Mayor Robert Backon, Mayor Pro Tem Robert Megowen, Councilors Gernot Joachim, Craig Kurtz, Mike Needham, and Dan Salo.

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1 REGULAR MEETING HOUGHTON CITY COUNCIL WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, :30 p.m. CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY CENTER PRESENT: Mayor Robert Backon, Mayor Pro Tem Robert Megowen, Councilors Gernot Joachim, Craig Kurtz, Mike Needham, and Dan Salo. Also present for the City: City Manager Scott MacInnes, Clerk Ann Vollrath, Treasurer Jodi Reynolds, Director of Public Works Mark Zenner, and Police Chief John Donnelly. ABSENT: ALSO PRESENT: Councilor Rachel Lankton. A Representative of the Daily Mining Gazette, WMPL, Eric Waara of U.P. Engineering, Mark Kemppainen, Nancy Mark, Steve Kinnunen, Gail Sanchez, David Mellon, Vern Watwood, Jon Lehtinen, Derek Bradway, John Adler, Mike Borsum, Fred Gaff, Mike Abbott, Christina Ojala, Mike Manderfield, Ken Dorman, Brian Bekkala, and Paul Peterson. REGULAR MEETING: Mayor Backon called to order a Regular Meeting of the Houghton City Council. A minute of silence was observed for the anniversary of the 911 attacks and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES: A motion was made by Megowen and seconded by Needham to approve the minutes of the August 28, 2013 Regular Meeting as written. Yes: All REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF AGENDA: OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC TO ADDRESS COUNCIL: No changes were made to the amended agenda. Vern Watwood of 1002 Country Court reported that there had been no work done on the Moyle Residential Subdivision on Country Lane until Monday when they started moving earth with two end loaders and hauling away topsoil. City Manager MacInnes said he will talk to Mr. Moyle about the progress on this subdivision. PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS:. 1

2 PUBLIC HEARINGS: Mayor Backon called to order a public hearing regarding proposed Ordinance to conditionally rezone the Good Will Farm property from R-3 to B-3 with the following conditions: The property will only allow R3 use groups The proposed conditional rezoning will only go into effect upon the sale of the property. Clerk Vollrath read a letter from Kim Stoker who owns rental properties in the City. He is against the proposed conditional rezoning of the Good Will Property because he feels that an increase in rental properties will decrease the property values of existing rental properties. Mayor Backon pointed out: - The charter states that a majority of the membership of the council must vote affirmative to pass a zoning change. Four affirmative votes are needed to pass a zoning change. - Members of the council that also serve on the planning commission are not allowed to vote twice on the same subject. Bob Backon will vote at the council Mike Needham voted as a planning commission member and will not vote at the council. He can take part in discussion. - Members of the council that vote no on a zoning change must state a reason on the record. City Manager MacInnes explained that the Good Will Farm property is currently zoned multiple family. It is 134,000 square feet and based upon the R-3 density requirement a developer can build 43-4 bedroom units. This will provide 172 bedrooms and require 86 parking spaces. When voting on a zoning issue, the city must consider if the request is compatible with the master plan and compatible with the neighborhood. Jon Julien addressed the council as the proposed purchaser and developer of the property. He explained that he is not asking to build more bedrooms on the property than what is allowed under R-3 zoning. He is asking to arrange the bedrooms in a different configuration to make it more desirable to the market as described in the MTU Graduate Student Housing Market and Demand Analysis. There is currently a waiting list at MTU of over 100 people who want to live in Daniel Heights. This property is next to Daniel Heights. Councilor Joachim asked how many 4 bedroom units are available under the R-3 density. Mr. Julien said that 172 bedrooms can be built if the units are all 4- bedroom and the city would require 86 parking spaces. Mr. Julien said his proposal is a combination of mostly one and two-bedroom apartments for a total of 138 bedrooms. He is not trying to change the use group from R-3. 2

3 Gail Sanchez is part owner in a rental company that owns and operates 179 bedrooms in Houghton. She said the rental market is diminishing because of the MTU requirement that undergraduate students stay on campus for two years. She discussed the present market conditions in the area for rental properties. She asked if all rental properties in R-3 districts are required to offer the same amount of parking spaces. City Manager MacInnes replied that Michigan Tech has not made any comments either in favor or against this proposal. According to the city ordinance, roominghouses require one parking places per occupant. For apartments or dwellings the requirement is 2 parking places per unit. Jon Julien said that he will provide adequate parking and will not ask for any parking variances. Mark Kemppainen asked questions about density requirements based on the proposal provided by Mr. Julien to the planning commission. Mike Needham explained the information given to the planning commission at that time explained what could be built under the regular R-3 density requirement and under the increased density allowed in an R-3 district. The planning commission was provided variations of the proposal from Mr. Julien. City Manager MacInnes explained that it is the one bedroom units that require more density. Three and four bedroom units do not require as much land per bedroom as a one-bedroom unit requires. Mark Kemppainen stated that the density will not go by the 134,000 square feet. It will go by a greater number. Mr. Kemppainen said the council should be concerned about square footage because when too many people are put onto a piece of property there should be concern. This will set a precedent. Derek Bradway owns rental properties in the City and said he is opposed to making exceptions for certain cases. This will open up a giant can of worms. Mr. Bradway referenced the executive summary in the MTU rental study which said there is a surplus of one and two bedroom apartment units and an unmet demand in four and three bedroom units. Jon Lehtinen owns apartment buildings on Agate Street and said that allowing this increased density for one landlord will be a detriment to other landlords. City Manager MacInnes explained that the proposed project is for a smaller amount of bedrooms than could be built on the site under the current R-3 zoning. He explained the zoning changes made by the City over the past few years to restrict the amount of rental units placed in the residential areas of the City. The survey for the master plan showed that residents are concerned about the condition of the student rentals in single-family neighborhoods. It is discussed in the master plan to allow higher-density rentals near the university. Brian Bekkala said he is in favor of this zoning change because he will request a change on his property again as he was turned down previously when he asked to build a four-plex on his property. 3

4 Derek Bradway pointed out that the proposal for 66-one bedroom apartments, 24-two bedroom apartments, and 7-three bedroom apartments provided by Mr. Julien to the Planning Commission will be more than double what is allowed under normal density. City Manager MacInnes said that most apartment complexes in the City do not meet the high density requirement. Jon Julien pointed out that in the MTU rental survey three and four bedroom apartments are more desirable because of the price. When the price is taken out, they are less desirable than a one or two bedroom apartment. A motion was made by Joachim and seconded by Needham to close the public hearing. Yes: All REPORTS: Director of Public Works Mark Zenner reported that crews are performing trunkline maintenance on US 41 near Mill Road and patching concrete on Townsend Drive. They are also cleaning out catch basins and hauling winter sand. Garnet Street is now done and paved. Sixth Street is also paved. There is a water leak on Dodge Street. Police Chief John Donnelly reported that the department answered 153 calls to service with 9 misdemeanor arrests, 10 city tickets, and 24 civil infraction tickets. Officers took part in training for sexual assaults and CPR. City Manager MacInnes announced that Rural Development has approved the grant for the police vehicle we applied for earlier in the year. The grant is $17,000 with a city share of $25,500. The department will be able to replace two of their cars at this time. Mayor Pro Tem Megowen reported that the Downtown Business Association is making plans to sponsor events for the Women in Engineering seminar that will take place in February of There will be 750 women attending. The Parade of Nations will be held this Saturday. Clerk Vollrath reported that more than 850 people visited the CC Historic Fair at Dee Stadium this summer. There were visitors from 28 states and 7 countries. The museum was busiest between the Fourth of July and the second week in August. City Manager MacInnes reported that this year is the 20 th anniversary of the first donation of land from Bob and Ruth Nara for the Nara Nature Park. A celebration will be held in the chalet on Tuesday, September 24 th between 11:30 and 1:30. He invited the Council, Planning Commission, news media and the public. 4

5 UNFINISHED BUSINESS: NEW BUSINESS:. A motion was made by Joachim and seconded by Megowen to approve the accounts payable for August 29, 2013 to September 11, 2013 as presented. Yes: Joachim, Megowen, Needham, Kurtz, Backon, Salo A motion was made by Megowen and seconded by Joachim to adopt Ordinance Councilor Kurtz said that he is struggling with his decision. Previously Brian Bekkala was turned down when he requested a 4 bedroom unit instead of a 3 bedroom unit. At that time, the neighbors said it would cause too much traffic and the council said that they would do what the neighbors said. Councilor Kurtz said he is hesitant to change zoning. He would like to see the project go as presented, but when he sees this number of people, it is like the neighbors who said that they did not want the 3 bedroom unit to become a 4 bedroom unit. Councilor Kurtz said he is more inclined to listen to people concerned enough to show up for a council meeting. Councilor Salo said that he did not read the MTU rental study because he wanted to get the facts from the people at the meeting. This is not an easy decision to make. City Manager MacInnes reminded the Council that if they vote no on a zoning issue they must state their reason for the record. He also mentioned that he spoke to both fraternities near the Good Will Farm property recently and they do not object to the development. Yes: Abstain: Megowen, Salo Joachim, Backon, Kurtz Needham Motion denied. Councilor Joachim voted no because in the past eight years the council has only approved one conditional rezoning and he wants to be consistent and fair. Mayor Backon voted no for the same reason as Councilor Joachim. 5

6 Councilor Kurtz said his reasons for voting no were explained prior to taking the vote. Director of Public Works Mark Zenner reported that the Trash Collection Center will be open from Friday, October 4, 2013 to Sunday, October 27 th. The hours and days will be the same as in the past. He asked people to abide by the signage when using the center. A motion was made by Joachim and seconded by Megowen to appoint Ann Vollrath as the Title VI Coordinator. Yes: Joachim, Megowen, Needham, Kurtz, Backon, Salo A motion was made by Joachim and seconded by Salo to approve and adopt the City of Houghton Title VI Non-Discrimination Plan. Yes: Joachim, Salo, Backon, Megowen, Kurtz, Needham A motion was made by Joachim and seconded by Megowen to adopt Resolution to approve and adopt the City of Houghton Limited English Proficiency Plan. Yes: Joachim, Megowen, Needham, Kurtz, Backon, Salo A motion was made by Kurtz and seconded by Megowen to deed the additional 10 feet of property created by the realignment of Portage Cove Drive to the owner of Lot 26 of Portage Cove and authorize the mayor and clerk to sign the deed. Yes: Kurtz, Megowen, Needham, Backon, Joachim, Salo 6

7 Director of Public Works Mark Zenner provided the council with a street paving plan for this fall. The work will be completed by the end of October. The total amount of paving is $613,630 to come from the following sources: Major Street 150,000 Local Street 156,570 Water/Sewer 52,560 MDOT Grant 115,000 FEMA Grant 139,500 Mr. Zenner explained that FEMA will participate in paving portions of Ridge Road, Portage Street and Garnet Street. It is yet to be decided if they will fund 75% of the cost or less. The Bridge Street project will start next week. A motion was made by Megowen and seconded by Needham to authorize the 2013 Fall Street Paving schedule as presented for an amount not to exceed $613,360 from the above sources as noted. Yes: Megowen, Needham, Kurtz, Backon, Joachim, Salo A motion to adjourn was made by Joachim and seconded by Salo. Yes: All Motion carried Adjourned 7:00 p.m. Ann Vollrath, Clerk 7