Can cities, villages and townships agree on a direction for growth? Can local governments actually plan together for the future of their shared resources?

These questions are at the heart of a new project to support cooperative land use planning launched by three statewide organizations this summer.

Described as an aggressive effort to spur community-wide planning, the Partnerships for Change program was created by the Land Information Access Association (LIAA) in partnership with the Michigan Municipal League (MML) and the Michigan Townships Association (MTA).

The project is designed to help cities, villages and adjacent townships develop a common vision for the greater community. According to the project sponsors, cooperative planning can result in big savings on infrastructure investments, like water and sewer projects, as well as reducing the detrimental impacts of uncoordinated development.

Joe VanderMeulen, Executive Director for LIAA, said this is Michigan's first statewide grant program to provide direct professional support for joint municipal planning and resource management.

"There's been a lot of talk about urban sprawl in recent years," VanderMeulen said. "People are concerned about issues such as traffic congestion, the loss of farmland and the preservation of natural resources. This program should really help townships, cities and villages work together in controlling these problems while building better communities."

The project is well-funded. Over $550,000 has been collected already, including grants from the Americana Foundation (Novi), the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (Battle Creek), the Fremont Area Community Foundation (Fremont), MML and MTA.

Local governments across Michigan will be invited to apply for support under Partnerships for Change, but only as partnerships including at least one city or village and one or more townships. A project advisory committee has been named to help guide the project, comprised of a number of local officials and planning experts.

Larry Merrill, Executive Director for MTA, said the Partnerships for Change program will help build much-needed experience in coordinated planning for townships, cities and villages.

"While the Michigan Townships Association is a strong proponent of local control, we recognize that the absence of multi-government planning actually undermines a community's ability to control its own destiny," Merrill explained. "When communities don't work together, they spend time and resources responding to development pressures created by their neighboring communities."

George D. Goodman, Executive Director of MML, was enthusiastic about the new program. "The Partnerships for Change program will offer real benefits to cities and villages across the state. By coordinating their planning and zoning with surrounding townships, cities and villages can help concentrate development where water and sewer and other services already exist, while giving townships a hand in protecting natural areas nearby. These are things most people throughout the state want."