The Mapleview as it appears today. The Mackinac Island Planning Commission, meeting Wednesday, December 14, approved outside renovation for Grand Hotel’s new restaurant, The Gate House, and set a public hearing on Ira Green’s request to convert the Mapleview employee housing dormitory to a hotel. Commissioners noted that both projects could add safety features to the buildings.

The Gate House restaurant on the corner of Cadotte and Mahoney avenues, was formerly operated as The French Outpost. Plans include a gravel and landscaped bike parking area north of the patio, which should reduce traffic congestion on the sidewalk and the street in front of the restaurant. Building inspector Dennis Dombroski noted that bicycle parking interrupted street traffic, at times, to the point where emergency personnel have had to get out of their vehicles and move bikes before they could continue down the road.

“I think what the Grand is doing is really positive,” said Mr. Dombroski. “That is a busy corner.”

“I think that off-street bike parking can do nothing but good,” agreed Commissioner Kay Hoppenrath.

The Mapleview would have a new look if a proposed change of use and two variances are approved. Commissioners approved both interim and final plans for the restaurant’s outdoor eating area, pending approval by the city’s architect in a 6-to-1 vote. The dissenting vote came from Bruce LaPine, who did not like the esthetics of the planned canvas covering, which he said looked like a tent.

Interim plans call for a canvas awning from the restaurant to the outside covered pavilion, to be used for the coming tourist season, said architect Tamara Burns of SmithGroup, an Ann Arbor company. The canvas would be removed in the winter. Next fall, the canvas roof would be extended to encircle a clear glass and steel structure enclosing an eating area by the outdoor fireplace.

A public hearing for the Mapleview hotel proposal will be Tuesday, January 10, at 2 p.m. Mr. Green would like to convert the Mapleview, a 110-bed employee housing unit on Main Street near Mission Point Resort, to a 26room hotel. The hotel would have 22 guest rooms, two staff rooms, and a manager’s apartment. The planning commission could vote on the use change without a public hearing, City Attorney Tom Evashevski noted, but Mr. Green requested a hearing.

Mapleview is in a single family residential (R-1) zoning district. The structure was built in 1902 and was included in a high-density residential (R-3) district in the 1950s. When the city rezoned the area to R11 in the 1980s, a grandfather clause allowed Mapleview’s continued use as a boarding house.

The building carries a non-conforming “A” designation, which means a change of use can be allowed if the change does not cause more non-conformity than already exists. Mr. Green contends that using the building as a hotel, however, would require the building to meet stricter building codes, making the building safer.

Mr. Green said he is considering seeking two other variances later, if he gets the use change. The variances include a side yard setback variance and a lot coverage variance for proposed alternations to the building.

Commissioners also approved a proposed addition to the back of the home of Frank Nephew’s single family residence in the Mission area. Mr. LaPine voted against the building plans because of concerns for potential snow build up in a back window. Plans indicated two roof lines meeting above the window and Mr. LaPine was concerned that snow run-off from both roofs might block a potential fire exit. Mr. LaPine’s concerns could not be addressed because Mr. Nephew did not attend the meeting.

The planning commission next meets Tuesday, January 10, at 3 p.m.