After nearly a month off and two rounds of public hearings, the Michigan Land Use Leadership Council-appointed by Governor Granholm and legislative leaders in January-reconvened on May 12 to discuss priorities, suggestions of various interest groups around the state and, most importantly, the limited amount of time Council members have to make their final recommendations.

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality staffer Jim Goodheart summarized the 553 comments received at six public hearings. Most common recommendations were providing tax incentives and support for programs focused on urban redevelopment, providing affordable mixed-use housing options, imposing a fix-it-first policy for roads and support for a multi-modal and/or rail-based mass transit system.

"So far, there is a consensus at the Council around some key principles," said Hans Voss, Council member and Executive Director of the Michigan Land Use Institute. "We have to stop subsidizing sprawl and direct more of our public investment into urban areas, we need to develop incentives for regional participation, and better public transportation is essential to Michigan's economy and quality of life. While the process has been challenging, I think the Council is on track to achieve what it set out to do."

The Council has limited time before its August 15 deadline. With that in mind, the members voted to add an extra day to their June 9 meeting, making it a retreat. They also decided to split into work groups to expedite their efforts to draft a uniformly-recognized and cohesive recommendation plan.

"It's become clear that work needs to be done outside the meetings to build consensus, find compromises and get agreement on issues," said MEC's President, Lana Pollack, another Council member. "People need to be willing to spend some personal time on this to make sure we get something concrete out of this opportunity." n

Public's opinion still clear

• The public opinion portion of the Michigan Land Use Leadership
• Council found concerns similar to those compiled during public outreach efforts conducted by MEC back in 1999, including:
  
• Investing in existing infrastructure
  
• Improving mass transit
  
• Preserving farmland and open space
  
• Empowering local governments to make better land use decisions.

Land Use Council at a glance

• 26-member council appointed by Governor, legislative leaders
  
• Established by Executive Order 2003-4
  
• Deadline for final report: August 15, 2003
  
• Deadline for public comment: July 31, 2003
  
• E-mail comments to: council@michiganlanduse.org