Livingston County has gained the endorsement of one of the entities needed to pass the new Master Plan.

The City of Howell Planning Commission, under the guidance of Community Development Director Tim Schmitt, approved the county’s Draft Master Plan for Land Use at their meeting, Wednesday night. State legislation requires that Master Plans are distributed to all surrounding municipalities and utilities for review and an opportunity to provide comment.

Coming in at over 300 pages, county officials have chosen to distribute the document digitally, rather than in print form. Schmitt said it was structured around the idea of presenting Best Practices. This approach allows municipalities within the County to learn what others are doing successfully and how those tactics can be applied back home. Schmitt said this will allow the city when they are confronted by an issue the ability to quickly seek information on how surrounding communities have addressed it.

Schmitt said that the Draft Master Plan was so thorough that it covered nearly every scenario relevant to his job. He said that this point he couldn’t think of anything he’d change or recommend differently. He complimented the comprehensiveness of it, admiring the way county planners juggled the dichotomy of the rural north of Livingston County and the more urban Howell – Brighton corridor.

A copy of the Master Plan can be found at the link below. (MK)