Council approves first reading of land-use ordinance changes aimed at streamlining housing

The City of White Lake opened a public hearing on proposed updates to Chapter 152 (Title 15) of its land-use ordinance and approved the ordinance's first reading.

Mayor Scott introduced the item and asked Dean, who was invited to explain the changes, to present the revisions. Dean said the North Shore Development Company — working from grant funding — reviewed the city's existing ordinance, consolidated inconsistent verbiage and offered revisions at no cost to the city. "They struck through what they removed and underlined their revisions and modifications," Dean said, describing a cleanup of duplicative terms and formats. He summarized the process: "That's about it in a nutshell." The Planning Commission voted in favor of the proposed changes prior to the hearing.

Mayor Scott framed the package as an effort to make new housing development easier and more attractive to builders. "All of this is with the intention of making new development of housing easier, more straightforward within town," he said. Councilors discussed the revisions briefly and, with no resident comments during the hearing, moved to close the public hearing and approve the ordinance's first reading. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote. The council authorized scheduling a second reading for Aug. 12; after the second reading and a 30-day publication requirement the ordinance would take effect.

The revisions include reworking several definitions (for example, replacing an older "apartment building" phrasing with a "cluster development" concept intended to allow smaller, more affordable cluster-style housing). Planning staff said additional zoning changes would follow in a separate step if the ordinance amendments are adopted.