HOUGHTON — The Houghton Planning Commission’s recommendations on downtown development will go beyond the big parking deck. 

At a special meeting Tuesday, the Planning Commission discussed next steps in tackling the mandate given to them by the City Council. After the Veridea Group withdrew from negotiations over the sale of the parking deck property on Lakeshore Drive, the council last month voted to have the Planning Commission review the year-and-a-half process leading up to that point, and make recommendations on a process going forward. 

On Wednesday, the City Council formally asked the Planning Commission to incrementally revise chapters of its master plan, after the Planning Commission voted to ask the council for the request at its Tuesday meeting. Part of the revision will include a specific action plan for the big parking deck and downtown development as the first step in another approach.  

“We have this long-term maintenance need on some physical infrastructure,” said Planning Commission member Mike Needham, who made the motion to recommend on Tuesday, and also voted as a council member to approve Wednesday’s motion. “And we’ve had this longstanding conversation about development in town, specifically downtown. For better or worse, the process we went through to arrive where we are left something to be desired for some people.”

By tackling the issue through a revision of its master plan, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. might provide financial assistance or expertise as part of the Redevelopment Ready Communities program, said Planning Commission Chair Tom Merz. 

“If we don’t proceed through the master plan as we go forward, we should not expect much assistance from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. in this process,” he said. 

Which chapters of the master plan would be involved was left open-ended, as revisions in one could impact others. But the most discussion was on Chapter 10, which covers downtown, and Chapter 13, which regards zoning and future land use. 

Planning Commission member Michelle Jarvie-Eggart had suggested a continual revision of the master plan, going a couple of chapters at a time, rather than revising the master plan every five years. She modeled the suggestion on the process used by Marquette County. The city’s current plan runs through 2023. 

“The real benefit of amending your plan piecemeal is that when you’re on a commission you have more time to really look at each chapter of the plan,” she said. “And you have more time for public feedback, because people only have to read the chapter that you’re addressing for the night.”

City Manager Eric Waara said the commission would have to consider if the master plan updates would be detailed enough. 

“There’s probably going to be a lot more to it in this particular case, and I want everybody to be eyes wide open on that,” he said. 

Some residents had criticized the process leading to the Veridea proposal for not taking enough input from the public, particularly early on. Ben Ciavola, a member of the Houghton Waterfront Citizens Group, said having the Planning Commission develop recommendations was a “great path forward.” Going through the city’s master plan was also a “fantastic” idea, he said. 

He pointed to other projects in the Upper Midwest he thought were successful, such as the Founder’s Landing project in Marquette. He suggested reaching out to outside professionals who have gone through the process with other municipalities. 

“I think that’s there’s a good chance it would be a really strong investment in the community and the city, because it would be more likely to result in a stronger project in the long term that would be taken to completion and provide tax revenue and amenities to the city that would make it stronger in the long run to pay it back many times over,” he said. 

The Planning Commission also discussed ways to circulate to the public any documents shared by the commission, such as a letter from Houghton Waterfront Citizens Group member Dave Bach referenced by some of the audience. Waara said he and Clerk Ann Vollrath would talk with the city attorney about the best way to handle it. 

The Planning Commission will next meet at its regular monthly meeting January 23.