Lapeer planning commission recommends rezoning of 606 North Saginaw to allow neighborhood retail

The Lapeer City Planning Commission on Aug. 14 voted to recommend that the City Commission approve a rezoning of 606 North Saginaw Street (PID L20-18-700-040-000) from OS-1 (office service) to B-1 (neighborhood business).

Planning staff told commissioners the site is currently occupied by the Riverview Professional Building and is surrounded by single-family homes to the north and higher-intensity commercial property to the south. "The requested amendment rezoning from OS-1 to B-1 is not in compliance with the City Master Plan," planning staff said, citing the future land-use map classification of the parcel as medium-density single-family housing. Staff recommended approval, however, based on the second standard in section 7-2306(b) of the zoning ordinance: that the property cannot reasonably be used as currently zoned.

Why it matters: the commission must weigh the master plan designation against evidence that the owner has been unable to lease the building for office uses. Planning staff said the owner presented evidence of a multi-year, good-faith effort to find office tenants and noted significant interest from retail and service-oriented businesses that are permitted in B-1 but not in OS-1.

Evidence and discussion: staff showed maps and photos of the parcel at the corner of Saginaw and Mill streets and pointed out Riverview Towers immediately to the south. Staff listed typical OS-1 permitted uses (publicly owned buildings, medical offices, banks, data processing centers) and noted that the B-1 district adds only five uses beyond OS-1, including municipal buildings, post offices, laundromats, dry cleaners and retail establishments. Staff said the owner's principal rationale for the request was to allow retail uses as a permitted use, which could make the building leasable.

Staff also told the commission the property has apartments on the second floor that are an existing nonconforming use under OS-1; those apartment units may remain so long as they are not expanded. Commissioners asked whether apartments would be permitted if rezoned to B-1; staff said they would remain a nonconforming use under OS-1 and would be treated consistently with code if changes were proposed.

The public hearing drew no speakers. Michelle Berkeley, who identified herself at the meeting and addressed the commission, said the owner has invested in the building and plans further updates if tenants move in. She told the commission the owner has spent about $175,000 on the building over the past few years and that roughly $65,000 went toward ceiling work to meet fire-rating requirements; she said other interior and furnace repairs have also been made.

Commissioners discussed parking, fencing and building condition. Staff said parking estimates depend on the eventual tenant uses but that, under retail parking standards, small retail units on the site would likely meet the city's parking standard of one space per 300 square feet. Commissioners expressed concern about the site's fence and parking-lot condition and noted that site plan and zoning-permit reviews would be opportunities to address site maintenance and upgrades.

Action: A commissioner moved and the commission seconded a motion to recommend that the City Commission approve the rezoning request from OS-1 to B-1 for 606 North Saginaw (the motion referenced zoning standard 7-2306 and the property's PID). The motion passed on a voice vote with all commissioners voting aye; the planning commission—s action is a recommendation to the City Commission rather than a final rezoning.

What happens next: The planning commission forwarded its recommendation to the Lapeer City Commission for final consideration; the planning commission did not set conditions beyond standard site-plan and zoning-permit review requirements. Staff said future site-plan or zoning-permit reviews would be the occasions to require parking-lot repairs, striping, dumpster enclosures or other improvements.

Ending: The commission moved on to other business, including a separate site-plan extension request for a manufacturing addition elsewhere in the city.