comprehensive

Organization

Year Initiated

Description

To curtail the problems of urban sprawl, government and business leaders from across the Grand Rapids metropolitan area formed the Metro Council “to cooperatively advocate, plan for, and coordinate the provision of services and investments which have environmental, economic and social impact.”

The premise is that good government and inter-governmental cooperation are necessary to achieve community well-being—and that curbing urban sprawl and preserving the natural environment are essential for reaching this goal. An 18-month effort by citizens, planners, and consultants culminated in the Metropolitan Development Blueprint, which encourages open space preservation and compact community development and sets forth over 50 specific strategies that are now being pursued. Through its Blueprint Committee, the Metro Council helps to coordinate projects among local governments, environmental and business organizations, and research centers. The Council also takes formal positions on state and federal legislation, and has supported revenue sharing, a gas tax increase, and increased transit funding.

Results:

• Subregional planning alliances have been created for land use, transportation, utilities, farmland preservation, and stormwater management. These plans were incorporated the region’s first regional plan, completed in late 1999.
• Downtown Grand Rapids is being revived through reinvestment in older neighborhoods and roughly $1 billion in downtown development. The Metro Council is now placing emphasis on housing and transit to confront issues of displacement and equity.
• Following the Blueprint, one town changed its zoning regulations and water, sewer, and road requirements. Other towns are expected to follow suit.
• Five cities and townships came together to establish an urban service boundary—the first of its kind in the Midwest.
• Twenty local governments in the region have joined forces to organize a regional GIS mapping system. When fully implemented, the project will cover more than 1,000 square miles, more than 300,000 parcels, and have more than 800 data layers.
• Towns in the region are working to preserve open space through watershed protection programs, open space purchase programs, and advocacy coalitions.

Vital Statistics:

• State legislation led to the creation of the Metro Council, which serves as the official Metropolitan Planning Organization for the region and also is a Council of Governments.
• The Metro Council represents three counties and 26 cities and townships.
• The Metropolitan Transit Authority further stimulated the revitalization by developing some of the land near the stations through public-private partnerships.

Key Player(s)

• Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce
• Nyal Deems, Former Mayor, East Grand Rapids
• Jim Buck, Mayor, Granville, Metro Council Chairman

Contact Info

References

• Keith Schneider, “Acting as a Region to Tame Sprawl,” Great Lakes Bulletin, Michigan Land Use Institute, Spring 1999.
• http://www.gvmc.org/