584 Starkweather St Plymouth, MI 48170-1333

Mixed Use Low and High Density Future Land Use and the MU (Mixed Use) Zoning District The Master Plan lays out two types of mixed use future land use categories, while the Zoning Ordinance has a single Mixed Use District. The Mixed Use zoning district essentially functions as residential district since most commercial uses in the MU district require Planning Commission approval. Commercial uses have more strenuous regulations than the same uses located elsewhere in the city which may block redevelopment or re-use of historical homes. The Mixed Use: Low Density Future Land Use category is planned in the Old Village area, which is more suited to a form-based code. The Mixed Use High Density future land use category is planned as a large corridor along North Main Street. It is intended to connect the Old Village and Downtown areas. This area is generally zoned B-3 (General Business) with a few parcels zoned O-1 or PUD. The Mixed Use: High Density Future Land Use Category calls for a variety of uses and a streetscape more similar to the Downtown than the Old Village. A new zoning district is needed to implement the vision for this future land use category and the South Mill Sub Area Plan in the Master Plan. If the City chooses to use a form-based zoning approach, this area and the Old Village should be unique form-based districts that reflect the land use patterns and vision for each of these different areas. Recommendation: A form-based analysis should be done for the Old Village area and the area planed for Mixed Use High Density. The analysis would include a building type inventory, analysis of street types, and categorization of those areas as centers, corridors, neighborhoods or districts. In a subsequent Zoning Ordinance update, separate form-based zoning districts would be created for these two areas. The Planning Commission should examine the principal uses in the MU district and determine if the additional regulations have produced the desired results in the Old Village area. The Zoning Ordinance should be amended accordingly. Central Business District (CBD) Future Land Use and the B-2 (Central Business) Zoning The CBD Future Land Use designation and the B-2 (Central Business) zoning district have slightly different boundaries. In the Downtown Sub Area Plan in the Master Plan, building fronts are planned to be placed at the ROW line or no more than 12 feet from the ROW line.