By Deborah M. Walker
Since 2011, Mid-Michigan Program for Greater Sustainability (MMPGS), administered by the Tri County Regional Planning Commission (TCRPC), has formulated many plans, created online tools and learned new techniques in the areas of housing, transportation, energy efficiency, land use, economic development and environmental protection. These plans were made to improve the quality of life and sustainability in the region. After 3 years of work it is time to graduate these plans to the level of implementation.
A graduation symposium to celebrate the first stage of a series of projects, took place on January 22, 2015, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Lansing. The graduation, which highlighted the many partners of TCRPC, handed out awards and showcased the hard work these organizations have put forth in making the tri county region more sustainable.
Howard T. Spence, who attended the event, said he wanted to get involved with the organization because he wanted this government to see that its responsibility does not stop at the border. Spence serves as the Eaton County Commissioner, and is also a newly appointed commissioner for the TCRPC.
“I’m going to be working with this commission into the future to try to get these projects going. I had been working in the past year or two on the Community Reinvestment Fund board, which was a project designed to get minorities and marginalized people involved in government, because so few of our people actually are involved in the decision making process,” said Spence. “I hope to be able to work with the other 18 members of the commission to try to make sure that our region is sustainable.”
Started in 1956 by Eaton, Ingham and Clinton counties, the TCRPC worked as a regional entity that provided planning solutions and coordination of intergovernmental issues related to population growth and development issues.
A few years later, the city of Lansing joined the organization as its own standing member because Lansing was large enough to be its own entity said Pigg. The TCRPC is now made up of the three original counties plus the city of Lansing, East Lansing, Meridian and Delta Charter Townships, MDOT and all three transit agencies.
Eventually, the federal government requested that all transportation and economic planning in a region should be done by a single organization said Pigg. The TCRPC was designated for this responsibility. New members were added to the board of directors to include representatives from transportation agencies. Now the board has 19 members made up of elected and appointed officials throughout the 3 county region.
Three years ago, the Planning Commission applied for and was granted, a $3 Million grant from U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The purpose of this grant was to conduct and develop plans under the new effort, MMPGS.
According to Pigg, these plans would make the tri county region more economically sound, provide equitable and fair places for people to live, be more energy efficient, have better long term transportation options for all people in the area, and develop a plan to address the housing needs in the region.
To get started MMPGS undertook a variety of separate projects. Partnered with various agencies in the area, these organizations got to work on behalf of the TCRPC to complete projects said Pigg. Currently, the partners have wrapped up the planning phase for these projects. For example, action plans in the areas of park and trail planning, groundwater protection and protection of the region’s waterways are now ready to go to the next stage.
MMPGS has had many accomplishments in its 3 year planning period.They now have a visionary plan for the 22 mile Michigan/Grand River Ave. corridor. There is a plan for more compatible streets, which would include trail connections. A plan for regional fair and affordable housing was also created through the affordable housing study conducted by the Greater Lansing Housing Coalition (GLHC).
Julie A. Powers, Executive Director for the GLHC, said there was no previous study done on the housing needs of the tri county region. The study that was done came up with a plan, which created specific recommendations for the different municipalities.
“Broadly we need more space for acceptable senior housing across the board for all the communities in the tri county area. We need a lot more supportive housing, which is with vouchers and a case manager. We wrap around a family and help them get into more sustainable and successful housing so that they can eventually be more independent,” said Powers.
Powers said supportive housing is like low income housing, but with a twist. The GLHC offers case managers and social workers. They make sure residents are getting their medications. They also make sure residents transition through difficult times such as alcohol and drug use, a tragic situation in the family that can send a family into a spiral, or catastrophic health issues.
“So wrapping these services and providing a safe stable place to live where the lights are on, the heat’s on…they can put their resources into getting their lives on track,” said Powers.
Powers said their need to be more supportive housing in different communities. Right now the bulk of supportive housing is in the Lansing area. This type of housing is needed in other areas such as Charlotte, Webberville and Williamston.
Transportation planning was another big part of the MMPGS.
“The goal is to determine how to best maintain and improve the transportation network that we have in this area. To lay out priorities so that when something is available, we’re able to designate it or direct it towards the project,” said Pigg.
One example of transportation planning is the public transportation system and the connection of buses to the Lansing area. Spence has spent some time working on the transportation needs in the area he said. He has worked to try and get public transportation to go from Delta Township to Lansing.
“In the past it was almost impossible to get from Eaton County, into downtown Lansing, to East Lansing at any kind of a reasonable rate, or with any promise that you would be able to get back if you use public transportation,” said Spence.
Even though Delta Township is separate from Lansing and East Lansing the township is interdependent on these communities said Spence. The people of Delta currently rely on Lansing Board of Water and Light for power. They rely on Michigan State and LCC for their education. Connecting the municipalities would make lives easier for residents and better for business.
Under MMPGS, the attention was on non-motorized transportation goals, such as pathways complete streets and crosswalks.
“Instead of just discussing transportation projects on that corner, we facilitated discussion on the whole community. [We talked to] all kinds of people about transportation and the rest of everything that goes on in our community; housing, environmental protection and urban development,” said Pigg.
The TCRPC brought people together in a charrette format. Anyone that wanted to participate in the week long meetings could stop by said Pigg. The charrette was held for 7 days 24 hours a day. The community was invited to come in and answer questions while giving their opinion as to what they thought should happen on the Michigan/Grand River Ave. corridor. The charrette has taken place twice in the past two years.
“It’ not just narrowed down to making decisions about transportation. Everybody was invited to make decisions about transportation as it’s a part of the community, as it’s a part of the economic development of business owners, as it’s a part of what the housing is in the area… What people need to do, where they need to go and how are they going to get there,” said Pigg.
Another accomplishment of the MMPGS was its successful campaign called “Pollution Isn’t Pretty”. This campaign was an educational campaign aimed at increasing awareness about not polluting our local waterways.
Pollution Isn’t Pretty is promoted by the new Middle Grand River Organization of Watersheds. Billboards, signs, websites and materials are available for community groups, schools and governments. Visit www.pollutionisntpretty.org for more information.
A sample of the messages include picking up after your pup, not spilling oil and debris down our storm drains to name a few.
In addition, online tools were also created to improve the sustainability of the region. On the MMPGS ,www.midmichigansustainability.org website an energy assessment tool was offered. This tool is a scenario based analysis on energy outcomes.
“What would happen if we installed or got an incentive to install solar panels in East Lansing? What would happen to energy usage on our block?” said Pigg.
This tool will answer those questions and more.
Another is the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) tool. Users can enter in information about potential development such as a new office building on an empty lot, and find out the health impacts of that development would be.
Often times the health impacts of developments and policies are not taken into account by the decision makers of public and private sectors said Pigg. The HIA can be used by decisions makers, contractors and government officials, to address health concerns.
Another aspect of MMPGS involves curbing sprawl development and reinvesting in our downtowns. TCRPC’s Senior Land Use Planner, Harmony Gmazel, works with the area governments to promote the adoption of progressive water and sewer infrastructure investment policies that protect both our urban and rural communities. Greening Mid-Michigan and the Urban/Rural Service Committee was host to the Ultimate Mid-Michigan Bus Tour, taking more than 50 local politicians on a 100 mile tour to see first hand the results of farmland preservation, downtown redevelopment and park and trail planning. The positive results of this type of proactive planning were highlighted and told a story to our bus tour attendees, Ms. Gmazel says. “ We are planning our 3rd Annual Bus Tour in 2015, after the first 2 tours proved to be successful. Once elected leaders see firsthand the impacts of our land use decisions, this leads to a greater understanding of need for sustainable policies.”
Economic developments have always been a top priority for the TCRPC. Since its onset the TCRPC has provided resources to the public and economic developers in the matter of economic development. The TCRPC strategy for economic development is shared by the entire region said Pigg. Every month the TCRPC meets with its economic development partners to discuss ways that the region can be more supportive to businesses and more attractive to incoming employers.
“Our goal is to offer support and facilitate conversation and discussion about how we can help economic development in the region… Tri County Regional Planning Commission does not make individual business decisions for anybody, but we do work with and facilitate a group of economic development folk from throughout the region”, said Pigg.
Although the TCRPC planning phase has concluded, the organization will continue to facilitate regional conversation amongst people in the tri county area said Pigg. These conversations will focus on housing, energy, land use, environmental protection and transportation.
The planning phase of the TCRPC was a success informed Pigg. The public and private sector now have a place where they can go to learn more about the sustainability of the tri county region and how they can be a part of sustainability.
“We developed this communication portal. A network of information sharing, a website where you can touch on any of these different projects and then move and find out more and participate or join actively in any of the areas that are important to you,” said Pigg.
The community is invited to come and sit in on any TCRPC meetings said Pigg. A few times a year the TCRPC does host community events such as the charrette. They also host the Children’s Water Festival most years. School children throughout the region come on school buses and spend the day learning about water protection said Pigg.
For more information about TCRPC, MMPGS and its partnership, visit www.midmichigansustainability.org or www.mitcrpc.org.This was printed in the February 22, 2015 – March 7, 2015 edition
