Adrian City Commission to consider complete overhaul of 'outdated' zoning ordinance
ADRIAN — Discussions regarding a complete overhaul of the city of Adrian’s zoning ordinance could reach their conclusion at Monday's Adrian City Commission meeting.
The city commission is considering an agreement with SmithGroup to rewrite Adrian’s entire zoning ordinance, a process that is expected to take a full year, at least, to complete. It will be part of the commission's meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, May 1, at the City Chambers building in downtown Adrian.
SmithGroup has been asked to complete the ordinance rewrite — if the commission chooses to go down such a path — because of its working relationship with the city, Adrian City Administrator Greg Elliott said. It is currently working with the city on the Downtown Adrian Riverfront vision plan and project, which includes residential development along North Winter Street, new parks and open space, walking trails, public amenities and a renewed focus on the ecosystem of the River Raisin.
Adrian could receive financial support, to the tune of at least $25,000, Elliott said, to overhaul and rework its zoning ordinance from the Redevelopment Ready Communities program, which is part of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. In early March, Adrian achieved the “Essentials” status in the Redevelopment Ready Communities program because of its continued efforts in establishing a streamlined development process and for finetuning its overall community vision.
Because of Adrian's new status, the city is qualified for additional financial assistance from the MEDC. The $25,000, Elliott said, is budgeted toward the zoning ordinance rewrite, which is intended to bring the ordinance into alignment with the city’s comprehensive plan.
Elliott was not too blunt when he said Adrian’s zoning ordinance is “quite outdated.”
“There are a number of tasks related to implementing the new comprehensive plan, but then also just bringing our (zoning) ordinance into line with good practices and modern ways of thinking,” he said. “(The ordinance) is quite outdated and internally conflicting in a number of ways. It makes sense to just kind of scrap what we have and start fresh, and that’s what this proposal does.”
Representatives from SmithGroup, including Allison Bishop, gave an overview of the ordinance rewrite proposal for the commission during its April 17 premeeting work study session.
The intent of the rewrite, Bishop said, is to start from scratch, consolidate districts, add user-friendly elements and ensure the zoning ordinance meets MEDC’s and RRC’s best practices. The starting point for this process, she said, is the creation of an advisory committee consisting of city staff and representatives from Adrian’s planning and city commissions.
The scope of services, she said, will be broken down into four phases: “Understanding,” “Zoning Ordinance Audit,” “Ordinance Development” and “Final Review and Adoption.”
“Throughout the process, we would meet with a steering committee to make sure that we're headed down the right path,” she said.
The project, if approved, would begin at the end of the summer and wrap up in May 2024, Bishop said. That is generally the timeline for an ordinance rewrite, she added, permitting plans are not derailed and issues do not arise.
SmithGroup is proposing to complete the scope of services for a fixed fee of $50,000.
Before the rewritten ordinance is finalized and adopted, a public hearing and presentation would be held prior to the final draft is presented for adoption by the city commission.
In other business
The Adrian City Commission recently:
• Approved a modified ordinance with the owner of the Riverview Terrace Apartments building at 400 College Ave. providing for a Payment in Liew of Taxes (PILOT) for the property to assist the owners in operating the building under the terms of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s (MSHDA) additional income limitations. The limitations have been imposed as a condition of grant funding Riverview Terrace will receive in order to rehabilitate and reopen the building since it was deemed structurally unsafe in July 2022. A proposed municipal services agreement with the city will pay Adrian $27,700 per year with an increase of 3% annually, which, when coupled with property taxes generated by the modified PILOT ordinance, will provide the city as much or more revenue, Elliott said, than the minimum amount the current PILOT ordinance produced. The agreement was approved by the city and signed by Marvin Veltkamp, general partner with the Adrian Riverview Terrace Limited Dividend Housing Association Limited Partnership.
• Approved a subscription agreement with Flock Group Inc. that will be utilized by the Adrian Police Department to capture images of license plates to assist the department and other police agencies with investigations. The agreement, which was proposed to the commission in March by Adrian Police Chief Vince Emrick, will install 10 license plate reader cameras along main thoroughfares in and out of the city. Costs for the subscription service include $3,000 per camera for a subtotal of $30,000. Hardware and professional services costs rolled into that subtotal bring the first-year subscription cost to $36,000. The police department, Emrick said, is requesting a two-year subscription, stating, “I believe it will be a great help in fighting the types of reoccurring issues we have in the city.” There will be “diligence involved," he said, when determining where the cameras will be placed throughout the city. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will be consulted when looking at possible installation locations along U.S. 223 and M-34. The process of installing the cameras, Emrick said, could stretch from six weeks to as much as four months before all 10 of the cameras are in place.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian City Commission looking to rewrite zoning ordinance
