Oxford Township officials Nov. 26 unanimously authorized a “work plan” aimed at updating the community’s Master Plan for a cost not to exceed $35,000.
“I really feel this is the best $35,000 we’ll probably spend on this community for the whole year,” said township Treasurer Joe Ferrari. “There’s a lot of good, solid analysis that’s going to be done to make sure we’re on target.”
It’s anticipated that a draft of the updated Master Plan will be ready for public hearing and possible adoption within 12 to 15 months from the project’s initiation, “barring any unforseen delays related to the availability of data, scheduling of meetings, etc.,” according to a Nov. 3 letter from township planner Donald Wortman, of the Carlisle/Wortman Associcates, Inc.
The township’s Master Plan was adopted in November 1995 and has not been updated since.
A state law enacted in January 2002 mandates municipalities’ Master Plans must be reviewed by their planning commissions at least every five years.
Under the new law, all municipalities must conduct their first formal Master Plan review by 2007.
According to the approved work plan, the update is designed to “consolidate” the township’s three existing land use plans (Master Plan, Central Area Plan and East Central Area Plan), the Open Space and Greenway Plan, and the Roads Master Plan, which is currently under development.
Maintaining the “vision already articulated in the township’s current land use documents” is the “overall objective” of the work plan, Wortman wrote.
“The work plan was prepared with the intent to preserve as much of the current plans as possible,” the letter stated.
A detailed outline of the information, materials, data, professional services, meetings and time frames necessary to accomplish the Master Plan update was presented to the township board.
The work plan was developed by Wortman/Carlisle Associates, Inc. under the direction of a five-member “Plan-to-Plan Committee,” created at a Sept. 18 joint meeting of the township board and planning commission.
Officials decided the Master Plan was in need of updating following a Sept. 4 letter from Wortman which identified 16 “deficiencies” in the current township Zoning Ordinance.
At the Sept. 18 meeting, Wortman recommended officials update the Master Plan before attempting to revise the Zoning Ordinance.
“In a lot of our communities, typically that is the proper procedure. First, you look at your Master Plan because your Master Plan is going to set the stage for your Zoning Ordinance. You want to make sure your Master Plan is consistent with the ordinance amendments that we make,” Wortman told officials at the time.