The innocent looking Agenda item read Planning Commission Visioning by the Board.  This referred to Trustee Janet Chick's comment at the January 13th Board meeting, as reported in the minutes:

Development Vision for the Township. Chick reported the Planning Commission is interested in hearing what kind of development the Board would like to see in the Township in coming years so that the Board and Commission can be working together.

You're probably wondering why they don't simply consult our 2012 Township Master Plan, in which this and many more questions about development have been answered in great detail.

That's a good question.

The Board of Trustees last night urged the Planning Commission to discard our five-acre zoning and change all agricultural property to two-acre.  It took the Board only about 60 minutes to abandon more than 70 years of history and smart planning.

The discussion was anything but fact-based.  There was nothing presented demonstrating the value of turning farms into subdivisions.  There was no discussion of the impacts.  In fact, reality was discouraged in favor of dreaming (really!), dreams of subdivisions.

One bright spot: Township Treasurer Kathy Braun's observation: “I’m not anti-growth, I’m anti-debt.”   Our Township Treasurer understands that there are huge costs involved.

You may view the meeting here on Livestream.  Skip the first 13 min 30 seconds; that's the special meeting preceding the regular meeting.

You may also read our transcription of much of this meeting.

Click here to download the Meeting Agenda

Click here to download the Meeting Packet

Click here to download the Meeting Minutes (draft)

The Agenda, Packet, and Minutes come from the Township website.   The Minutes may be revised by the Board and recording secretary at a subsequent board meeting, so until they are accepted by the board, they are marked "draft" and may change.