ALPENA — The Alpena Municipal Council will wait until its Dec. 18 meeting to vote on a proposed change to the zoning for the property where the former Decorative Panel International plant is.

The council wants to provide more time for public feedback on what residents would like to see developed on the lakeshore property and if there would be any tax impact on residents who live near the old plant if zoning changes.

The plant closed in February and laid off more than 150 employees.

The city is considering changing the zoning where the former DPI plant stands from I-2 General Industrial to WD Waterfront District. An attorney for DPI has suggested possible litigation if the zoning change proposal becomes a reality because a change in zoning could make the property less appealing to potential buyers.

During the council’s meeting on Monday, about 10 residents made public comments, of which all but two were in favor of the change in zoning.

Decorative Panels President Daryl Clendenen and Scott Dienes, an attorney for DPI, urged the council to allow DPI, the city, and residents to work toward an understanding on the issue, not to change the zoning.

The property will go up for auction for the minimum bid of $1 million from Dec. 16 to 18. Clendenen said there are several developers interested in bidding, but he doesn’t have details of what their intentions are. He said DPI spent a lot of money cleaning up and restoring the property to market it as an industrial site, but now that word has spread about the proposed zoning change, some potential bidders are feeling uneasy.

The Alpena Planning Commission, which has spent 18 months updating the zoning ordinance, was in the process of changing the zoning at the DPI site, but instead, decided to let the council address the details of that property’s proposed zoning change after Clendenen and Dienes expressed their concerns to it.

Of the people who made comments, most said a large plant is not ideal in the neighborhood and on the shoreline. They said mixed-use development, such as housing, shops, and other types of businesses is the best fit for the property and that will help shape Alpena’s future.

Others said the environmental impact the old plant had on the land, air, and water was not ideal and development that doesn’t pollute as badly is the right way to go.

Residents are urged to make public comment on how they want the city to proceed in the zoning for the former DPI property or on anything else in the new proposed zoning ordinance.