Planning commission to hold public hearing on zoning ordinance

by Angie Asam– Staff Writer

For more than two years the Rogers City planning commission has been working on revising and rewriting the zoning ordinance. The draft zoning ordinance, a complete redone ordinance, has been completed since early December and has been available for public review. Monday the planning commission will be holding a public hearing on the proposed zoning ordinance. Many changes are included in the proposed ordinance, many of which have been highlighted in the Advance over the last few weeks. The zoning map (see image) has been redone and revised with a few changes. The biggest change is the removal of the agricultural district, which used to run from the township line to near Bradley Highway. That district has been removed and that property has been rezoned as part of the general business district.

All the city parks are now zoned as recreational conservation districts, separating them from the parcels around them. The intent of the district is to protect and enhance areas of the city designated as open space, woodlands, wetlands, recreation and resource conservation that are one acre or greater in size. Buildings in the recreational conservation area cannot be taller than two stories or 25 feet whichever is less. The light industrial district located west of U.S.-23 along Cedar Street has been expanded some in the proposed ordinance and the formerly titled zone residential mobile home has been renamed to residential manufactured housing. The city has also removed R-3 single family residential combining it with R-2 to make one less district in the ordinance. New to the zoning ordinance is also the inclusion of the airport overlay. In general the new ordinance is more user-friendly and should make it easier for developers and those looking to make improvements to understand.

Changes have also

been made the inclusion of a use matrix, more diagrams and more organization. The downtown core is further defined and includes a complete street provision. Signs used to be regulated by a separate ordinance but are now included as a part of zoning. Site plans may now expire instead of being open-ended. Home occupations are further defined and encourage entrepreneurship in the city even allowing them to hire employees. Secondary dwelling units are allowed, one per lot, in the proposed ordinance. Changes to the general provisions for outdoor lighting have Rogers City on the leading edge of being dark sky compliant.

Overall the ordinance includes many changes but many of them are not really changes from what is seen around town but rather the ordinance has been changed to reflect better the reality of the way things are in the city. Anyone wishing to participate in the public hearing is encouraged to attend the planning commission meeting Monday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

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