VBT board accepts report on busy year for planning commission

Van Buren Township’s director of planning and economic development Dan Power at the regular meeting of the VBT board of trustees on Jan. 16 gave a report on the many 2023 planning commission activities.
The report to a municipality on planning commission and public engagement activities is required by the Michigan Planning Act and Director Power reeled off all the township’s development activities, along with a report on public participation and master plan implementation activities by the planning commission.
He noted the planning commission held 25 public meetings in 2023, including 21 regular meetings and four special meetings, which included a workshop to discuss economic development strategies and marketing as part of Redevelopment Ready Communities certification.
There also was a joint planning commission meeting with the planning commissions of the city of Belleville and Sumpter Township to discuss planning in their communities.
He listed the large industrial and commercial projects, along with the two senior living projects and the township’s community center addition.
“It’s been a very busy, successful year for the planning commission,” Power concluded.
The board unanimously accepted the report.
Power invited those interested in keeping up on township development to go to the Van Buren Township website (www.vanburen-mi.org) and visit the Development and Planning Portal on the homepage to get interactive information on all the township projects.
In other business at the 34-minute meeting, the board:
• Approved the supervisor’s reappointments of Charles Coleman, Kimberly Nofz, Todd O’Neil, and Tammy Wall to the Recreation Committee;
• Approved Jessica Thomas to the Downtown Development Authority board to fulfill the remainder of the term expiring March 9, 2026. Former DDA board member James Chudzinski resigned because he recently sold his business in the DDA district. Thomas is general manager for the Holiday Inn Express & Suites at 46194 N. I-94 Service Dr.;
• Heard Trustee Kevin Martin tell of Martin Luther King, a “phenomenal human being,” and said he would like the township to do some type of event next year on Martin Luther King Day, like other communities do;
• Heard Supervisor Kevin McNamara introduce Sumpter Township Treasurer Bart Patterson who was visiting the meeting. Supervisor McNamara said, “We wish the best for Sumpter Township. As Sumpter Township goes, so goes Van Buren Township”; and
• Heard Supervisor McNamara tell of his attempts to obtain a Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network’s Mobile Response Unit in this area to assist with mental health calls to the VBT police department. He said VBT had 360 mental health calls in 2023. This emergency unit is for cases where people need help, but not a hospital or a jail, he said. He reminded the board that the township shares a crisis intervention person with two other communities.