West Bloomfield looks to develop a new master plan for the township

WEST BLOOMFIELD — West Bloomfield is in the midst of a process that helps shape the identity of communities.

State law requires that each municipality review its master plan every five years, and the township has begun the process of adopting a new plan that would go from 2025 to 2030.

The township’s current master plan was adopted in 2010.

“This year, we decided it was time to take a look at everything again in detail and start, essentially, building a new plan for the next time period going forward,” said Wade Burkholder, who is the deputy director of the township’s Planning and Development Services Department.

According to the township’s website, a master plan serves as a “roadmap” for guiding the future growth, development and sustainability of a community by establishing clear goals, strategies and policies.

Some of the categories for master plans include housing and neighborhoods, transportation and mobility, natural systems and resiliency, infrastructure, environmental issues, and economic development and business support.

The township’s website states that a community survey will be open until the end of the year to get public feedback about a master plan.

The West Bloomfield Township Planning Commission is set to have a master plan draft review next spring, followed by an adoption of the plan next fall.

Community open house dates are slated for early next year, with the dates not yet determined, according to the township’s website.

Burkholder expects the Planning Commission master plan draft review to occur around next May.

He explained how the process works after the Planning Commission is comfortable moving forward with a master plan.

“Once the Planning Commission makes that recommendation, the recommendation goes to the Township Board,” Burkholder said. “The Township Board would then release it to the public, and then there’s an additional 63-day review, per state law, after the board releases it. That puts us into like October, November, for final adoption.”

According to Steven Kaplan, who was the township supervisor until recently stepping down, the Township Board gives “great credence” to the Planning Commission’s recommendations.

“The reason for that is they deal with planning issues, so they have expertise that perhaps a typical Township Board member does not have,” Kaplan said.

Kaplan provided an example of a scenario in which a master plan could play a key role for a municipality.

“Let’s say a community determines that it needs an industrial area; maybe there’s some industrial business that wants to move into the township or city,” he said. “We don’t have an industrial area, but let’s say we wanted to implement one. If it’s not part of the master plan, then the master plan would have to be amended.”

After getting public outreach and survey information about the upcoming master plan, the feedback gets broken up into various categories.

That process can help guide a municipality’s direction.

“So we’ll sort of place these comments we receive into those overarching buckets of categories, and from there we’ll start looking at specific goals and policies (for) the township,” Burkholder said. 

“So it’ll set actions, which are either immediate actions, intermediate actions or long-range actions. So that’s how we sort of track the implementation of the master plan — take what we hear from the public and focus groups and folks like that.”

Burkholder expects housing goals to be one of the major highlights of the plan.

While, according to him, there are a lot of single-family homes being built around lakes in the township, another segment of the population needs more affordable housing.

“We call it the missing middle — the duplexes, the multifamily apartment units, that sort of thing,” Burkholder said. “We see that type of housing missing in the township. … We’re trying to develop policies around that, and how we can stimulate that sort of development.”

Sustainability and the environment are also expected to be part of the plan, and given that there are more than 20 lakes in West Bloomfield, Burkholder anticipates that part of the master plan will focus on protecting and regulating the wetlands around the lakes.

He also expects some attention to be paid to the township’s “center district,” located along Orchard Lake Road from 14 Mile Road to Maple Road, as that is where he said redevelopment is “really occurring.”

“I think you’ll see some discussion about Orchard Lake Road and the boulevard area,” Burkholder said. “Is the town center district zoning working? Are we short on restaurants or are we short on medical care? So, we’ll look at it sector-wise to see if we’re missing something that we can develop policies to attract.”

Burkholder shared his perspective as to the importance of master plans and the community’s role in helping to develop them.

“It’s really the guidebook for the community for what the residents want, so it’s really important that we hear from them and they’re a part of this process,” he said. “It really does help the decision-making of the elected officials on the Township Board and helps the decisions of the Planning Commission, so that’s kind of the benefit of this process. We want to make sure we’re doing what the community wants us to do.”

Kaplan also weighed in on the significance of master plans.

“A good master plan can enhance livability and business opportunities,” he said. “A good master plan might encourage people to move into the township, or even businesses to operate here.”

Aside from getting feedback from community stakeholders, such as residents, the Greater West Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce and the West Bloomfield School District, the township has also turned to McKenna, a planning association based in Northville, for assistance in developing a master plan. According to Burkholder, McKenna’s contract is for $112,000, which is supplemented by a $50,000 grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

Burkholder shared what it is like being part of the process of helping to put together a master plan.

“I don’t think this personally, but a lot of people say, ‘You could leave a legacy with a master plan because future planners and future employees will still have that document carried through,’” he said. 

“We’re (going to) leave this document and hopefully make the community better than when we found it. Just kind of looking at those trends and looking at how things could make life easier for the residents is really exciting. It is a lot of work, but it’s exciting work.”

For more information or to take a survey, visit westbloomfieldplans.com.