Amaster plan serves as a community’s guide to the future. Containing
a plan, or set of various plans, along with descriptive text, graphs, charts,
illustrations and pictures, the document
describes what a community currently
looks like and what it wants to be in the
future.
“Master plans enable companies to
assess, on a number of levels, whether
the community it is considering for a
relocation or expansion project is a good
fit,” explains Steven Joppich, executive
partner at Secrest Wardle.
Smart Business spoke with Joppich
about master plans, why they are so
important in the development process
and how they can aid businesses looking
to relocate or expand.
What is a master plan?
To answer this, it is necessary to first
understand that most communities have
zoning laws or ordinances. Those ordinances adopt a zoning map and written
regulations that essentially divide up the
community into various districts. Each
district allows certain types of uses of
the property in that district and has special requirements regarding height, parking, property line setbacks and so forth.
The master plan is more of a guide for
the future — sometimes it is even
referred to as a future land use plan. It is
usually prepared and adopted by the
community’s planning commission, but
the city council or township board will
have input in the process. Once it is completed, the city or township uses it to
determine how properties might be
rezoned or whether any special uses
might be considered for properties
throughout the community. In Michigan,
each community is required to review its
master plan at least once every five years
to make sure that it remains up to date
with changing circumstances.
Why are master plans important to the
development process?
It is important to prospective developers because it is an upfront disclosure to them of the types of uses that the community is looking to have located within
its borders. If a developer sees a piece of
land that looks ripe for development, he
or she would then be able to look at the
zoning laws and the master plan to see if
that developer’s vision for the property
meshes with the community’s vision for
the area.
It should be recognized, however, that a
prospective developer may not want to
solely rely on the current master plan
and zoning ordinances for this assessment because the master plan is regularly reviewed and updated, and zoning
ordinances can be changed. As a result,
among other things, communicating
directly with the planning, building and
community development departments of
your local government should be seriously considered, as well.
How can a community’s master plan help a
company that is looking for a place to relocate or expand its business?
A company looking for a place to relocate or expand will have many other concerns beyond simply meeting the requirements of the zoning laws. It may be looKing for a market for its goods. It may have
shipping needs. It may be looking to
locate close to a certain industry or a
major client. It may have a number of
officers and employees that will be relocating, or it may need to staff the facility
with new employees. Those officers and
employees may want to live close to
work, they will be concerned about
home values and standards of living, and
they will need good schools and after-school programs for their kids, not to
mention entertainment, cultural and
social activities for themselves. A community’s master plan is an excellent
source for information regarding these
types of issues.
Is there a way to deviate from a community’s master plan or zoning if a company finds
a property that fits its needs in all other
respects?
Yes there is, but most communities are
reluctant to do so. Usually, it will only be
considered if it can be shown to the satisfaction of the reviewing body that the
proposed use is a reasonable alternative
to what is shown on the master plan and
that the property cannot be used otherwise. Among other things, it will also be
crucial to establish that the proposed use
does not negatively impact the surrounding properties and the community’s overall master plan objectives.
How soon should a company establish contact with the local government when it is in
the process of seeking out a site to develop
in a community?
It depends, but in most cases, it is best
to establish contact as early on as possible. Some communities are looking for
the right businesses to develop or redevelop areas of their communities. You
can often identify this from their master
plans and Web sites.
STEVEN JOPPICH is an executive partner at Secrest Wardle. Reach him at (248) 539-2816 or [email protected].
