“We adopted our new Master Plan in 2023, and there were calls for allowing more housing choices, different types of housing developments, and bringing back neighborhood retails.”
Earlier this month, the Muskegon City Commission voted to amend the city’s zoning ordinance to allow for cottage court developments and accessory commercial units, allowing for small home clusters and small business operations within city neighborhoods.
Muskegon’s Planning Director Mike Franzak explains what cottage court developments are.
“They are a type of development where you have smaller types of houses that face a courtyard.”
Accessory commercial units, or ACU’s, were also approved by the commission within specific areas of the city.
“Those entail an option for property owners in certain areas to provide commercial units on the same property as their house.”
Zoning changes were proposed after a 2022 needs assessment indicated Muskegon required 3,000 additional housing units by 2027.
