Comments on: Sustainability Action Plan Takes Shape http://annarborchronicle.com/2014/04/11/sustainability-action-plan-takes-shape/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sustainability-action-plan-takes-shape it's like being there Tue, 16 Sep 2014 04:56:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.2 By: Vivienne Armentrout http://annarborchronicle.com/2014/04/11/sustainability-action-plan-takes-shape/comment-page-1/#comment-302358 Vivienne Armentrout Mon, 14 Apr 2014 20:38:43 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=134403#comment-302358 Regarding the Detroit water system regionalization effort: here is a good recent article on its failure. [link]

]]> By: Vivienne Armentrout http://annarborchronicle.com/2014/04/11/sustainability-action-plan-takes-shape/comment-page-1/#comment-301806 Vivienne Armentrout Fri, 11 Apr 2014 18:03:25 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=134403#comment-301806 Evidently both the city of Ann Arbor and the city of Ypsilanti adopted the county “Green Places: Open Spaces – A Plan for Coordinated Parkland and Open Space” in 2008. There is no indication that any of the townships adopted the plan. Page on the county website: [link]

]]> By: Vivienne Armentrout http://annarborchronicle.com/2014/04/11/sustainability-action-plan-takes-shape/comment-page-1/#comment-301794 Vivienne Armentrout Fri, 11 Apr 2014 15:33:51 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=134403#comment-301794 Regarding the suggestion of regional planning for parks: this has been done. There was a determined drive for regional planning while the County still had a planning department. There were numerous meetings of the Washtenaw Metro Alliance (communities of the SE Washtenaw County “metro” region) and an open space plan was formulated but it was never used by the individual municipalities. I don’t know that the Ann Arbor Parks Commission or Greenbelt Advisory Commission even ever discussed it or attempted to address any of the proposed initiatives.

I have recounted part of the history of regional planning in Washtenaw County in my post [link]. Briefly, after much effort and talk, the effort foundered and the county planning department was disbanded. I make the case in my post and some others that the governmental structure in Michigan is an almost insurmountable barrier to successful regional initiatives.

It seems that council and mayoral candidates perennially bring up “regional solutions” to various problems, but the barriers remain and most of what will happen is a great deal of conversation.

If you would like to see a different case study of regional cooperation, follow the current issues surrounding the Detroit Water and Sewerage services. Even the rationalization of such an essential service is running up against many barriers.

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