Grand Marais City Councilors had a hot topic to discuss at their October 14 council meeting. Is this the best time to adopt a change in the city’s housing zoning ordinance that allows new housing types, unique lot and building standards, adjusted lot dimension standards, and setback requirements to the city’s current zoning?
After a lengthy discussion, councilors decided to table changes to Ordinance 2020-02 Housing Zoning Modifications as proposed by the Planning Commission, agreeing to meet again on Tuesday, October 20, to hold a two-hour discussion on what the changes could mean for the city.
City Administrator Mike Roth went through the proposed changes at the October 20 meeting, fielding questions from the councilors. Roth said he hoped the reorganization would help create opportunities by removing some existing barriers so more people could afford to build and live in the city. Councilor Kelly Swearingen said that if the city was going to put rules in place, “you need to make sure they are followed.”
The city currently has existing houses built on lot lines, setbacks not up to current standards. That’s because, said Roth, when those homes were built there wasn’t any zoning.
Proposed changes in building height allowances, yard setbacks, and lot sizes, generated many comments from the community.
Council received recommendations to adopt the Housing Zoning Modifications at its July 8 meeting but asked for additional public input, which ran the gamut from very positive to very negative.
One of the positive comments came from Bruce Block, carpenter and owner of Sydney’s, who advocated for “a more flexible zoning ordinance in terms of allowing for greater density and encouraging lower-cost development of housing, I believe is well-targeted for bringing to bear the resources of the community and to alleviate this housing crisis.”
Chris Norman, a home builder, wondered about lighting and building heights, saying each needed to be better defined in the draft ordinance, and he questioned, “Is the owner/ builder allowed to raise the natural ground level surrounding the building to effectively raise the allowable height of the building?”
In the four and one-half years of living here, Destry Winant said it has been a struggle for her and her partner Eddie to find stable housing in the area. However, she hopes, “The rezoning ordinance should not be exploited to create more income for land and business owners here. I am hopeful though, that new housing options will create a standard for affordable housing for the community, putting pressure on those with existing rentals to make them available at more appropriate rates.”
And then there was the cautionary advice from Mike Raymond, Owner/ Broker of Red Pine Realty, “Spreading the growth into private wooded neighborhoods may not fit the current mood of environmentally friendly development, but in many ways, it is more sensible from a market standpoint. Urban areas build up because space is limited. We have space, and I rarely run into people moving to Grand Marais that are seeking an urban lifestyle.
I recommend slowing the process, so citizens can process the coming changes.”
After reviewing and discussing the comments, the Planning Commission felt the original ordinance met project and community goals and voted 4-0 to send it back to the city council. Following the October 20 meeting, council agreed to meet again to further discuss the proposed changes. Roth said the council needs to be prepared to make motions on what they want to see changed at upcoming meetings. At this point, said Roth, “That’s the missing piece for me.”
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