[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6302059,"mediaKeyId","2482644-e77e658e4021467a65c760178da47347","parentId",2482644,"title","Planning commission forwards Lakeview District quarter plan to city commission for March 4 review","audioSeconds",1912,"startMs",4316070,"endMs",6228335,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2482644-e77e658e4021467a65c760178da47347&start=4316&end=6228","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2482644-e77e658e4021467a65c760178da47347/thumbnail_4316070.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6302059/Battle-Creek-City/Calhoun-County/Michigan/Planning-commission-forwards-Lakeview-District-quarter-plan-to-city-commission-for-March-4-review","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6302059-6492f5179335f54020ab893d0210800a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771174948&Signature=acA8hGleoVSZLdPhmy2lgLXwjQn2gPiQ6CHR9ebpD06WFRHiJTIiLUC6iBbIuY-KkDcxHSnC1rkN1mVt7LNOeoyBNbSDVqe~wPCLeZh6lviRxwrIkiwFbdlLXAfiPHyKP9pu58PyscWSN6YD1iEg~RosUkguVDK47StCDgtcY7UFKznNvJ6MaJTjgzDbq5tQ42pmtLZfGZRmMT7b2cJ-4~pIrnjDGEdOpdtpmCP-Mb1BuBQh9ZdWxtUs4bp0Js-0iVkshbvqBypynY3bsvNxg2DHzUryotCpS2yjBW~u5U6UdBHacivK4AAfGfcQ4VyqDpboMwq-H7AmHmkYTMKpGw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Battle Creek","date","2025-02-26T00:00:00Z","article","The City of Battle Creek Planning Commission voted on Feb. 26, 2025, to forward the Lakeview District Quarter Plan to the City Commission; if approved there, staff said the city commission could place the plan on its March 4 agenda for broader outreach to utilities, neighboring jurisdictions and stakeholders.

Consultant Eric Kehoe of Progressive Companies presented the plan and implementation recommendations after a multi-month engagement that staff said reached roughly 3,000 community participants through surveys, pop-ups, focus groups and open houses. Kehoe summarized the plan’s three guiding themes as “placemaking, green infrastructure, and reducing car dependence,” and described design concepts including partial demolition of the Sears building, daylighting a buried creek, relocating the movie theater, consolidating strong mall tenants, and replacing large surface parking areas with mixed housing and public open space.

The plan’s findings included a large excess of parking relative to current code; Kehoe said the district has roughly three times the parking required by today’s zoning in many places. Conceptual redevelopment options shown to commissioners included multi‑building residential blocks, mixed‑use buildings with first-floor retail on Twentieth Street, a park created where the Sears building now sits, and trails and connections to the Brickyard Creek Trail. Kehoe also proposed tactical street redesigns (temporary road diets and pilot projects) and recommended the city restart the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) or similar financing mechanism to capture tax increment for infrastructure and public‑realm investments.

Commissioners asked about property acquisition, revenue capture, and how to address auto‑oriented corridors such as Beckley Road. Kehoe recommended targeted acquisitions to enable catalytic projects, a new DDA plan to enable bonding or incentives, zoning refinements to allow the mixed‑use vision, and an incentives packet for developers. The plan memo also lists potential funding sources including tax increment financing, Brownfield cleanup grants, and state housing programs that can improve competitive scoring for Low Income Housing Tax Credit applications.

Commissioner Behnke moved to send the plan to the City Commission; the motion was seconded by Commissioner Morris and carried. Staff told commissioners that, if the city commission places the plan on its March 4 agenda, the city will begin outreach to adjacent jurisdictions, utilities and transportation agencies as part of the next step.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Planning Commission meeting - 2/26/2025","oneSentenceSummary","After a presentation from consultant Eric Kehoe, the Planning Commission voted to send the Lakeview District Quarter Plan to the City Commission for consideration and next steps, including DDA restart, zoning reform, and targeted redevelopment strategies.","taxTitle","Battle Creek City, Calhoun County, Michigan","taxId",3332,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6302064,"Planning commission denies straight rezoning for 80 N. 20th St., urges conditional plan and neighborhood talks",3661,212155,3874010,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2482644-e77e658e4021467a65c760178da47347&start=212&end=3874","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2482644-e77e658e4021467a65c760178da47347/thumbnail_212155.jpg","/articles/6302064/Battle-Creek-City/Calhoun-County/Michigan/Planning-commission-denies-straight-rezoning-for-80-N-20th-St-urges-conditional-plan-and-neighborhood-talks","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6302064-23e3ccd324ffcccb30b11896a9f29a08/orig.mp4?Expires=1771174948&Signature=YFX257~-20ALz-ZjqVDOJ7a0EcaWKsADXJUBbg3R9T4qfCDDrOloMnGAKNzHAlTt5eVJCOhyzjUkL0QrL9P-z3isnm0PQAZldq3BHHWCpr7hqba-l-jgM9hozwPouK8BE3ah~g2Q1FxtZVk0dUpquWiHhjsx2M0A2vlqZ0~B52rOTED6wyFw~uQ478r-K90Q~cUan6lwHGpNyhwGlLW9JhMwvQDGx2n0std2nBcmIHb04nGcqrKnGMUCwm5~Twu5GQibDDnprLfxe3esMADafzvPGW0lwrjHUmnnF0xBgQMyn~wsh8BMH3pizmJf~sO2FL2xCaPqZQsIgjgVGrMhXQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The City of Battle Creek Planning Commission voted down a straight rezoning request for 80 North 20th Street on Feb. 26, 2025, rejecting the applicant’s request to change the property from R1B single-family residential to T3 neighborhood commercial and directing the applicant to work with neighbors on a conditional rezoning.

Staff said the parcel is approximately 16.54 acres and under the current R1B designation would allow a by-right single-family subdivision; the staff report recommended denial of an unconditional rezoning because of potential incompatibility with surrounding uses. Staff described a straight rezoning to T3 as allowing a much higher by-right density; the staff presentation listed a T3 maximum capacity of up to 330 dwelling units if developed at full allowable density.

The applicant, Michael Gothberg of Titus LLC, said he and his development team have not yet closed on the property and therefore have not prepared a formal site plan. Gothberg told the commission he and the project designer, Cody Newman of Driven Design, see the site as suitable for multifamily or mixed-use development rather than the lower-density single-family subdivision allowed under the existing zoning. Newman said the team preliminarily sketched three buildings of roughly 90 units each, describing the citywide housing shortage and saying mixed-use along Twentieth Street could include first-floor retail with residential above. “We have a housing shortage in the city,” Newman said. Gothberg also told commissioners: “we don’t even probably want to do the things that the concerns are.”

Multiple nearby residents and property owners urged caution and asked the commission to require more specifics before changing zoning. Mark Husepp, who identified himself as a neighborhood resident, told commissioners, “A neighborhood should have low traffic, low noise level, no obtrusive lighting, good security,” and said the neighborhood needs visual plans to understand the scale of development. Other commenters raised traffic-safety and stormwater concerns, noting an on-site retention pond; one resident asked whether the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE/DEQ) should review drainage before major redevelopment. Another resident asked how sidewalks and pedestrian safety would be addressed; staff said new development would be required to provide sidewalks on the development side and that the city’s non-motorized transportation plan can identify longer-term sidewalk priorities for grant funding.

Commissioners debated procedure and community protections. Darcy (city staff) explained that straight rezonings cannot carry conditions unless those conditions are offered voluntarily by the applicant as part of a conditional rezoning application. Commissioners expressed concern that an unconditional T3 approval would permit all uses allowed by the T3 zone without guaranteed neighborhood protections. Commissioner Godfrey moved to approve the straight rezoning; the motion was seconded, but when the commission voted, every recorded vote on the motion was “no,” and the motion failed. Following the vote, staff and the applicant agreed to organize a neighborhood meeting; staff offered to facilitate and asked residents for contact information so the city and applicant can schedule a convening.

Next steps: The applicant may submit a conditional rezoning that would include conditions proposed by the applicant; a conditional rezoning must be reviewed again by the planning commission and, if recommended, forwarded to the city commission. Staff said a conditional rezoning approval generally includes deadlines and extension options and would attach to the property once finalized. Gothberg indicated his team intends to start community meetings promptly and hopes to re-present a conditional application within about 30–45 days.","The City of Battle Creek Planning Commission voted against a straight rezoning of 80 North 20th Street from R1B single-family to T3 neighborhood commercial on Feb. 26, 2025, and encouraged the applicant to pursue a conditional rezoning after additional community engagement.","actionData","errors"]

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Planning commission forwards Lakeview District quarter plan to city commission for March 4 review

Planning commission denies straight rezoning for 80 N. 20th St., urges conditional plan and neighborhood talks