City of Dearborn Heights Master Plan
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CITY OF DEARBORN HEIGHTS MASTER PLAN ADOPTED May 8, 2007 acknowledgements City Council Hon. daniel paletko, mayor Elizabeth Agius, Chair Janet Badalow Kenneth Baron Tom Berry Marge Horvath Margaret Van Houten Planning Commission Jumana Judeh, chair Jihan Hachem, vice chair Rick Coogan John Girolamo William Roberts Tom Wencel George Paron Greg Pirtle John Preston Special Thanks To: Citizens of Dearborn Heights City of Dearborn Heights Staff Tax Increment Finance Authority McKenna Associates, Inc. Assistance Provided by: Hamilton Anderson Associates master plan index chapter one: INTRODUCTION 1 - 4 Description of the master plan Authority for the plan History of the community chapter two: SOCIAL PROFILE 5 - 12 Population characteristics Income and employment characteristics Housing characteristics chapter three: PHYSICAL PROFILE: Existing Land Use 13 - 18 Natural Features Residential Industrial and office Parks, public and quasi-public Commercial chapter four: COMMUNITY FACILITIES 19 - 24 City Hall and administrative offices City departments Library Educational facilities Other community facilities Utilities chapter five: TRANSPORTATION AND CIRCULATION 25 - 32 Road classification Maintenance responsibility Traffic volume Public input Access management Regional transportation studies chapter six: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 33 - 34 January workshop February workshop Summary of public meetings chapter seven: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 35 - 38 Priority projects Van Born Tax Increment Finance Authority District chapter eight: GOALS AND POLICIES 39 - 56 Neighborhoods Business district and corridor investment Economic development - Building relationships Recreation, open space and the environment Circulation, transportation and utilities City services Graphic summary of land use policies chapter nine: FUTURE LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN 57 - 62 Future land use allocation Area specific plans chapter ten: IMPLEMENTATION 63 - 65 Implementation schedule master plan index list of figures figure 1 Population Trends 6 figure 2 Population Estimates 6 figure 2 Population by Race 6 figure 4 Population Projections 6 figure 5 Age Distribution 9 figure 6 Household Estimates 9 figure 7 Median Income 9 figure 8 Employment by Industrial Class 9 figure 9 Housing Stock 10 figure 10 Median Housing Value 10 figure 11 Housing - Rental Rates 10 figure 12 Housing Tenure 10 figure 13 Building Permits 10 figure 14 Park Inventory 22 figure 15 Indicators of Healthy Neighborhoods 40 figure 16 Marketing of Redevelopment Sites 46 figure 17 Recreation Master Plan Goal and Objectives 48 list of maps map 1 Regional Location Map 3 map 2 Median Age 7 map 3 Average Household Size 7 map 4 Population Density 7 map 5 Owner Occupied Housing Units 11 map 6 Renter Occupied Housing Units 11 map 7 Percent of Housing Units Vacant 11 map 8 Natural Features 15 map 9 Existing Land Use and Visual Character 17 map 10 Community Facilities 21 map 11 National Functional Classification System 27 map 12 Act 51 Road Classification System 27 map 13 Traffic Volumes 27 map 14 Mass Transit 31 map 15 Business and Corridor Investment 37 map 16 Service Radius from Commercial Centers 41 map 17 Service Radius from Park Facilities 41 map 18 Single Family Residential Transition Target Areas 42 map 19 Southeast Michigan Greenways Plan 49 map 20 Graphic Summary of Land Use Policies 55 map 21 Future Land Use Plan 59 list of charts chart 1 Population Projection 6 chart 2 Age Distribution 9 chart 3 Future Land Use 58 introduction Cities constantly evolve and change. Thus, Dearborn Heights is preparing a master land use plan to proactively guide the land use character of their community and future decisions on development. It is also a base for both zoning and a capital improvements program. A Comprehensive Master Plan is a commitment of citizens and city officials to protect and support the residential, business, recreation and environmental character of their community. This plan provides the framework to realize these commitments through the analysis and understanding of issues and opportunities and the setting of goals, policies, actions,1 and future land use districts. Dearborn Heights Planning Commission City of Dearborn Heights 1 The City has three primary reasons for adopting the plan: HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY The City of Dearborn Heights was known as Dearborn Township until it was • The plan will help promote a positive image based on the community’s goal incorporated in 1963. In the early 1800’s, known then as Dearbornville, a small of supporting the residential integrity of its neighborhoods and a desire to settlement with a fur trading post, changing to inter-settlement trades with little create a viable business district. outside commerce was established. It was, for the most part, an agricultural • The plan establishes an action strategy based on the community’s values as settlement with about 15 to 25 families. guidelines. • The plan is a legal foundation for zoning and other regulations for the type, In 1810, the small center had seen quite a history, favored and visited frequently intensity and timing of development. by Native American tribes. Dearbornville was located on the Old Salk Trail (known today as Michigan Avenue) near the point where the Salk Trail crossed Specifi c strategies are designed to support the well being of the community: Ann Arbor Trail. Adjacent to the Rouge River, the small center stood convenient to canoe and overland travel, a fact not over looked by the French or the British • Strengthening of existing neighborhoods; fur traders. Life in Dearbornville as well as the surrounding Dearborn Township • Guiding improvements for the downtown business district; would change greatly with the arrival of the railroad. Dearbornville became a • Ensuring new development is compatible with the city’s existing character; fueling station, building a storage area for the wood which fueled the fi rst steam • Developing roadway improvements and traffi c management tools, which locomotives. This provided jobs for the inhabitants who engaged in the cutting ensure effi ciency and safety; and and preparation of timber. Trains would stop daily at the settlement on their way • Encouraging sound environmental approaches and solutions. both east and west. The railroads attracted additional settlers to the area. In 1824, the fi rst school was built of logs on a farm belonging to Joseph Hickcox, DESCRIPTION OF THE MASTER PLAN a Methodist preacher and circuit rider. It became known as “the Little Red School The plan refl ects the development vision over the next ten to twenty years. Its House” and was the site of the fi rst Dearborn Township meeting. Although the purpose is to arrange and guide the intensity of development for the benefi t of both school continued to exist, it was modifi ed over the years. Now it has been returned residential and business communities. The plan will further serve as a guide in to its early structure and local school children can experience an 1880’s school assisting offi cials to develop and distribute public investments, avoid uninformed day using McGuffy Readers, slate boards and slate pencils. and irreversible land use decisions and make thoughtful and rational decisions that complement the community’s objectives and long-term goals. In early 1960, residents circulated petitions to determine interest in creating a single city out of the two sections of the township. State law requires a city The Master Plan has six components: be contiguous, so the township needed to annex a small part of the Village of Inkster to connect the northern and southern areas of the township to allow • Background data which forms the basis of all decisions made within the incorporation. The township chose the quarter-mile-wide strip along the eastern plan; edge of Inkster. Township offi cials heard the Village of Inkster was considering • The action plan which states the values, vision and community policies for city incorporation. If Inkster became a city, the two township sections then the future; could only join by connecting through Nankin Township (present-day Westland). • Future land use setting a twenty year snapshot; Township offi cials rushed incorporation petitions into circulation and submitted • Public participation; them to the county clerk’s offi ce. Inkster offi cials delivered their petition for • Economic development strategy; and incorporation into a city the next business day, but too late to stop the township’s • A plan for implementation strategies. incorporation proceedings. After nearly three years and several appeals through the court system, the Supreme Court handed down a favorable decision April 8, The plan is a “living” document that merits being updated on a continuing basis 1963, and the city was offi cially incorporated as the City of Dearborn Heights. to keep current on public policies, and must meet state Planning law. Since then, Dearborn Heights has gradually grown as a community. Today the City encompasses an irregularly shaped border, about 12.7 square miles. Initially, AUTHORITY FOR THE PLAN residents relied heavily on resources of neighboring communities for activities. The plan is a legal document prepared under the authority of Michigan Municipal Today, the City offers its own programs at one of several city centers around Planning Act of 1931, as amended, which authorizes the Planning Commission to the area. Dearborn Heights is located within a fi fteen minute drive of Detroit prepare a Comprehensive Plan for the physical development and/or modifi cation Metropolitan Airport and has easy access to the Interstate 94 and 96 freeways. of land uses including infrastructure, open spaces, and public buildings. This With its pleasant, well-maintained residential streets, it has become a notable plan was prepared and adopted by the Planning Commission, as empowered in “bedroom community.” the State Act. 2 chapter one: introduction MAP ONE: REGIONAL LOCATION MAP MICHIGAN DEARBORN HEIGHTS WAYNE COUNTY Data Source: Michigan Geographic Data Library chapter one: introduction 33 4 chapter one: introduction SOCIAL PROFILE All cities have identifiable characteristics that make them unique.