Spring 2011 A quarterlyemscope publication of SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments SEMCOG Members: What we’ve done Sfor you lately 2010-2011 Officers Robert J. Cannon Chairperson Southeast Michigan Council of Governments Supervisor, 535 Griswold Street, Suite 300 Clinton Township Detroit, Michigan 48226-3602 313-961-4266 • Fax 313-961-4869 www.semcog.org John A. Scott First Vice Chair Commissioner, Oakland County Cover photo Gretchen Driskell This aerial shot of Belle Isle was taken in Spring 2010 as part of the Southeast Vice Chairperson Michigan Imagery Project. Aerial photos of the entire 5,000 square mile Southeast Mayor, Michigan region were taken for this project, which was a great example City of Saline of regional collaboration. Joan Gebhardt Vice Chairperson Preparation of this document was financed in part through grants Trustee, from and in cooperation with the Michigan Department Schoolcraft College of Transportation with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Susan Rowe Administration, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Vice Chairperson Councilperson, Please direct any questions about this publication City of Wayne to Sue Stetler, 313-324-3428 or [email protected] Michael Sedlak Vice Chairperson Semscope is a quarterly publication of SEMCOG Clerk, ISSN#03071-1310 Green Oak Township Robert Hison Immediate Past Chair Mayor, Printed on recycled paper. City of St. Clair Shores Paul E. Tait Executive Director Spring - 2011 emscope S Table of Contents Commentary - Robert J. Cannon, SEMCOG Chairperson 2 Member benefits and so much more What have we done for you lately? 3 Region collaborates on aerial imagery 4 Tools to make neighborhoods more desirable 5 Use access management to make system efficient 7 SEMCOG policy platform advocates regional issues 11 SEMCOG services: Use them What happened at the General Assembly? 12 Highlights of SEMCOG’s Spring General Assembly Commentary Member benefits and so much more SEMCOG is actively engaged in both providing direct member services and addressing Robert Cannon regional issues. To get the greatest value out of your community’s membership, I encourage Chairperson you to take advantage of both. Supervisor, This issue of Semscope highlights some of the direct member services SEMCOG provides… Clinton Township services that can bring innovative approaches to enhancing your community, help you more efficiently deliver government services, and work collaboratively with your neighbors. Nine communities in Macomb County, including mine, benefitted from an Access Management Study along Gratiot Avenue. It identified recommendations to improve traffic flow and safety. We are now working to implement the recommendations. SEMCOG efforts like this are more important than ever as Governor Snyder seeks to encourage governmental efficiency, transparency, and collaboration through changes in revenue sharing. If you have not taken advantage of these services, now is the time. You can’t afford not to. At the regional level, this issue includes the legislative priorities that we are pursuing. Speak- ing on behalf of the 160 members of SEMCOG on issues of importance to the region will yield better results than any of us advocating alone. I encourage you to share our collective priorities with your representatives in Lansing and Washington. With less state and federal government help available, we know that the region’s future is up to us. Reinventing Southeast Michigan was the focus of our recent General Assembly. The need for reinvention was reinforced by the release of Census numbers showing regional decline in population and doubling of residential vacancies. We discussed what we need to do to: • Return to economic prosperity • Deliver fiscally sustainable public services • Provide quality infrastructure • Protect and enhance environmental assets • Provide access to services, jobs, markets, and amenities • Create desirable communities We are approaching our regional planning in a different, more comprehensive, and holistic way. We can’t move toward economic prosperity without considering sound, reliable infra- structure and desirable communities. We can’t provide fiscally sustainable public services without a strong job base to generate needed revenues. And, we can’t focus on success in any of these areas unless we define what success means and how to measure it. The General Assembly took an important first step on the path to managing our own destiny. Please stay tuned and involved as we seek additional input to move Southeast Michigan’s reinvention forward. 2 Spring - 2011 What have we done for you lately? emscope Region collaborates S Federal Emergency Management Agency on aerial imagery agrees to use SEMCOG data for flood maps What is Aerial Imagery? Aerial Imagery are photographs of the Earth’s Also included in the surface taken with a camera that is mounted on 2010 Aerial Imagery an airplane. SEMCOG’s current photography Project was the is geometrically corrected so that the scale is purchase of Light uniform and distortion has been removed. Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data for the four coun- imagery independently would have exceeded ties in the region that $31,000. So, as the city continues to realize the did not have LiDAR. value of the aerial imagery data, it is also real- LiDAR data is used to izing a significant SEMCOG member benefit. develop elevation maps These are a few ways that Novi has used the which helped Monroe imagery: County communities Few regional initiatives exemplify how col- • Imagery is available on the city’s Web site for avoid FEMA’s laboration can help municipalities save money use as a planning and economic development increasing the better than the 2010 Southeast Michigan Aerial tool in site selection, site plan review, avoiding county’s 100 year Imagery Project. The project spans the entire flood hazard areas, and reporting ordinance floodplain by an 5,000 square mile Southeast Michigan region enforcement concerns. additional 6.75 and was led by SEMCOG in partnership with • Emergency first responders can access the miles. This would Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. imagery to update emergency response plans, have meant additional Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties, as well provide on-scene incident command support, service costs to as the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and update displays at the city’s regional residents. and the U.S. Geological Survey. emergency services dispatch center – serving 75,000 citizens. In January, SEMCOG This imagery was acquired at a cost 75 percent sent a letter urging • The city’s Engineering Division is using the lower than if counties and other local govern- FEMA to use the new ments had worked individually. Acquiring imagery to prioritize road, water/sanitary system, and stormwater management im- LiDAR data – which the data at one time through the same vendor is more accurate than provides a consistent snapshot in time for all provements, and qualify projects for state/ federal funding reimbursements. the data previously used seven of the region’s counties. The consistency by the agency – to in the data makes it more useful to SEMCOG • The city recently received two competitive modernize their flood and anyone else working on projects that span grant awards through the Michigan Resources plain maps for Monroe multiple counties. Trust Fund, using numerous aerial photo ex- County. FEMA agreed hibits to enhance the grant applications which to use the SEMCOG City of Novi realizes savings totaled over $800,000. and benefits data, which will result in a more accurate map. The City of Novi has already put the aerial Where to find the imagery imagery from the project to good use. As a Aerial imagery is available on SEMCOG’s Web SEMCOG member, Novi’s 31 square miles site. To download the imagery, please visit was flown at no cost to the city as a part of this www.semcog.org/Aerials.aspx. project. The cost for Novi to acquire similar 3 What have we done for you lately? Tools to make neighborhoods How SEMCOG more desirable can help Local communities are well aware of the eco- Second, local officials must promote and encour- SEMCOG helps nomic factors impacting their neighborhoods: age property maintenance. Communities need to members develop • Increases in foreclosures (roughly 1 in 40 ensure that the homes are viable for the market and implement housing units) and for buyers to purchase. Strategies are: strategies to protect • Increases in vacant and abandoned property • Make property code enforcement predictable, neighborhoods, (currently 11 percent) consistent, easily understandable, and strictly assisting the City of enforced. Educate residents on city code re- Rochester with draft These two factors, combined with population quirements. Provide residents with a 24-hour Vacant Property and job losses, contribute to substantial increases phone number to report any neighborhood Registration in residential blight and under-maintained homes maintenance issues. Ordinance (VPRO) in Southeast Michigan neighborhoods. • Institute a vacant or abandoned building language and registration ordinance and upgrade require- best practices in How local governments can help ments for safely securing and boarding up implementing a Creating and maintaining neighborhoods of vacant properties. Currently, there are 30 vacant property choice (defined as neighborhoods where fami- Vacant Property Registration Ordinances in ordinance. We’ve