Planning Commission sends proposed rezoning to city council

A family that lost its Superior Street home to fire has not been able to rebuild or sell the land their home once sat on due to restrictions set by present zoning guidelines. William Ganske of Rogers City approached the members of the Planning Commission Monday evening in hope of persuading them to approve rezoning to the area where his home once sat.

THE AREA in question is located at the north end of First Street, near the Wastewater Treatment Plant. At the present time, the area is zoned as Waterfront, and under its guidelines, any home that is built within it must also have a business attached. This requirement has made it near impossible for the Ganske family to sell the piece of property where their home existed. ?We have had a buyer interested in the land for about a year,? said Ganske, ?but we can?t move on the sale because of the zoning (issue).? The area was changed to Waterfront zoning about 20 years ago hoping to attract development. However, at the present time, the buildings that line the street in question are all family homes. The Waterfront zoning would thus prohibit any of these homes from being rebuilt as family dwellings, unless businesses were attached.

CITY MANAGER John Bruning questioned whether changing the Waterfront zoning to R-3 (residential) would be the best move for the city. ?It is a residential area now, and we are still hoping for development,? said Bruning. ?Changing it to R-3 completely would close any door to possible future development opportunities.? It was suggested to change the west side of First Street, which does not have lakefront access, to R-3 while leaving the east side as Waterfront. Commission member Ray Zielinski asked whether leaving one side as Waterfront would be ?penalizing? them in case of a disaster or need to rebuild. ?If we leave it at Waterfront on that side, then those people will not be able to rebuild,? said Zielinski. ?Isn?t that penalizing them??

Bruning explained that the suggested rezoning of one side of First Street and not the other would not disadvantage property owners, whether they are residential or business. He said that by changing one side, those property owners, including Ganske, would be able to rebuild, while the other side would still be open for development. It would be possible for homeowners on the east side of First Street to rebuild in case of a disaster under a special use permit. The approved rezoning of the west side of First Street, north of Huron and east of Second Street, was sent to the Rogers City Council for further approval.

THE LIGHT Industrial (I-1) zoning requirements to the Renaissance Zone near the airport were also up for discussion Monday evening. CDC director Bill Valentine was present at the meeting to request that the zoning be amended so as to accommodate all hopeful businesses that wish to locate there. As it stands, under I-1 zoning, some businesses that are interested in the properties could not locate there. Changing the restrictions would allow for numerous types of hopeful businesses to exist in the Ren Zone. The Planning Commission agreed to send its approval of zoning amendments for the Ren Zone to council. It scheduled a public hearing for the I-1 rezoning for its next meeting, June 26.