Should Brighton reduce housing density ‘uptown’? Some on the council think so

BRIGHTON — Housing density in uptown Brighton is once again under discussion, with some city councillors calling for it to be reduced to fewer stories with greater distances from existing homes.

Brighton has historically been a downtown defined by single-family homes. Several years ago, city officials created a new zoning code that allows for medium- to high-density residential development — such as multi-story apartments and townhomes — on land between Mill Pond and the railroad tracks north of Center Street, past Advance Street.

Apartments, terraced houses and flats have been built or are under construction in the district, creating four- and three-storey multi-family homes within walking distance of the city centre.

Vista at Brighton, a four-story, 231-unit complex on Mill Pond — the city’s largest residential building — is expected to be completed this year at 700 N. Second St. There are also three-story buildings in the district, including the 15-unit Second Street Flats, the eight-unit Uptown on First and four more residential buildings under construction on Walnut Street.

Some council members want to see changes, including reducing the number of stories allowed in the Uptown District in the future. The council directed the city’s Planning Commission to review an ordinance on “R5” zoning.

The planning commission began a discussion on Monday, July 15, which will continue at future city meetings.

Planning commission chairman Matt Smith did not respond to a request for comment.

“Not everyone involved in planning agrees with that,” said Susan Gardner, a council member who also sits on the planning committee.

She wants a lower housing density in the future and recommends reducing the number of floors in the northern part of the district from four to three, and in the southern part from three to two floors.

The Uptown District was originally created to provide more urban living opportunities between the city center and commercial and industrial areas, such as a Meijer store to the north.

“Some think this is an efficient and effective way to transform an area between downtown and (commercial developments to the north) into a ‘lost middle,’” Gardner said, “for more housing types that require less maintenance.”

“Now we have a three-story building that’s nestled in the single-family homes,” she said, referring to the row houses under construction on Walnut Street. “To me, it looks out of place and takes up a lot of the lot. It looks huge.”

She is one of four councillors who have written letters to the planning committee recommending a reduction in density.

Councilman Ken Schmenk also proposes to make the northern portion of the district three-story and the southern portion two-story.

Councilwoman Renee Pettengill “would like to see the entire area return to single-family housing” or reduced to two stories for multi-family housing, she wrote in her letter.

In his letter, council member Bill Albert points out that new multi-family housing is not only being built in the city center.

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There will also be 123 townhomes on the former site of Lindbom Elementary and 85 townhomes on Conely Square near Flint Road. In addition, construction firm DA Building plans to potentially develop land west of the MJR Brighton movie theater near Challis Road with hundreds of new homes — possibly more than 600 — including apartment buildings and townhome-style condominiums.

“We can safely say that the objective we set in 2019 to address the ‘missing middle’ has been achieved,” Albert wrote.

— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at [email protected].

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Should Brighton reduce housing density ‘uptown’? Some on the council think so

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