Planning commission recommends ordinance amendment to tie PUD occupancies to 'reasonable progress' and final compliance

The City of Muskegon Planning Commission on March 27 recommended that the City Commission approve a staff-initiated amendment to section 21 0 1 of the zoning ordinance to require the zoning administrator to verify PUD-plan compliance before issuing certificates of occupancy.

Staff presented the proposed amendment as a response to recurring compliance problems on planned-unit developments (PUDs), citing the Harbour Town example in which sidewalks were not installed for decades. The original proposed language would have required the zoning administrator to "ensure compliance with all of the provisions and requirements of the PUD plan and construction and placement of all the improvements therein before a certificate of occupancy is issued for any building within the PUD." Several commissioners said that phrasing read as inflexible and could prevent phased projects from receiving occupancy when reasonable progress is being made.

The mayor proposed a friendly amendment that the commission adopt language providing staff more discretion during build-out. Under the revised wording the zoning administrator "shall ensure reasonable progress is being made to comply with all of the provisions and requirements of the PUD plan and construction and placement of all of the improvements therein before a certificate of occupancy may be issued for any building within the PUD." The revision adds a second sentence requiring complete compliance for the final elements or final building of the PUD before a final certificate of occupancy is issued.

Commissioners and staff also discussed tools to secure completion of public and amenity improvements if a developer fails to finish work, including performance guarantees such as a letter of credit. Planning staff and the city manager noted the city’s existing performance-guarantee language (referenced in the meeting as section 23 25) can be used but that explicit ordinance language can clarify the city’s authority to require performance guarantees tied to specific PUD amenities.

After discussion, the commission voted to recommend the amended language to the City Commission for approval and suggested staff return with final drafting to match the intent to allow professional discretion for phased projects while protecting final PUD elements. Roll call recorded approvals by Commissioner Anne Johnson; Commissioner Will (as recorded); Commissioner Seifer; Commissioner Montgomery Keys; Commissioner Blake; and Commissioner Simmons. The motion carried.

Staff said the amendment would give planning staff a formal tool to require checklists and signoffs during construction phases and that the final element of a PUD would still require full completion before the terminal certificate of occupancy would be released. Commissioners asked staff to return with refined ordinance text if necessary before the City Commission hearing.