Opinion: Preview of April 13 Planning Commission meeting

There will be a Flint Planning Commission meeting at City Hall (3rd floor, right behind where city council usually sits) at 6 p.m. April 13.  Anyone is welcome to attend.

As always, there is a public forum at the start where anyone can speak on commission topics. This time, because there will also be a site plan review and a public hearing, there will be separate times designated for the public to talk about those issues.

The site plan review is for the construction of a new IRS building at 915 N. Saginaw St.,  near the intersection of Saginaw and Louisa.  The site plan involves demolishing two existing structures on Saginaw, as well as retaining walls, pieces of concrete old utility poles and other objects on the proposed location.

The public hearing will be on Hamilton Clinic's request to re-zone a parcel of land (totaling about 7.9 acres) from E (heavy industrial) to D-2 (neighborhood business).

Medical clinics are not permitted in the E zone, so a rezoning is needed if Hamilton is to build a new facility on the site. The location is almost the whole block between Saginaw on the west, North Street on the east, Leith on the north and Dartmouth on the south.

Currently this land is vacant. The properties were cleared by the city in the 1980s and designated E zoning with the intention that it would be an industrial park.  That never happened so the rezoning is sought to allow other uses, such as a clinic.

The other matters on the agenda are more or less our standing items.  They include reports on several things, such as the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) and any updates on a master planning initiative.

There is one other item under reports —Aldrich Park.  I haven't seen this on the agenda before so am not sure if it is for informational purposes or not.  However, I recall that a few meetings ago, a commissioner asked a question regarding the possible installation of a demonstration urban farm garden on site at that park.  The agenda item could be in reference to that.

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Elizabeth Jordan is a lifelong Flint resident who represents the Ninth Ward on the Flint Planning Commission.  In addition to working in the nonprofit sector, she is involved with various community initiatives promoting social justice and peace.