Clinton Township’s master plan works with what’s available

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — A master plan sets out a future vision for a community, taking into account the data and statistics currently available. In the case of Clinton Township, its recently passed plan works with what’s already there.

Much of Clinton Township’s land is spoken for.

“We’re a built community,” said Bruce Thompson, Clinton Township’s planning director. “There’s very little developable land left, so this plan is redevelopment.”

The township’s master plan, which had its final version unanimously passed by the Planning Commission following a public hearing on Aug. 22, is a guide and not a binding document.

“It’s not a law, it’s not an ordinance,” Thompson said. “It’s designed to be a guide for the decision makers here when they’re considering things like rezoning plans and special land use.”

The master plan states that the demographic with the fastest growth is senior citizens.

However, Thompson said the township’s aging population growth is plateauing. He said this is shown by senior developments not being filled and a lack of new proposals for senior housing. This sets the stage for a potential shift in the township.

“Well, we do have a very large senior population. That will start to decrease,” he said. “You’ll start to see younger first-time homeowners and young families moving forward into our future. I think we make good accommodations for it.”

With the large senior population, aging in place is recommended. The plan recommends making accommodations with the housing already available in the township.

“Clinton Township is almost completely built. This means little or no land available to provide new housing options for the elderly,” the report states.

The township is the most populated township in Michigan, though the plan states growth has slowed since the ’80s and ’90s. It states that the median household income has increased from 2010 to 2020 by $16,241. The percentage of households living in poverty in the township was 10.6% in 2020, sitting lower than the county’s 11.5%, but higher than the state’s 8.8%. The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) projects health care jobs will be the largest growing jobs sector in the township.

Thompson said he thought the process went well this time. He said the plan was done in-house, utilizing the bones of the previous plan.

“We have a good master plan for the next five years,” Thompson said.

The last master plan, which was finalized in 2019, was assisted by a consulting firm. Thompson said at the time a more comprehensive plan was required. The plan for 2024 was able to build off of this.

“They wanted to update the statistics, apply those statistics and then take any input they could to make any updates or changes,” Thompson said. “Doing it in-house is just a different way of doing it, it’s not bad or worse. It just depends on the needs of the township, and they felt that was what was needed.”

At the Planning Commission’s Aug. 22 meeting, Chairman Ronald DiBartolomeo said the township opted to not get a consulting firm partly as a cost saving measure.

“We thought it wasn’t necessary,” he said. “We were able to do this on our own with the work of Mr. Thompson as well as the BOT (Board of Trustees) with their input…I think we’ve got a good master plan for the next five years.”

The Michigan Planning and Enabling Act 33 of 2008 makes the master plan possible. The Clinton Township Board of Trustees approved the draft for the master plan at its June 3 meeting, triggering a 42-day review period. At the board’s July 22 meeting, the final draft was approved and sent to the Planning Commission for final approval.

At the July 22 meeting, Trustee Julie Matuzak discussed taking into account the large population of seniors currently in the township. She said this percentage surpassed the county and the state. In the plan it discusses aging in place, which Matuzak wanted to address with reevaluating zoning ordinances.

“Sometimes people want to convert their garages into mother-in-law apartments, they want to put tiny houses in their backyards, they want to do things like that,” Matuzak said. “Our zoning ordinance, as it exists, does not allow for that and our plan does not focus on that.”

While it’s not a goal in the current plan, it is mentioned. Matuzak said in the meeting that this is something the township would want to consider in future plans.

Trustee Mike Keys hoped the plan would be a bit more ambitious and have more input from residents on what they want to see in the township. Though he ultimately voted in favor, Keys said more up to date data was needed and an outside firm should’ve been used.

“I think this misses out on an opportunity to paint a more exciting vision for our community,” Keys said.

At the meeting, Thompson clarified that the figures used were to show trends.

“You don’t want to take a short, very small picture of a time and place when it comes to that information,” Thompson said. “You want a good spread of information, so you can then make better projections.”

View the full master plan at clintontownship.com/DocumentCenter/View/3933/Master-Plan-2024-Final.