Pontiac planning commission recommends denial of rezoning for 461 West Huron after residents raise parking and density concerns

The Pontiac Planning Commission voted 6-0 on Jan. 8 to recommend denial of a request to rezone 461 West Huron (parcel ID 1432-102-032) from P1 (parking) to R4 (multifamily elevator) after a public hearing in which neighbors and commissioners raised concerns about density, parking and neighborhood impacts.

Commission staff presented the application as a conditional rezoning submitted by Maple Valley Real Estate seeking to allow a multi-story apartment building on a parcel historically used as surface parking to serve Pontiac General Hospital. Corey Christiansen, senior planner, told the commission the P1 district “does not permit anything except parking,” and that approval would require buffering where the parcel abuts single-family homes.

The applicant had volunteered three conditions to be recorded with the rezoning: limit the building height to no more than six stories, increase landscape buffers along Green…