Planning and Zoning
Master Plan Update
The City updates its Master Plan every five years. The most recent update was adopted in 2015. The Planning Commission uses the opportunity to look into the future. Public participation is encouraged and public meetings are held during the update process to find out what the people of Hillsdale would like as the focus of that vision. More information pertaining to citizen participation can be found in the Citizen Participation Plan.
The City Zoning Administrator offers Commercial pre-planning meetings upon request. The following information is required:
- parcel or lot information
- proposed use of the project
- preliminary site plans.
To schedule a meeting, you can contact the Zoning Administrator, Alan Beeker, by phone at 517-437-6449 or by email at planning@cityofhillsdale.org
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission for the City of Hillsdale is a seven member board. Their duties include review of commercial site plans for potential building projects, regulation of land use, zoning ordinance adoption and amendment, re-zoning requests, preparation of a Master Plan, Capital Improvement Plan and review of capital projects. They meet regularly on the third Wednesday of every month at 5:30 PM at City Hall.
Commercial Site Plan petitions are required for submission of review by the Planning Commission. There are application fees for site plan review and the applications are available below.
- Commercial Site Plan Review Procedure:
- Submit Commercial Site Plan Review Application to the Zoning Administrator by the first of the month.
- A review fee of $400.00 is required upon submission. Fees may be paid in the City Clerk's Office or pay online by following the link to "Pay my Bill" on the City's home page.
- Zoning Administrator will schedule a review meeting with the Project Owner, Project Architect/Engineer and relevant Department Heads.
- Site Plans, with any revisions required from Department Head review, are to be submitted no later than one week prior to Planning Commission meeting.
- Final Site Plan submittal is included in Planning Commission packet.
- Planning Commission will review and vote to grant or deny zoning approval.
- Upon approval, Zoning Administrator will issue a Zoning Permit.
- Upon denial, Owner may submit an Appeal to the Zoning Board of Approval.
Follow the link for a Developers Guide with additional information on programs and procedures for commercial site plan reviews.
Re-zoning Applications must be initiated by property owners or by the Planning Commission. Requests for re-zoning must be submitted 21 days prior to the regular meeting to insure compliance with notification requirements. There is a $500.00 filing fee and must be submitted with the application available below.
