Significant Changes in Zoning Require Another Public Hearing

IRONWOOD, MI- Tuesday, April 21, 2009 - The Ironwood Planning Commission (IPC) held another Public Hearing on the redesigned Zoning Ordinance at 6:00 PM yesterday evening. Attending the hearing were Planning Commissioners: Chairman John Wyssling; Margaret Rayner; Sam Davey; LeRoy Johnson; Jackie Powers; and Deb Bowles. Eric Lytwyniuk was absent, and ex officio member Bob Burchell was excused. Also in attendance were City Staffers: Community Development Director Dan Petersen, IPC Secretary Jane Bowman and City Manager Scott Erickson. City Commissioner Gemma Lamb attended the entire meeting, and Commissioner Tom Laabs made a brief appearance. Ironwood Daily Globe Reporter Ralph Ansami and myself were present representing the media.

Many believed that last night's meeting would be a short one, however, that was not to be the case. Once again the IPC plowed through the Ordinance making certain that every "I" was dotted and that every "T" was crossed. Jackie Powers pointed out several inconsistencies that needed to be corrected. LeRoy Johnson also had issues and concerns that needed to be addressed.

Johnson's first concern was that an adequate notice of public hearing was posted. He was assured by Dan Petersen and Jane Bowman that notice appeared in the Globe as required by law. Johnson asked if there were any other notices sent out. John Wyssling and other Commissioners said they saw it posted on the Chronicle website. Dan Petersen explained that there would be no reason for individual notices to be sent out because the re-write was a "general re-write" that didn't target any specific business or individual, and it would change any of the existing land uses within the City.

When Chairman Wyssling asked if there were any other comments or questions by Planning Commissioners, Jackie Powers spoke up. She said, "I have a lot!"

To which a somewhat disappointed John Wyssling responded, "I wasn't really ready for that!"

Powers went on to say that she had several items that she believed need attention. She stated that she had a suggestion and a confession as well. Her confession was that she misunderstood her assignment from the last meeting which was to sit down with LeRoy Johnson to go over the bylaws. She told the Commission that she instead spent several hours going over the proposed ordinance. She said that -- in doing so, she discovered a significant number of additional typos and inconsistencies but she only found a few items that involved the content of the document. Her suggestion was that she go over her findings with Dan and make the changes, and present them at the next meeting.

Dan Petersen told the Commission that any substantive changes to the document would require another Public Hearing. He said the Commission can make minor grammatical, typographical, spelling and punctuation changes without public input, but any major changes to content would require another public hearing.

Some of the issues that Powers spoke of included:

Snow Storage - in one part of the document, it states that 10% of available parking spaces must be set aside for snow storage and in another part it stated that 20% must be set aside. Dan Petersen pointed out that the inconsistency was due to the fact that the Ordinance was discussing two different zones.

Garage Sizes - there were several inconsistent statements regarding what size garage would be allowed on any given parcel. Margaret Rayner explained that the varying garage sizes related to varying sized parcels.

Chickens & Horses - the way the draft document reads - a farm of 10 acres is required to raise chickens, but only 5 acres is required to raise horses. (IPC Commissioner Rayner pointed out that, due to the odoriferous nature of chicken manure, more land is required.)

Setbacks - in the definitions of terms, the document states that the term "setback" is not used in the Ordinance, yet the term appears at least a dozen time throughout the document. The IPC agreed to remove the statement that the term was not used in the draft Ordinance. LeRoy Johnson pointed out that there was no mention whatsoever of the term in the existing Ordinance.

Attached Zoning Map - according to the wording of the draft, a copy of the zoning map is attached. No such map is a part of the document. Commissioner Rayner explained that the map is so large that it would not be easily reduced without losing most of the important details. Dan Petersen explained that he didn't have a digital copy of the map, so it would be very difficult for him to recreate a detailed reduction. He explained that Tri-Media Corporation created the map, and to his knowledge, the company is no longer in business. Johnson asked who created the MMHP map. Powers explained that Ken Hazel created it on his Mac, and the Print Shop printed the large copies for the organization. It was agreed that the wording should be changed to state that the map is available for viewing in the City Offices.

Obsolete Sign Ordinance - Powers wondered why there was no mention of obsolete signs in the document. Rayner explained that the matter was discussed and removing some electrical signs (for example from sign posts) could expose the electrical components of the signs and destroy them. Especially in the cases where the space is still available for rent or purchase of a viable business, it would be cost prohibitive for a new owner/operator of a business to replace damaged sign components that would be needlessly exposed to the elements. Rayer used Ryan's Restaurant as an example stating that the new owner of that business ended up spending $2,500 more due to the fact that the sign was needlessly exposed to extreme weather conditions when the old owner removed the sign's side panels. Dan Petersen pointed out that Powers efforts did result in the creation of a sign maintenance policy that is part of the ordinance, however.

Powers asked about signs that wouldn't be affected by properly removing them. Petersen explained that some of the City's signs might have historical significance. Johnson expressed his concern for the obsolete signs that hang over the street and are obviously safety hazards. Wyssling explained that such violations would be blight issues. Petersen explained that such an issue was also addressed in the new Zoning Ordinance. Rayner explained that the new Blight Officer is very dedicated and all that would need to be done is to contact him to get some of these violations corrected.

Non-Conforming Structures - Powers asked for a clarification of the rebuilding of non-conforming structures. Rayner explained that an existing building that burns down can be reconstructed on the same footprint without any special approvals or variances.

Berms as Part of a Fence -  Powers noted that there was no mention in the fence portion of the ordinance that prohibited the use of a berm (built-up strip of fill material to increase the grade of a lot) when building a fence. She pointed out that City Commissioner Tom Laabs explained how many people have been constructing fences taller than allowable by simply increasing the amount of ground "at ground level." The IPC agreed that the language regarding fences needs to address the issue, and it wasn't clearly stated in the draft.

Outdoor Commercial Storage - Powers asked the Commission why the Ordinance didn't prohibit outdoor storage of goods or materials. When Rayner asked Powers if this was currently an issue downtown, Powers cited two examples: the CN Railroad stores railroad ties next to the Historic Depot Museum; Woodtech Construction stores concrete construction forms and other building materials in the back of their building. Petersen told Powers that downtown businesses could make the argument that these items are necessary to their business. Powers asked why the standards for the City's downtown are more lax than they are for the industrial park. Rayner explained that the industrial park didn't wish to have materials and goods stacked all over the place. Powers asked why we don't expect the same standard for our downtown. Wyssling cautioned that forcing some of these businesses to comply with stricter standards may just drive businesses out of the downtown.

This reporter pointed out that one seldom sees these kind of violations in other communities. Privacy fencing is one solution. I also pointed out that there is a big difference between merchandise; equipment; and just junk. Powers told the Commission that, at some point, a decision needs to be made that the City either values its community or it doesn't.  Decisions need to made as to which things are tolerable and which things are making the City an unattractive place to shop at; visit or relocate to.

John Wyssling asked how many people have ever called in and complained about rail road ties being stacked downtown. Powers pointed out that the Woodtech and the railroad tie issues come up at nearly every Downtown Ironwood Development Authority (DIDA) meeting. Deb Bowles echoed Powers claims stating that she has heard the complaint at a number of other meetings as well. She said the last mention she recalled was that the City Manager and Petersen were going to go discuss the issue with both parties. Petersen explained that the City did approach the railroad company expressing an interest in purchasing the property. He stated that acquisition of the land would make it possible for the City to create a centrally located park within the downtown. He said that the company was willing to work with the City provided they had a building and location where they could conduct their business as usual. He cautioned that the railroad company employed people locally and that "strong-arming" them could have negative consequences.

Petersen continued by saying that the railroad company would trade their land for similar land elsewhere in the City, but the need a building. Petersen estimated that creating a building that would be suitable for their needs would cost approximately $60,000.

Rayner pointed out that the railroad allows people to park on their property during the Festival Ironwood, and antagonizing them might not be a good idea. Powers pointed out that the City is selectively enforcing the law by allowing some entities to do pretty much what they wish while others are fined and sanctioned for much lesser offenses. Powers said that it doesn't matter if you classify the stacked railroad ties as merchandise, materials, or simply junk -- they simply don't belong in the heart of our downtown -- especially on land that abuts the Ironwood Depot which is on the National Registry of Historic Places. "To me, it's an industrial application in a commercial zone." Powers said.

Powers said that defending the railroad also excuses other businesses such as Woodtech and Paulsen's Tire Store. She said poorly stacked lumber and masses of  old tires are not exactly attractive things. She said that Paulsen's was stacking tires before they closed. Now it might be considered blight, but while they were open, it was considered outdoor storage.

Johnson pointed out that the current Ordinance prohibits outdoor storage of goods, etc. in the Commercial Districts. He suggested that permits be issued to regulate the storage of goods. If a business stores items outside without the permit, the City can take action. With a permit certain rules can also be initiated that would restrict the manner in which items were stored. In the end, the IPC decided to blend the old with the new and they created a compromised solution to the problem.

Drive-Ins -vs- Drive-Thrus (Drive-Ups) - Powers pointed out that the ordinance addresses drive-ins, but doesn't mention Drive-Thrus. Drive-thru verbiage was added.

Up North and Historical Themes -  Powers explained that there is no place where a developer would know that the City desires them to follow certain standards that would follow specific themes. The Commission decided that such wording be added to the plan application materials. Sam Davey suggested that photos be available to show people examples of what the City desires.

LeRoy Johnson then presented one main concerns he had regarding the draft Ordinance, in addition to several minor inconsistencies in the document.

Home Occupations & Conditional Use Permits - Johnson pointed out that the proposed ordinance was poorly written because it appeared that a public hearing would need to take place and a conditional use permit would have to be applied for every time a home business were to open -- whether or not the business was already deemed as permissible within the City. The wording was changed to clarify the Ordinance.

After going through the Draft Ordinance at last night's meeting, the IPC decided that there were significant enough changes that another Public Hearing was warranted. According to law, a 15 day public notice is required. The IPC decided, with the assistance of City Commissioner Gemma Lamb, to hold a Public Hearing and a Special Meeting on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 5:15 PM. That way City can hold take action on this Ordinance at their regular meeting on May 11th.

Before the meeting was adjourned, the IPC tabled any action on the Ordinance, and allowed Dan Petersen to address the Commission. Petersen told the IPC that a "Small Town Designs" Conference was being held in Marquette on May 7th at 9:30 AM. The cost of the Conference was $15 and the City would pick up the tab for the cost.