Rebuilding Berkley's Zoning Ordinance
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Berkley’s Zoning Ordinance: The Regulations to Realize Our Vision for the Future.
What is a Zoning Ordinance?
The State of Michigan enables municipalities to enact a Zoning Ordinance. A Zoning Ordinance typically regulates land use, building size and placement, parking, landscaping, and parcel size. These regulations, using “zones” to allow different uses and buildings in different places, define how each individual property within the City may be developed or redeveloped.
Why do we need to rewrite the City’s Zoning Ordinance?
The City of Berkley last comprehensively updated its Zoning Ordinance in 1993. In the past three decades, buildings and land uses have changed as well as how we work, shop, move, and play. The Zoning Ordinance needs to be rewritten to implement the recently updated Master Plan, comply with state and federal law, and deliver the quality and type of development envisioned by the Berkley community.
What is the Zoning Ordinance rewrite process?
City officials and staff, along with the consultant team, are committed to crafting regulations that protect the community, implement the City’s vision and values, and create sustainability in Berkley.
City staff and consultants facilitated a two-year process with four phases:
- Current ordinance assessment
- Development of draft regulations for new ordinance
- Review of full draft of new ordinance
- Zoning Ordinance adoption
Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Steering Committee
The City’s Zoning Ordinance rewrite will be guided by an Ad Hoc Zoning Ordinance Steering Committee which works alongside City staff, Planning Commission, and Carlisle Wortman Associates in order to best represent the ideals of the community.
The Zoning Ordinance Steering Committee meets the first Wednesday of every month at 7 PM in the Public Safety building.
Committee Members:
Dennis Hennen, City Council
Ross Gavin, City Council
Lisa Kempner, Planning Commission
Lisa Hamameh, Planning Commission
Sue McAlpine, Zoning Board of Appeals
Marty Smith, Community Representative
Kristen Kapelanski, Community Development Director
Matthew Baumgarten, City Manager
Kim Anderson, Zoning Administrator
About Carlisle Wortman Associates
We take pride in building relationships with our client communities based on trust and integrity that lasts decades. Over the past 30 years, Carlisle Wortman Associates (CWA) has prepared and updated over 100 master plans for communities, including the City of Berkley, and nearly the same number of zoning ordinances. CWA works with communities to create zoning regulations that implement their vision. Learn more at www.cwaplan.com .
Zoning Ordinance Steering Committee Packet Materials and Topics
- May 2023 (Schedule and Decision-Making)
- June 2023 (Outline and Zoning Districts)
- July 2023 (Corridors and Neighborhoods)
- August 2023 (Development Review Processes)
- September 2023 (Parking)
- October 2023 (Signs)
- November 2023 (Landscaping and Lighting)
- December 2023 (Specific Use Provisions)
- January 2024 (Nonconformities)
- February 2024 (Administrative Enforcement)
- March 2024 (General Provisions and Definitions)
- April 2024 (Review Draft)
Community workshops are planned for January 2024 and a joint meeting of the Planning Commission and City Council is planned for November 2023. Stay tuned for specific dates, times, and locations. General questions and comments can be sent to planning@berkleymich.net.
Understanding the Zoning Ordinances Rewrite Process
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