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Stockbridge planning panel wins $50,000 MSHDA grant to update zoning code; consultants outline timeline
Summary
The Planning Commission received a $50,000 Housing Readiness Incentive Grant from MSHDA to fund a Chapter VI zoning update of the Village Municode. McKenna Planning Group LLC presented a work plan, deliverables for an Oct. 3 review and public engagement steps through early 2025.
The Village of Stockbridge Planning Commission on Sept. 5 accepted a consultant-led plan to revise Chapter VI (Zoning and Land Use) of the village’s Municode after receiving a $50,000 Housing Readiness Incentive Grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).
Maya Baker, planner and contract manager with McKenna Planning Group LLC, told commissioners she applied for the grant on the village’s behalf and that the award allocates about $45,000 toward consultant work and $5,000 for Village administrative costs. Baker said the Village will not receive an invoice from McKenna until the grant agreement is executed.
The presentation laid out a phased work plan: project initiation and work plan, an analysis with an annotated outline, a draft Diagnostic Review to be delivered Sept. 26 for the Planning Commission’s Oct. 3 meeting, and a finalized Diagnostic Review and Annotated Outline after that meeting. McKenna emphasized reform items identified at an earlier kickoff meeting, including signage, setback requirements, legal nonconforming situations, sidewalks, ordinance organization and formatting, and clarifying the boundary between zoning provisions and construction standards.
Commissioners pressed on scope and authority. Commissioner James Johnson asked whether accepting the grant required the Village to make specific ordinance changes; Baker replied it did not. Attorney John Gormley said he only required that McKenna’s product be formatted to insert seamlessly into the Village’s Municode.
Commissioners and Village President Jill Ogden also raised related concerns—property maintenance, rental inspection regulations and so-called "pop-up storage" or temporary storage facilities—that may be related to but are outside the primary zoning update scope; Baker said McKenna could suggest outside firms or recommendations for matters that fall beyond their zoning work.
On schedule, McKenna estimated overall completion of the Chapter VI update in early 2025. Commissioners scheduled a joint meeting with the Village Council for Oct. 28 at 7 p.m., planned the draft Diagnostic Review to be provided by Sept. 26 for the Oct. 3 Planning Commission meeting, and proposed a town-hall educational meeting on ordinance implementation on Jan. 9, 2025. Baker said the process would conclude with a joint training session for officials on administering the updated zoning ordinance.
The meeting also disposed of routine business: the commission approved an amended agenda (motion by Commissioner Jennifer Conant, second by Commissioner Laura Loomis), approved minutes from Aug. 1, 2024 (motion by Commissioner James Johnson, second by Commissioner Laura Loomis), and adjourned at 7:59 p.m. (motion by Commissioner Daryl Anderson, second by Commissioner Jennifer Conant).
