With an eye toward maintaining Mackinaw City's small-town character, preserving an open view of the Great Lakes and the Mackinac Bridge, and encouraging residents to stay in town through the winter months, the Mackinac City Planning Commission may enlist the help of a planning consultant to help it translate these and other goals into achievable steps through its Master Plan. Doug Piggott, an associate planner with ROWE Professional Services Company of Flint, spoke to the commissioners at their meeting Thursday, March 11, aiming to facilitate the Mackinaw City Master Plan discussion, and plans to submit a proposal for a contract in the next few weeks.

“The proposal is going to be like items on a menu,” he said. “The commission can pick and choose which services they want us to provide.”

Village Manager Jeffery Lawson approached Mr. Piggott several months ago for a preliminary review of the previous master plan. The planner has been involved in a similar process at Lapeer, Burton, and Bancroft.

“The village has done a lot of the updates themselves,” he told commissioners March 11. He noted that the areas that need work immediately are the goals and objectives. “The previous plan,” he said, “wasn't as comprehensive as the commission would like.”

In the language of planning, goals are generalized, while policies and objectives are more specific in how they will achieve those broader goals. Examples of recurring goals in the Mackinaw City discussion are the village character, being able to enjoy the lake views, and developing the village into a year-around community.

Policies may accomplish these goals by restricting where buildings may be built in reference to lake proximity and establishing winter activities and services to entice residents to stay during the cold season.

“The master plan serves as the policy framework,” Mr. Piggott said. “Your zoning ordinance serves as a tool for implementing your plan.”

Mr. Piggott will also check the master plan for how it aligns with the tenets of “smart growth,” planning concepts developed in the mid-1990s to promote pedestrianfriendly communities and affordable housing.

“It's going to take some time to figure out where they are headed,” he said, of the city leaders. “This is their plan; it's not me coming in telling them what they should do.”

The process takes public suggestions gathered a couple of years ago, along with the wording of previous master plans, and formulates a set of goals and objectives based on that. After that, the whole thing will be open for comment in public meetings again.

“We'll have as many public input sessions as the community wants to have,” Mr. Lawson said. “We have a statement about protecting the character of the village, but that's hard to define. You get 20 people in the same room and maybe 10 are on the same page.”

The commission wants an end product that is more specific, yet reflective of the community as a whole.

“We have a good group that analyzes things,” said commissioner Rob Most. “We'd like the average citizen to be able to read and understand the plan.”

Mr. Piggott agrees that this is imperative.

“If you can't explain to a resident why something is in the plan, you've failed,” he said.

This approach fits the skills of the planning commission, as research and deliberation is something they naturally strive for, according to Mr. Most.

“We would rather be thorough,” he said. “When we go to Council, we want something that doesn't have holes in it. We want Mr. Piggott to help us think of things we may not have thought of. We're really looking forward to the professional support.”

Revamping a master plan can go in several directions, Mr. Piggott said.

“Sometimes the process is done fairly easily, sometimes it can be rather difficult. Some commissions will just glaze over an issue because it's too contentious an issue. The truth is, you're going to have to face most issues sooner or later.”

The associate planner's draft of the goals and objectives should be done by mid-April for presentation at the Mackinaw City Planning Commission meeting scheduled in May.

The price tag for his help could range from $4,000 to $20,000, depending on which elements the commission chooses to adopt. Aiming to accomplish this relatively shortly saves money in the end, according to Mr. Piggott.

“Whenever you compress the time frame, you can really cut costs. You don't have as many meetings and don't have time to study it to death.”

Mr. Piggott anticipates participating in the process until this aspect of the plan is completed in September or October.

“We're going for a goal,” Mr. Lawson said, “trying to have the plan adopted by fall, preferably, early fall. It's going to take a community to make that happen.”