Planning commission does not recommend rezoning for Michael Miller’s manufactured home after contentious hearing

The Midland Planning and Zoning Commission on Dec. 15 declined to recommend a rezoning request that would allow a manufactured home on Lot 15 in Timber Wolf Estates, voting 4–3 against the applicant.

Staff planner Angelina Betzini told the commission the request from Michael Miller to change zoning from AE (Agricultural Estate) to MH (Manufactured Housing) was incompatible with adjacent land uses and the Tall City Tomorrow comprehensive plan and that staff recommended denial. Betzini also said the application generated 20 written objections, representing a 27.4% objection rate within the 200-foot buffer, which would require a supermajority vote at city council if the council were to consider approval.

Michael Miller, the applicant, spoke in favor. “I’m a 100% disabled combat veteran. I’m not asking for anything special. I just want a place to put my family,” Miller said, describing months of effort, about $30,000 spent on the project, and his assertion that city website guidance and prior plat information indicated the site would allow his home type.

Several neighbors and property owners urged the commission to deny the rezoning. Developer Robert Anderson said he created Timber Wolf Estates with lot size and design standards intended to support high-end single-family homes and warned that allowing manufactured housing would depress property values. “If you put a mobile home there, it’s going to devalue everybody’s property,” Anderson said.

Attorney Steve Posick, representing Anderson’s company, told commissioners his review indicated Miller may be in violation of city ordinances addressing manufactured homes (he referenced ordinance provisions) and noted pending litigation concerning deed restrictions covering the area. “At the base of it…Mr. Miller is currently in violation of ordinance 5-5-12,” Posick said, and he urged the commission to deny the application.

Miller and his supporters disputed that the family had constructive notice the manufactured home would be prohibited. Miller said staff had told him the plat requirement was for two acres and that the city website’s use chart had earlier suggested manufactured homes were allowed in AE; staff responded that the signed ordinance text, not an e-code editor’s note, governs land use and that the ordinance text and legal records show manufactured housing is prohibited in AE zoning.

Commission discussion focused on the legal and procedural complexities — deed restrictions filed with Martin County, how platting and ordinance text interact, and the difference between a recommendation from this commission and a final city council decision. A motion to approve the rezoning request (to forward approval to council) was made and seconded; the motion failed on a 4–3 vote.

Because the Planning and Zoning Commission is advisory, Miller will have an opportunity to present his case to the City Council when the item reaches the council agenda. The commission’s nonrecommendation means the council will consider the application with the commission’s split recommendation and with the objections and legal issues raised at the hearing.