Residents press for planned housing as staff outlines 1,500-unit gap; commission approves 2025 annual report

Residents urged the Mount Pleasant Planning Commission to prioritize planned residential development on city-designated land and raised concerns about private interests and petition validity, while staff warned of a growing housing shortfall and presented a summary of a recent regional housing summit.

During public comment, Marga Oudstein (1361 South Crawford) urged the commission to use a 30-acre city-designated site at the southwest corner of Broomfield and Crawford for planned residential development rather than sell or rezone it in ways that could reduce the city’s future tax base. “Please don’t let private interests steal our city’s future, its tax base, and its homes for our children,” Oudstein said, urging the commission to protect land for Mount Pleasant families and questioning petition signers’ residency and the use of a QR code on city webpages.

Another public commenter, Tom Oostein (1361 South Crawford), thanked the commission and urged commissioners to consider long-term utility, stormwater and infrastructure needs if the city pursues densification. Oostein described past drainage and sewer investments and suggested the commission examine impact fees or regional approaches to ensure infrastructure keeps pace with development.

Staff later reported on a housing summit organized regionally by Midland’s Housing Forward and MCOG and summarized the data presented: Mount Pleasant is projected to be short about 962 rental units and 567 for-sale units by 2029 — a shortfall of roughly 1,500 housing units — and the broader region faces a larger shortfall (staff cited about 31,000 units by 2029). Staff emphasized workforce population growth and changing household sizes as drivers of demand and highlighted that the city’s revised zoning removes parking minimums to facilitate reuse and housing production.

“Most of them…give really good precedents and ideas on how we can move with some of our city-led projects, including the Cross Lane project,” staff said, noting grant and partnership opportunities and the use of pre-application meetings to improve application quality.

Separately, the commission considered the 2025 Planning Commission annual report, which staff said now emphasizes behind-the-scenes staff coordination with partners such as Central Michigan University and tracks progress on master plan goals. A commissioner asked about an asterisk in an applications table; staff explained it reflected timing crossover between calendar years. The commission then moved, seconded and approved the 2025 annual report for transmittal to the city commission.

Why it matters: The public comments and staff presentation together illustrate local concern about preserving developable land, balancing tax-base considerations with community housing needs, and planning infrastructure to support increased housing production. The annual report approval advances commission oversight and reporting to the city commission.

Next steps: Commissioners will consider public input and the staff recommendation in future agenda items, and the city will accept applications for the current vacant commission seat.