| How can we even begin to imagine what our future is going to look like in 50 years," says Grand Vision champion Marsha Smith. "If we have some general idea about where we're going and we agree on that as a region, then our chances are much better of us actually getting there."
As it stands right now, this project is only funded for Traverse City and the surrounding nine townships. That means planners can only hold workshops there, but they are encouraging input from everyone. They hope to one day extend the planning to the entire six county Grand Traverse Region. Planners compiled previous studies on the topic. and are now getting public input. A capacity crowd at the Park Place Hotel used large maps in October to show what areas they want developed, and how. That's only the first of several similar sessions slated for the next few months. "This isn't just a one shot workshop and we're done," says Doug Christensen of Mead & Hunt. "We need more input from the public as a part of this process." This spring planners will digitize all of those maps and come up with three to five virtual scenarios and community members will choose their favorite. "They know how to show what it's really like to live in each of these scenarios," says Christensen. Planners will also examine gaps in zoning ordinances to look for discrepancies between what people say they want and what the zoning allows. "Many of our cherry orchards are turning into subdivisions," says TC-TALUS Chair Bob Otwell, "and I think there are a lot of things that are happening that are not as planned as well as they should be." Planners will also help local governments turn the Grand Vision into a reality. "Each county has its own master plan," Smith explains, "each unit of government has its own master plan. There's no regional plan. There's no regional vision. There really has to be a regional five county vision for the future. That's the big difference." Another difference is money. After the study there will still be two million dollars left over from the federal funds to start implementing some of the Grand Vision's projects. "It's really important to implement these things within months," Otwell says, "not put them on the shelf for years." "This isn't just going to collect dust on a shelf," says Smith, "this is a living breathing document that's going to be the future of our community and I think that's really important." And while many things have changed in the Grand Traverse Region in the last 50 years that doesn't mean what's developed now... will stay that way forever." |