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Grand Ledge board approves variance for eight apartment buildings on E. Saginaw Highway
Summary
The Grand Ledge Zoning Board of Appeals on Nov. 20 unanimously approved a variance allowing eight 185-foot-wide apartment buildings in a proposed 326-unit complex to exceed the 180-foot length limit by 5 feet, after staff said the excess was negligible and denial would cause unnecessary hardship.
The Grand Ledge Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a variance on Nov. 20, 2025, permitting eight 185-foot-wide multifamily buildings to exceed the city
Code length limit by 5 feet at 5776 E. Saginaw Highway and an adjoining vacant parcel.
Susan Stachowiak, the city
Zoning Administrator, recommended approval, saying the requested increase applies to only eight of the planned buildings and is negligible in impact. According to the staff report, she described the justification as unnecessary hardship rather than a unique physical constraint on the site.
Chair Tim McClung opened the public hearing at 7:09 p.m. Kevin Christiansen, representing the applicant Group 10 Management, told the board the eight buildings in question are ranch-style, five-unit structures designed to be 185 feet wide and that denying the variance would require a complete redesign of those buildings and alter the approved site layout.
Board members discussed the staff findings of fact and concluded the additional five feet would not be contrary to the intent and purpose of Article XVI of the Zoning Ordinance or harmful to the surrounding area. Board member Ben Cwayna moved to approve the variance; Board member Bob Doty seconded. The motion carried unanimously and was given immediate effect. The approval covers buildings identified on the site plan as buildings 28, 41, 44, 45, 46, 47, 70 and 71.
The variance applies to a proposed 326-unit, multifamily residential development on a 78.07-acre site south of Sundance Chevrolet; the full development was described in the staff report as 73 total buildings. Parcel numbers cited in the record are 030-13-200-040-00 and 030-13-200-062-015. The hearing was opened at 7:09 p.m., closed at 7:14 p.m., and the meeting was adjourned at 7:17 p.m.
No members of the public spoke during the audience-participation portion of the meeting. The board's action recorded a unanimous vote in favor of the variance; one member, Ron Graber, was noted as absent in the roll call.
