After a public hearing concerning the Master Plan update on Nov. 16, the Planning Commission adopted the update with an amendment to include environmental considerations, based on feedback from the Oakland County Planning Dept.
The final draft document had been circulated to neighboring communities, Oakland and Wayne counties, SEMCOG, and utility companies for a 42-day period, as required by the Michigan Planning Enabling Act. Comments on new master plans or updates are required by the Act to ensure that land use changes in one community are consistent with any abutting land uses in another community. Oakland County was the only one that commented on it.
Commissioners also heard from residents who had spoken at previous meetings as well as new voices that evening. The Planning Commissioners welcomed and considered all comments, and added a few sentences about environmental considerations that should be evaluated by any developer working in the subareas. The next step is to send it to City Council for acceptance, most likely in December.
“It was a pleasure working with this group (of commissioners),” said City Planner Sally Elmiger. “They are so smart about all the elements and nuances of the document and cared deeply about getting it right.”