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Planning commission sets April public hearing on proposal to raise industrial fence height
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Summary
Mount Pleasant staff proposed a zoning amendment (TC 26-01) to raise maximum screening/fence height in Special District Industrial areas from 6 to 8 feet to improve security and screening for sites such as J Rank Electric; the commission voted to set a public hearing for April 2, 2026.
The Mount Pleasant Planning Commission voted to set a public hearing for April 2, 2026 on TC 26-01, a staff-drafted zoning amendment that would increase the maximum screening and fence height in Special District Industrial (SDI) zones from 6 feet to 8 feet in most locations.
Staff said the change is intended to balance security for outdoor storage and equipment with urban-design concerns. The staff presentation noted the J Rank Electric expansion, which includes an existing 8-foot fence and a planned 24,800-square-foot addition to the company’s facility; staff said the current ordinance caps typical industrial screening at 6 feet and that the amendment would align Mount Pleasant with earlier local practice and nearby jurisdictions that allow taller industrial screens.
“As background…they had the site plan approved in September,” staff said, describing the need to protect equipment and outdoor inventory and to provide consistency with earlier permits that allowed 8-foot fencing. Staff also told commissioners the draft ordinance would retain a 6-foot minimum for dumpster and trash enclosures while raising the maximum screening height to 8 feet elsewhere in SDI.
Commissioner Kingsworthy moved to set the public hearing; the motion was seconded and, after the chair called for the vote, the motion passed.
Why it matters: taller screening would make it easier for industrial operators to shield equipment and stored materials from public view and to make sites more secure, but staff and commissioners noted a design trade-off: larger fences become more visually imposing for pedestrians. Staff cited precedents in Isabella County, Clare and Alma, and noted Mount Pleasant permitted 8-foot screens prior to a 2018 ordinance rewrite.
Next steps: The commission will hold a public hearing on April 2, 2026 to take public testimony on TC 26-01 and then decide whether to recommend the amendment to the city commission.
