• MUPUD

MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The Township Board approved Zoning Amendment #18020 on Tuesday evening. Zoning Amendment #18020 amends Section 86-440 of the Code of Ordinances to establish new standards for residential density and building height in Mixed Use Planned Unit Development (MUPUD) projects. The zones this amendment affects will be a 14 acre part of Downtown Okemos and a 53 acre section of Downtown Haslett. Some of the changes include a new 60 foot building height, floor to ceiling height regulations, defining building height measurements, and removing residential density limitations.

The Board has discussed these changes at length and have received input from the Downtown Development Authority, the Economic Development Corporation and the Planning Commission as well. The Township hopes that the changes will spur redevelopment of the downtown areas. The current ordinances in place for those areas don't meet the expected standards for modern building practices leading to developers unwilling to invest and build. MUPUD projects, which blend commercial on the ground floor and residential above, have become a very popular for developers in downtown areas. They would be able to upgrade commercial spaces while offering more living space in posh apartments. The biggest point of discussion was residential density for new buildings, and how an increase in density may negatively impact traffic conditions and surrounding neighborhoods. The solution will be for the Township Board to establish residential density on a project-by-project basis, based on a project’s consistency with the list of 12 performance criteria created for this proposed ordinance amendment. The performance criteria include items related to architecture, renewable energy, amenities, transportation, and traffic impacts.

The vote passed 6-1, Clerk Dreyfus being the lone nay.