Bessemer planning commission begins master plan review, proposes summer housing survey

The City of Bessemer Planning Commission on March 3 began a review of Chapters 1–4 of a draft master plan, with commissioners endorsing a proposed housing stock survey this summer and recommending updates to vision, housing strategy and infrastructure sections.

At the meeting, which convened at 4:02 p.m. and adjourned at 5:12 p.m., Tacconelli, a Planning Commission member, moved to approve the meeting agenda; Burt seconded and the motion carried. A later motion by Tacconelli to approve the Feb. 3 regular meeting minutes was supported by Day and carried.

Commissioners and staff reviewed Chapter 1 and recommended drafting a new Introduction to present the city more positively, while leaving the 'Authority and Purpose' section unchanged. The commission noted that the Community Involvement section may be updated later depending on whether a resident survey is sent.

In Chapter 2, the commission recommended creating a stronger vision statement — possibly restoring language from the 2017 master plan — and adding a guiding principle to "work to attract and retain young people in the community." The commission also identified and recommended deleting a duplicate copy of Chapter 2 in the draft.

Chapter 3 discussion centered on housing. Staff recommended rewording descriptions of housing styles and conducting a housing stock survey this summer to update counts and costs for long-term rentals, short-term rentals, mid-term rentals, apartments and single-family homes. The commission asked staff to look for previous surveys and to include consideration of a Short-Term Rental Ordinance. The draft plan also lists "MSHDA CDBG" information for home rehabilitation; the meeting transcript records the program name as stated but does not expand the acronym.

Commissioners reviewed goals and strategies under Chapter 3. For Goal #1 they proposed rewriting several strategies, removing references that would assign City Manager or council-member involvement to avoid potential favoritism, and evaluating whether a vacant property registry (Strategy 1.4) could be maintained effectively by city staff. The commission directed deletion of Strategies 1.5, 1.11 and 1.12 and asked staff to rework Strategies 1.6, 1.8, 1.9 and 1.10. Under Goal #2, commissioners recommended updating Strategy 2.1 to create a list of vacant city property available for development and to follow city code on surplus property, deleting Strategy 2.3, and combining Strategies 2.4–2.6 into a rewritten focus on providing housing for all.

Chapter 4 reviews covered infrastructure and community facilities. The commission directed updates to reflect completed and planned projects for the water and wastewater systems and to record stormwater improvements in the Galena project area. Commissioners requested a 5-year road maintenance plan and updates on city-owned building projects. The draft calls for including a question about availability of dedicated fiber internet in the resident survey to map service gaps. The plan also notes volunteer fire department information and raises the possibility of combining city and township volunteer fire departments; commissioners recorded a need to update cemetery information and to revise related goals and strategies.

No members of the public offered comment during the public comment period. The meeting adjourned at 5:12 p.m.; the commission set its next meeting for April 7, 2026, at 4:00 p.m.

Votes at a glance: Tacconelli moved to approve the agenda (second: Burt) — carried; Tacconelli moved to approve the Feb. 3, 2026 minutes (second: Day) — carried; Tacconelli moved to adjourn at 5:12 p.m. (second: Day) — carried.