Rogers City zoning ordinance has many changes
by Angie Asam, Staff Writer
Members of the Rogers City planning commission in partnership with Denise Cline of the Northeast Michigan Council of Governments (NEMCOG) have been working on redoing the zoning ordinance for more than two years. A subcommittee made up of city assistant engineer Toby Kuznicki and planning commission members Del Conley, Milt Very and Ray Zwolinski worked with Cline on the ordinance, which is now published in draft form.
A public hearing will be held at the planning commission?s January meeting to seek input on the revised ordinance before it is recommended to the city council for adoption. Copies of the ordinance can be found at city hall or online at www.rogerscity.com. The revamped ordinance is more user-friendly and easier for a user to read and understand what is required. A use matrix, which highlights what can be put in what zoning districts has also been added, something Kuznicki feels makes it very easy for someone coming in to plan for their type of development by knowing what districts it is allowed in and if a special use permit is required.
With many more diagrams and much more organization the reworked ordinance is easier to flip through and find what is needed specific to a zoning district or development. In the former version of the ordinance there was an agricultural zoning district, that property has been changed to commercial and zoned B-3. The property includes that along M-68 to the city limits on both sides as well as the land bordering Airport Road. With the change agricultural no longer exists as a zoning district within the city. Prior to the revision three residential districts existed in R-1, R-2 and R-3 districts. Now R-1 contains all of the bigger residential lots while R-2 serves as the zoning for both R-2 and R-3 eliminating R-3 from the ordinance.
Many of the changes are not really changes from what people see in Rogers City but rather make the ordinance reflect the reality of the way things are in town. Setbacks are one of those things that have been changed to reflect how things have been. THE AIRPORT overlay, which nearly doubled in size when the runway was extended in 2006 is now included in the ordinance. ?It impacts properties that it didn?t used to. What people didn?t realize is that it comes into play for guidelines on density and what can be done in that area,? said Kuznicki.
Although the entire central business district is zoned as B-2 the revised ordinance further defines the downtown core, the area along Third Street from Ontario to Huron Avenue. In the core, new buildings must be a minimum of two stories and a maximum of three stories with no side setbacks required. The downtown also has a complete street provision added to it, which includes bike racks, biking, walking, circulation and parking, and sidewalks. For parking in the central business district it is now stated that public parking can be used if available and can be used until it runs out, meaning businesses no longer have to construct parking facilities. Signs used to be a separate ordinance in the city but have now been incorporated into the zoning ordinance for conformity. All definitions within the ordinance have been refined and expanded to reflect the present.
A RECREATION conservation district is another addition to the zoning ordinance and it highlights all of the city parks, making them easy to identify. Site plans used to be open ended; if they were approved they did not have an expiration date even if the work did not start. The new ordinance really changed that policy as the site plan expires in one year if no work has begun although extensions may be applied for. The whole process of site plan review has now been changed as well. Plot plans are now included for smaller projects while site plans are used for larger projects. In addition staff ca
Although the prior ordinance did allow for home occupations the language was quite vague. The new ordinance includes home occupations and cottage industries, which can now exist in residential neighborhoods to encourage entrepreneurship in the city and allows these types of businesses to hire employees. Along M-68 as an entrance to town a new provision states that a natural buffer of at least 70 feet has to be left. The land cannot be completely clear-cut and only the area needed for an access drive shall be cleared.
SECONDARY DWELLING units are allowed in residential districts in the revised ordinance. These are second houses, smaller than the primary house that can be attached or detached from the primary house and used for housing grandparents or other family members. Only one secondary dwelling is allowed per lot and there are restrictions to it. The section of the ordinance dealing with seasonal use sales has been greatly expanded and has more regulations than the previous ordinance. Rooming and boarding houses are allowed as an accessory use but cannot house more than five people in addition to family. MANY CHANGES are proposed in the new ordinance, but overall the change should make the zoning more user-friendly and easier to understand.