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Community Development Annual Report

Community Development Director Kapelanski presented the FY 2024/2025 Community Development Annual Report, providing an overview of all Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals and Community Development Department activities from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. Highlights included:
 

• Planning Commission approvals for The Columbia Planned Unit Development, the J on Woodward, and the Beverly restaurant (planned opening in late fall 2025).

• The Zoning Board of Appeals approved multiple dimensional variances and new murals.

• The department continued to support our community by issuing 477 building permits, 526 electrical permits, 389 mechanical permits, 287 plumbing permits, and 195 sewer permits.

• 549 code enforcement activities were logged, with the most common and repeated enforcement actions in the City falling into the grass and weeds category.

• The comprehensive Zoning Ordinance rewrite was completed and adopted in March 2025.

• In partnership with HRC, the City’s engineering consulting firm, an interactive zoning map was created and made available to the community.

• A short-term rental process was established, and new engineering design standards were created with DPW.

• The department worked with other City departments and volunteers to test a pocket park use on the dead-end street of Dorothea off of Coolidge Hwy.

Employee Benefits Broker Agreement

A request for qualifications was issued recently to seek a new employee benefits broker, and after a comprehensive review of all five applicants by City Manager VanVleck and HR Director Stover, the project will be awarded to Manquen Vance. City Council authorized City Manager VanVleck to enter into an agreement with the firm after a final review by the City Attorney.

Manquen Vance specializes in employee benefits consulting for Michigan municipalities, offering solutions that address the unique needs and regulatory requirements of public-sector employers. Both City Manager VanVleck and HR Director Stover have experienced working with Manquen Vance, and they have consistently demonstrated reliability, expertise, and a creative approach to improving employee benefit offerings and achieving cost savings. 

Chipper Improvements

A budgeted purchase for a new chipper was approved by Council, as well as the corresponding budget amendment for this purchase. The extra cost will utilize current labor cost savings associated with the fund where the purchase is budgeted from.   

The new chipper will serve as the main machine for the bi-weekly chipper route, and the previous chipper will remain available as a backup unit and an additional unit that can be used to expedite cleanup in the event of a large storm. Staff evaluated multiple options, and ultimately chose a Morbark BVR13 (13” chipper) with dual feed wheels and a gas engine. This smaller unit has a gas engine, which is easier to maintain and offers a significant cost savings than a larger unit would due to the lower initial purchase and maintenance costs compared to the larger diesel engines. 

The new chipper is expected to arrive in time to be used for Christmas tree curbside pickups this year. A short presentation will be given at a future meeting about how the chipper program has been going since its return. 

City Properties Studies

Council approved a space utilization study at City Hall that will help us to better understand current space needs as well as plan for future space needs. This study will be performed by Bureau Veritas, the same vendor who recently completed our facilities assessment this past winter, which looked at the condition of all of our buildings and what it will take to maintain them. The space utilization study will help us gather information to make informed decisions about future maintenance needs at City Hall over the next ten years.

Approval was also granted for the proposal for appraisals of 3501 Griffith Ave (owned by the City) and City Hall from CBRE, Inc. This appraisal was budgeted and will help us to understand our options for these spaces going forward. The 3501 Griffith Ave property is zoned R-1AB with the Parking Overlay and is bordered by parking (mostly privately owned) and single-family residential uses. The City does not have a planned use for the property in the near future, but given that it could be turned into private parking, receiving an appraisal of the market value will be helpful if that opportunity arises. Additionally, the recently-completed facilities study showed that the current City Hall building is past the point of its useful life, so an appraisal for this building will be helpful in determining future options as well. CBRE’s proposal was the most cost-effective proposal received by the City.

Special Land Use Approval

City Council approved a Special Land Use request that was submitted for a potential gas station and small convenience store at 2114 West 11 Mile. The property has been vacant for a number of years, and before its vacancy, was approved as a gas station under the previous Zoning Ordinance. However, since it has been vacant for so long, and the new Zoning Ordinance allows gas stations in that district (the “Flex District”) under special land use requirements, it is treated as a new request.

The special land use request for this property was recommended for approval by the Planning Commission, with needed maintenance and updates, such as the addition of light shields to minimize impacts on surrounding properties. The next step for the property is to go in front of the Zoning Board of Appeals for approvals for dimensional variance conformities.

Ordinance Updates

A City Code amendment was presented to Council to align the outdoor seating references in connection with businesses that hold Class C liquor licenses in the City Code to the language in our new Zoning Ordinance. The substance of the code will not be changed, but references to sidewalk cafes that are no longer included in the Zoning Ordinance were removed to clean it up and match with the Zoning Ordinance.

Additional clarifications and minor changes to the Zoning Ordinance were approved as well, including items such as defining “business services” and a “live/work unit”, clarifying that parking must be on a hard surface, and adding standards for the location of recreational vehicle storage.

These clarifications and updates were found to be necessary as staff utilizes the new Zoning Ordinance and applies the standards listed within it.

Budget Updates

Council authorized a rollover budget amendment for the 2025/2026 budget, and received the budget-to-actual report for the quarter that ended on June 30, 2025. 

The rollover budget amendments cover approved expenditure items from fiscal year 2025 that either have contractual obligations that span multiple fiscal years or are capital related items that were budgeted but not purchased/received due to significant delays in ordering. The result of the budget amendments is a net zero on fund balance because the actual results for fiscal year 2025 will be higher than anticipated due to these budgeted items not spent, and when re-budgeted in fiscal year 2026, the fund balance will reduce back to the planned levels. The amendments include several items from both the General Fund and Recreation Revolving Fund, such as budgeted HVAC improvements, Bacon Park pavilion updates, and Public Works and Public Safety equipment.

Highlights of the budget-to-actual report show that every department is currently under budget. Part of the favorable expenditure variance is due to several capital outlay items that were budgeted; while orders have taken place, they have not been received as of June 30, 2025, so their budgets were rolled over to fiscal year 2025/2026. Additionally, cash reserves for potential emergencies are on track in the Water and Sewer Fund, and money that had been saved for infrastructure improvements will start to be spent during the planned Bacon Ave water main and pavement replacement project starting in Spring 2026.

It is important to note that these are not the final June 30, 2025 numbers, because the year-end close continues for the annual audit which is scheduled to begin this upcoming Monday, September 15. The balances include most of the material year-end adjustments, and the finance department does not expect significant changes.

Opioid Settlement Agreement

Council authorized City Manager VanVleck to sign the Purdue Opioid Settlement participation form. This nationwide settlement agreement, resolving litigation against Purdue and its owners regarding the opioid crisis, is for $7.4 billion, and Michigan stands to receive up to $154 million over the next 15 years. However, this depends in part on the participation of local governments, and in order for Berkley to participate, the agreement must be signed by September 30. If the settlement moves forward, Berkley will receive a small percentage of the State’s payout, and that amount will be deposited into our Opioid Settlement Fund in addition to funds from any additional opioid settlements in the future.

Want to Learn More?

• Watch the meeting recording

• Review the agenda and minutes

• Join us at our next meeting on September 22 at 7 PM - we'd love to see you there!

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