Kalamazoo planning commission backs rezoning at Vine and Burdick for five‑story mixed‑use project

The Kalamazoo City Planning Commission on May 1 voted to recommend rezoning six parcels at the corner of Vine and Burdick from Live Work 1 to Downtown 3, a change the developer said is needed to build a five‑story mixed‑use project with ground‑floor retail, roughly 80 residential units and an early‑learning center.

City planner Christina Anderson told commissioners the two zoning districts share permitted uses and lot types under the city's form‑based code but differ on maximum height and impervious‑surface standards: Live Work 1 allows up to three stories and roughly 80% impervious coverage, while Downtown 3 permits up to five stories and near‑100% coverage. Anderson said the parcels are in an "area of transition" between downtown and adjacent neighborhoods and that rezoning requests must follow the city's public participation policy.

Nut graf: The rezoning would allow a taller, denser building on a corner the city and neighborhood plans identify for mixed‑use development. Supporters say it advances the city's master‑plan and housing goals; neighbors urged continued outreach about design and impacts on nearby properties.

Developer Jamari Bogan, CEO of Bogan Developments, described the proposal as workforce housing with neighborhood amenities. "This project is a mixed use development that will revitalize a critical corner in our Vine neighborhood," Bogan said, adding the project would replace a long‑standing liquor store and other low‑intensity uses. He said the team includes Kalamazoo Ford Ventures, Bronson, AVB, Tower Pinkster and Hurley & Stewart and that the developer recently received historic‑district commission approval to demolish several existing structures along West Vine.

Tower Pinkster project architect Jason Novotny said the development as currently conceived would stay under the 80% impervious threshold and include green‑space amenities and a playground adjacent to the proposed preschool. Novotny said the ground floor is planned for retail and commercial uses with three separate commercial spaces "as conceptually designed right now." He said the building steps down from five stories on Burdick to three stories toward Vine to respect neighborhood scale.

Public comment included long‑range partners and nearby residents. Greg Milliken, who described the project's origins in the Bronson Healthy Living District planning, said the block was targeted because of blight and parcel availability and that the vision has long called for greater intensity on Burdick. Resident Karen Williams, who submitted a letter, thanked planners for due diligence and said her primary concern is how close the downtown zoning would come to properties on Rose Street; she urged ongoing, targeted outreach beyond neighborhood association notices.

Commission discussion in the public hearing was broadly supportive. Commissioners who spoke praised the multi‑year visioning work and the project's alignment with neighborhood and downtown goals, calling it an improvement over the current uses on the corner.

A commissioner moved the staff recommendation to rezone the listed parcels from Live Work 1 to Downtown 3; another member seconded. The planning commission recorded a roll‑call affirmative vote and approved the recommendation. The transcript records the roll call and several commissioners saying "yes," and earlier in the hearing two commissioners indicated they needed to abstain because of employment or board affiliations; the transcript does not attribute those abstentions to specific names. The formal record in the transcript does not list a full, named vote tally for every seated commissioner.

Clarifying details in the record: the rezoning request covers six parcels (addresses listed in the staff presentation as 802 S. Burdick; 814 S. Burdick; 8202 S. Burdick; 8204 S. Burdick; 107 W. Vine; and 115 W. Vine); Live Work 1 permits up to three stories and approximately 80% impervious coverage; Downtown 3 permits up to five stories and near‑100% coverage; the developer described the residential portion as "approximately 80 units" (also referred to as "about 80" or "88 residential units" in places) and said the early‑learning center would serve about 40–50 students and be roughly 3,000–4,000 square feet; the developer said the project would use state employer‑housing programs and referenced layered affordability commitments (mentions of 10, 20 and 30‑year terms were made in the hearing but specific unit counts under each commitment were not specified).

Discussion vs. decision: the transcript clearly separates the presentation and public comment (discussion) from the formal motion and roll‑call approval (decision). The planning commission's vote in the meeting transcript is recorded as a recommendation to rezone; the transcript does not specify subsequent steps or final city‑commission action.

Ending: The developer said the team is "on an accelerated timeline" and is optimistic about breaking ground next year; the planning commission gave its recommendation to rezone at the May 1 meeting and commissioners encouraged continued neighborhood engagement as the project moves forward.