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Saugatuck Council adopts downtown zoning change, approves wage increase and grant submissions
Summary
At its Dec. 23 meeting the Saugatuck City Council unanimously adopted an amendment to the downtown waterfront preservation district, approved a MDOT planning contract for Maple Street, granted staff wage adjustments and authorized a water-resources planning grant application.
The Saugatuck City Council on Dec. 23 unanimously adopted an ordinance amending the C‑2 Downtown Waterfront Preservation District and approved a package of administrative actions including a planning contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation and staff wage adjustments.
The ordinance (listed in the minutes as Ordinance No. 241223-A) removes first‑floor apartments as a permitted and special land use in the downtown waterfront district, revises planned-unit-development (PUD) modification rules to clarify qualifying public access and allowable departures, restricts certain height‑increase requests tied to PUDs, and requires a legal mechanism to memorialize any public access preserved as part of a PUD approval. Mayor Pro‑Tem Stanton moved the ordinance and Councilmember Muncey seconded; the measure passed by roll call vote.
On the consent agenda the council approved Contract No. 24‑5489 with the Michigan Department of Transportation for Maple Street improvements planning and coastal stabilization in the Park Street corridor, and reappointed two citizens to boards (Lynne Aspnes to the Board of Review and Jane Verplank to the Fire District Board). The consent motion was made by Stanton, seconded by Dean, and carried unanimously.
Council also approved an accounts-payable batch totaling $353,955.44, adopted a 2.5% inflation adjustment to the staff step and wage scale plus a one‑time 0.5% lump-sum payment effective the first full payroll in January 2025, and approved City Manager performance-evaluation criteria. Each of those motions passed on unanimous roll call votes. The council authorized submission of a Water Resources Division grant application for planning of access improvements and coastal stabilization in the Park Street corridor via Resolution No. 241223‑B.
City Manager Cummins told the council the draft audit is under review and that the city’s fund balance gained about $400,000 during the fiscal year; staff said the audit findings will be presented to the council on Jan. 8.
What happens next: the ordinance amendment will take effect according to the city’s adoption timeline and any administrative steps required by the code; the Maple Street planning work will proceed under the MDOT planning contract, and staff will move forward with the grant application authorized by the council.
