7-6-26 Commission Meeting

The City of Bay City, Michigan held a commission meeting on July 6, 2026, which included detailed presentations and discussions on workforce development and zoning ordinance updates. The workforce development report highlighted the impact of the Hey Bay City initiative, emphasizing job postings, employer engagement, and community partnerships, with a focus on sustaining the program's digital content and outreach efforts despite funding transitions. The zoning ordinance update, a grant-funded project aligned with the 2024 master plan, proposed significant changes such as merging residential districts, reducing minimum lot sizes, increasing lot coverage, and modernizing development processes to encourage housing affordability and adaptive reuse. Public comments addressed housing challenges and neighborhood concerns, while commissioners discussed the ordinance's potential to stimulate investment and housing diversity. Additionally, the commission approved an extension of the current city manager's contract to allow completion of contract negotiations with the incoming city manager, with a close vote of five in favor and four opposed. The meeting also noted a $6,000 scrap tire cleanup grant and an increase in budget allocation for the Lafayette Bridge project to $1.995 million.