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Superintendent updates board on Ford Lane construction-trades project, appeal denied
Summary
District superintendent told the board that plans for a student-led homebuilding construction-trades program on district-owned property near Ford Lane have stalled after a zoning requirement blocked the original permit; the district appealed but the appeal was denied in 2025.
The Southgate Community School District superintendent updated the board on the district's effort to establish a construction-trades instructional program on district-owned property near Ford Lane and said recent zoning requirements have prevented the district from proceeding as planned.
The superintendent said the board in 2022 authorized the district to pursue a city construction-trades instructional program in which students would build homes and sell them to community members; proceeds would be returned to fund additional homes. The district selected property near Ford Lane and, with the city, developed a site plan for eight houses to be built over a 15-year period and a house design to be used in the program.
In March 2024 the board approved the Helen Street Sewer project to provide utilities for the proposed houses, and the district reported it spent $119,000 in preparation for the project. The district awarded a foundation bid intended to begin the first house in 2025, but the building permit was denied because of a zoning ordinance the superintendent described as requiring a first-floor brick exterior for houses in developments of four or more units. The superintendent said the district had not been aware of that requirement when it planned the project.
The district appealed the permit denial in April 2025; students' ability to perform masonry work was a factor the superintendent cited as diminishing the instructional value under the ordinance's requirement. The superintendent said the appeal was denied in 2025. In August 2025 the city and district signed an agreement to extend timelines to allow further examination by both parties, but in September 2025 the district received notice the city did not intend to move forward on the matter. The superintendent told the board the update was intended to keep the board and community informed and that the board had another agenda item later in the meeting to discuss the issue further.
No formal board action on the Ford Lane project was taken at this meeting.
Board members did not receive additional public comment on the item at this session; the superintendent said staff will return with further information at a future meeting.
