Boaters, campers and others in search of large capacity storage facilities in Michigan’s Great Southwest may have a new option right in the heart of the waterfront community in St. Joseph if a proposed zoning amendment gets the green light from St. Joseph City Commissioners tonight.
Owners and operators Don Kessler and Daniel Crist have established Ultimate Storage, LLC and hope to offer boat and RV storage and more at the property they recently acquired on Marina Island between the St. Joseph River and the Morrison Channel along Anchors Way in the city.
Most of Marina Island is zone W for Water Recreation District, but the parcel they bought has been zoned I-1 for Light Industrial District applications. The land, at 185 Anchors Way is completely surrounded by chain link fencing and has an old Quonset hut on it that was once home to Slaughter Equipment Company, a manufacturer of mortuary science tools. It has been vacant for many years.
As developers, Kessler and Crist went before the St. Joseph Planning Commission seeking approval to shift to W-Water Recreational District zoning like most of the rest of the island and the planners liked that concept as being in line with the 2016 Master Plan Future Land Use Map. They first were under the impression that they might have to seek a planned unit development approved, but following their May 2nd public hearing on the issue decided there was no need for a PUD at that site.
City Commissioners will get the Planning Commission’s recommendation tonight at City Hall and take up the first reading of a zoning change away from the light industrial use. Schultz Roofing Supply and Dock 63 are the only other properties on the island still zoned as I-1 Light Industrial District properties.
Kessler and Crist want to use the approximately 1.44 acre site for boat and RV storage units to be built on site. They are being assisted in planning the site by Wightman of Benton Harbor. The existing building on the site is 4,130 square feet, but the developers are planning more than 331,585 square feet in new construction for storage units to hold boats, recreational vehicles and other storage uses. The site is completely surrounded on all sides by Water Recreational District zoning including parcels to the south and west that already have boat storage facilities and a residential/marina mix to the north.
If the City Commission adopts the Planning Commission recommendation and proceeds with re-zoning the parcel, a second reading of the ordinance would be scheduled for the next City Commission meeting on June 10th. Stay tuned.
