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Neighbors, Former ZBA Chair Say 500 Rose Street Construction Exceeds Approved Variance
Summary
Residents and the former Zoning Board of Appeals chair told council and the ZBA that work at 500 Rose Street departs from the variance granted in June 2023 and that the variance lapsed before construction began.
Laurie Paul, a former chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, and nearby residents told the Petoskey City Council and Zoning Board of Appeals that construction at 500 Rose Street appears to exceed the scope of a variance granted in June 2023.
Paul said the ZBA's motion at the June 2023 meeting authorized reconstruction "to replace as closely to the original structure as possible," including a height variance intended to match the previous home, not to enable additional stories. "It was not a blanket 8-foot height variance," Paul said, and she said board members and the applicant left the meeting believing the replacement would match the earlier building.
Paul told council that under the zoning ordinance an applicant has one year from the board's decision to obtain a building permit and break ground; she said the permit was not taken out until Sept. 24, 2024, after the June 5, 2024 one-year window had expired. "Consequently, the applicant must come back to the ZBA to request a new variance," she said. Paul asked the ZBA to investigate the matter at its March meeting and recommended adopting new procedures to avoid similar cases.
A neighbor who identified himself as Tom and said he lives at 110 William Street told the boards he submitted formal complaints and before-and-after photos showing the new structure appears "between 6 and 10 feet taller than the original house." He said the added height has materially changed sight lines and neighborhood impacts.
City staff and ZBA members did not announce a formal decision during the public-comment portion recorded in the transcript. The ZBA later moved into a closed session on attorney-client privileged material under MCL 15.268(1)(h); that closed session was procedural and the public comment record remains part of the public meeting record.
Council and ZBA members who spoke in the recorded exchange did not make new rulings on the Rose Street property during the public comment period. Paul urged the ZBA to review the minutes and materials from the June 2023 hearing to confirm the board's findings of fact and to determine whether the current construction aligns with the variance that was granted.
