IRON MOUNTAIN — A residential development is planned east of Iron Mountain’s East E Street, where property owner Bob Forgette envisions 22 lots accessed through a cul-de-sac that will be maintained by the city once the project is finished.

The city council Monday approved a developer’s agreement with Ridgeview Development LLC, which is represented by Forgette and Luke Carey, president of Carey Design Build of Iron Mountain.

The agreement lays out requirements the developer will follow for infrastructure improvements that become city assets, City Manager Jordan Stanchina explained. Ridgeview will build water and sewer lines and roads, which the city will acquire and incorporate into its own systems.

The agreement was approved in a 5-0 vote, with Mayor Dale Alessandrini and council member Ken Clawson absent. Although the planned residential area does not yet have a name, the council has been aware of Forgette’s plans for some time.

In a related matter, the council agreed to consider Forgette’s request to buy 7.25 acres of neighboring city property that’s needed to build a street to access a second phase of the project and potentially two or three more phases.

“This would allow a preferable access through a non-residential area — via Tower Drive to Park Avenue — rather than extending E Street for access, which we agree is undesirable,” Forgette and Carey said in a letter to the city.

The council referred the request to city staff, with Stanchina saying the next step is an appraisal and survey. About nine residential lots would be part of the second phase. There’s been no determination on the size of any subsequent phases.

The requested parcel, measuring about 200 feet by 1,580 feet, is just south of the planned Pewabic Hill mountain bike trail.

In June, the grant-aided trail system was scaled back slightly to accommodate Forgette’s anticipated request. That new boundary downsized the project by roughly 5% on a relatively flat stretch.

Chad Susott, president of Dickinson Trail Network, said the non-profit group was on board with the decision, as a residential development would be a desirable complement to the trail system.

The status of trail construction, meanwhile, is up in the air after the city opened bids Jan. 2. DTN, which has committed $64,000 in matching funds for a $183,200 Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund grant, had recommended a delay in the bidding.

All of the proposals came from general contractors, including a low bid of $262,175 from FA Industrial Services Inc. of Iron River. DTN members and other trail enthusiasts are pushing for new specifications and a rebidding to have a known trail builder do the work.

Mike Halley of DTN warned the council Monday that volunteer and community financial support for the project could be “very much in jeopardy” if the contractor isn’t an experienced trail builder.

Stanchina, meanwhile, said a committee meeting is planned soon to discuss how the city might proceed.

Susott thanked the council for its consideration and said the Pewabic Hill project is crucial to putting Iron Mountain on the map as a top tourism draw.