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	The Manchester Enterprise A Heritage Newspaper Weekly Publication

Council updates village ordinance

By Ed Patino, Staff Writer

PUBLISHED: March 27, 2008

The Manchester Village Council approved revisions to Ordinance 268, which establishes the Manchester Community Joint Planning Commission, during its regular meeting March 17.

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The ordinance was officially adopted and will go into effect Friday.

Joining the Village of Manchester in the Joint Planning Commission are Manchester, Bridgewater and Freedom townships. According to Village President Pat Vailliencourt, the ordinance revisions were made to ensure that each municipality understands its responsibilities within the Commission.

"We wanted to make sure that everyone had the same version of the ordinance," Vailliencourt said. "All of the local planning commissions have been actively involved."

The idea of establishing the Manchester Community Joint Planning Commission has been under discussion for the past year and a half. Originally, the Commission included the four municipalities along with Sharon Township. However, when Sharon Township pulled out of the Commission, wording and language in the ordinance had to be changed.

"Several townships passed the ordinance, but we had to make slight word changes when Sharon Township dropped out. We passed the ordinance again to make sure everything was accurate," Vailliencourt said.

Planning for future land use is one of the primary missions of the Commission. During the March 17 meeting, the village and surrounding townships studied each other's land-use maps to generate ideas for future developments.

"We've spent quite some time making sure to get input from all the local planning units," Vailliencourt said. "Everyone has been proactive, and we're excited that we can now do work on the Planning Commission."

Other townships and cities in Washtenaw County and throughout the state are considering following suit. Chelsea and Dexter along with their surrounding townships are looking at the possibility of developing joint planning commissions similar to Manchester's. Vailliencourt believes that similar commissions will become more common in the near future.

"This is new territory and it is likely the direction the future is heading," she said. "We felt that joining with the townships is the best way to plan our future."

The Manchester Community Joint Planning Commission is planning an open house to gather input from the community in May.

Joint Planning Commission meetings are held the second Wednesday of every month concurrently with the Southwest Washtenaw Council of Government meetings. Meetings are held at rotating locations among the village and townships. The next meeting takes place April 9 at the Manchester Village Hall. The SWWCOG meeting begins at 7 p.m. with the Joint Planning Commission immediately following.

Staff Writer Ed Patino can be reached at 428-8173 or epatino@heritage.com.