Orion Township has begun the process of updating their master plan, with the board authorizing funding just over $15,000 to begin ‘Phase I? of the update process.
By law, master plans must be updated or reviewed every five years. The township’s plan was last updated in 2003.
A special joint meeting between the township board and planning commission in April called for the board to obtain ‘sufficient funding,? so that the planning commission could prioritize the areas needing updating and determine the best ways to receive citizen imput.
R. Donald Wortman, from the township’s planning firm of Carlisle/Wortman Associates, Inc. was on hand at the board’s May 19 meeting. He gave a brief overview of the proposed update process and took questions from the board.
A few board members were apprehensive about the need to completely update the current plan.
‘This does not look like a tweak,? Clerk Jill Bastian said. ‘This looks like an entire master plan update.?
Bastian said she had some concerns over adjusting the master plan to meet the current economic climate.
‘I don’t think you abandon solid land use policy just because of a blip in the economy,? Wortman said.
Trustee John Steimel, the board’s planning commission representative, said many things have changed over the past five years, citing Census information that has been released and new historical and parks & recreation master plans.
‘We need to make sure it properly references our other plans,? Steimel said. ‘I don’t think it’s redundant, we need to update it.?
Wortman assured the board that no unnecessary funds would be spent on the project.
‘We’re not going to reinvent the wheel,? he said. ‘We’re going to take the information the township has already gathered and roll it into one document.?
Carlisle/Wortman indicated that Phase I, which includes all the needed background studies, will take nearly 200 man-hours to complete (at a cost of $15,270).
The second phase of the update would incorporate the public input component and Phase III involves putting it all together, according to Wortman
A report is due back to the board later this summer, though the planning commission will oversee most of the process.