EXECUTIVE MASTER LAND USE COMPLETE STREETS DOWNTOWN RECREATION APPENDIX SUMMARY PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN BRIGHTON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN EXECUTIVE MASTER LAND USE COMPLETE STREETS DOWNTOWN RECREATION APPENDIX SUMMARY PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN Planning Commission Matt Smith, Chairperson David Petrak, Vice Chairperson Bill Bryan, Secretary James Bohn, Councilmember Susan Gardner, Councilmember David McLane Steve Monet Robert Pawlowski Michael Schutz City Council Jim Muzzin, Mayor Shawn Pipoly, Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Bohn Jon Emaus Susan Gardner Renee Pettengill Kristoffer L. Tobbe Downtown Development Authority Bob Herbst, Chair Dave Beauchamp Mark Binkley Tim Corrigan Scott Griffith Ashley Israel Pam McConeghy Jim Muzzin, Mayor Lisa Nelson Shawn Pipoly, Mayor Pro-Tem Claudia Roblee Cal Stone Piet Lindhout, Design Consultant Staff Nate Geinzer, City Manager Brandon Skopek, Assistant to City Manager / DDA Coordinator Mike Caruso, Community Development Manager Planning Consultant Giffels Webster BRIGHTON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Introduction 1 Executive Summary 3 Master Plan 5 Complete Streets Plan 25 Downtown Plan 65 Recreation Plan 109 Appendix 141 • Implementation Chapter 143 • Existing Conditions 161 • Market Study 191 • Public Input 203 • Plan Addenda (notices, resolutions, etc.) 244 EXECUTIVE MASTER LAND USE COMPLETE STREETS DOWNTOWN RECREATION APPENDIX SUMMARY PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN BRIGHTON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN What is a Comprehensive Plan? A Comprehensive Plan is a long-range What’s in the Comprehensive vision for the future of the community. It serves as a guide for how the city Plan? can become the place it strives to be. The city of Brighton developed this Master Land Use Plan: This long- Comprehensive Plan to: range plan guides policy- and • Provide a framework for making big-picture decisions decision-making about how land in the city is used for housing, • Direct development in different areas of the community transportation, commerce, and • Promote and strengthen valued community assets, and encourage recreation. new partnerships Complete Streets Plan: This is the At the start of the planning process, the city recognized the following: city’s plan for a transportation network that includes facilities for • Infrastructure repairs and updates, including streets, sidewalks, vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and parking, and streetscape improvements are needed. other legal users, allowing people to • Improvements to civic spaces, including parks and city hall area are move about their communities needed. safely and easily. • The city has several significant vacant and under-utilized parcels that Downtown Plan: This plan are ripe for redevelopment. showcases the strengths of Downtown Brighton and suggests • The city has the opportunity to shape and refine its identity as a methods for identifying premier downtown in Livingston County and within the region. opportunities to improve areas that • Development pressure is increasing, giving the city the opportunity to need attention. encourage economic development in a way that is progressive, Parks & Recreation Plan: This is sensible, and protects the city’s natural features and residential the city’s first parks and recreation neighborhoods. plan and it identifies goals and objectives over the next five years. EXECUTIVE MASTER LAND USE COMPLETE STREETS DOWNTOWN RECREATION APPENDIX SUMMARY PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN 1 • Updated plans for future land use, recreation, and downtown are needed to guide decisions that impact land use, capital spending, economic development, and quality of life. • A comprehensive plan will illustrate the physical, social, and economic connections between where and how residents of Brighton live, work, and play. • Strategic implementation actions will help the city identify priority improvements and plan for wise future investment of financial and human resources that will leverage quality private investment. BRIGHTON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 2 In 2017, the City of Brighton Planning regarding coordination and assembly of the Commission began developing a Comprehensive Plan document and associated Comprehensive Plan for the city. This plan maps. includes updating the city’s 2012 Master Plan as A public input open house/workshop was held well as creating a Downtown Plan, Recreation October 2, 2017. Attendees were generally Plan and Complete Streets Plan. This positive about the direction of the city in terms Comprehensive Plan is intended to serve as a of land use. Generally, people support guide for how the city can become the place its walkability throughout the city, downtown residents and businesses desire. By creating all businesses and activities, and are interested in these long-range planning documents seeing more variety in housing types, concurrently, the city is promoting and particularly close to downtown. The city also strengthening city-wide community assets in a used online platforms for public input including way that illustrates how these assets are inter- a survey and PictureThis™, which provided a related. means to upload photographs, link them to a The planning process included reviewing past map location, and offer comments. plans, collecting and analyzing existing data and The Comprehensive Plan establishes five conditions, seeking out public input, overarching goals for the community, in the establishing an updated vision - with goals, following broad categories: objectives, and strategies – and creating plans for future land use, recreation, downtown and • Quality and Variety of Housing complete streets. • Community Identity The planning process including participation • from the Planning Commission, Downtown Environmental Stewardship Development Authority and City Council, with • Infrastructure and Civic Spaces the Planning Commission taking the lead • Economic Development EXECUTIVE MASTER LAND USE COMPLETE STREETS DOWNTOWN RECREATION APPENDIX SUMMARY PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN 3 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PLANS The Brighton Downtown Blueprint 2003 was a plan to address elements of the downtown area that could be improved upon, and includes action strategies. The Downtown Plan of this Master Plan expands upon many of these ideas. The East Grand River Corridor Study from 2004 provided a plan for improvement for East Grand River. The plan includes existing land uses, traffic analysis, design goals, strategies for accomplishment, and an implementation plan. The Complete Streets Plan of this Master Plan builds upon this study. The Brighton Downtown Development Authority Standard Streetscape Details Reference Manual from 2006 provides design guidelines for downtown Brighton. The Downtown Plan of this Master Plan expands upon many of these ideas. The City of Brighton Parking Study from 2011 was created to address some of the parking concerns in the downtown area, offering guidance to improve parking for users. Parking remains an important topic in the city, and is addressed in the Downtown Plan of this Master Plan. The City of Brighton Occupancy Study of 2015 examined the capacity for employee parking in the downtown area. The Downtown Plan of this Master Plan addresses this issue in the context of potential future development.. The Downtown Brighton Vision and Strategic Marketing Plan from 2017 is a tactical plan to build upon Brighton’s strong downtown setting through marketing. The Plan includes a SWOT (Strengths-Weakness- Opportunities-Threats) grouping of identified Downtown characteristics, demographic and community spending information, and specific goals for branding, business development, tourism, events, the built environment and transportation. Core values of the community were identified as “integrity”, “open-minded” and “trustworthy” and an action plan was created to indicate how best to continue to innovate Downtown while maintaining its small town charm. This action plan includes a list of strategies, objectives, and timed and assigned tasks addressing each of the specific goals for Downtown. Lastly, the Plan is considered a beginning point for a marketing professional to develop a comprehensive strategy for marketing Downtown going forward, including a new brand ID, supporting materials and promotions towards an eventual strategic marketing plan. The Downtown Plan of this Master Plan continues to support such concepts. BRIGHTON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 4 The City of Brighton first began as a settlement in 1832, along the newly improved Grand River Avenue (formerly the Grand River Trail, an important Native American footpath), which was the fastest route from Detroit to Grand Rapids. This settlement quickly rooted itself as a flourishing town, supporting residents, commercial enterprises, and farming. As the community grew, it was incorporated as the Village of Brighton in 1867. Construction and completion of the Detroit, Howell, and Lansing Railroad (now CSX International) in the 1870s brought an influx of residents and businesses, and launched industrial development in the area. By the 1920s as automobile usage and affordability rose, and vehicular access was improved, resorts were established near Brighton, taking advantage of the scenic natural resources in this area, including forests and lakes. The village incorporated as a city in 1928. EXECUTIVE MASTER LAND USE COMPLETE STREETS DOWNTOWN RECREATION APPENDIX SUMMARY PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN 5 Historic buildings in the City of Brighton create a strong sense of place and character. The city experienced a surge of development and traffic by the 1960s with the completion of I-96, located along the northern boundary of the