Gratiot Close on Countywide Master Plan
Years in the making, Gratiot’s county-wide master plan is now awaiting approval by various boards of municipal and township governments.
It’s expected to be wrapped up in the first quarter of the new year, said Greater Gratiot Development President Don Schurr, who shepherded the plan through.
Only one township in Gratiot – Washington – chose to go it alone.
While a small number of municipalities have joined forces in the state for various projects and plans, Gratiot’s master plan is the first with such a large number.
The biggest reason is the savings.
Local governmental units are required to create a master plan every five years. Because state laws change continually, most need to hire a consultant. No one in the county has a full-time master planner, Schurr said.
Expenses can mount.
“We figured the average savings (per unit of government) was $5,000, and that’s probably conservative,” he said.
The other significant reason for joining forces is state requirements. Each city, township, or village is required to have certain spots for heavy industry or commercial properties, for example. They must have those areas whether they want them or not.
“Some townships just want agriculture and only ag,” he said, noting that they may not want heavy industry.
By teaming up with just one master plan however, the industrial parks in various locations throughout the county can take the burden from those areas.
Townships are then not forced to provide something they don’t want, Schurr said.
The county-wide master plan began in earnest when Alma, St. Louis and Pine River Township joined forces on the issue of water.
Other entities then saw the advantages – especially when several wind turbine companies began looking at Gratiot to establish wind farms.
Having one set of ordinances makes it easy for wind farms that could be located in several townships.
The idea was to find common ground.
“We have far more in common than not,” Schurr said.
From the first stirrings to begin collaborating to the completed document, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
The county is working to create common terms. Even though everyone lives in the same county, it’s surprising how each has different names for various aspects of their areas.
For example, a term identifying a residential area in one city is called by something completely different in another. Even though it seems minor, if everyone is speaking the same language, it helps.
“Then it’s not the Tower of Babel,” he said.
A master plan is complicated document and while each entity agrees to its core, none of the entities are expected to be identical in all their choices. Each unit of government is unique and each locality has its own character, concerns and issues.
Only St. Louis and Bethany Township, for example, have prisons to deal with.
Therefore, each local unit can add addendums that are suitable to their specific city or township.
“(The master plan) has given us the ability to grow in orderly fashion with everyone,” said Pine River Township Supervisor Kevin Beeson. “It’s worked out wonderfully well.
“When you can sit down and discuss (other cities’ and townships’) concerns it’s a lot different than going to the library and reading it,” he continued. “We can do more things together than separately.”
For Ithaca City Manager Chelsey Foster, it’s just the beginning.