Governor Granholm launched her Land Use Leadership Council last winter with great expectations-and a guest appearance by an ambivalent Senate Minority Leader Ken Sikkema. Six months later, she was considerably more subdued in her acceptance of the Council's final report. The Governor hosted no press conference, and there was no Council presentation or social event to thank the hard working members.

I think the governor was smart on both ends. By launching the Council with high expectations, Granholm helped set in motion the rigorous schedule and intensely-focused work that marked the Council's limited life. And by downplaying the final report, she avoided the appearance that responsibility-or credit-for implementation of the report belonged to her, rather than the Legislature.

Though I predicted a 50/50 chance of success when the Council convened, I'm pleased with the results, so far. The Council brought forth an entirely respectable, some would say ambitious, set of recommendations designed to stem the outflow of capital from our older communities and staunch the loss of farmland and open space. Sensitive to Michigan's traditions and politics, the Council recommendations reaffirm local control, but clearly promote more intergovernmental cooperation (coordinated planning), higher-density housing in older communities, better use of existing infrastructure, smarter expenditures of state resources and appropriate protections for designated commerce centers and agricultural zones. We even managed to get overwhelming-but not unanimous-support for stronger billboard controls. But the jury is out; for the real power to implement the recommendations does not lie with the Council.

If there's to be real success in this effort, the Governor is going to have to spend some of her political capital. Granholm's going to have to show that she means what she's been saying. She's going to have to support David Hollister as head of the Department of Labor and Economic Growth, the lead agency, and insist that he focus more of the state's resources in our older cities and suburbs. The first time the state says "no" to a corporation that threatens to leave the state without getting state subsidies to build on our farmland, she's going to have to stand strong in the face of a lot of criticism.

Equally important, the Republican-led Legislature is going to have to take ownership of the Council's legislative recommendations. Fortunately, there are plenty of Republican legislators who've indicated they want to leave a legacy of land use reform. But unfortunately, there's a high risk that these reforms may get caught in the political crossfire of other political food fights. In addition, there are powerful interest groups opposing reform, notably the Michigan Association of Homebuilders. And it's a lot easier for one or two interest groups with fat wallets to stop legislation than it is for several less endowed interests to make change happen.

The jury is still out on whether the Council's work will bring forth real reform, rebuild our older cities and protect our open space and farmland. It's still an uphill battle, but the Michigan Environmental Council and our allies are determined to make history.