Bob Nissly pictured outside Michigan Ladder's office on Forest Avenue near Norris Street.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

More than 30 years after the idea of rezoning a strip of seven homes and lots on Norris Street from manufacturing to residential was first presented to City Council, a resolution is heading toward final approval.

But one neighbor to the west, Michigan Ladder, isn’t pleased with the change.

Representatives from Michigan Ladder say it limits their ability to grow and could push them out of town when the time comes to expand. 

At the same time, Norris residents and a Realtor selling a home there contend the block is clearly used for residential purposes and has been for more than 100 years, despite the fact that it has always been zoned M1. Having homes on land zoned for manufacturing creates problems with obtaining mortgages, refinancing and finding insurance.

Even Ypsilanti’s master plan has the land zoned residential. City officials said Michigan Ladder can still purchase the land and rezone should they wish to expand, but they have more hurdles to clear before that could happen.

Michigan Ladder President Bob Nissly’s great grandfather was one the company's original presidents nearly 110 years ago at facility at the corner of Forest Avenue and Norris, which is south of the Corner Brewery. 

Nissly said he’s disappointed council approved the rezoning after his company spent 110 years calling Ypsilanti home.

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“There’s 62 million square feet of manufacturing space available in southeast Michigan,” Nissly said. “We’ll just have to go with the flow when the time comes to expand. We’ll have to decide which makes more sense - pay a long dollar for rest of the properties or go somewhere else.”

Michigan Ladder owns one of seven parcels on the strip, which is on the west side of Norris. There is no house on their lot, and there are three houses to the south. Three houses also sit north of their lot leading up to Forest.

Because of the topography, it would impractical for Michigan Ladder to expand on the north end of Norris, which is up to 14 feet above the ground level on which the plant sits. Most of the homes are almost even with the roofline. Nissly said the company hasn’t seriously entertained excavating the earth and expanding there.

But the southern four properties, starting with Michigan Ladder’s lot, are more even with the current facility's land and could allow for an expansion. Nissly said the company is exploring how to produce fiberglass ladders in their factory instead of importing them from Mexican, Canadian or Chinese manufacturers. Once that’s done, he said an expansion would be necessary.

Nissly said the 72,000 square foot plant has seen about 25 additions in the last 110 years. At its peak, Michigan Ladder also owned plants in South Carolina and Illinois, but now about 25 people work in the Ypsilanti factory.

Twice before - once in 1979 and once in 2005 - efforts to rezone this section of Norris were unsuccessful. Former Council Member Barry LaRue said the 2005 council didn’t wish to discourage a manufacturing plant from expanding.

Council Member Pete Murdock and Brian Robb are both representatives in Ward 3 where Michigan Ladder and Norris Street are located. They were the only two council members to vote against the rezoning at council's Nov. 16 meeting. Murdock said nothing has changed since the last time the two councils voted on it, and he didn’t want to put up any roadblock to Michigan Ladder expanding.

Some city officials and residents say several of the houses have been there since the 1800’s and also have a historical claim to the grounds, which are within the Ypsilanti Historic District boundaries. The HDC would also have to approve the leveling of any homes there.

Jaime Jones, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel in Plymouth who represents a seller at 621 Norris, said selling options are limited because of the zoning and her clients are growing frustrated. The owner of 621 Norris, who resides in Canton, initiated the rezoning request because of difficulties selling the home.

The home was sold in December 2009 to the current owners for $32,520. They renovated it over several months and put it on the market in April for $89,900. A buyer was ready to purchase the home in September, but wasn’t approved for financing because Fannie Mae underwriting guidelines require it be in a residential zone. If the house was damaged in a fire or other disaster, it couldn't be rebuilt because it's in a manufacturing zone.

“It was a big surprise that the land use isn’t residential,” Jones said. “It just isn’t something that you would have thought of. But for a buyer to get financing we have to get this rezoned. Without that, you’re left with finding a buyer who can pay with cash. It’s very limited options for those people who are selling.”

Homes on the northern end of Norris Street.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

But Nissly said Michigan Ladder supports a rezoning for 621 Norris and those residents on the north end of the block. The company suggested that half of the block be rezoned. The Planning Commission recommended rezoning the full block to residential because it’s consistent with the master plan and neighboring residential areas.

Greg Elliot, a homeowner at 609 Norris, spoke to council on Nov. 16 and made clear his family’s intention to stay in their house and continue to make improvements. They bought the home in 2007 for roughly $120,000. The previous owner purchased the home for $25,000 in 2005 and fixed it up. That lot, which is on the south of the block and even ground with Michigan Ladder, would have to be purchased by the company in the event of a future expansion.

"We like it and all those houses on that street have been there a long time," said Elliot, who is a land use attorney.  "It’s a very cohesive little neighborhood along the street, and it’s just kind of absurd to think that you would keep them in this manufacturing district on the off chance that (Michigan Ladder) might want to buy them one day."

City Planner Teresa Gillotti said the changes don’t totally rule out expansion for Michigan Ladder, and the rezoning is an effort to consider the needs of the city’s residents and businesses.

“It’s a balancing act,” she said.

Nissly said the company isn’t pleased about council’s vote to make the change.

“They decided it’s more important to have those two ramshackle houses,” he said of several homes on the south end of the block that are used for student housing. “If and when the time comes that we need to expand - we’re importing a lot of our product and assembling in Ypsilanti - then there’s not a lot of additional space. This option was nice to have.”

Council Member Mike Bodary supported the rezoning. He said the issue was new to him and there was little discussion of it before hand, but the area has historically been residential.

“It seemed like a reasonable thing to do for people who live there,” he said. “When people are having difficult times selling their properties, I want them to be able to do it.”

Murdock said he didn’t see any need for change.

“Despite the zonings and what the facts were in 1980, those houses have all sold once or twice,” he said. “And Michigan Ladder has chosen not to buy them, so the issue doesn’t seem to be any closer to being realized than it was before - those are properties you could have gotten for a prayer at one time a few years ago.”

The issue will come up for a second reading at City Council's Dec. 7 meeting.