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Planning commission OKs site plan for Pearl Street housing

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Houghton City Manager Eric Waara gives an update to the Planning Commission as Chair Tom Merz listens.

HOUGHTON — The Houghton Planning Commission approved the site plan review for a new apartment complex on Pearl Street at its meeting Tuesday.

The new complex is in an area recently rezoned from R-3 to R-4, which permits denser development and allows for narrower setbacks and fewer parking spaces.

Aimed at students, the new complex will have 120 parking spots for 153 beds, more than the 76.5 that are required under R-4. To encourage students not to bring their own car, the complex will offer a car-sharing service or charge students extra for parking, project architect Barry Polzin said.

“Maybe you’re not going to get all the students, but you’re going to get a few more that say ‘OK, I don’t need a car, I’m just going to leave it there,'” he said. “…This is what’s happening throughout the world, so we might as well do it here, too.”

For bike racks, which have the same required number of 76.5, it will offer 180. Polzin said the space could also include a dedicated area in the garage for recycling.

About 23.3% of the site will be landscaped, above the 20% requirement, Waara said.

In an email, Planning Commission member Kristine Bradof suggested replacing the non-native plants listed in landscaping with comparable native plants that would provide value to pollinators and birds. The Wild Ones Keweenaw Chapter, a local landscaping group, has offered to assist in selecting the plants, Bradof wrote.

Polzin said the stormwater plans took into account the changes to sidewalk design that will come with the College Avenue construction project. TL Rentals applied for a stormwater permit in April but have yet to get approval from the Michigan Department of Transportation. The predominant issue would be roof runoff, Polzin said.

“It actually could flow by gravity … a pump might be the simplest way to do that, but we haven’t haven’t gotten into the details of that yet,” he said. “We’re waiting on the confirmation of the quantity that’s going to take.”

The commission approved the site plan, contingent on the project receiving MDOT permits. The vote was 5-0 with Planning Commission member Jen Julien abstaining due to owning a nearby property.

In other action, the commission:

— Heard from Waara the city has been sued by the company that owns the Econo Foods property. The suit regards the new Kentucky Fried Chicken slated to open next year on an outparcel in front of the Evangel Community Church building. During a site plan review hearing in July, an attorney for the property owners argued the KFC proposal violated an agreement made with ShopKo, which was formerly at the Evangel site.

— Heard from Waara the city was looking into a new wayfinding sign for the Fire Station on Sharon Avenue last week, which he said had violated multiple city ordinances. Waara said he and Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Jepsen have spent 10 hours between them reviewing the history of the sign, which is on city property. The Michigan Department of Transportation will also be reviewing paper records on the sign, which falls under its definition of a billboard.

“We want to make sure that we have all the facts before we contact the dealer, so we can do it once and do it right,” he said.

— Discussed the city’s master plan, which is due to be revised in 2023. Chair Tom Merz recommended continuing past practices by having subcommittees look at different chapters at public meetings before holding open houses. The Commission also discussed how to get public input on what questions should be asked in the survey that will be sent prior to the completion of the master plan.

The commission also talked about whether to develop a subarea plan for the downtown.

Polzin suggested a charrette such as the one the city had considered would be unnecessary, as the city has most of the information it would need. Waara said a charrette would be more useful for determining the fate of a particular site, but less so for the broader downtown. Vice Chair Bill Leder questioned if the master plan subcommittee formed earlier this year should continue, as the pace of revision would not allow it to continue its goal of updating two chapters at a time.

“Everybody’s going to be involved, and those of us who have been on the committee will obviously have some input based on our discussions,” he said. “But it’s hard for me to see a need for that committee to continue with this.

— Heard an update from Waara on repairs to the Lakeshore Center, where a portion of the dock collapsed. The city, Michigan Technological University and the National Park Service will meet to discuss a long-term solution. Michigan Tech did an underwater remotely operated vehicle survey of the Dee Stadium and the Ranger dock.

“Luckily there wasn’t anything scary,” he said.

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