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Ludington amends zoning to allow for smaller homes.
#LudingtonNews #MasonCountyNews
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.
LUDINGTON — The City of Ludington will now allow, as a special use permit, the construction of single family houses on lots less than 60 feet wide in the general single family residential zoned areas of the city, if the house meets certain conditions.
Currently there are many lots that are less than 60 feet wide, according to City Manager John Shay. “These lots are unbuildable unless the previous structure was at least 75% destroyed and the Planning Commission approved a special land use request from the property owner,” Shay said in a memo to the City Council.
During the City Council’s regular meeting Monday, the council voted to allow the amendment in the city’s ordinance. A person who would want to construct such a single family house would have to complete a special land use application. The process would include a public hearing and approval by the Planning Commission.
Heather Tykoski, the city’s community development director, said she has spent the last year studying the city’s current housing stock and mapping lots that are considered unbuildable and houses that are currently non-conforming to current zoning regulations.
“What was found was that a large amount of housing stock in the City of Ludington is non-conforming to current standards, some blighted, and that there are significant amount of lots that are currently undersized for zoning standards as they are written now.
“In order to look at solutions, I also had to look at the needs and wants of the population. Millennials and retiring baby boomers seem to have similar life objectives. Many do not wish to own or maintain large homes and the subsequent yard work that comes with those. They are looking for quality of life not quantity of house or possessions. The target market analysis confirmed that we are missing a variety of housing types to satisfy the population looking to be part of the Ludington community.”
Currently the city has 166 homes that are less than 800 square feet, the city’s current zoning minimum, and 389 lots that are less than 50 feet in width.
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