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Opinion: Reflections on Planning Commission Jan. 26 meeting

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By Elizabeth Jordan

Saturday, February 06, 2010

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At the last meeting, no one spoke during the public forum, so we moved on to the public hearing on vacating part of Stone Street between Fifth and Six avenues. It is related to the planned changes for Hurley that were discussed at the previous meeting.

Continuing the street through that block would have made the intersection by the planned new Hurley entrance more dangerous. Also, due to differences in elevation, Stone Street would have had to be raised by about 6 feet, which wasn't practical. The only things accessed by this section of Stone Street are two parking lots owned by Hurley. The request for a street vacation was passed unanimously with the understanding that the city would still have a utility easement.

Now, the street vacation will move  to Flint City Council for a final decision.

CEDS Report

Rob Jewell gave an update on the CEDS (Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy) process. The revised draft of the CEDS document is available at the public library and some municipal offices, and it is also posted online. Here is a link to the draft - http://www.co.genesee.mi.us/gcmpc-plan/CEDS.htm.  There is a public comment phase through Feb. 23.

Growing Food in Flint

Commissioner Greer asked a question about an idea he had heard for putting a demonstration food garden or urban farm in part of Aldridge Park and whether there were ordinances that might constrain such activity. Based on guidance from the attorney, it seemed that such an ordinance fell under the purview of the city council, not the planning commission.

Another question was asked about the status of proposed ordinance changes that the planning commission had pursued last year. The attorney said that the changes (which addressed nuisance violations for improper composting, trash disposal from urban garden sites and chickens) had been shared with the administration, and they were waiting to hear back. Once that happens, it could go to city council.

Master Planning Initiative

We had some conversation as a follow-up from last time about generating a list of things related to future master planning that we wanted to put on our radar screen. The ideas talked about included:

• Seeing whether the commission and the administration are on the same page about our respective roles and responsibilities in master planning as laid out in state law (specifically PA 33 of 2008 and the Enabling Act of 2006) and the City Charter.
• Getting updates on the status of how the Planning and Development Department is organized. (There had been talk by the administration of re-organizing city departments into Public Safety, Neighborhood Services and Community and Economic Development, but I think some of those changes would require city council approval.)
• Getting updates on the status of the staff planner position that was advertised (at one point it was advertised as "city planner" and another time as "chief planning officer.") There was discussion about the appropriate role for the planning commission, if any, in decisions about hiring. I think the idea that emerged was that while the position is clearly the administration's to fill, some communication about how the new staff person would relate to the planning commission could be helpful.
• Further exploration of public participation approaches and the hopes and expectations we might have for a process here. In particular, one person pointed out the importance of having clarity at the outset on how feedback is used and who has ultimate decision-making responsibility.
• Getting a handle on various studies and plans that other groups have been working on, or research that has been done.(Not to say that these other plans would necessarily become part of a master plan, but it's nice to be informed about what others are working on. This could reduce the potential for misunderstandings down the road, I think.)This was prompted in part by a neighborhood group that had developed a workbook wanting to present their work to us. I am certainly interested in hearing from neighborhoods about visioning they've been doing, yet I think the commission wants to be clear that this would be an informational presentation and not something that we are expected to officially endorse.
• Update on the status of funding request letters the city sent to the C. S. Mott Foundation and Ruth Mott Foundation during interim mayor Mike Brown's tenure. Was that on hold, withdrawn, approved, declined or what? (Incidentally, while I work at Ruth Mott, I have not been involved with whatever request came in from the city and therefore have no insight to offer.)

Of these items, three were highlighted for next time. In our packets for the next meeting, a copy of relevant state law and sections of the Charter were included as "homework." Our chairperson will be checking with the city administrator about the status of funding requests and the staff planner position.

The next meeting is set for 6 p.m. Feb. 9 on the third floor of Flint City Hall. There are no site plan reviews or public hearings. The main items of note will likely be an update on the CEDS process and covering the master plan initiative items described above.

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Elizabeth Jordan is a lifelong Flint resident who represents the 9th Ward on the Flint Planning Commission.  In addition to working in the nonprofit sector, she is involved with various community initiatives promoting social justice and peace.

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