Planning Commission Meeting 12/2/2021

Detailed briefing

Planning Commission Meeting — December 2, 2021 ATTENDEES: Bill Mulder, Vanessa Warren, Emily Devay, Andy Bowman, Al Daika, Rick Traczynski, Max Bassett, and George Peet were recorded present. Jack Deegan and Mark Boudet were recorded absent. • The commission approved its November 18 minutes as amended. Corrections included the spelling of Al Daika’s name and a duplicated reference under the approval-of-minutes item. No vote count was stated. • Members reviewed the first assembled draft of the updated master plan. Staff said the document reflects work completed over more than a year and that background analysis would be placed in an appendix. The group did not conduct a line-by-line review and invited members to send smaller edits within the next several days. • Staff outlined the adoption path: after additional edits, the draft could go to City Council for review of its basic content, then be distributed to affected municipalities and agencies for a 42-day comment period. The Planning Commission would later publish notice and hold a public hearing before considering adoption. City Council would then consider approval. Staff estimated final completion could be in April or May, depending on how the process proceeds. • Members said the plan is not yet complete without maps. The existing land-use map and future land-use map were expected to be included, along with a broader location map. Staff said Benchmark was working on map updates; a staff member said they would ask about progress when Jeff returned from vacation. Members asked that maps be sent electronically as usable PDFs. • The commission discussed language about housing and short-term rentals. Members considered adding an aspirational statement encouraging owner-occupied, full-time, and/or long-term occupancy. Staff cautioned against language that treats a specific housing type separately from housing generally. A member agreed to develop proposed wording with staff for the next draft; no formal vote was taken. • A member questioned the inclusion of the Emmet County Road Commission in a complete-streets priority, saying the city owns its streets. Staff said the reference was probably carried over from the prior document and could be removed. Worth watching: • Whether missing land-use maps are completed before the commission advances the master-plan draft. • The proposed housing-occupancy language and where it will be placed in the plan. • Whether the Emmet County Road Commission reference is removed from the complete-streets priority. Upcoming: The next meeting was identified as December 16; the master plan may be the only agenda item discussed. Why it matters: The master plan will guide future city planning priorities and land-use decisions once it completes the public-review and approval process.

No open public follow-ups are linked to this meeting yet.