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Saving
Farms,
Saving Cities
The
Michigan Environmental Council
and the Michigan Land Use Leadership Council
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Saving
Farms, Saving Cities
The Michigan Land Use Leadership Council correctly points
out that government policies have contributed to the decline
of Michigan's cities, which been substantially affected by
urban sprawl over the last four decades. Many older urban
areas have lost and continue to lose population, employment
opportunities, private investment, and tax base. In many areas,
sprawl has concentrated those in poverty and resulted in racial
segregation. Residents who remain in these areas face higher
costs for public services, fewer accessible well-paying jobs,
decreasing property values, deteriorating neighborhoods, low-quality
schools, and a general impairment in the quality of life.
Recent studies have shown that the lack of viable central
city areas in Michigan places our state at a distinct competitive
disadvantage in attracting and retaining the young, highly
recruited workers needed to encourage private economic investment
and sustain economic prosperity. Vibrant cities could also
position Michigan as a national and international tourism
destination.
Key Recommendations
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Chapter
4, #2a. The State should establish a technical assistance
capacity in one entity in state government, and encourage
local governments to create the same capacity, to provide
a central point of contact for private sector investors,
local government, and community organizations to access
and use available state and federal urban revitalization
programs.
-
Chapter
4, #2b. The State should define, in consultation with the
private sector and local communities, a set of redevelopment
readiness standards by which local governments may measure
and promote their ability to compete for private redevelopment
investment and state technical and financial assistance.
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Chapter
4, #3d. Create market rate and affordable housing options
in urban and rural areas.
- Chapter
4, #3f. Support local "Safe Routes to School" programs,
which encourage walking and biking to school and address safety
concerns (e.g., increased enforcement of traffic laws, design
of safer streets, public education on safety, and removal
or control of structures that pose hazards to children).
- Chapter
4, #5. The state should recognize certain communities as "commerce
centers" and target its resources to support redevelopment
and growth within these existing commerce centers. Commerce
centers should be defined based on their (1) relative population
density, and (2) the availability of existing public infrastructure
required to support development.
- Chapter
4, #6. The state should recognize that our cities need a diverse
set of mobility options. In partnership with the federal and
local governments, the state should support modern, cost-efficient,
multimodal transportation systems to assure that our urban
areas are accessible, attractive and efficient for people
of all ages, incomes, and physical abilities.
- Chapter
5, #1a. Information is an invaluable tool for local planning
as well as for understanding changes in land use over time
and the effects of those changes on Michigan's land resource-based
industries and the environment. The state should complete
its natural features inventory and update its 1978 Michigan
Resource Information System (MIRIS) Current Use Inventory
by completing a new round of aerial photography and land classification
and, where appropriate, utilizing existing satellite imagery
on a statewide basis, and integrate the new information with
the Michigan Center for Geographic Information's Michigan
Geographic Framework program.
- Chapter
5, #3. Agricultural Production Areas (APAs). To maintain Michigan's
various agricultural industries for the foreseeable future,
the legislature should modify and enhance P.A. 116 to permit
local units of government cooperatively and voluntarily to
identify and establish APAs. Consideration should be given
to a) Minimum life cycle for APAs; b) Size sustainability
relevant to type of agricultural activity (e.g., livestock,
soybeans, fruit, etc.) and c) Meaningful recapture provision
upon withdrawal, proceeds from which should be dedicated to
farmland preservation initiatives.
- Chapter
5, #4. Purchase of development rights (PDR). Funding available
for the state's current PDR program is inadequate. Interest
from farmers far outstrips available funding. The program
is in need of a dedicated and consistent funding source beyond
that currently provided under P.A. 116.
- Chapter
5, #5. Viable value-added agriculture. The ability to add
value to Michigan agricultural commodities and agricultural
land will continue to be key in keeping farmers profitable
and farming sustainable. The state should continue to support
existing incentive-driven, value-added programs that protect
the environment, increase the profitability of farmers, and
thus preserve farmland.
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