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Planning Commission recommends cottage-court zoning changes to City Commission
Summary
Staff presented a zoning amendment to create regulations that allow cottage court developments; commissioners discussed parking, unit counts and design standards and voted to recommend the amendment to the City Commission.
The City of Muskegon Planning Commission voted Feb. 13 to recommend to the City Commission an amendment to the zoning ordinance to create regulations allowing cottage court developments.
Planning staff explained the amendment would define cottage court developments, add general provisions and allow the development type as a use by right in several form-based code zoning districts. Staff said the city has already worked with a developer in the Nims neighborhood to achieve a similar pattern without a formal ordinance and that the amendment would codify the approach and simplify future approvals.
Staff provided density comparisons: in the R zone, single-family is 15 dwelling units per acre, duplexes on minimum lot size are 22 units per acre and triplexes 26 units per acre. Staff said three cottage-court houses on one of these lots would be about 13 units per acre; doubling that yields about 26 units per acre, comparable to duplex/triplex allowances.
Commissioners asked about parking arrangements (staff said a parking lot in the rear would be required and parking must not open directly into a central courtyard unless a building provided separation). Staff confirmed one parking space per unit would be required. Commissioners discussed pedestrian orientation, courtyard design and whether streets could run between buildings and courtyards; staff said the ordinance would preclude courtyard-facing parking and emphasize green space.
After discussion, a motion was made to recommend the zoning amendments (identified in the record as amendments to section 400 and articles 2 and 20) to the City Commission for approval; the motion passed on a roll-call vote with commissioners recording affirmative votes. Commissioners expressed support for cottage courts as a housing option amid Muskegon's housing needs.
The recommendation does not itself change zoning; it sends the proposed ordinance language to the City Commission for final action. Further adjustments, design standards and any map changes would be considered at subsequent steps in the legislative process.
