At the April 17 Chelsea City Council meeting, the council unanimously adopted on second reading an amended Downtown Development Authority development and Tax Increment Finance plan that includes the Palmer Improvement Project.
The amendments include the plans for the 1.25 acre site on Main Street referred to as the Palmer parking lot, which will have a restroom building and storage, covered stage area, brick pavers, landscaping, lights and improvements at an estimated cost of $1.5 million, and will house the farmers markets and other events.
Among the other improvements are upgraded electrical enhancements, a drinking fountain, water bottle filling station and a solar charging station as well as buffers between the site and nearby residential properties, visual enhancements, green technologies such as rain gardens and is planned as a public gathering spot.
[A pdf of the amended plan is included at the end of this story.]
The City Council also unanimously adopted on first reading, an ordinance that would amend the city’s zoning map for a 16-plus acre vacant parcel on Cavanaugh Lake Road west of Cleveland Street. The property is bordered on the south by Cavanaugh Lake Road and on the west and north by Westchester Farms development. To the east are single family residences. The parcel is owned by NDC of Sylvan and the Chelsea Planning Commission held a public hearing on Feb. 22 regarding the proposed rezoning request.
If approved on second reading by the City Council on May 1, the parcel would be rezoned from Mobile Home Residential District (MH-1) to Multiple Family Residential District – High Density (RM-2), which is multi-family, condo-style housing.
The City Council also unanimously approved a public hearing date of May 15 for both the city’s proposed budget and its millage rates as well as the First Congregational Church’s request to hold its annual chicken BBQ during the Sounds and Sights Festival on Friday, July 28.
Council Member Frank Hammer was absent.
If you would like to view a video of the meeting, which includes a presentation by Andrew Thomson regarding the recreation component of Chelsea’s Community Education, please click here.
