PORTAGE, Mich. — Portage City Council is having a public hearing to discuss the proposed rezoning application submitted by Edward Rose & Sons.
This won’t be the first time the city will discuss the rezoning development; back in September the planning commission voted to deny it.
Family-owned company Edward Rose & Sons wants to rezone a 10.01-acre site on Fox Valley Drive from being single-family housing to multi-family housing.
“At this point, the actual request is just to change the zoning applied to the real estate. It's not a site plan review,” said City Manager Pat McGinnis.
The location they’re looking to rezone is just north of their existing apartment complex, Foxwood and The Hermitage.
McGinnis made it clear that the company does own the land.
“At this point, they have provided a courtesy, conceptual drawing that shows somewhere in the 120-unit range; I think it's 120 units of, you know, higher density, I think, three-story buildings, typical apartment buildings,” he said.
However, residents in that neighborhood are not too thrilled.
They have expressed in the past that if the plan goes through, they worry about traffic safety and congestion, impacts on property value of nearby homes, and a host of other concerns.
“We looked at traffic and criminal activity and property values to see if there was any correlation. And we were unable to find any connection there,” McGinnis said.
City council documents reveal that this residential project could help the city council’s goal of “attracting residential development that provides a mixture of housing for all income levels.”
“The city council in Portage has set forth a goal for us to find ways to create more housing availability at all price points, whether it's, you know, luxury housing or attainable housing for people who are working in our community to be able to actually live here in Portage,” the city manager said.
The meeting is happening Tuesday at 7 p.m.
If this project and others get approved, the city is projected to add a total of 746 residential units this year, which is deemed a significant increase to meet the council's goal and address the city's growing housing needs and demand.
