Mackinaw City Village Council addressed land divisions and maintaining aesthetic appeal in the city at the Thursday, January 5, meeting.

A signage proposal that came before the board prompted members to consider what to call “art” and what to call a “sign.” These are tricky definitions for the village council, since it is charged with the responsibility of regulating advertising, said Steve Schnell, community development director.

Aretail clothing store called Exist Outlet will replace the old Chee Peng restaurant, which is scheduled to be torn down, and planners of Exist Outlet have elaborate artistic plans.

The store will include stone and logs to establish a lodge theme, Mr. Schnell said, and a statue of a bear will be placed over the entryway. Customers would pass under its feet when walking into the store.

They had to request a sign variance for the bear, however, because Mackinaw City has a prohibition against animal advertisements.

“Basically,” Mr. Schnell said, “we didn’t want large, inflatable animals like many used in big city advertising, such as the Travelodge bear.”

The council had to prohibit such ads, he added, as counter to Mackinaw City’s image and on the grounds that such advertising is excessive. Mackinaw City authorities stick very close to the letter of their ordinances in these matters, he said.

Essentially, the bear was considered one piece of a two-part nature theme. The second is a mural depicting mountain scenery.

Everyone who has seen the plan liked it, Mr. Schnell said, and the business will still retain its right to have two other signs. One will face I-75, the other will face Nicolet Street.

The Nicolet Street corridor is a point of interest in the development of Mackinaw City in general, he added.

The village planning commission is hoping to use it to attract more tourism from I-75, since it is the last stretch of the city drivers see before passing over the Mackinac Bridge.

In the future, Mr. Schnell said, the council is considering adjusting sign ordinances to allow for enhanced advertising along the corridor. The planning commission and business owners will also be discussing the possibility of a consistent theme along Nicolet Street.

Although the highly visible site could pull traffic into Mackinaw City, it remains critical not to overdo signage, Mr. Schnell said.

“We will need careful balance. There is a line between letting people know a business is there and creating a carnival effect in which everything is thrown in.

“This is a hopping time of year for development projects,” he added. “Everyone comes to us with site plans from fall through February. In this season, there are fewer customers, so business owners take the opportunity to begin projects.”

Another major topic addressed at the council meeting concerned the development of land within village borders. The biggest land division Mackinaw City has seen in years has been proposed by the McMaster family. The property lies off Nokomis Street.

The board voted to authorize the division of 60 acres in the southwest part of the village into eight separate parcels. State and local guidelines permit it since each parcel will have access to a public street.

Mr. Schnell was unsure what the lots would be used for. The area is zoned for manufacturing, however, owners could request that the land be re-zoned as a commercial or light industrial area.

“It is unlikely to be used as a residential area,” he said.

The village did vote to authorize a land division within a residential area elsewhere in the city. The Sova lot at 711 West Central Avenue will be divided into three lots. There will be houses on all three parcels, Mr. Schnell said.

The lot itself has peculiar characteristics. The lot has rounded edges, owing to an early street design to accommodate a proposed street-car system. All that remains of the idea now are these boulevards and a narrow channel running beside the Sova lot. The channel is now used for drainage.

In other business, the village council reviewed adjustments to the Pirate’s Adventure Water Park site plan.

The indoor water park was intended for use by patrons of the Comfort Suites Hotel, but it has been expanded to allow other patrons. The facility is open year-around, Mr. Schnell said, and water park customers will be allowed to use the hotel’s parking lot.

Anticipating future development in Mackinaw City and the limits of ordinances to control aesthetics and other development concerns, the village council voted to amend Ordinance #138, Article XXIII Sec. 23-102 Planned Unit Developments. The ordinance will now extend to hotels.

Planned Unit Developments are procedures which allow village authorities to authorize development in a different way than simply following building ordinances.

Planned Unit Developments are used all over the country, Mr. Schnell said. They amount to designs which enable developers to do things such as cluster houses together for the purpose of creating more “green space” on a given piece of property. This could not be done within the parameters of ordinances.

The benefit, he said, is that land can be used better, and the environment can be preserved in some cases.

This type of development strategy also allows developers to reach the end goals of the community more easily, he said, and at the same time allows village authorities more control over what is built, how it is built, and where.

Essentially, it replaces ordinance control with negotiations between local authorities and developers.

In this case, developers must come up with a plan and present it to the village council, and as Mr. Schnell put it, “The burden is on the shoulders of the developers to prove that a project deserves to be allowed exceptions from ordinance regulations.” In most situations, builders follow the details of an ordinance and the council simply makes sure the rules have been followed. If so, the council must approve the project.

In a case involving a planned unit development, the council can reject a proposal that would work against community interests or does not fit the lay of the land.

In such a practice, the village planning commission has to be very careful, though, he said. For example, a hotel builder may want a larger setback, creating more green space, but instead of filling up the land with lower, horizontal structures, he may want to build a taller hotel.

Until now, Mackinaw City Village Council has not allowed Planned Unit Developments for hotel site plans. By extending the planning method, the village council must be prepared to deal with the needs of larger hotels, Mr. Schnell said.