Ms. Patricia Goodwin took the floor and introduced Ms. Katherine Beebe, president |
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of Katherine Beebe and Associates. Ms. Goodwin presented a preliminary draft |
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meeting schedule for 1998 Planning Commission meetings. A selection committee |
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comprised of Planning Commission Chairperson Eric Kaiser, Planning Commission |
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Member Eugene Nowicki, Planner Paul Rizzardi, resident Ed Gardner, Farmington |
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Hills City Planner, and herself put out a scope of service. Of the five proposals |
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received three were interviewed, and KBA/JJR (Johnson Johnson & Roy) was |
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selected to provide consulting services for the subject update. |
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Ms. Beebe described the scope of work proposed. She and Barry Murray of JJR |
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will be present at subsequent meetings regarding the master land use plan update. |
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They will be studying the following aspects of the Rochester Hills community: |
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understanding the natural environment and related recommendations; the economic |
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aspects of land development; traffic and circulation issues; building conditions, as well |
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as other aspects to develop policies that will be incorporated into the master plan |
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update. Ms. Beebe distributed a memorandum dated January 6, 1998 describing the |
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scope of work proposed. (Said memorandum has been placed on file and by |
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reference becomes part of the record hereof.) The basic approach is to start with an |
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initial work session. They will do a physical survey of the entire city which will feed |
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into the GIS system; will review all existing documents and plans related to the Master |
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Transportation Plan Update to avoid duplication and conflicts; will interview property |
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owners, business leaders, residents, church and nonprofit leaders, and planners from |
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adjacent communities as well as the county through focus groups and individual |
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meetings to gain an understanding of social and economic aspects of the community; |
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will review past master plan documents and plans. The term "residual parcels" has |
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been coined to refer to those parcels that are vulnerable to change in use in the future |
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either from economic pressures or because of a change in physical condition. The city |
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is at the point in its development that makes a focus on residual parcels important and |
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determine how to plan for them. All Planning Commission members will also be |
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interviewed. They would be seeking community participation in the form of |
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workshops conducted by the Planning Commission. They expect to be out in the |
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community in the next few weeks to start the survey and interviewing processes. A |
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review of the first findings is tentatively scheduled for the March 10, 1998 Planning |
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Commission meeting. Their goal is to have the final master plan done in July 1998, but |
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she has been told this may be an ambitious time line. |
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