Duplex development on steep wooded Cork Street parcels
Kalamazoo
Summary
A developer wants to build ten rental duplex units on five steep, fully wooded lots that have resisted development since at least 2011. The NFP board's negative variance recommendations make approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals harder, potentially leaving the lots undeveloped — or pushing the developer toward a legal 'takings' claim.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 5
- Last 30 days
- 0
Last discussed Jul 9, 2026.
Impact analysis
The project shrank from a potential 35 units to 10 rental units because of slope constraints, reducing housing the lots could provide.
If built, renters seeking higher-end month-to-month housing; the protected slopes benefit if the board's stance preserves them.
The property owner bears development costs without certainty; housing supply advocates note ten units is fewer than the land could otherwise yield.
Mentions & discussions (5)
Zoning Board of Appeals - Jul 9, 2026
Statewide Rentals wants to build duplexes on three narrow lots along a protected hillside, needing variances to run one shared 24-foot driveway up the slope. A neighbor raised traffic, erosion and safety worries, but the board ruled those outside its purview.
Natural Features Protection Review Board - Jun 23, 2026
Long-undeveloped sloped lots in Westnedge Hill could finally see duplex housing, with one shared driveway instead of five cuts into protected slopes. The ZBA still has the final say in July.
Zoning Board of Appeals - May 14, 2026
Statewide Rentals LLC wants to build five duplexes on steep, protected slopes off West Cork Street, with driveways cutting into slope areas the ordinance protects. The board can't act until the applicant gets a required review from the Natural Features Protection Review Board.
Zoning Board of Appeals - Feb 12, 2026
A landowner wants to build five duplexes on steep, wooded lots that are effectively unbuildable without cutting driveways into slopes the city protects. The fight is over how much slope disturbance is the minimum necessary, and whether shared driveways could spare more of the hillside. Neighbors on Imperial Street worry about traffic but say they'd rather cooperate than litigate.
Natural Features Protection Review Board - Jan 27, 2026
A developer wants to build ten rental duplex units on five steep, fully wooded lots that have resisted development since at least 2011. The NFP board's negative variance recommendations make approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals harder, potentially leaving the lots undeveloped — or pushing the developer toward a legal 'takings' claim.
Related development
112 W. Cork Street duplex
Would add a rental duplex unit on a lot that's been undeveloped since 2011, cutting minimally into the protected slope for driveway access.
132 W. Cork Street duplexes (shared driveway)
Largest duplex and most complex slopes of the five; this was the parcel a shared 24-foot driveway concept once targeted.
114 W. Cork Street NFP Variance Request
Another duplex unit on the wooded slope complex.
Statewide Rentals duplexes — 132 W. Cork Street
Completes the three-lot Cork Street duplex project; detention area can be accommodated on this lot if required.
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