Traverse City commissioners approved a special land use permit (SLUP) request Monday from Munson Medical Center to build a 110-foot new family birth and children’s center. But city staff say a ballot initiative to require a public vote on buildings over 60 feet high could still affect the project's prospects.

The new Munson building is planned to stretch across Sixth Street between the main hospital wing and the Cowell Family Cancer Center. The expansion will allow Munson to modernize and consolidate its women’s and children’s services into one facility, and will include operating rooms expansion for surgical services and replacements for medical and surgical beds. A new parking deck will be constructed in Munson's parking lot to accommodate expanded hospital traffic.

City commissioners unanimously approved Munson’s SLUP request Monday, as well as the hospital's plans to vacate and reroute part of Sixth Street to accommodate the expansion. Hospital officials said the parking deck would be the first component to be built, requiring approximately 18 months of work. The deck would then be followed by the three-year construction of the family birth and children's center.

The SLUP was granted just before Traverse City residents vote today (Tuesday) on Proposition 3. If approved, the ballot initiative would amend the city's charter to require voter approval of any buildings over 60 feet high before those projects can be considered by city staff or the city commission. Both City Planning Director Russ Soyring and City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht note that while Munson received its SLUP prior to the election, that permit is only the first of several that must be obtained by the hospital before construction can begin. According to Proposal 3's language, voter approval is required "prior to approval by the City or City Commission of the construction of a building with a height above 60 feet" - meaning future permits that require city approval for Munson to begin construction could still trigger the need for an election.

"That is something the lawyers will debate: What does approval mean?" says Soyring. "The SLUP is one of the many permits that need to get approval before building can commence. We still need to receive their full detailed plans and issue a land use permit, a right-of-way permit and several other permits. These are all approvals that relate to a taller structure."

Trible-Laucht agrees the ballot language "doesn't differentiate between a SLUP and any other approval." She declined to speculate on how the city would handle Munson's project if Proposition 3 passes. "I don't know," she said. "I think it's a really good question."