveloped, he wanted to do something to make it more marketable, if a prospective developer came along. The inquiry Bennett had was for 30 acres with highway access. The land was to be the site of Vogelheim Lumber Company. The area was cleared, but the project fell through a few years ago.

COUNCIL MEMBER KARL HEIDEMANN is concerned that the change doesn?t follow the city?s master plan. ?Previous council spent thousands of dollars developing a plan for the city to grow in a reasonable, positive way,? Heidemann said. With no development in the works, Heidemann doesn?t believe it?s a good enough reason to make the change. ?It seems that along the highway is where you want to have businesses, not factories,? Heidemann said. ?We do have an area where we want factories and its available right now.?

?The only risk to the city is that we might get some jobs, which I thought was to be a worthwhile objective,? said mayor Beach Hall. The application for the zoning change was discussed at the October 13 meeting, but resulted in a deadlock 4-4 vote of the planning commission, so the request did not pass. It was explained to the planning commission that the Land Use Plan along US-23 is a commercial corridor, so the rezoning request is not in compliance with the current plan.

CHAIRMAN DEL CONLEY obtained estimates from city staff that indicate that there is 27.5 acres of property zoned I-1 and 11.5 acres zoned B-3. Another resolution to refer the request to council was approved, but planning commission members discussed an opinion from city attorney Mike Vogler on the action of the October 13 meeting, October 27. Planning commission members went over each question, line-by-line, Vogler said Monday. Neighboring business owners on US-23, who appeared at the October 27 meeting, are in favor of the request. They don?t believe it would affect property values and would support what ever it takes to bring more people and businesses to the community. ?We don?t know who wants it, or for what,? said Heidemann. ?All we know is it?s hearsay. There was a phone call, not even by a developer, but by a broker.? Heidemann said if a developer wanted the land they would put in an offer and make it contingent upon a zoning change.

?ONCE AGAIN, I don?t want to appear anti-business,? said Heidemann. ?I am so pro-business, you can?t believe it, but I don?t think it?s anti-business to follow proper procedures and to have a master plan and to stick to it so you have a cohesive community that is well planned and developed in a way that makes sense. Heidemann suggested getting input from the people who worked on the master plan. ?Some cities actually take their master plan seriously,? he continued. ?Maybe we don?t. Maybe we just say, ?you want to build a factory, build it where you want, we?ll do whatever we can to help you.?

?If you want to have wild animals, bring them in. If you want to have the entrance to a beautiful harbor-condominium, through a residential

area, pass by a sewage treatment plant, go ahead. Planning doesn?t really mean anything to us. So if that?s our attitude, we can go ahead with this.?

COUNCIL MEMBER DEB GREENE said ?It seems that we are making a lot of concessions these days. Anything will go, we are so desperate. We?ll take anything that comes along. I?m not under the assumption that we?re that desperate. We need to have growth that is managed, you don?t just let it happen because it?s there.? Hall said one reason for the up-front request was to not chase away any prospective buyer, who might be leery of going through the zoning change process.

?The biggest things to me,? said Hall, ?was the fact that the neighboring property owners were saying ?no problem.? In fact, most of them were saying ?anything to get people into town will be worthwhile.?? Bruning, who envisions retail type convenience shopping along the Bradley Highway corridor, believes the master plan was reviewed last in 1992 and revised in 1997.

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