SB1064 would impose a one-size-fits-all mandate on local governments where cell tower collocation is concerned. This is a solution in search of a problem.

Please contact your state senators today and tell them to oppose this bill as unnecessary and a slap in the face to local governments, most of which have addressed the issues surrounding cell towers in ways that best fit their community.

The language of this bill reflects the worst of the top-down mandates that should not ever come out of Lansing.  More information and the text of SB1064 can be found here:

http://www.mml.org/advocacy/inside208/post/Cell-tower-zoning-pre-emption-passes-Senate-committee.aspx

Respectfully yours,

Rodney C. Nanney, AICP
The Zoning Guru, Building Place Consultants
community planning, zoning, and economic development advisory services,
and home of the Building Place Notebook online newsletter

The following is excerpted from the Detroit News article “No more mooring of boats at road ends” by Chad Livengood:

Each spring, when Sean McGovern’s family opens up its Higgins Lake cottage for the summer boating season, they also pull out plastic floating chains to keep visiting boats at bay.

Boaters and so-called back lot residents use a dead-end road next to McGovern’s lakefront cottage to launch their vessels and moor overnight, sometimes creating a mini marina next to their slice of paradise on the lake south of Grayling.

The visiting boats are seen as a nuisance to lakefront property owners in a long-simmering battle on some Michigan lakes over waterfront access at road ends.

“On a busy day, we can’t let our kids swim in that area … because of these issues of people backing in and taking their boats out on a regular basis,” said McGovern, 43, of Saginaw. “It’s not uncommon to see 10 or 15 boats moored out in front of our place on the weekends.”

After numerous court battles and years of bad blood among neighbors, a new law makes it a misdemeanor to use a road that ends at the water’s edge to build temporary docks, place boat hoists in the water and anchor or dock a boat overnight.

The legislation, signed by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, takes past court rulings and turns them into a law that bans individuals from claiming a public road end as their own lake-front anchoring spot. Calley signed the bill Thursday in the absence of Gov. Rick Snyder, who returns today from a trade mission in Europe this past week.

“What they were doing was basically squatting on public land,” said state Sen. Mike Kowall, R-White Lake Township, the bill’s sponsor.

Road ends can still be used to launch boats, Kowall said, but “they’re not to be used as your own private little recreational site.”

Supporters of the new law hope the threat of a $500-a-day fine ends the string of seemingly endless court cases pitting neighbors against neighbors. …

Under the law, seasonal docks will only be allowed at road ends with a permit from a local municipality or the Department of Environmental Quality. The law provides exemptions for back lot property owners with lakefront easements.

(Patrick Butcher Jr., of Rochester) said the law forces vacationers to spend more time taking their boats out of the water each night during summer weekends because of a shortage of costly marina boat slips.

“If it’s so hard to put your boat in the water, people are going to stop going up north,” Butcher said.

It is an unpublished decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals so it does not establish a precedent, but it does offer a window into the thinking of the judges with regards to the scope of judicial authority to act when a property owner fails to clean up his act for years:

Case Name: Charter Twp. of Portsmouth v. Woys

Defendant owns a parcel of real estate in the plaintiff-Portsmouth Township. The township sued for injunctive relief in 1983 seeking to restrain defendant-Woys from using his residential property as a junk yard in violation of the township’s zoning and anti-blight ordinances. The trial court entered a consent order requiring defendant to “keep and maintain the front and yard areas surrounding the . . . garage free of scrap, junk, and disabled equipment and vehicles.” …

In the following years, plaintiff-township filed several verified petitions for order to show cause, each alleging defendant failed to comply with the consent order.

Plaintiff-township later filed another verified petition for order to show cause alleging that defendant failed to comply with the amended consent order.  (T)he trial court (found the) defendant in contempt of court and ordering him to take numerous remedial actions.  The order also provided that if he failed to comply, defendant shall cease and desist from any commercial operations or storage of any materials not presently permitted under the zoning ordinances….

Plaintiff again filed a verified petition for order to show cause in July 2009. The trial court held hearings on August 24, 2009 and September 10, 2010.  At the 2010 hearing, the…trial court noted that it had again visited the property, and stated, inter alia, there was “a great deal of additional materials that were brought onto that property” and that defendant had “flaunted this Court’s order to clean the property up.”  …

On January 10, 2011, the trial court entered an order nunc pro tunc finding defendant in contempt of court for failure to comply with prior court orders and imposing sanctions (requiring complete removal of the nonconforming junkyard operation).

The Appeals Court… rejected defendant’s argument that the trial court lacked the authority to terminate his nonconforming use by way of a contempt order.  A “court may take advantage of an expansion of a nonconforming use to compel a complete suppression of the nonconformity.” (Source: State Bar of Michigan e-Journal Number: 50856, February 27, 2012)

Full Text Opinion: http://www.michbar.org/opinions/appeals/2012/020912/50856.pdf

"He is challenging his early demise as an illegal takings issue." (caption by Chris Conrad, Snowmass Village, CO)

Here’s a bit more about the company from the Zucker Systems website (http://zuckersystems.com):

“The need for major change in both public and private organizations is essential. We are beyond the days of moving from one management fad to another. What is required today is a fundamental shift based on a changing environment and a new information age focus.”

“Zucker Systems’ work is based on the premise that there is a difference between normal and maximum productivity in an organization and that difference relies on the skill of the manager.”

“Zucker Systems was created by its President, Paul Zucker in 1982. To our knowledge, it is the only national organization and management firm that specializes in analysis of planning, building, engineering and related departments. We have worked with over 100 cities, 40 counties, and 20 non-profits in 29 states and the Cayman Islands.”

Click here to sign up for their excellent email updates.  The Zoning Guru also highly recommends Mr. Zucker’s training workshops for planning directors (“Complete Management Course for Planning Directors“), for those among our readership working in public sector planning management positions.

© 2009 Building Place – Rodney C. Nanney, AICP (www.buildingplace.net) – All rights reserved. Contact us here for information regarding reprinting, redistribution, or other use of original material. Excerpts may be quoted with proper attribution and a link to this website.

Today, there is a growing understanding that communities wishing to preserve the agricultural economy and unique character of our rural places must do more than simply respond and react to development pressures. Planning for the future of rural Michigan communities and expanding local choices for food production is part of the mission of Building Place.  Planning for agriculture and local food sourcing should be part of local community planning, whether your community is urban or rural in character.

Store Wars: The Organic Rebellion. Not long ago in a supermarket not so far away…

Planning for Agriculture

With agritourism flourishing, it’s an exciting time for agriculture in Michigan. Sustaining the momentum requires careful planning – the kind of planning that considers every detail from property taxes to road rules.  Building Place Consultants specialize in rural planning and development, and are ready to  help local government leaders get up to speed on the latest developments that impact agricultural planning, including:

• The Michigan Right to Farm Act, GAAMPS and ocal land use regulations - how to promote home gardening and diversify income for farmers while protecting neighbors from potential nuisances
• Farmland preservation options and challenges
• Roads 101 - emerging issues are in agriculture and transportation
• Farm markets and agri-tourism
• Ways to grow the local rural economy
• The future of agriculture in Michigan

To learn more about how Building Place can help your community plan for agriculture or include value-added agricultural activities in your zoning ordinance, contact us here.

Click here to sign up for your email alerts

We’re pleased to be your online resource for jargon-free information on community planning, zoning, and local economic development topics!

If there is a topic you would like us to cover in the Building Place Notebook, leave a comment here or send us an email and we’ll get right on it! In the meantime, here are some tracks that may interest you:

• Economic Development
• Planning and Zoning Fiction
  
• Zoning
• Development
• Law
  

Regards,

Rodney C. Nanney, AICP
The Zoning Guru

Mr. Nanney currently has several openings available to speak on these and related topics before your local business or community group.  Possible topics include:

• “Getting the Most Out Of Your Town’s Planning/Zoning Department”
• “Nine Golden Rules of Defensible Decision-Making”
• “Downtown Revitalization – Five Simple Things That Matter Most”
  

He has spoken before audiences large and small, and as diverse as church groups, college students, and elementary-age children.  An engaging public speaker, he is prepared to tailor his subject and remarks to your group’s needs, interests, and priorities.

Mr. Nanney is also an experienced leader and facilitator of training and educational workshops on community planning, zoning, and land development topics.  His current workshops include:

• What Every Local Elected Official Needs to Know about Community Planning and Zoning
• Zoning Without Boundaries – Implementing the Place Zoning Model
• Ordinance Enforcement
• Defensible Sign Regulations
  
• What are “Granny Flats” (Accessory Apartments) and Why are they Important?

Click here for more information, or to contact Mr. Nanney today about customizing a talk, workshop or individualized training session for your next meeting, conference, or gathering.

© 2009, 2010, 2011 Building Place – Rodney C. Nanney, AICP (www.buildingplace.net) – All rights reserved. Contact us here for information regarding reprinting, redistribution, or other use of this material. Excerpts may be quoted with proper attribution and a link to this website and the author.

What makes your downtown an indispensable place?

This is the essential question that should drive local economic development planning and project implementation in downtown areas:

• Potential residents ask this question when looking for “just the right home.”
• Potential business owners ask this question when looking for the perfect location for their new retail store, service business, office, or research and development center.
• Potential visitors ask this question while deciding where to go on Friday night.

Years ago, “downtown” served as the indispensable community and commercial hub for surrounding agricultural areas – the place to be for all ages.

Many small town centers provided a market for farm products, a source of products and services for farmers, and railroad access to other markets.

“County seats” and the downtown areas of larger cities served as the central gathering place for the surrounding region, complete with government offices, schools, and a variety of entertainment venues and “watering holes.”

Today, technology, transportation improvements, and market changes have vastly increased the available choices for people to spend their time and money.  Residents now commute to work and shopping across the metropolitan region.  Business is conducted on the Internet, and most historic downtowns have been relegated to a niche market.

We know what once made downtown indispensable, but that old model will not work today.  What we need to know is…

What will make “downtown” an indispensable place in the 21st Century?

To retain existing businesses and create new investment and growth opportunities, communities must do more than just respond and react.  Implementation of an effective and coordinated economic development strategy is an essential part of making your downtown an indispensible place to work, shop, live, visit, and own a successful business.

The following are five steps for success in making (or re-making) your downtown into an indispensible place:

1.  Building a strong framework for success first involves organization.

This can be accomplished through a local Chamber of Commerce, business association, or Downtown Development Authority (DDA) if one has been established.

2.  A successful downtown should make effective use of available economic development tools, including:

• Economic development planning – listening and looking for new opportunities
• Implementation of a focused business retention and attraction program.
• Physical improvement projects, such as parking, lighting, signage, barrier-free access, and facade improvements.
• Coordinated hours of operation and special events.
• Promotional website/blog and other coordinated advertising/promotions.
• Ongoing communication and coordination between City officials and the business community.

3.  A successful downtown needs local leadership and management.

The most successful downtowns are those that have someone who is responsible for managing projects, maintaining desired services (like a website), and coordinating communication.  This could be a city planner or other city official, a DDA director, a contract employee, or a manager hired by a private business association or chamber of commerce.

4.  To be successful, downtown businesses, developers, and potential investors should not have to fight City Hall.

For a downtown to be successful, all aspects of the community’s economic development program (zoning, master plan, development review, housing, recreation, CDBG, DDA, etc.) must effectively work together toward the same goals.

Too often, a community’s antiquated zoning ordinance places unnecessary roadblocks and overly-complicated approval processes in the way of creative redevelopment opportunities.  A comprehensive ordinance update by a competent planning consultant with economic development experience may be a good first step to a brighter future for your downtown.

5.  Long-term success requires ongoing evaluation and adjustment.

As circumstances change and your economic development strategy begins to bear fruit, it is important to evaluate what works best and what needs to be adjusted.  Downtown stakeholders (elected and appointed local officials, business owners, etc.) must be prepared to adjust quickly to changing conditions and new opportunities.

Click here for more information on this topic, or to learn how Building Place Consultants can help your downtown become an indispensible place.

© 2009 Building Place – Rodney C. Nanney, AICP (www.buildingplace.net) – All rights reserved.  Contact us here for information regarding reprinting, redistribution, or other use of this material. Excerpts may be quoted with proper attribution and a link to this website.

About the Author

As the principal planner and Zoning Guru for Building Place Consultants, Rodney C. Nanney, AICP is an innovative provider of solutions to community planning, zoning, and local economic development challenges.  Mr. Nanney is a recognized zoning expert and the creator of the Place Zoning model for mixed-use neighborhoods and walkable communities.

An accomplished writer and public speaker, he also has the all-to-rare gift among planners of being able to effectively communicate planning and zoning concepts in plain language.  He has spoken before audiences large and small, and as diverse as church groups, college students, elected officials, and elementary-age children.

Contact Mr. Nanney today about speaking at your next meeting, conference, or gathering (see below or click here to email Mr. Nanney directly).

How to revitalize a neighborhood?  By listening to its residents.

Community planners and planning consultants (like many “experts”) can easily fall into the trap of listening too little and talking too much.  Planning is not like medicine, and planners should beware not to find themselves in the position of saying, “I know what’s best for you, now take this medicine and you’ll be all better soon.”

The following tale is adapted and summarized from “Polishing Up the Diamond,” an excellent article from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business – Center for Social Innovation.  What it offers for professional planners is a reminder to avoid the ‘expert trap’ - often the most successful ideas for making a place better come from those that live and work there…

Moving In

The goal of the Jacobs Family Foundation was to revitalize a rough San Diego, CA neighborhood called “The Diamond.”  A common goal for a charitable foundation, but the method they used to accomplish this goal was most uncommon.

The foundation chose not to repeat the usual planning and community development model, which is to:

1. study the neighborhood;
2. have ‘experts’ come in and develop the master redevelopment plan; and
3. effectively tell the residents what was good for them.

“The neighborhood had been studied to death…and little had come from it,” the project director noted.

Instead, the foundation moved itself into the neighborhood, establishing offices in an abandoned grocery store and buying a 20-acre abandoned factory site.  Then they did something even more remarkable:  The foundation decided to ask the residents what they wanted built on the property.

Foundation employees worked with residents to build trust.  The director reported that the hardest part for the foundation employees was to actively listen – to “stop trying to solve people’s problems and let go of being the expert.”

Surprising Direction

Ultimately, they were able to arrange numerous “living room” meetings (about 200 in total) to talk with neighbors about what they needed.  Surprisingly, few said they needed more of the social services (gang or teen pregnancy prevention, etc.) – things that previous studies had focused on as most important.

The foundation found that the residents “often didn’t know the name of the neighborhood, their council members, or more than a handful of their neighbors.  They lacked basic public services – streetlights, curbs, sidewalks, and trash pickup.”  However, what residents wanted most in the neighborhood was “a grocery store and a nice sit-down restaurant.”

The consensus was for the former factory site to be redeveloped as a commercial center.  The foundation formed working teams of residents to determine every aspect of the development, even the name.

New Businesses, New Attitude

Today, Market Creek Plaza is open, employing neighborhood residents in a major grocery and a locally owned restaurant offering authentic Southern cuisine, with a full bar and outdoor patio.  Wells Fargo, Starbucks, a box, ship, and copy shop, and a gift shop round out this new neighborhood center.  Another mixed-use project is currently in the works, following the same development model.

As the project developed through the efforts of the residents, other positive things began to happen in the neighborhood:

“I didn’t have a purpose before this work,” said one resident. “I didn’t care.  No one cared.  Everyone else was throwing trash in the street, why shouldn’t I? Now I know that this is my neighborhood and is where I will raise my children.”

Click here for more on the latest neighborhood projects, and the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation.

To discuss how Building Place can help you with your neighborhood or downtown revitalization efforts, click here to contact us today.

© 2009 Building Place – Rodney C. Nanney, AICP (www.buildingplace.net) – All rights reserved. Contact us here for information regarding reprinting, redistribution, or other use of original material. Excerpts may be quoted with proper attribution and a link to this website.

Proximity, association, and accessibility between home, work, and leisure activities are essential factors in building places with a strong sense of community.  In the book A Pattern Language, author Christopher Alexander advocates for a comprehensive change in the nature of zoning.  He envisions a work – home relationship where…

• Every home is within 20-30-minutes of many hundreds of workplaces;
• Many workplaces are within walking distance of children and families;
• Workers can go home casually for lunch, run errands, work half-time, and spend half the day at home;
• Some workplaces are in homes; there are many opportunities for people to work from their homes or to take work home; and
• Neighborhoods are protected from the traffic and noise generated by “noxious” workplaces.

Associated uses build communities

Examples of associated uses for residences

In place of single-use zoning districts that tend to isolate people and places, the Place Zoning model emphasizes that new uses must be located near compatible associated uses.

“Associated uses” are activities that complement, support and provide benefits or services to other compatible uses in the community.

When combined and interconnected in close proximity, associated uses form the essential building blocks of community life.

For more information on this topic, click here or copy and paste the following link in your web browser:  http://www.buildingplace.net/place-zoning.

Building Place is currently scheduling a limited number of workshop presentations about place zoning and state-of-the-art land development regulations that work for your community.

Contact us here to reserve one for your community.

© 2009, 2010, 2011 Building Place (www.buildingplace.net) – All rights reserved.  Contact us here for information regarding reprinting, redistribution, or other use of this material. Excerpts may be quoted with proper attribution and a link to this website.