After several years of working to update the Solon Township master plan, the board passed a resolution at their Jan. 9 meeting to present it to the public for feedback.
The first public hearing will be held on April 10 at the township board’s regular meeting.
“The planning commission would very much like to proceed,” said Steve Morgan, the township board member appointed to serve on the planning commission. “We are looking forward to the public being able to see the minor rewrite of the master plan plus the future land-use maps so we can get that public comment back.”
Public input will be incorporated into the plan and presented again to the public for review before being adopted.
The latest draft of the master plan will soon be posted on leelanau.gov/solontwp.asp for folks to preview before the April meeting.
A township master plan provides a framework for community growth and development and includes a future land-use maps. Townships are required to update their master plans every five years with projected growth patterns for the next 20 years. It can be a tedious process, and according to Solon Zoning Administrator Christina Deeren, not all townships get it done on a timely basis.
“You’re supposed to get it done every five years,” she said. “I know a lot of communities are lucky if they get it done every 10 years.” She then suggested to the board that they get started soon on the next one.
After the initial public input, the plan will be tweaked for further review by the public before being adopted by the board.
The board also heard reports from the planning commission on several ordinances they are working on.
Most urgent is the parks ordinance, which has not been updated since 2008. The goal is to create a comprehensive enforceable parks ordinance complete with fee schedules and rules specific to each park. Solon’s parks have not been maintained in years and are in need of repair, signage and maintenance plans. The parks committee is looking for volunteers.
The planning commission is also working on a forest management proposal for Joe Vlack Memorial Park, landscape and short-term rental ordinances and town hall repairs, most specifi cally a renovation for office space. Both ordinances are projected to be up for public review summer 2025. Public is also encouraged to attend planning commission meetings to give input as the ordinances develops.
Cedar Area Fire & Rescue reported that they are working on the latest interlocal agreement between Solon, Kasson, Cleveland and Centerville townships. That agreement will also be coming up for public review.
The board received a brief update from Steve Yoder, former board member and current planning commission member, on the progress of seeking sewer proposals for Cedar, emphasizing expert opinion that such projects will only get more costly in the future. At this stage, the requested proposals are for informational and exploratory purposes for the township to see what’s possible.
The board passed resolutions to approve lease agreements for the Polka Fest and the Brian Nachazel Memorial Snowball Tournament, which will take place on February 22.
Finally, Supervisor Comeaux made two requests of board members. First, for each to individually think on developing long- and short-term goals based on “SMART Goals,” a method for setting objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timebound.
“These are effective and it’s the best way to obtain goals,” said Comeaux. “This is the methodology I used to rebuild the fire department.” Chris Comeaux served as Cedar Area Fire & Rescue Chief for just over three years from 2018 to 2021.
Secondly, Comeaux asked the board to consider starting meetings at 6 p.m. rather than 7 p.m. beginning in the new fiscal year.
The meeting ended at a few minutes after 9 p.m. All board members and seventeen members of the public were in attendance.
