By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
When approving the first draft of the Orion Township Master Plan, the long-range development plan for the township, planning commissioners noted one resounding fact.
‘Growth management? was the most popular request in input received through the community.
Commissioners sorted through over 600 comments and suggestions collected at an open house last fall and two online mapping surveys, the first time community input was received so abundantly.
Township Planner Don Wortman from Carlisle/Wortman Associates said commissioners created a new section specifically for growth management under community objectives, one of several that will guide township trustees planning decisions for the next 20 years.
Highlighted were limiting dense residential and commercial growth where least suitable, preserving critical environmental areas and large acreage parcels when appropriate and consider development based on land features.
The update to the township’s master plan is in accordance with PA33 of 2008, requiring communities to review or update the master plan every five years. Like the old plan, the new plan will identify goals, policies, strategies and actions the Township, its partners, and its residents collectively wish to pursue.
The planning commission determined there were changes to be made, Wortman said, especially in light of some of the major changes occurring along Orion’s largest corridors.
Trustees approved the first draft of the updated plan at the previous board meeting, which began a 63-day review period. The draft will be distributed to bordering communities for comment, which will be taken into consideration in the final draft. After the 63 days, the planning commission will conduct a public hearing, and it will be up to commissioners to adopt the 2015 master plan. Trustees will approve or deny final acceptance.
Major changes
Once a new master plan is accepted, Orion will have the updated ‘blueprint? of recommendations to help guide new development and policies.
Major changes include updating the social demographics and physical profile of the township, using data from the 2010 census.
According to the data, Orion’s population growth exploded between 1990 and 2000, increasing from 21,047 to 30,748, a 46.1 percent increase. Between 2000 and 2013 it only grew by 8 percent, to 33,469 at the end of 2013, according to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. The median age in 2010 was 38.4, up from 33.9 in 2000.
Despite the slowed growth rate, data found that Orion’s population trends exceed Oakland County’s as a whole.
SEMCOG’s 2040 Population Forecast predicts Orion will experience moderate, but constant population growth up until 2040.
In the next 30 years the 35 to 59 age group will see the largest decrease, according to SEMCOG’s forecast, with the school-aged group, 5 to 11, projected to see a mild decrease, along with the under 5 group.
Age groups 65 to 74 and 75+ are expected to see the largest increases, with all other age groups remaining steady or seeing slight increases by 2040.
In 2010, 78 percent of people lived in single-family detached homes, 13 percent lived in multi-unit apartments, seven percent lived in townhouses/attached condos, and two percent lived in mobile homes. In 2013, however, the township issued more building permits for attached condos and multi-family units than for single-family units, the report notes.
The median housing value in Orion was $253,860 in 2010, which dipped to $218,900 in 2013.
The draft also includes an extensive land survey, tracking land use and development since the1990s, maintained natural features and watersheds, and decreasing vacant space.
The commission concluded that most commercial uses are adjacent to residential developments along Lapeer and Baldwin roads, and most industrial growth has concentrated in the southern portion of the township. Since the previous master plan update, the Brown Road Innovation District and Lapeer Road Overlay District were adopted to encourage a ‘flexible mix of uses within these industrial areas.?
Also included in the 2015 revision is current road and thoroughfare data from the Road Commission of Oakland County (RCOC) and SEMCOG. Revised data includes traffic counts, traffic congestion and accident information.
From 2009 to 2013, the top two intersections for traffic crashes were the intersections of Baldwin Rd. southbound and Brown Rd., and Lapeer Rd. at Clarkston Rd., with 148 and 131 crashes respectively.
The master plan draft also highlights how Orion Township is in a good position to influence road agency policy with land use decisions associated with incoming development.
New data found that existing major roads in the township currently operate at a lower level of service, and t that new developments could exacerbate existing systems, unless modified.
Another major change from the 2009 master plan was the inclusion of the social media effort to garner more public participation, which commissioners felt added much needed input.
Future Land Use
Commissioners also modified the future land use plan, or in other words, the arrangement of commercial, residential and industrial properties, paying close attention to the major corridors.
Commissioners selected 14 areas of vacant or transitional areas that were most likely to be developed,
and created recommendations for their future land use. The parcels generally were along Baldwin, Lapeer, Joslyn and Brown roads.
‘Things are changing, the economy is improving, there’s more interest in industrial and commercial and or residential development,? he said.
The final, major change to the 2009 master plan was to the zoning and implementation plans for future zoning strategies.
In another effort, commissioners are also in the process of a zoning consolidation.
The zoning map, unlike the future land use map, reflects the day-to-day regulations imposed by the township.
Commissioners have been in the process of consolidating roughly 30 different zoning districts down to 20 for simplification purposes.
For example, instead of three separate zonings for the Restricted Business classification, RB-1, RB-2 and RB-3, the new plan is to consolidate it under one classification.
‘That’s holding true for the Office Professional and some of the Industrial Zoning districts. We decided to leave the Residential alone,? Wortman said.
Trustee Donni Steele said this will make it easier for the planning commission and will allow for a more flexible mixed use facilities.
‘This community has evolved to where we just don’t need what we needed back then. It used to be an agriculture area, and now its obliviously not. Its part of a transition that has been happening and will continue to happen based on what the needs are of the community,? she said.
A complete copy of the 2015 master plan draft will soon be available on the township’s website, www.oriontownship.org.