City of Lansing Spending $150,000 on Master Plan Update

The City of Lansing has committed at least $150,000 to update a comprehensive master plan that hasn’t seen a major update since 1958. Though only $150,000 has been committed, the city estimates that as much as $350,000 could be spent on the project.

According to excerpts from the article:

Bob Johnson, the city's Planning and Neighborhood Development director, said during a media roundtable that the city has at least $150,000 budgeted for the project and there's a possibility that Lansing could spend a total of $350,000 for the work involved.

"The master plan is one of those living documents that the community looks to in terms of inspiration," Johnson said. "It will help shape Lansing as we go forth."

Johnson announced that Ann Arbor-based JJR will manage the project. JJR is a nationally recognized leader in landscape architecture, planning, urban design, civil engineering and environmental science.

Both Johnson and Robert Doyle, a JJR associate, agreed that the 18-month master plan endeavor might seek public input as early as May.

The result will be a document that touches on development, bike paths, cell phone towers, historic preservation and other city features that tend to be both popular and unpopular with residents.

Doyle said JJR will update the master plan with assistance from LSL Planning Inc. in Royal Oak; Landscape Architects and Planners in Lansing; and Anderson Economic Group, which has its main office in East Lansing.

Doyle said updating the comprehensive master plan will involve three steps: determining what's already in place, getting community input, and going through the planning process.

Read the entire article here.