Re: SG-W:/ county comprehensive plan

["Phil D'Anieri" <PDAnieri@senate.state.mi.us>]

Jeff:

Here's an argument in favor of participating in creating a strong county plan, offered in the spirit of contributing to the conversation, not in the interest of claiming to be "right".  Pardon the length.

>From the research I've done, a county plan is closer to a guideline than a legally enforcable document.  But this is in part because no county, near as I can tell, has ever really done a good county plan and tried to use it to enforce some sanity on township plans.  There appears to be authority in state law for counties to do this, but it hasn't been tested in any court case. Township officials will tell you county plans are only advisory, but they have an interest in perpetuating this understanding.  County officials who aren't really interested in taking up the fight are happy to parrot this logic.  But it isn't necessarily true just because a lot of people say it.

Nevertheless, let's assume that a county plan is "only a guideline".  In a legal system that values property rights as much as ours does, advocates of smart growth are always going to be in a position where they patch together a series of strategies (master plans, infrastructure investments, land purchases, PDR, etc.) that together create a mutually re-inforcing web of better land use.   I think a strong county plan could be one of these elements--not a complete solution on its own (or even close) but still valuable, for these reasons:
1) It provides a forum for Washtenaw residents to come to a common vision of what we want our area to look like, and it does this on the scale of regional land use.  Presently, the conversation is primarily occuring on the level of individual townships, and I think most agree that a key to better land use is thinking on a regional level.
2) It provides a starting point for the sort of regional planning that other states have successfully begun.  Ideally, state law would be changed to require that planning be done on a county level, or at least that there be coordination among neighboring townships and the county they are a part of.  State law doesn't yet force that to occur, but perhaps Washtenaw could get ahead of the curve and champion a process that gets the various township officials together with their city neighbors and county folks to plan in coordination with one another.
3) It might provide townships some legal justification for denying certain developments, if they can show that they participated in a regional planning process that allowed for that sort of development to exist elsewhere.
4) If the county were ever of the mindset to try to "enforce" better planning on a township, which as I said they appear to have at least some authority to do, it could only be done in the context of a strong county plan.  We can't answer the question of whether it's legally enforcable unless we try.

I think we've all been frustrated to learn about the lack of power citizens have to directly prescrible what sort of development will occur where.  I wouldn't presume to portray the county comprehensive plan as the solution to this problem.  But I do think it provides a worthwhile outlet for the energy we all have to create better land use.  I've talked to others, who've been around longer and whose opinions I respect, who think it's a waste of time.

>>> "Jeff Surfus" <jeffsurfus@email.msn.com> 05/12/00 09:48AM >>>
Vivienne and others,

Will the plan, when finished, be a legally enforceable document, or only a
guideline?

Given the preponderance of lawsuits challenging local governments' abilities
to stop development, I was just wondering if a legally enforceable document
at the county level may have more legal standing than a township level
master plan, which doesn't appear to have much value in court.

If indeed this is a document with teeth, then we should be very active in
getting it done right.  If not, and it is only a guideline, will we only be
spending our time in vain putting together a plan that will only be ignored
and/or challenged?

Just wondering...

Jeff Surfus

----- Original Message -----
From: Vivienne Armentrout <varmentrout000@ameritech.net>
To: smartgrowth-washtenaw <smartgrowth-washtenaw@great-lakes.net>
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2000 7:45 AM
Subject: SG-W:/ county comprehensive plan


> The county planning commission (formally, the Washtenaw County
> Metropolitan Planning Commission) has begun work on a new comprehensive
> plan for Washtenaw County.  This will result not only in a land use plan
> map but in analysis and discussion of many facets of county life,
> including housing and environment.
>
> At present the main discussion has been about the importance of the plan
> as a statement for what we want the county to look like and be like in
> the future.  This is the "mental model" which we hope to construct on
> the basis of all-county discussion.  The plan will also include much
> technical material (inventories, etc.) but we agree that this picture of
> the future will be the most important feature and the one which informs
> the rest (strategies, etc.).
>
> There will be a formal kick-off statement issued by the PC shortly;
> however, last night we voted to devote the first hour of every monthly
> meeting to the plan. WCMPC meetings are the second Thursday of each
> month, 7:00 pm at 110 N 4th in Ann Arbor. (The June meeting is
> off-schedule, on June 13, a Tuesday.) Public comment is at the beginning
> of the meeting, before the comprehensive plan discussion.  This is a
> chance for you to help shape the model.
>
>
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===============================================================
smartgrowth-washtenaw:  Internet List and Forum for issues relating to
sprawl, smart growth, and preservation of the quality of life in Washtenaw
County.

Postings to:  smartgrowth-washtenaw@great-lakes.net      For info, send
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smartgrowth-washtenaw"
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