The planning commission voted 5-2 to delay rezoning an area of Mackinaw City's waterfront, which includes Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry property, the village marina, and the village-owned dock property. The decision was made at a special meeting Thursday, May 22, and was preceded by a public hearing.

The area has lacked an official zoning classification since the 1980s. It was zoned business in 1977, but a revised zoning map adopted in 1988 accidentally omitted the designation, said Village Manager Jeff Lawson.

Whether the property should be added to the neighboring marina commercial district, a zone that prohibits hotels, restaurants, and other retail operations, was debated by the planning commission, Mr. Lawson, Bill and Chris Shepler, members of the public, and attorneys Joseph Kwiatkowski and Michael Stack, representing the Shepler company.

One goal of the meeting was to establish a zone for the area and fix the long-standing gap in the village zoning map. With a completed map in hand, the commission plans to assess whether to allow different property uses in zones such as the marina commercial district, said Commission Chairman Robert Most.

The urgency to zone the property is to ensure that the district has a designation in place to work with in the event that development occurs on the parcels, Mr. Most added, responding to questioning by Commissioner Jeff Hingston.

Mr. Hingston moved to delay a vote on whether to establish the area as part of the marina commercial district. The reason for the delay was to give commissioners time to conduct a full review of the history of the parcels, he said.

The commission did not act on his suggestion to rezone the villageowned parcels, and vote later on the privately owned land.

Persistent attempts by Mr. Most and Mr. Lawson to limit the subject of the meeting to rezoning the area, and delay discussion of potential changes in uses allowed there, were unheeded by the attorneys, who insisted that the types of businesses allowed in the marina commercial district should be established before expanding it from the state dock to Etherington Street.

The way the commission is going about the matter may force the Shepler company into court with the village, Mr. Stack said.

City Attorney Tom Evashevski has assured the village that designating the area marina commercial is legal, Mr. Lawson said.

The attorneys asserted that, since the area was once zoned a business district, the area remains a business district. It is not un-zoned, despite the problem with the village zoning map, they said. The property cannot be considered un-zoned and should revert to its former zoning classification, "which allows for a full range of commercial uses and including a number of other things, hotels," Mr. Stack said.

Whether the area is zoned or unzoned is debatable, but either way, the village has the right to update zoning districts and their uses, Mr. Lawson said.

Mr. Stack called the planning commission's consideration of zoning Shepler's parcels marina commercial "a drastic proposal." A property worth $2 million to $4 million should have more potential uses than those allowed by marina commercial rules, he said.

The district allows museums, public and private marinas, performance shells, off-street parking and loading, and accessory buildings associated with such uses. It also allows charter boat operations and passenger ferry boat operations, under special use requirements.

The marina commercial designation would essentially reduce the area to a park, the attorneys said, significantly devalue the Shepler company's property, and prevent the company from changing the type of business there to one that would be commercially viable.

"You would leave Mr. Shepler with...one economical use, that of ferry boat [operations]. I don't know of anybody else in the state that has one economic use for their property. Things change," Mr. Stack said, "and zoning is supposed to accommodate change."

The Sheplers have relied on having a number of possible uses for their property for 56 years, and have made business plans that take into account its current use and expected uses, said Mr. Kwiatkowski.

The uses allowed under marina commercial zoning are appropriate for the current uses of the properties and consistent with the village master plan, Mr. Lawson said. Several planning commission members agreed, although commissioners Mr. Hingston, Paul Allers, and Earl "Doc" Taylor added they felt there are too few land uses allowed under the marina commercial designation.

The commission is expecting a written legal opinion from Mr. Evashevski regarding changing uses in the district, by the commission's June 12 meeting.

The zoning map clearly defines the nature of each district in the village, including an area for hotels, a district for marinas, and so forth, Mr. Lawson pointed out.

The attorneys said they would favor at least two other business district designations for the Shepler property.

Mr. Lawson said they would create pockets of zoning inconsistent with the general plan.

Commissioner Mary Clark agreed.

"To avoid spot zoning, and to recognize the way the property is being used right now so that we are not creating a non-conforming nightmare, it would to me seem most appropriate to zone it marina commercial," she said.

The restrictions of the designation would affect the company's business plan, which incorporates borrowing money, said Chris Shepler, and would hamper the company's ability to do get loans.

Mr. Shepler urged the commissioners to take the plan to borrow money into account.

"I think we have had a problem [regarding the un-zoned parcels] for 23 years," said Commissioner Nancy Dean. "I think we have to get it addressed now. We have talked about the zoning. We know we are going to talk about uses in the near future, and I think it is important that we talk about the uses. The [Sheplers] need to know what they are facing."

Getting a loan without knowing how a property is zoned may be impossible, she added.

If the parcels are designated marina commercial, Bill Shepler asked if a request to rezone them under the B2 designation can be made in the future.

A public hearing on the B2 option would be necessary, Mr. Most said. After that, the commission would discuss the matter and vote on a recommendation to the village council.

The commission has the opportunity to rezone frequently, and property owners have the right to request rezoning, Mr. Lawson said.

In February 2007, the planning commission denied a similar request to rezone the area, Mr. Lawson reported.