City Officials Debate: Should Master Plan Be Revised by Professionals?
Council, Planning Commission Will Form Committee To Research Options

Revision of Mackinac Island’s City Master Plan is now underway, as Mayor Margaret Doud begins to send out proposals for bids to interested development planning agencies. Some city officials, however, believe revisions should be done in-house, without the expensive cost of professional advice. TTThe master plan came under scrutiny during the building moratorium last summer, by a consultant who was hired to help the city deal with an overburdened sewer plant. With the water and sewer treatment near their limits, the city is faced with restricting future development or spending millions of dollars to upgrade its infrastructure, even though most available land is already developed.

Connie Dimond, a consultant with JJ&R of Ann Arbor, criticized the master plan for being too vague and out of date. She also said that community growth was not projected, nor were there any alternative ideas for building growth.

“The master plan did not address any issues that are being spoken today,” said Ms. Dimond at a meeting last August. “Community growth was not reflected; it needs to be general, but specific enough to allow you to make decisions.”

The city began discussing an update to the five-year-old plan at a joint meeting Tuesday, February 8, of the City Council and the Planning Commission. State law requires municipalities to review and, if necessary, revise a master plan every five years. Wade-Trim of Gaylord assisted the city in creating the Island’s master plan five years ago, but the outcome was more reflective of existing zoning laws than it was of future development.

After much discussion at the February 8 meeting, Mayor Margaret Doud said she will form a committee of city and planning commission members, and one representative from the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, to begin discussions on revisions of the master plan. Proposal letters to professional consultant firms, meanwhile, will be sent out, and when bids are submitted, the city will then decide whether it will hire a consultant or revise the master plan by itself.

Representatives from both boards agreed that a consultant like Ms. Dimond would be beneficial, if not crucial, to revising the master plan. Planning Commissioners Mary Dufina and Margaret Horn disagreed.

“I don’t think we need an outside agency,” said Mrs. Horn. “I think we should form a committee and they should meet more frequently.”

Mrs. Dufina said the city and planning commission should “get on the same page” as to what needs to be revised or added to the master plan before a professional consultant is hired.

However the city decides to update its master plan, said City Attorney Tom Evashevski, there are many areas that need to be addressed. Issues mentioned at the meeting include downtown summer traffic congestion, over-development of condominiums and subdivisions, and the lack of affordable housing for year-around residents and summer employees.

A master plan articulates a community’s vision for the future and maps out development strategies, quality of life issues, and projects the public services required to meet growth.

Since zoning must conform to a master plan, the city’s zoning ordinance will need to be addressed, as well. Planning Commissioner Kay Hoppenrath suggested the zoning ordinance also be revised to reflect any state laws that have changed in the past five years.

Mr. Evashevski advised the group it would be in the city’s best interest to hire a professional consultant when revising the master plan.

“In my opinion, I think you need to do more than what the planning commission can do,” he said. “With these outside planners, that’s what they do for a living. Personally, I can’t guide you through this nor could (City Engineer) Dennis Dombroski.”

Planning Commissioner Kay Hoppenrath agreed.

“We do need some professional help,” she said. “I don’t mean to insult anyone, but I don’t think anyone here has the expertise. We need as much expert guidance as we can get. I do realize, though, the cost to the city to hire one.”

Mayor Doud reminded the group that even if the city hired a consultant, the final decisions will still be made by city politicians.

The cost to hire a consultant can range between $20,000 and $50,000. Mayor Doud said the city is not required to hire a professional, however, she said, Ms. Dimond impressed city officials by directing the moratorium committee in a fast and efficient manner, keeping the group on task at all times.

“Without a consultant,” said Planning Commissioner Ed Chambers, “I can see us going on endlessly.”

“Time is pressing, and we’re in the sixth year with revising our master plan,” said City Alderman Michael Hart. “We face many problems right now, traffic jams, concentration of developments that no one wants, but we won’t have anything that will prevent or control these issues if we do not revise the master plan correctly.”

Another meeting has yet to be scheduled to discuss master plan revisions.