New Buffalo planners recommend revised site plan for proposed restaurant

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CITY OF NEW BUFFALO JOHN HUMPHREY, MAYOR CITY COUNCIL LOU O’DONNELL, IV. MARK ROBERTSON, JOHN HUMPHREY, ROGER LIJESKI, BRIAN FLANAGAN City Council meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 6:30PM CITY OF NEW BUFFALO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS to be determined NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP BOARD PETE RAHM, MICHELLE HEIT, JUDY H. ZABICKI, PATTY IAZZETTO, JACK ROGERS Board meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7PM NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Meets on the 1st Tuesday of each month at 6:30PM

NEW BUFFALO AREA SCHOOLS BOARD CHUCK HEIT, PRESIDENT HEATHER BLACK, VICE PRESIDENT JOHN HASKINS, TREASURER LISA WERNER, SECRETARY JOYCE LANTZ, TRUSTEE FRANK MARGRO, TRUSTEE PATRICIA NEWSTON, TRUSTEE CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP BOARD DAVID BUNTE, PAULA DUDIAK, LIZ RETTIG, RICHARD SULLIVAN, BILL MARSKE Chikaming Board meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 6:30PM CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Meets on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 6:30PM THREE OAKS THREE OAKS TOWNSHIP BOARD Meets on the 2nd Monday of each month at 7PM VILLAGE OF THREE OAKS BOARD Meets on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7PM GRAND BEACH VILLAGE OF GRAND BEACH COUNCIL Meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7PM MICHIANA VILLAGE OF MICHIANA COUNCIL Meets on the 2nd Friday of each month at 1PM

New Buffalo planners recommend revised site plan for proposed restaurant

Members of the City of New Buffalo Planning Commission approved and recommended a revised site plan for a restaurant that’s being proposed in downtown New Buffalo to the New Buffalo City Council at a special meeting Tuesday, Nov. 16.

Members approved the recommendation in a 4-0 vote, with planner Bill McCollum, who’s serving as architect for the project, abstaining.

The applicant, Damon Marano, was requesting site plan approval for the proposed restaurant at 1 N. Whittaker Street, which is in the Central Business District (CBD).

Earlier this year, the location had been presented to the Planning Commission for a special use permit for outside seating by another applicant. The new site plan that was being presented that night, however, was not requesting any outdoor seating.

McCollum said the new plan differs from the previous one, which would’ve involved pulling the façade of the building back about 12 feet so there’s outdoor seating but on city property. The site plan being presented that evening involved maintaining the existing perimeter of the building.

New mechanical units on the roof will be screened, so they can’t be seen. A series of windows will also go all the way around the building.

The existing building will contain four commercial spaces, with a pharmacy already occupying one of these spaces. McCollum said the restaurant will occupy 50 percent of the first floor.

McCollum said that the owner also wants to do another seating area in the basement, where there will also be a prep kitchen.

Since the new site plan involves space being added in the basement, it was being proposed that evening that 12 additional spaces be used out of the Farina parking lot (located across the street on U.S. 12/Buffalo Street). The lot currently has 90 spaces, with Beer Church being involved for some of those spaces.

He said total seating capacity for the restaurant, including the downstairs and upstairs, is 320, which is “based on the code.”

“So, what we’re asking for is site plan approval to bump the façade up to where it already is, the basement restaurant and this additional parking over here – so there’s three things to be considered,” McCollum said.

Planner Don Stoneburner said that he approved of the project but was still concerned about the additional parking that was described as being “not concrete,” such as if the parking lot gets sold.

Chair Paul Billingslea said that Beer Church also requires some of that parking in the Farina lot to accommodate their seating, adding that he doesn’t think they can allow Beer Church to do that but tell someone else they can’t.

He added that parking is an issue in New Buffalo that’s “bad going on worse,” and that the city is looking at ways to alleviate it. “I’d love to see building get used and cleaned up a little bit - it could definitely use some updating,” he said.

Planners recommended to the city council that the rezoning of property on S. Willard Street from General Commercial District to R-1 Single Family Residential.

Planners reelected Billingslea to be chair of the Planning Commission.

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA

Mlegally referred to as, 45.8 acres – of the Grand Beach Nature Preserve at their Wednesday, Nov. 17, meeting.

Since the new site plan involves president, said that everything got space being finished up late that afternoon. added in the basement, it was Michigan Department of Natural being proposed Resources Trust Fund (MDNRTF) grant that evening that toward the property’s purchase, which 12 additional includes the driving range, pond, and spaces be used wooded area, in 2018. In 2019, the village out of the Farina raised the remaining $800,000, or 25 parking lot percent of the project’s $3.2 million (located across project cost, in matching funds, which the street on were made up of generous donations

U.S. 12/Buffalo and a 10 percent match from the land’s

Street). The lot owners, Grand Beach Land Development currently has 90 (GBLD). spaces, with Beer

Church being acquire the undeveloped land has taken involved for some close to six years. of those spaces. indefinitely to enjoy and it’s at our disposal…I think it’s really a lasting legacy for this council,” she said. to hold off on taking any further action on a draft short-term rental ordinance, which was drafted by the Planning Commission. she hoped to hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance; however, this was before the recent passage of state House Bill 4722 on Oct. 27. state Senate, states that short-term rentals aren’t commercial but are a residential use. requires municipalities to allow up to 30 percent of their residences to be rentals. There’s also a limit on only allowing one person to own two houses for the