Elmore: Housing development survey underway

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The Village of Elmore wants residents to provide input on future residential housing development on a parcel of village-owned property along Dischinger Road.
Currently, the village is leasing the 55-acre tract as farmland but it is zoned for residential use with an R-2 classification, which accommodates single-family housing and, with a conditional-use permit, condominiums.
Dave Hower, village administrator, said the village has retained The Montrose Group, a development consulting firm, to assist with an analysis of the local housing market to determine what potential there may be for future residential investment.
A survey that began April 12 and is set to end on April 28 will give residents of the village and surrounding areas the chance to voice their opinions on the parcel’s development.
A link to the survey is available at https:www.surveymonkey.com/r/69WD8GH.
“We’re getting the community involved so we make sure we get a good consensus,” Hower said. “We want the poll to reflect what the community wants.”
Village officials are trying to develop targeted strategies to determine what type of development will best benefit the community and the needs of current and future residents, he said.
In 2021, the village planning commission voted 3-2 in favor of a proposal to rezone the parcel from its R-2 classification to R-3 – a high density zone that would allow for the construction of multi-family units.
The plan commission recommendation was forwarded to village council but it was unanimously rejected and the R-2 zoning was left in place.
Then mayor Rick Claar said after the council vote that rezoning the property would make it more attractive to residential development and bolster the village’s income tax base.
According to records in the Ottawa County auditor’s office, the property has an appraised value of $132,290.