SUTTONS BAY -- The vision for Leelanau County is fairly clear.
County residents generally agree that future housing development should center around existing villages, while preservation of natural and agricultural areas and public transportation improvements are also top priorities. Those ideas were echoed by hundreds of area residents attending a Grand Vision workshop in Suttons Bay Thursday.
Leelanau was the second of Grand Traverse County's five neighboring counties to provide input for The Grand Vision project, designed to guide transportation and land-use decisions in the region over the next several decades.
"There were clearly some common themes where people wanted to cluster new development around existing villages and preserve as much of the open farm land as possible," said Jim Lively, program director for the Michigan Land Use Institute that supports the project.
Participants were divided into groups and given maps and stickers representing projected population growth to develop plans for future land use and transportation in the county. The maps were used to generate discussion about how the county's growth will fit into the Grand Traverse region, Lively said.
Northport resident Joan Moore said it was an engaging process that focused residents on the future.
"I really liked the way they created the interactive way of giving input ... instead of just sitting and listening to a presentation," she said, adding that public transportation was an important issue for her.
"I am looking at taking the bus, but it doesn't really fit my schedule. I think with the way the gas prices are going more people would consider using it ... if there was more flexibility with routes and times added," Moore said.
The feedback generally focused on Traverse City as the region's hub, said county board Chairman Bob Hawley. But Leelanau could see a population influx with future infrastructure improvements and employment trends over the next few decades, he said.
"People more and more are going to be able to work from their homes, so Leelanau County ultimately could be a winner because we certainly have a high quality of life," he said.
Consultants with the Grand Vision also met with Kalkaska County residents this week. They'll make stops in Antrim, Wexford and Benzie counties this month before developing four regional proposals to be presented Sept. 10 in Traverse City.
More information on the Grand Vision, including meeting times and locations, is available on the Web at thegrandvision.org.
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