"This concept is similar to the certification for efficiency and environmental compliance that many manufacturers seek to achieve," says Jim Townsend, executive director of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance. "We are going to study and adopt best practices and create benchmarks that local communities must attain if they want to be certified as development-ready."
According to Townsend, established communities--like the 25 that belong to the Michigan Suburbs Alliance--are often at a disadvantage when it comes to redevelopment opportunities.
"From a developer's standpoint, there are uncertainties involved when approaching projects in older communities," says Steve Horstman, the economic development director for Eastpointe, which is a charter member of the MSA.
According to Horstman, who is helping plan and develop the RRC initiatives, the uncertainties that developers believe exist in older communities include contaminated sites, a community's lack of technical capacity and staff support, and lengthy and costly bureaucratic red tape. The RRC initiative is consistent with recommendations by Gov. Jennifer Granholm's Land Use Leadership Council, says Maxine Berman, special projects director for Granholm.
Townsend reports the Michigan Suburbs Alliance has received two grants, one for $50,000 from the US Environmental Protection Agency and another for $75,000 from the Kellogg Foundation's People and Land program, to fund the RRC initiative.
"It is going to be a 12- to 18-month process," Townsend says. "The first phase involves identifying best practices from across the region and across the country. After studying what has worked elsewhere, we will develop and tailor standards for our region. The second phase includes testing and evaluating these certification standards. The third and final phase is the actual implementation."
A committee of public and private sector development specialists, including Horstman from Eastpointe, is taking part in the initiative. "We have cast our net far and wide," says Mark Wollenweber, city manager for St. Clair Shores and a board member of the MSA. "We are involving development specialists from every critical development discipline, including planning, engineering, financing, marketing and construction."
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