Traverse City commissioners unanimously approved a new city implantation policy for Proposal 3 Monday and expressed general support for a proposed $4.5 million plan to improve city sidewalks.

City staff brought forward a detailed recommendation to commissioners on how to implement Proposal 3, the newly enacted charter amendment requiring a public vote on buildings over 60 feet tall. City staff have wrestled with questions surrounding implementing Proposal 3, including how best to measure building height, at what in the city review process an election should be triggered, how ballot language will be worded, and how long voter approval of projects lasts.

The policy adopted by commissioners Monday addresses each of those issues. The city’s zoning ordinance will be used as a baseline for measuring building height for developments, and elections for tall building projects will be triggered after a city planning commission review but before a city commission review. If voters approve a project, it would then go to the city commission for final review. If voters reject a project, the city commission would not consider it. Developers can bring projects to voters an unlimited number of times, but must bear the costs if a special election is required to put forward a ballot proposal.

While city staff initially recommended having voter approval of projects last in perpetuity, commissioners changed the policy Monday to instead follow the city’s special land use permit (SLUP) ordinance. That ordinance requires developers to start significant construction on a project within a maximum of three years of a SLUP being issued, otherwise the SLUP expires. The new Proposal 3 policy also requires significant construction to begin on a project within three years of city commission approval of its SLUP, otherwise voter approval for the project expires.

Because Proposal 3’s language states only that voters be given an opportunity to approve building height – and does not mention consideration of other factors such as design, setback, building use or ownership – the new policy states that ballot questions will only be allowed to read as follows: “Shall a building with a height above 60 feet be constructed at [address/property description/tax ID number]?” But several commissioners expressed a desire to add a process by which a preamble – or background information on a ballot proposal – could be added before ballot questions to provide more context for voters at the polls.

“There’s got to be some explanation (of projects) on the ballot…basic information of where, why and how,” said Commissioner Richard Lewis.

Commissioners asked City Clerk Benjamin Marentette to come back with a future recommendation on a consistent process for adding preambles to ballot proposals. Commissioners can then amend the Proposal 3 implementation policy to add on the preamble process.

Commissioners Monday also expressed general support for a proposed $4.5 million plan to improve city sidewalks. City Manager Marty Colburn is recommending using a 15-year, $4.5 million bond to make nearly 70,000 feet of city sidewalk improvements over the next two years – including adding more than 48,000 feet of new sidewalk to Traverse Heights neighborhood. Monday’s meeting was commissioners’ first look at the proposal, which will come to the board for official approval during the city's upcoming budget process.

Multiple commissioners expressed support for accelerating sidewalk improvements throughout the city, though they also said they hoped to see more detail about the proposal when it came forward for a vote. Lewis said he wanted to “identify where payments are going to come from” for the bond in the city’s budget, as well as the cost of extra personnel and equipment needed for the sidewalk project. Commissioner Brian Haas said he hoped to see more on “how this affects our budget for the next 15 years” and if the project is “coming at the expense of something else.” Commissioners Amy Shamroe and Tim Werner expressed a desire to talk through the proposed improvement map to see if streets should be added or removed from the list and how particular sidewalk projects would be prioritized.

While Commissioner Gary Howe agreed the proposal needed some “tightening up,” he noted the city is already spending “$300,000 or $400,000 a year right now” on sidewalk improvements. Howe said the city would spend that same amount under a bond scenario, but with more significant results. “This dedicates the same amount for 15 years, but yet at the same time, we get the benefits much earlier,” he said.