Unprecedented Joint Planning Effort Gains Momentum in Northern Michigan

Bear Lake Community Comprehensive Plan Looks Across Jurisdictional Boundaries

By Harry Burkholder 

Do you know where you live? While the answer to this question may seem easy, in fact, for many people it can lead to confusion and an immediate call to their municipal clerk. More than ever before, people live in one jurisdiction, but work in another, go to school in another and shop in yet another. As the geography of our daily lives continues to expand, local jurisdictions often struggle to provide for basic services, preserve natural resources and effectively plan for development. The complexity of this struggle is made even more difficult when neighboring jurisdictions do not effectively communicate and work together.

With this in mind, one northern Michigan community has taken a proactive community-wide approach to land use planning. Last year, the Village of Bear Lake, Bear Lake Township and Pleasanton Township adopted ordinances establishing the Bear Lake Community Planning Commission. The new commission is taking a community-wide approach to planning, collaborating on land use issues of mutual interest. Established under the Joint Municipal Planning Act, Public Act 226 of 2003 (MCL 125.131, et seq.), the commission is only the sixth such commission in Michigan.

One of the first tasks charged to the new commission is the development of a new community-wide comprehensive plan. With a grant of assistance from the Partnerships for Change Program, the three municipalities initiated a comprehensive planning process last December. Among other things, public officials expect the comprehensive planning process to improve current land use polices and suggest new ways of protecting the valuable cultural and natural resources of the greater Bear Lake community.

A little like a "blueprint," a comprehensive plan is the public's guide for the development of a community and the management of its resources. The plan provides the framework under which a community can preserve its natural features, build strong neighborhoods, increase commerce, plan for public services, and guide new development. In fact, a comprehensive plan is the legal basis for the development and application of local land use regulations, including the zoning ordinance. Most comprehensive plans also identify a number of capital improvement projects. The identification of these projects can help to build support for local funding or leverage funding from state granting agencies.

Partnerships for Change is a multi-jurisdictional planning assistance program developed by the Land Information Access Association (LIAA), Michigan Municipal League (MML) and Michigan Townships Association (MTA) with support from Michigan State University (MSUE) and Michigan Association of Planning (MAP). The overall mission of the program is to foster new and expanded cooperation between cities, townships and villages in developing and carrying out local land use policies that contribute to the preservation of cultural and natural resources. Wherever possible, these policies should encourage urban redevelopment and discourage inefficient, low-density development.

Consisting of nine officially appointed representatives from the three jurisdictions, the Bear Lake Community Planning Commission is guiding a public planning process that encourages citizen participation and open dialogue. The community has responded with tremendous turnout at two large public meetings and the completion of a community-wide survey. The results from the surveys and several brainstorming and visioning activities have established a framework of priorities from which the Comprehensive Plan will be based. Among other things, citizens have expressed the need to preserve natural features, protect water quality and create a more vibrant downtown. With this in mind, the Planning Commission will be working to develop a comprehensive set of goals, objectives and strategies for the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is scheduled to be completed by the end of the summer.

For more information on how to participate in this exciting planning process, please contact the Bear Lake Community Planning Commission or visit the project website.

Contact:

Bernard Ware - Chairman, Bear Lake Community Planning Commission

231-864-3242

Project Website:

http://www.partnershipsforchange.cc/bearlake

Harry Burkholder is a Community Planner at the Land Information Access Association