Councilor Rhiannon Schmidt, left, and Councilor Mike Needham, right, discuss City Manager Eric Waara’s six percent wage increase. (Chelsea Bossert/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Houghton City Council met for a regular meeting on Wednesday where it heard comments from residents about the rezoning of East Lakeshore Drive. After reading submitted letters and fielding public comment, the council unanimously voted in favor of rezoning a section of East Lakeshore Drive from RSV (reserve) to R-3 (multiple-family residential district.) 

The parcel is a wooded area north of College Avenue, between the houses and apartments and East Lakeshore Drive. Some Houghton residents live directly northeast of the parcel. They voiced concerns in a letter delivered to the City of Houghton on June 8. 

In the letter, the opposed residents took concern with the nature trail adjacent to the parcel. They also questioned the need for additional housing in the area, citing several websites claiming Houghton had over 200 homes for sale with a median price of around $60,000. 

Before the discussion, City Clerk Amy Zawada read the 17 factors to consider when rezoning — per request of City Manager Eric Waara, who was absent. 

Councilor Mike Needham said he did his own research and found — when fine tuning the search results — there were significantly less than 200 homes for sale in the area and even less which were affordable. He also said he considered rezoning the parcel for a long time. 

“Adding housing stock is invaluable not only to us [Houghton], but to all of Houghton County,” he said. 

Councilor Craig Waddell said he always tries to consider the greater good when voting on rezoning, citing the increased need for housing in general and its “cascading” effect. He elaborated and said if Houghton builds more homes in general, more opportunities to buy homes will pop up due to people moving into newly built homes. 

Councilor Brian Irizarry and Mayor Pro Tem Buck Foltz thanked the public for its input over the last few city council meetings. Foltz said he wanted to reassure concerned residents this was just the beginning of the process with East Lakeshore Drive. 

Trying to quell concerns about the adjacent trail, Needham and Waddell said concessions were made and the parcel was shortened in order to accommodate the trail’s needs. In particular, Needham said the council is a steward of the trail and is confident it will be protected during development. 

The council voted in favor of rezoning the parcel and moved on to other new business. It included passing the city’s fiscal year budget for 2026-27 and increasing non-union city employees’ salaries. 

The council voted in favor of approving the budget. It sees the city levy 15 mills for property taxes and totals just under $23.5 million for its workable budget. 

Non-union salaries were approved to be increased. Notably, the council discussed Waara’s six percent increase. Needham said an evaluation survey was filled out by Waara and was reviewed by the council. Waara’s evaluation exceeded a 90 percent satisfaction threshold — prompting the raise. 

The next city council meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on June 24.