New master plan approved for Farmington Hills

FARMINGTON HILLS — For the first time since 2009, the city of Farmington Hills has a new master plan in place.

Although they don’t always garner a lot of attention, master plans play a significant role in the identity of municipalities, as they serve as a guideline for the future physical development of communities.

Master plans outline long-term visions in areas such as land use, infrastructure, transportation and community services. A state statute requires local governments to assess their current master plan every five years to determine if it needs to be updated.

Farmington Hills’ master plan for future land use was unanimously approved at a City Council meeting Aug. 12.

The plan includes 59 objectives.

“The master plan is a reflection of all of our efforts communicating with the community, the Planning Commission, and finally, our City Council,” said Charmaine Kettler-Schmult, who is the director of the city’s Planning and Community Development Department. “So, what we drew from that is that folks want places that matter, quality redevelopments, good variety in housing (and) economic developments.”

According to a press release from the city, the master plan is a strategic document that will guide change in the city over the next 50 years, with future land use and development, nonmotorized transportation, housing, and economic development being among the goals.

Giffels Webster is a multidisciplinary firm that specializes in community planning and provides counsel to local municipalities, including Farmington Hills.

An email from a city representative states that costs for the contracted services of the planning consultant are estimated to be $25,000, with stipends for the time Planning Commissioners spend at extra meetings pertaining to the master plan estimated to be $6,000.

At the City Council meeting Aug. 12, Jill Bahm, who is a partner with Giffels Webster, said that March 21, 2022, was the date that the planning process for the new master plan began.

“It’s been a long journey. It’s been a very thorough process,” Bahm said at the meeting. “We had so many great conversations, with the Planning Commission, with members of council who served on the studies committee with us, and with members of the community — business owners (and) residents who came and participated at our open houses, at the additional workshops that we had.”

Bahm said that the plan is “very big,” with housing being top of mind for City Council and Planning Commission members.

“We wanted to talk about housing, preserving existing single-family neighborhoods, but also recognize the need to add more housing to accommodate the way that we are changing our households, to accommodate some of our older residents, and to make sure that we have a variety of housing types and price-points available for today’s residents, as well as those residents in the future,” Bahm said.

Nonmotorized transportation has become a priority for some communities, and Farmington Hills is among them.

According to the city’s release, the new master plan is laying the groundwork for modern amenities in the city, such as increased walkability, bike lanes and paths, and sustainable design.

“We talked about transportation,” Bahm said. “One of the things that was very interesting as we went through this process is the demand for walkability and bikeability. It’s something that has really — and we’ve noticed it in other communities as well — something that’s really resonating with people. They recognize that there are places that are walkable and they want their place where they live to be walkable too.”

According to Kettler-Schmult, the city is focusing on three main corridors, with those corridors being the 12 Mile corridor between Orchard Lake Road and Haggerty Road; Orchard Lake Road, north of 12 Mile Road to 14 Mile Road; and the Grand River corridor, which extends from the city of Farmington’s limits to Inkster Road.

“Those are still in development,” Kettler-Schmult said. “Our master plan calls for flexibility in the zoning within those sections. We don’t currently have ordinances in place that allow for that development to happen, so we’re moving forward with studies to see exactly what those parameters will be. … We also have market studies that are being kicked off in the next month or so for all three of those corridors that will help guide our determination in putting together those regulations, and that’ll be feedback from the market study that shows what folks who are in those spaces need in order to remain viable, to encourage additional development within those spaces.”

At the City Council meeting, Councilman Jon Aldred said, “Let’s identify what those zoning ordinance changes need to be, and let’s get on with it.”

He referred to the updated master plan as an excellent document.

“There’s 59 objectives, which is a big number,” Aldred said. “Mixed use comes in several of the objectives. In some areas we can have a combination of business and residents, where it makes sense, and also noting the fact that on the flip side, 81% of residents say that parklands and open space are important to them.”

The city’s press release states that the plan establishes a vision to allow and encourage mixed-use redevelopment in an effort to attract a variety of dining and entertainment options.

Councilman Michael Bridges also weighed in on the plan at the Aug. 12 meeting.

“We want people to know that Farmington Hills has updated its plan,” he said. “We’re redevelopment ready, (we’re) interested in new ideas for Farmington Hills, and our plan will support that.”

Farmington Hills Mayor Theresa Rich thanked those who took part in the process to put together an updated master plan.

“This work spanned a couple of different councils, a lot (of) people on the Planning Commission, currently and previously, and hundreds of residents who were engaged in the process,” she said. “That really shines through because this is such a comprehensive plan, so very well done.”

In order to fully realize the city’s master plan, Kettler-Schmult said that ordinance amendments will be needed.

“I think at this point we’re interested in moving forward with the actual implementation of the master plan,” she said. “It’s taken us three years to get to this point. So, not only my staff, but I know our Planning Commission is really interested in moving forward with making the changes in the ordinance that will allow the implementation of the mission that they’ve created.”

For a copy of the master plan, visit fhgov.com/media/lv4hslbp/2024-farmington-hills-master-plan-full-final.pdf. For more information, call (248) 871-2540.