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Board of Zoning Appeals chair urges recruits, cites vacancies and workload
Summary
Heather Dombrowski, chair of Marquette’s Board of Zoning Appeals, briefed commissioners on vacancies, duties under the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act and the board’s need for additional members and possible stipend consideration.
Heather Dombrowski, chair of the City of Marquette Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), briefed the city commission Monday about the BZA’s 2024 activity, vacancies and recruitment needs.
Dombrowski said the BZA had 12 scheduled meetings in 2024 and canceled seven due to no requests. She described the board’s responsibilities, citing the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act and the City of Marquette Land Development Code, including interpreting the code, hearing appeals of administrative decisions and granting variances. Dombrowski said the board often deals with variances and class A nonconforming uses.
She said the board is staffed by dedicated volunteers but “we could just use more” members, and suggested outreach to Northern Michigan University and service clubs as recruitment channels. Several commissioners thanked the BZA and acknowledged the workload; Commissioner Larson and Commissioner Hathaway specifically supported exploring a stipend to encourage service.
No formal action was taken; the presentation was informational and part of the commission’s boards and committees reporting.
