Planning commission approves minor amendment to Lakeshore ‘Sandbox’ PUD; residents press for parking, view and wetland safeguards

The Muskegon City Planning Commission on an item concerning the Lakeshore “Sandbox” development approved a minor amendment to the site’s planned unit development (PUD), changing parcel layouts, removing two multifamily buildings and adding single-family lots while requiring the final site plan to include all buildable elements.

The amendment affects parcels at 3434–606474 Wilcox Avenue, 1875 Waterworks Road and 1490 Edgewater Street and modifies lot depths, parking configurations and a sidewalk connection to the boardwalk. Planning staff told the commission the original PUD was approved in June 2019 and that this would be the third amendment to that approval.

Why it matters: The revision alters the mix and placement of residences along the city’s waterfront and shifts parking and road layouts that residents say will change views and noise patterns for nearby Harbour Town condominiums. The commission’s approval, taken as a minor amendment, allows the planning body to act without forwarding a major recommendation but includes conditions—most notably that the developer show all buildable features on the final site plan and attempt to move the northern end of a newly configured parking…