By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
BUCHANAN, MI – Public hearings on new and amended ordinances as well as a letter supporting the current funding for the county’s senior citizen centers dominated Monday night’s Buchanan City Commission meeting.
The new ordinance enacted Monday establishes a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) process, with the goal of promoting affordable housing in the city. The ordinance sets down the process for developers to apply to pay an annual service charge rather than taxes on qualified projects that provide affordable workforce housing in the city.
City Manager Tony McGhee said at least one of the developers who has bought city-owned lots on the city’s northeast side is interested in using PILOT to help finance the project. He noted that the developer will still have to apply for and get approval from the city commission to use PILOT.
He noted that the PILOT ordinance will be a tool the city can use for not only the current housing project under development but also future projects to bring affordable workforce housing to the city.
The other public hearing was the first of two public hearings on rezoning a parcel of land and amending three sections of the city’s Unified Development Code zoning ordinance. The second public hearing and possible enactment will take place at the commission’s Oct. 26 meeting.
McGhee said the rezoning corrects an earlier zoning action on land off of East Third Street. The land which is behind the former Clark Lab building and includes the trailhead for McCoy’s Creek Trail had been zoned Industrial before being changed to Natural. The rezoning changes it back to Industrial.
McGhee said the rezoning is part of an agreement the city reached with the current property owner, Trane, and brings it back into the overall due care plan for the property. He said the land is not really developable.
He and Planning Director Kristen Gunderson said the three UDC amendments cover the design review process for the downtown overlay district, sign standards, and fencing, lighting, screening and landscape standards.
Gunderson said the overall goal for the three amendments is to set down standards and review processes as well as setting down clear definitions. Violations will be civil infractions and not misdemeanors. Existing conditions will be grandfathered in, with new rules applying when additions are built.
McGhee said the design review committee that was in place lacked structure and consistency and that the amendment sets down standards, process, and appeals and makes it clear that it is for the downtown area only.
Gunderson said the goal with the sign, fencing/lighting/screening, and landscaping amendments was to make them easier to understand and have the rules all in one place. She said the biggest thing with the landscaping amendment was to come up standards and provide information on things like types of trees that work best.
Commissioners approved sending a letter to the Berrien County Board of Commissioners in support of the current funding formula for the county’s seven senior centers.
Buchanan Senior Center Director Adam Burck had requested the commission’s action earlier this month. His concern–as well as that of several other senior centers–is a proposal by the St. Joseph-Lincoln Township Senior Center to divide the county senior center millage based on assessed property values, rather than divided equally, the method used now.
The commission rescinded one contract for paving and awarded it to another company after the low bidder was unable to do the work this year. McGhee noted that the street in question, Alexander Street, is in bad shape and needs to be done this year. The contract with Reith-Riley was rescinded, and it was awarded to AStrong Construction for $125,000.
Commissioners voted to hire Prein & Newhof to handle the city’s lead pipe replacement program. McGhee reported that the city is getting a $2.3 million, 40-year, zero-interest revolving loan from the state to replace lead pipes that carry drinking water. The focus for the first round of work will be the Liberty Heights area of the city with the work to be done next year.
Prein & Newhof will engineer, design, bid, and construct the project at a cost not to exceed $190,500. It is anticipated that a total of 200 known lead pipes will be replaced throughout the city.