Planning Commission looks to consolidate zoning language

By Christine Laughren
Jun. 15, 2009    ·    11:01 a.m.

In an effort to streamline art related zoning in the city, the Ypsilanti Planning Commission is looking at consolidating and reworking language as well as placement in districts.

City Planner Richard Murphy said much of the city’s zoning ordinance language needs to be consolidated and re-worked.

“A lot of this is just a clean-up to make things consistent and clear,” Murphy said Friday afternoon. “Why have all these different uses that look like they are mostly the same when we can just have one listing?”

The changes to art related zoning will be initially discussed at Wednesday evening’s Planning Commission meeting.

The commission had the opportunity to take up the discussion as no applications or site plans were submitted this month.

Murphy said eventually the commission hopes to look at the language for retail uses, office uses and restaurant/catering uses. He said city staff chose art-related uses because it is a topic “the community has shown a lot of interest in.”

“I think its something that has come up at the 20/20 Task Force, the Arts Alliance, council goal setting,” he said. “It has been something I have been getting a lot of questions on.

“Just on the administration side it has a lot more buzz around it than office use descriptions,” he said.

The proposed arts consolidation combines nine descriptions down to two - arts and crafts studios and schools as well as cultural exhibit and performance venues.

The placement of the districts would also be discussed Wednesday. The studio/school category is proposed as permitted in any district where one of its components had been permitted in the past. Additionally, city staff is suggesting to the commission it be included as permitted in the smaller-scale commercial and transitional districts: RO, RC, B-1, and B-2.

“This may be overly permissive, but staff is looking to the Fire Chief’s assurances on kilns and related safety issues, the City’s general noise ordinance, and the size limits on individual uses in the B-1 and RC districts as generally preventing most conflicts,” Murphy wrote in a report to the commission.

The commission will also be looking at expanding its Cinema Production or Development use to expand it into industrial districts. According to Murphy city staff considered removing cinema production entirely, with “film” already included in the art studio definition.

“Recent interest around movies filmed in Ypsilanti and around the State, however, and particularly discussions of large-scale production facilities in former industrial spaces led to a recommendation to leave this listing, and expand it into the M-1 and M-2 districts,” the report states.

A public hearing surrounding the issue is set for Wednesday. A Washtenaw Area Transportation presentation begins at 6 p.m. The presentation is on the 2035 long-range transportation plan. WATS will also be hearing public comments. The formal Commission meeting begins at 7 p.m.