The Wayland City Planning C
ommission will have public hearings at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, on a sign ordinance and on non-comforming lots.
Commissioner Sam Dykstra said he and Chairman John Frigmanski met with representatives from the Main Street program and Downtown Development Authority and it was agreed the city would hand over responsibility to them for sign guidelines for the downtown business district.
“We want them to ask local businesses what they’d like to see in providing basic guidelines (for sign regulations),” Dykstra said.
However, the Planning Commission would still be involved through site plan review, is needed.
Frigmanski said. “We need to use discretion whenever a (downtown) business makes a major change in appearance in appearance or parking space… Once we hand this over to the committee, we’re done.”
Regulations for signs in the central business district have been a big headache for the Planning Commission and City Council for quite some time. There have been challenges to current rules, such as the Freda’s Fish Fry trailer and the No. 1 Chinese Restaurant sign, bot on West Superior Street.
Commissioner Andrew Shelest exhorted the commission, “Let’s get this public hearing set so we can move forward on this.”
The commission also will examine rules for residential and business non-conforming lots, including mobile home parks, manufactured homes and perhaps even the newly-popular “tiny homes.”
When asked, City Manager Mike Selden said there are some examples of non-conforming lots in the northern section of the city, but problems would arise if the buildings were destroyed by fire or razed.
Planning Consultant Janis Johnson of Wade Trim said the proposed ordinance would call for a minimum of 5,000 square feet and 50 feet in width for a lot.
“You must have standards for all dwellings outside of mobile home parks,” she told the Planning Commission and you can’t just discriminate against manufactured homes.”
