EDC to weigh in on zoning ordinance

By TOM LAVENTURE

[email protected]

Ironwood — After three years of work the city of Ironwood plans to have its revised zoning ordinance ready for approval by the end of the year and after various commissions and boards review the document.

In his reports to the Ironwood Economic Development Commission on Wednesday, Tom Bergman, director of city community development, said consultants are creating hyperlinks to assist users in navigating the online zoning ordinance to relevant sections. Once that is complete the role of the EDC will be to review specific sections.

“The thought would be to look at it from the developer’s perspective,” Bergman said. “If I’m a developer coming into the community, how easy is it to get through these things?”

The revised zoning ordinance is also to bring consistency with the city’s master plan and comprehensive plan, he said. The comprehensive plan emphasizes the importance of development friendly zoning regulations.

The revised ordinance will also improve the scoring with a Redevelopment Ready Communities Development Sites application with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Bergman said. An “RRC 2.0” certification will prequalify the city for a number of MEDC resources.

The zoning ordinance will be more consistent with RRC guidelines, he said. But more importantly, the document will be more accessible and user friendly for developers in terms of providing clear information on requirements and permit applications.

As this is the primary document of the city planning agency, the planning commission will do the most vetting and hold the public hearing prior to making a decision to recommend adoption to the city commission. The EDC is not required to make a recommendation but it would assist the planning commission with its review, he said.

The EDC will review sections such as the site plan review process to provide feedback on language and navigation and see if it all makes sense from the user’s standpoint, he said. The users should understand the requirements.

An ordinance of this type contains language to remind users that, in order to complete one section, the applicant must first satisfy the requirements of another section, he said. The EDC can review the sections to see if it all makes sense and flows well from a developer’s standpoint, he said.

“So that’s where you guys come into play as the Economic Development Corporation, that you’re sort of the heart of economic development in the community,” Bergman said. “Therefore, your review to make sure that it is a development friendly document and that doesn’t mean I can come in and do whatever I want, it means there’s a clear expectation.”

The purpose of the RRC 2.0 certification is to provide clear and consistent development requirements. This is accomplished in the new by more clearly defining city expectations on site plan development by the type of project, he said.

The revision will hopefully reduce the volume of calls regarding clarification of requirements in the ordinance, Bergman said. It should simultaneously reduce the need for the planning commission to interpret ordinance language.

The new ordinance uses case sensitive flow tables to separate small projects from the more detailed processes and requirements of larger project development, he said. That also takes unnecessary burden off of the EDC and planning commission reviews, he said.

“You should have the ability to run a short form and more intricate evaluation,” said one board member.

In other business, Bergman said the adult-use marijuana establishments and license application process has moved into the preliminary license phases. The city staff are now finalizing applicant agreements using the scoring rubrics to ensure that business practices follow what was proposed and applicants will need a state license before a city license is approved.

“So they have all been sent letters on what our requirements are now to issue the license,” Bergman said.

The next regular EDC meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6 at the Memorial Building with a virtual attendance option.