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Houghton voters will have a chance to weigh in on the city’s proposed Lakeshore Drive redevelopment project.
185 signatures have been turned in to place an advisory question on the August 4th ballot.
The language reads, “Should the sale of the Waterfront Parking Deck Property (sic) be postponed until the citizens of Houghton and other stakeholders are able to participate in an open decision-making process about future uses of the property that explores other options besides a sale to a single private developer?”
The result of the vote would not be binding.
Last fall, after a well-attended public hearing, the city council elected to partner with the Veridea Group out of Marquette as a potential buyer and development partner for the property.
No decision has been made to sell the property, and no plan has yet been put forward for any new buildings or development on the property.
A committee of Houghton citizens and downtown business operators has been working on the project with Veridea representatives, and the company recently split with the city the cost of a downtown parking survey and a structural inspection of the current deck.
Proponents of the August 4th advisory question say they would like to see the entire procedure restarted from scratch.
