Horizon Community Planning - In the Press

A report previously shared by Community Planner David Jirousek shows just how much STRs impact the R-1 district. There are 501 dwelling units in the district and 158 short-term rental permits.

Of those, 123 permits are registered to the neighborhood "Community Residential," where there are 334 dwelling units. That means 37% of homes in that area are STRs. Jirousek's data showed there are only three available STR licenses across the six neighborhoods labeled R-1.

 Dave Jirousek, whose company, Horizon Community Planning has been working with the City of Ferrysburg for more than a decade, said he’ll take the information gathered at Wednesday’s meeting and put it together for the Planning Commission to consider going forward.

“This is really the kickoff effort, just to hear from folks,” he said. “From here, the Planning Commission will be having meetings over the next couple of months where they’ll be considering the extent of changes to the plans, and start drafting language, making changes to maps. From there, there’s a formal review process, public hearings, then formal adoption. I’d say we’ll probably have a draft prepared in the next four months.”

Related:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7166813135968940032/

Jirousek  said  some  aspects  of  the  existing  zoning  ordinance  can  be  implemented  in  the new zoning ordinance that is  being  crafted,  but  several  sections  of  it  will  need  to  be  changed.   One   of   the   major   ones  pertains  to  Planned  Unit  Developments  (PUDs).  Right  now,   projects   have   to   go   through   a   lengthy   site-plan   review process before they go to   the   township   board   for   review.That process often includes a  review  of  a  proposed  proj-ect’s   traffic   impact   and   a   review  by  the  drain  commis-sion  or  a  state  agency.  And  then, the planning commission has  to  review  the  initial  site  plan  and,  later,  the  final  site  plan  before  it  eventually  gets  to the township board.“All   of   that   work   could   (cost)   tens   of   thousands   of   dollars  ...  in  some  cases,  hun-dreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  before    an    applicant    even    knows  if  they’re  going  to  get  an okay for a project,” Jirousek said.So,  instead,  he  is  recommending  that  the  preliminary  plan for a development project be  reviewed  by  the  planning  commission  and  then  go  right  to the township board.“You’d have an overall idea of   what   the   project   details.   You’d  have  enough  detail  to  make a decision from a policy perspective.  And  then  later,  it  comes  back,  so  just  the planning commission has the final site plan,” Jirousek said.  

Related:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/davidjirousek_to-follow-up-on-the-critical-master-planning-activity-7055186405915832320-2tax?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

 Last summer, the city hired third-party consultants, Horizon Community Planning, to review and revise the city's ordinance, which had received criticism from residents, developers and city staff alike about its inconsistencies and incomprehensibility. The industrial moratorium was enacted to prevent additional parcels of land from being zoned to industrial uses, a grievance echoed by Port Wentworth's residents for decades, while Horizon Community Planning revamped the city's zoning laws. 

Related:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/davidjirousek_port-wentworth-lifts-industrial-rezoning-activity-7080193115239682049-4Wxl?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/davidjirousek_port-wentworths-full-zoning-ordinance-rewrite-activity-7028421157645160448-2xXF?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

 “This is just one step in a major city initiative," said David Jirousek, "Outside of zoning, the city is going to be assessing road and utility infrastructure, property maintenance codes and overall stormwater management planning to really ensure it's on solid ground to be able to be prepared for the incredible port-related growth pressures. This is just part of a comprehensive approach to address those pressures."  

In the next several months, Horizon plans to work with the city's steering committee on rewriting the zoning ordinance, local laws that dictate development specifications and characteristics of the city's zoning districts. The process will be expedited to meet the city's current industrial rezoning moratorium deadline, said David Jirousek of Horizon.    

The planning commission restructure was prompted by an audit of the city’s zoning ordinance from outside auditors Horizon Community Planning [David Jirousek]. The review revealed major issues, not only with the ordinance itself but also the city's planning commission organization.

"The entire process of planning and zoning needs modernizing and professionalizing,” said [Steve] Davis. “Our meetings were not being conducted in an optimal manner ... Therefore, we decided to look at other organizational structures that would better fit our fast-growing area.”

...Planner David Jirousek...said the developer also had addressed concerns about landscaping and the overall site plan that had been raised at the Planning Commission's Jan. 15 meeting. Specifically, those concerns had to do with the type and height of trees that would be planted to screen the development site from nearby residential areas, the removal of an additional retail building that had initially been planned on the eastern edge of the development and stormwater and utility plans.

Horizon Community Planning LLC, the independent planning outfit owned by David Jirousek, who also does planning work for Byron Township, will fill that consultant position after a unanimous vote taken by the Township Board during a meeting held Monday, Dec. 10. 

“Individual, family, and community food production pre-dates factory farming and industrial agricultural practices. It is a practice that brings people closer to their food source and allows for a deeper understanding of food systems and nutrition. As city and village dwellers more frequently plant gardens and raise chickens and other small animals, urban populations are learning seemingly forgotten skills.”

However, Jirousek says, “…it is critical that households with an interest in urban homesteading become familiar with, and closely follow their local jurisdictions code and rules…”