Thriving Communities
Anyone looking for a bright economic spot to celebrate in our sorely tried region of the state should have attended last week’s groundbreaking for the new Benzie Bus headquarters....
It’s been a busy and uncertain six months for local officials in Benzie County. Cuts in revenue continue, forcing officials to make tough decisions on funding priorities....
So he commissioned a survey to “find people that don’t currently ride the bus and ask them what it would take to get them to use our services.”
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Last week, the Traverse City City Commission hosted a panel of top community leaders for a program called “TC Tomorrow.”...
Now, the words “community” and “garden” are transforming lives across the country, and a special event in Traverse City on Sunday, Jan. 31 highlights “The Promise of Gardens: How Gardens Build Community, Feed Us All and Reconnect Us to Nature,” featuring award-winning author Eric Toensmeier....
It’s official: I parked my dilapidated Honda Civic for the last time last May....
The adage, “think globally, act locally” comes to mind, especially as negotiations reach a grinding halt and conference-goers are left looking for ways to start taking the climate challenge into their own hands....
Like every other local government in Michigan, Benzie County is really feeling the state budget crunch. That’s why, earlier this year, Benzie officials decided to cut their entire planning and zoning program; it’s a “non-mandated” service, so it is an easy target for cuts....
Seven townships in Benzie County may be stripped of all of their zoning protections due to the county’s serious budget shortfall....
If the Grand Vision wanted a ‘poster community’ to illustrate the challenge of implementing the region’s new growth strategy, it would be Acme Township....
Now I’m trying out riding the BATA bus to work, but it seems I may have forgotten the rules. ...
Located along a particularly beautiful stretch of northern Lake Michigan shoreline, the small village of Empire looks like a guaranteed economic success story....
Although it was a regional event, Tuesday night’s rollout of The Grand Vision’s final draft plan at Traverse City’s State Theater was actually a watershed for the entire state....
I have to believe that The Grand Vision process has played a part in giving citizens, like my team in Benzie, the empowerment and encouragement we need to dream....
Seventeen years ago, some Grand Traverse-area residents launched a grassroots movement to better manage the area’s growth. They wanted to protect the area’s pristine environment, farmland, and uniqueness....
On Tuesday May 19th from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the State Theateryou can participate in an historic event: the rollout and celebration of “the final Grand Vision”-a citizen-certified plan for the next 50 years of growth in our six-county region. And the Michigan Land Use Institute is proud to report that it is truly Grand!...
Last week the Grand Traverse region took a historic step toward enhancing the region’s already outstanding water resources when local leaders voted to remove three dams from the Boardman River....
The Grand Vision has had more citizen involvement - over 15,000 residents - than any other planning process ever conducted in this region, and has engaged environmental groups, business leaders and civic organizations....
After almost 18 months of citizen workshops, interviews, surveys, and balloting involving more than 15,000 people, the Grand Vision is ready to roll out a 50-year development plan. And Mr. Shetler thinks implementing it is key to spurring Kalkaska’s turnaround....
With the votes tallied and the surveys sifted, the results of the six-county, citizen-based Grand Vision land use and transportation study indicate that residents of Benzie County and the five other counties in the Grand Traverse region largely agree on how they’d like to see the region grow over the next 50 years....
