A Master Plan for Owosso

Updated November 18, 2012
Where is the City of Owosso going in the future?  Will we be in a reactive mode, waiting for good things to happen and working to counteract the negative impacts on our community?  Not if we can adopt a Master Plan, a blueprint for pro-active effort to guide the future growth of the City.  In all its history, Owosso has lacked a plan.  While in the past there have been successful efforts to influence and direct private investment and public actions, there has been no overall set of plans, policies, and goals that are forward looking. That is about to change.

In 2008, then Mayor Mike Bruff appointed Cindy Popovitch (now a fellow council member) and me to a Blue Ribbon Committee to define some future goals for the development of the City of Owosso.  Now, we have seen the promise of that work realized in a new Master Plan.  This achievement is thanks mostly to the expertise and effort of Owosso's Community Development Director Adam Zettel, the persistent work of the Planning Commission (which included the chairmanship of Burton Fox, who is now on the Council) and the input and interest of many citizens.  This 18 month effort involved a pubic survey, focus group meetings, and several public hearings.  The plan was put together by staff without the use of public dollars to hire consultants or other professionals (a group of Michigan State University students also provided valuable baseline research).

Why a Plan?
A Master Plan is an articulated set of policies and programs to guide the future development of a City. While there is much focus on, and legal weight, in the map of Future Land Uses (see above), the greatest value in a plan is the direction it sets for the future, the policy statements it contains, and the actions it will direct.  The vision statement for the new Owosso Master Plan states that "The City of Owosso will provide superior municipal services and implement guiding principles that continually enhance the quality of life.  Owosso will be the proud home of numerous creative entrepreneurial leaders and will function as the heart of Shiawassee County.  The community will be a vibrant, progressive, knowledge-based community, which promotes the highest quality of life."

A cynic might dismiss such a vision as wishful thinking, and a realist recognizes that Owosso faces severe economic challenge and other deficits.  However, the adoption of a Master Plan is a conscious effort to try to control, or at least manage, the many forces shaping the community, rather than be a passive observer or victim of larger trends.  At a minimum, the plan helps provide the City Council, City Manager and his staff with a work plan to apply the tools within our control.  Where should the City invest its limited dollars?  Where should roads, water lines and other infrastructure improvements be made?  How can we inspire community efforts to improve parks or other public spaces?  How do we use zoning and other development regulations to direct private investment?  How do we talk about ourselves as a community and what image do we present to those who come to Owosso?  Answering these questions will have a profound impact on our quality of life, and a Master Plan gives us the ability to define and present ourselves in the best light possible.


Community Goals
The draft Master Plan sets forth these goals for the future of the Owosso:

• Create safe, tranquil, clean and healthy neighborhoods with enduring character
• Increase and maintain the mobility of of Owosso citizens through a comprehensive and well-planned transportation system
• Deliver urban development and management that strives to preserve and include the natural environment
• Support well planned, quality and sustainable growth
• Enhance and promote historical community resources
• Develop and maintain quality, cost-effective community facilities, infrastructure and services with ensure our city is cohesive and well connected
• Pro-actively create new educational and economic opportunities for all citizens
• Create more youth activities and amenities that service the community and neighborhoods
• Make Owosso a center for culture and entertainment in Mid-Michigan
• Ensure Owosso provides a lifestyle that accommodates the aging population
• Make Owosso a regional center of health care service excellence
• Be known as a community that delivers healthy and active lifestyles

The Planning Commission recommended the draft Master Plan to the City Council.  At its meeting on August 6, the Council will voted on a proposal to officially accept this Plan.  The Plan then was  distributed for review.  The Plan became a public document and a copy sent to surrounding jurisdictions and other governmental bodies for their review and input.  After public input and further review by the Planning Commission, the Council formally adopted the Plan on November 19.  

The important next steps after adoption will be to begin work on the many implementation steps outlined in the Plan (Chapter 8).  This will require the City to set some priorities, but a review and update of the City's Zoning Ordinance, which legally controls the location and standards of development, will be an important first action.  Specific action plans also need to be adopted for Westown, the highway gateways to the City, the Shiawassee River, and other critical areas.  The primary emphases of the Plan are on encouraging entrepreneurial activity and economic development, place-making and the adding of recreational and cultural amenities, and promoting Owosso's quality of life for families, seniors, and all who would call us home.  Promoting equity and encouraging diversity are specific aims of the Plan.

Adam Zettel recommended that the City Council, City staff, and the community "develop a culture of unity" behind the plan as our guidepost and touchstone.  Several members of the Council stated their desire to have the community work together to take care of one another, improve Owosso, and move us positively forward into the future.  A new master plan gives us the opportunity to do just that.