These are empty lots; he's building infill. That's why they are requesting lot splits.
Edit: Looks like the development and planning committee delayed more the lot splits forward since the land bank no longer owned the land. The committee believes that it's the new owners who must request the lot split. So this has hit a snag.
This weeks' agenda will have the committee recommending approval to the full council for the Mt. Hope & Pleasant Grove brownfield plan and the sale of the land at Hillsdale & MLK for the small housing development.
The construction of the Taco Bell at MLK and Southland seems to be moving along. That parcel is zoned MX-2 Mixed-Use Community Center, and it doesn’t seem to be meeting any of the form based code requirements. Oh well. I guess it will fit with the area’s decrepit fast food/strip mall aesthetic. We wouldn’t want to ruin that kind of cohesiveness.
It kind of seems like this FBC was just developed to maintain the status quo and not actually improve the city’s built environment.
Drive-thrus are permitted with conditions up to MX-3, apparently, on all street types except local streets. So this appears to follow the code. Where you'll really see the code come into play in this area is if/when Logan Square is developed. The current ridiculously deep setbacks that are there presently will not be allowed.
Idk, the setbacks look pretty significant. The conditions state that the front setback should only exceed the build-to line to accommodate a lane for safe travel. It looks big enough for parking, which isn’t allowed in the conditions. Maybe they’ll put a “patio” with like two tables that no one will ever use to meet the guidelines?
Regardless, if that’s allowed to be built in the same form as any old fast food restaurant, defying all of the primary guidelines for that zoning category, along a designated “activity corridor” (defined as an arterial or Major Street that traverses an area that typically is designed to promote a multi-modal balance between vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle travel…lol) then it’s not a very high quality form based code, IMO.
The more I read this thing, the more toothless it sounds.
The setback doesn't look any larger than the existing setbacks for the the travel lane, to me. Though, I agree, I'd have liked to have seen a tigher code. At the same time, we're talking a strip along a literal state highway. Short of giving it a road diet, you're not going to get truly urban development, there. This is not the best place to judge the code, IMO. MX-2 is supposed to be more auto-oriented than either MX-1 or MX-3.
Small item, but growing eyesore. Laux Construction posted on LinkedIn that they will be doing renovations on the pedestrian bridge connecting the Radisson to the Lansing Center.
Not sure how to share the post, so I thought I'd try the screenshot. Sounds like a total overhaul.
Gillespie is claiming he has two prospective tenants who are both interested in having a corporate HQ on Larch just south of Shiawassee on a combination of land he owns and that he hopes to buy from the city. He says one tenant would reuse the existing building and the other would tear it down to construct a 40k sq ft building. Obviously the construction of even a relatively small 40k sq ft corporate HQ would be a pretty big boon for the Cedar/Larch corridor and a very welcome diversification of uses. That being said, I find Gillespie's statements here suspect, it sounds as though he's just trying to reduce any potential roadblocks to the land sale. I guess it'll be yet another case of wait-and-see.
Comments
Edit: Looks like the development and planning committee delayed more the lot splits forward since the land bank no longer owned the land. The committee believes that it's the new owners who must request the lot split. So this has hit a snag.
This weeks' agenda will have the committee recommending approval to the full council for the Mt. Hope & Pleasant Grove brownfield plan and the sale of the land at Hillsdale & MLK for the small housing development.
It kind of seems like this FBC was just developed to maintain the status quo and not actually improve the city’s built environment.
Regardless, if that’s allowed to be built in the same form as any old fast food restaurant, defying all of the primary guidelines for that zoning category, along a designated “activity corridor” (defined as an arterial or Major Street that traverses an area that typically is designed to promote a multi-modal balance between vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle travel…lol) then it’s not a very high quality form based code, IMO.
The more I read this thing, the more toothless it sounds.
Not sure how to share the post, so I thought I'd try the screenshot. Sounds like a total overhaul.
https://www.lansingcitypulse.com/stories/gillespie-plans-rooftop-bar-to-lure-corporate-hq-to-stadium-district,20364?fbclid=IwAR3KHTZYEizhKbkTsxTZCm28EbBKsYxtjm3WF7g7RWzhjTI9IYjPbPzJS8A