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Existing Land Use
Master Land Use Plan
This portion of the plan presents an Commercial
overview of existing land use that is based
on a land use field inventory. Comparisons This category includes land occupied by
of land use are also made to the previous any type of business, retail and service
Master Plan completed in 1983. Data from facilities, and accessory off-street parking
this analysis were used in a number of areas.
different steps and evaluations in the
development of the Master Plan. The Office
existing land use data was also developed
into a layer of the City's geographic This category includes land occupied by all
information system so that the data could types of individual office facilities and
be presented and analyzed in a variety of related off-street parking. Office facilities
ways, including the attached existing land which are ancillary to commercial or
use map. The mapping effort relied on the industrial uses are not included in this
tax maps maintained by the City's category.
Equalization Department to delineate the
land parcels. Industrial
In addition to this section, additional land This category includes the land area
use detail may be found under the section devoted to all types of light and heavy
discussing the City's thirteen sub-area industrial uses, including warehousing,
districts. Also, the Downtown and bump and paint shops, tool and die shops,
Lakeshore Redevelopment Plan, a separate technological industries, assembly
component of the Master Plan, contains operations, and facilities that manufacture
extensive land use information on the City's finished or semifinished products from raw
Core Downtown. materials.
Descriptions of each category illustrated on Marinas
the existing land use map are provided
below. Land devoted to publicly and privately
owned marinas, including on-site parking
Single and Two-Family Residential areas, loading ramps, and boat storage
areas.
Single-family detached dwellings, and two-
family dwellings (flats, duplexes, and Government, Schools, and Museums
similar units).
This category includes facilities of the City,
Multi-Family Dwellings County, and State, public and private
schools, and public museums.
Structures containing three or more
dwelling units. All multi-family residential Hospitals and Medical Centers
zoning districts were field checked to make
a best estimate of actual multi-family use. This category includes medical facilities
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Existing Land Use
Master Land Use Plan
primarily associated with the campuses of However, it indicates all road right-of-way
Mercy, General, and Hackley Hospitals. (ROW) in the City and is detailed within the
land use tables.
Churches, Cemeteries, and Funeral Homes
Vacant
This category includes local churches and
synagogues, cemeteries, and funeral homes. All land that was undeveloped at the time
of the land use field survey.
Public Parks and Recreation
Table 3.1 lists the number of acres within
The category includes public parks, each of the above land use categories.
playgrounds, waterfront facilities, state land, (Note: the following tables utilize land use
and associated uses. categories consistent with the 1983 land
use inventory in order to offer comparisons
Recreational Facilities and Clubs of change).
This category includes major recreational Table 3.2 presents a comparison of the land
facilities and clubs of a quasi-public area in each category in 1983 and 1996.
character. Unlike public park facilities,
land uses in this classification require The land use inventory indicates:
membership fees or other forms of
compensation as a prerequisite to use. the predominate land use is 1-family
residential;
Road Right-of-Way
significant percentage increase in multi-
This category is not depicted in the legend family versus single-family residential
box of the Existing Land Use Map. units;
Use Acres % Total
1-Family Residential 2,091 17.5
Multi-Family Residential 323 2.7
Commercial 382 3.2
Office 143 1.2
Industrial 789 6.6
Public 1,784 14.9
Marina 94 0.8
Road ROW 2,050 17.2
Vacant 1,824 15.3
Surface Water 2,453 20.6
Total 11,933 Acres
Sources: City of Muskegon 1983 Land Use Inventory City of Muskegon Tax Maps and 1996/1997 field surveys.
Percentage figures have been rounded.
Table 3.1 Existing Land Use
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Existing Land Use
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Use 1983 1997 Change (%)
1-Family Residential 1,768 2,091 +18.3
Multi-Family Residential 199 323 +62.3
Commercial 300 382 +27.3
Office 43.5 143 +229
Industrial 721 789 +9.4
Public 1,504 1,786 +18.8
Marina 37 94 +154
Vacant 3,243 1,824 -44
Water 2,453 2,453 NA
Road Right-of-Way 1,931 2,050 NA
Sources: City of Muskegon 1983 Land Use Inventory City of Muskegon Tax Maps and 1996/1997 field surveys.
Percentage figures have been rounded.
Table 3.2 Comparisons 1983 - 1997
significant percentage increase in office pedestrian scale neighborhood
space versus general commercial areas; commercial areas are virtually non-
existent;
small increase in development of
industrial and public land use in the long-established residential and corridor
past 14 years; commercial land use patterns have
remained generally unchanged since
significant percentage increase in adoption of the City's 1984 Master Land
marina development(though overall Use Plan;
acreage is still small);
commercial development has
significant decrease in areas designated encroached upon residential
as vacant; neighborhoods since the 1984 Master
Land Use Plan was adopted;
Muskegon is a mature urban
community with a limited amount of the City exhibits a general lack of
developable land; transition areas and buffers between
corridor commercial areas and
much of the vacant land is subject to adjoining residential development. The
constraints posed by location in same is true between industrial areas
wetland or floodplain areas; and adjoining residential development;
commercial development outside of the strip commercial development along
core Downtown, Sherman/U.S. 31, and the Apple, Getty, Lakeshore, Laketon,
Sherman/Henry areas is decentralized; and Henry Street corridors generally
contain older and underutilized retail
and service uses;
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Existing Land Use
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industrial development and change for single and multiple family
redevelopment has concentrated in the residential development. Collectively,
Port City Industrial Park, and in that these uses absorb approximately 35 acres
area of the City generally east of US 31 annually. The other land use showing a
and north of Sherman Boulevard; and significant change is the annual increase in
public lands. This reflects the City's
the Muskegon Lake shoreline presents aggressive policy of acquiring lands suitable
opportunities for high-quality for recreational and other public needs.
development and redevelopment that
can benefit the City and region. The Industrial land experiences an absorption
Muskegon Lake shoreline possesses rate of approximately 5 acres per year.
valuable aesthetic and natural resources While this rate appears somewhat low
not found in many urban centers. given the growth of such facilities as the
Port City Industrial Park, it is also indicative
Land Absorption of a need to create new space for industrial
use. Based on the Existing Land Use Map,
Based on land use counts between the industrial space is relatively limited..
1983 and 1997 period, the annual rate of
land use change was determined (Table The commercial and office categories
3.3). Although some caution must be used expand by approximately 14 acres per year.
when applying the data due to potential Historically, this growth has occurred in a
variations between historic and current decentralized fashion.
information, the counts offer insight into the
type and degree of ongoing change. The Marina development has grown at the rate
table reveals that all categories, except for of approximately 4 acres per year.
vacant land, experienced growth. Of Additional growth is anticipated as
particular note are the combined rates of lakeshore areas become available for
Use Annual Rate (Acres)
1-Family Residential 25
Multi-Family Residential 10
Commercial 6
Office 8
Industrial 5
Public 22
Marina 4
Vacant 89
Water NA
Road Right-of-Way 9
Note: Reflects 1983 to 1997 Period
Table 3.3 Annual Land Absorption Rate
1983 - 1997
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redevelopment opportunities.
Build-out
Based on the absorption trends of the 1983
to 1997 period, the City will utilize all
developable vacant lands over an
approximate 19 to 20 year period. Since a
high percentage of vacant properties are
unbuildable due to natural/environmental
limitations or are poorly located for desired
uses, the City will face increasing demands
to redevelop properties in order to
accommodate continuing growth.
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