Site Condo Eyed Near Golf Course
Moran Township
By Paul Gingras

A land survey and soil borings are underway on an undeveloped, 25-acre parcel near the St. Ignace Golf Course for McNamara Heights, a proposed 13-unit site condominium between Mackinac Heights Road and Densmore Drive-in Moran Township.

The development is proposed by Mike McNamara, formerly of St. Ignace.

A site condominium contains lots or sites for detached singlefamily homes. Roads, parks, and other common elements are owned by all the site owners.

Dennis Cross of Petoskey, attorney and project coordinator for developer McNamara-Hagerty Properties, said the preliminary work is expected to be complete in one or two months.

A site plan has not yet been submitted to the township for approval, and before development takes place, a public hearing will be planned involving the company and the township planning commission, which will make a recommendation to the township board to approve or reject the project. Developers are expected to ask the township to rezone the parcel to accommodate the condominiums, said township trustee Mark Spencer.

The company hopes to begin construction of a road, water lines, and sewer lines this spring, Mr. Cross said. When buildings will appear on the lots depends on whether buyers build homes right away, or wait, he said. The first home could appear as soon as this summer.

The lots will provide views of the Mackinac Bridge and the Straits of Mackinac.

To ensure that existing homes continue to have views of the Straits, Mr. Durm said each lot on McNamara Heights will have a deed restriction limiting the height, depth, and width of the buildings.

Maintaining views from established residences is a goal of the developers, Mr. Cross said. "The developer has spent a lot of time studying the sites."

At the hearing, McNamara- Hagerty will present documents explaining how it will meet the requirements of "conditional rezoning," Mr. Spencer said, a method by which the township may rezone the parcel to accommodate the project.

The parcel in question is zoned "primary coastal growth," which requires one-acre lots. The company wants to create a more dense set of structures on smaller lots.

The conditional rezoning provision is part of the township zoning ordinance. It gives the township the authority to re-designate specific areas, in this case as "primary inland growth," which allows for more buildings on smaller lots. The company plans to restrict development of approximately 16 acres of the lot, with the remainder to be commonly owned by the site owners.

The lots are expected to cost between $400,000 to $700,000, Mr. Cross said.