Pat Coleman, left, facilitator of Houghton’s master plan open house, and city officials talked with residents at an open house Nov. 1.

Rick Rollenhagen writes a suggestion about Fourth Street to incorporate into Houghton’s master plan at an open house Nov. 1. The city hopes to approve the final plan by the end of 2023.

HOUGHTON — Houghton is in the process of compiling comments the city received on its master plan.

Displays from the two open houses the city held will be put into Excel with a column showing how many dots residents placed next to them — the more dots, the more people agreeing with its importance. Comments left by residents on post-its will also be included. Those will be ready by the end of the year, if not earlier, Clerk Ann Vollrath said.

Because of the high number of public comments, the intern working on the survey sent to residents will make a presentation to the planning commission in February, instead of January.

There was a concerted effort to send out more surveys this year, City manger Eric Waara said. He used the example of a 40-person apartment building, where postcards were mailed to each resident.

“Even though the response rate is 32%, which is really good, it’s a lot more surveys,” Vollrath said.

Also in February, committees are slated to begin working on draft chapters. Waara asked planning commission members to think about what additional information they would like for their committees, weather surveys or speaking to other groups. (For instance, the committee writing the streets and sidewalks section could speak with the city’s bicycle and pedestrian committee, he said.)

Final approval of the master plan is scheduled for November 2023.

In other action:

City Manager Eric Waara reported a suit against the owners of the proposed KFC site location by the owners of the property Tadych’s MarketPlace leases was dismissed in Houghton County Circuit Court.

The city is recommending the owners resubmit the site plan for the restaurant, which expired before it was approved more than a year ago.

Waara presented a landscape architect’s concept for a pedestrian plaza on Pewabic Street following the demolition of the parking deck. The plans include planters, benches, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramps. A fire pavilion in the middle would be a focal point of visibility coming down the stairs. Planning Commission members informally praise the concept.

The planning commission discussed a request from the city council to again take up the issue of maximum building heights in the downtown area. Planning Commission subcommittees will take up the discussion as part of the master plan process. It could apply to the downtown or zoning subcommittees, Vollrath said.