BERRIEN COUNTY COMMISSION UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – Berrien County’s new master plan, the document designed to guide future development, is getting closer to adoption. The Berrien County Board of Commissioners is expected to adopt the new plan at their Feb. 2 meeting.
Community Development Director Dan Fette gave an overview of the proposed new master plan to commissioners last week. He outlined the process of how the plan was developed and then highlighted what’s in it.
Fette told commissioners that the proposed plan went out for public comment Oct. 20 and comments were received from Be Healthy Berrien, Friends of Berrien County Trails and the Southwest Michigan Regional Planning Commission. The plan with the incorporation of the comments now totals 88 pages.
As noted in the master plan, the county is in a unique position when it comes to planning and zoning in the county. While each municipality has its own master plan, the county can comment on the individual plans before their adoption.
“These statutory requirements mean that the County must find ways to positively impact growth, development and conservation in Berrien County other than through direct zoning regulation,” the plan states.
“As a result, Berrien County Community Development and the Berrien County Planning Commission can use their broader perspective, technical expertise, and role as regional catalysts to facilitate and energize informed land use policy, regulatory recommendations, and supportive services decisions in Berrien County.”
“There is also a realization that because of limited resources and the broad focus of county planning generally, it may be prudent for the Planning Commission to prioritize strategies so those viewed as most urgent are acted upon first. This will address pressing needs and generate momentum that can be furthered through continued positive action.”
“The Planning Commission is empowered to encourage, guide, and facilitate conversations and ideas that will strengthen Berrien County’s identity as an educational leader in land use and community development. This Master Plan provides the framework for Berrien County to realize that leadership position.”
Fette said work on the new plan was kicked off in August, 2021 and began with community meetings as well as data collection about everything from population and demographics to housing, trails and traffic patterns. The last major plan revision was done in 2009 with a minor revision done in 2015.
He said county planning commissioners and staff reviewed municipal master plans for common themes and followed that up by conducting an online survey and having conversations with local leaders. He said the survey showed that the quality of life issues most important to respondents were affordable housing, security and safety and job opportunities.
He told commissioners that people answering the survey want the county to encourage both single family housing and multi-family developments as well as enhance business opportunities in the restaurant and manufacturing sectors.
The plan’s four main elements are housing, economic development, natural features and land uses and community facilities such as transportation and infrastructure, he said.
Housing goals include having livable, safe and affordable housing stock, enabling the development of a variety of housing types and having second or seasonal homes well maintained and appropriately regulated.
With economic development, Fette said the planning commission itself made sure the new plan includes language about agriculture and agriculture related businesses. Such ventures should be vital, strong and supported in the county.
In the natural features and land uses section, the plan supports efforts that promotes development that reduces sprawl and preserves natural resources and having the county provide guidance to local municipalities.
With the community facilities, transportation and infrastructure section, the county will promote the use and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, support community collaboration to provide services to people, promote trail and public transit efforts and make sure utilities in the county meet the needs of residents.
People can find the new master plan on the county’s website at the
http://www.bchdmi.org/DocumentCenter/View/16594/Master-Plan?bidId link.

County commissioners are still discussing their 2023 meeting schedule with the number and location of night meetings remaining up in the air. The topic first came up earlier this month when a St. Joseph area resident encouraged the board to hold more night meetings.
County Commissioner Jim Curran from Niles Township said he’d like to see just two night meetings held in the home areas of the two new commissioners, Alex Ott of Sawyer and Chokwe Pitchford of Benton Township, and do away with the rest.
“I’m opposed to a number of night meetings, I don’t know if they’re productive and they are a strain on the staff,” Curran said. He and others pointed out that committee meetings are normally not held when there’s a night meeting and other sites don’t allow for the board meeting to be livestreamed.
County Board Chairman McKinley Elliott told commissioners to think about the options and expect a board discussion on the topic in February. Besides Curran, some favored having more night meetings at the Administration Center in St. Joseph so they can be broadcast on YouTube, while others liked the idea of traveling to different parts of the county.
In other news, County Commissioner Jim Curran told fellow commissioners that Road Department Director Mark Heyliger reported to the board’s administration committee about the purchase of land on Snow Road near Red Bud Trail in Oronoko Township. The land in question is .129 of an acre.
“There is a ‘S’ curve there with a steep hill and a S curve,” he said. “This purchase will allow the road department smooth out the curve.”
Curran said the curve can’t be totally eliminated as part of the area on one side is a swamp.
“It is privately owned property and the road department is paying $3,500 to acquire it,” he noted. “It will help with trucks traveling that area, with accidents, with everything. “We (the administration committee) concurred with the purchase although we didn’t need to give permission.”
In action last week, commissioners approved literacy classes and the Fresh Start Program for jail inmates, approved the county hazard mitigation plan, applied for a beach wheelchair grant for Silver Beach County Park and approved a resolution supporting state park grant applications by local municipalities.