VBT Planners send new Master Plan to township board for OK

After a half-hour, Zoom meeting on Oct. 28, the Van Buren Township Planning Commission voted unanimously to send the new Land Use Master Plan on to the township board with a recommendation for its adoption.
The township board should get the Master Plan on its agenda for the Nov. 17 or Dec. 1 board meeting, according to Dan Power, director of planning and economic development.
The only person to speak during the Oct. 28 public hearing on the Master Plan was Matthew Nitz who asked about a mix of small businesses in residential areas, along with parks.
Director Power said the VBT community has a lot of conventional, low-density housing. In the Belleville/Tyler area and Belleville Road from the Service Drive to Ecorse and south of downtown Belleville, a mix of housing and businesses is planned.
Power said at the planning commission meeting on July 6 they took a pretty thorough look at the plan and there have been no changes since then.
Adam Cook of McKenna Associates did the professional work on the Master Plan, beginning with surveys in 2018, which were evaluated in 2019. From January to June 2020, the Master Plan was completed and revised. The final step was that evening’s public hearing.
“It will start guiding the future of Van
Buren Township,” Cook said. “We want this to be a useable plan.”
Cook said future land use is on pages 51-64 of the plan and on page 65 is a future land use table. He said single family homes make up 30% of the township and mixed use is planned for 9%, at the Town Center Core and Town Center Edge areas.
Planning Commission chairperson Carol Thompson said the Master Plan presented is an impressive document and a large number of people in the community participated in its drafting. She said it is a quite workable plan.
“It’s been out there since August and now it’s ready for adoption,” Power said, adding that the plan will be guiding the staff recommendations in the future.
He said there is an interactive pdf on line and he asked if it should be extended. He said the plan will be revisited every five years.
“It looks good,” said Treasurer Sharry Budd who is board liaison to the planning commission. She said she has looked it over many times. “Everybody put forward a real gallant effort.”
Power invited the public to reach out to him with any suggestions on the plan.
The draft Master Plan is on the township web site for inspection and traditional, print versions can be obtained through the township, he said.
In another matter, Power said Canton Township has a draft amendment to its future land use map for the area on Michigan Avenue east of Denton and has sent it out to neighboring communities for a 42-day review. He said he would send it on to commission members.
Commissioners Medina Atchinson and Joan Franzoi were absent and excused from the meeting.