Innovative Zoning Code Receives National Award

The City of Lathrup Village has being recognized for its proactive approach to planning & zoning at the annual conference of the American Planning Association. The award was presented at the Small Town & Rural Planning (STaR) Division's annual business dinner in Los Angeles in April 2012.


Each year, the STaR Division recognizes excellence in the planning efforts that help make the future of small communities brighter. This year's Planning Initiative Award was presented to Lathrup Village for its new zoning ordinance, which has transformed its previous code into a concise, user-friendly and highly-illustrated digital ordinance. This is one of many tools the City uses to attract and facilitate new development and redevelopment.


The new zoning ordinance, developed by the metro Detroit firm Clearzoning®, allows the public to view the Lathrup Village zoning code at any time, from anywhere. By simply clicking on one page of an online ordinance, a business owner can, for example, determine where a new office building could be built. Then, with one more click, the setback, area and height regulations for that district are displayed in both text and graphic form.  The ordinance is fully hyper-linked to make it more user-friendly.


The implementation of the new zoning ordinance is one of several steps the City of Lathrup Village has taken recently to attract businesses to the Southfield Road Corridor and to support those businesses already located in the community. The new zoning ordinance implements the master plan's vision of reestablishing the Village Center concepts, and provides regulations and incentives for a mixed use, pedestrian-friendly district that would function as the heart of the City.


Lathrup Village is in a highly desirable location in southern Oakland County, Michigan. Conveniently located off I-696, the City is within easy reach of the region's major cities and destinations. It has a population of over 4,000 people and covers 1 1/2 square miles. The majority of its commercial uses are located on Southfield Road, which links to the City of Detroit to the south and to the City of Birmingham to the north. Jeff Mueller is the City Administrator (248-557-2600x225).

The zoning ordinance and other planning work was prepared with the assistance of Clearzoning and its parent company, Birchler Arroyo Associates, Inc., a planning and transportation consulting firm established in 1989. The mission of Clearzoning is to transform municipal codes into visually appealing, digital documents that better communicate ordinance regulations. Rodney L. Arroyo, AICP serves as President of Clearzoning (866-271-9663). 

The Small Town & Rural Planning Division of the American Planning Association is a collaborative group of rural and small town planners, citizen planners, and allied professionals dedicated to the physical, social, and economic diversity of North America's non-metropolitan areas. The division keeps an eye on issues that challenge the ever changing face of "Small Town America" and shares ideas and success stories from the rural heartland of the United States and abroad.

Clearzoning®, 28021 Southfield Road, Lathrup Village, Michigan  48076, rod@clearzoning.com

Lathrup Village Complete Streets Ordinance

The City of Lathrup Village, Michigan Adopts Complete Streets Ordinance

As a result of planning efforts for “Complete Streets,” the City of Lathrup Village has adopted an ordinance that will help facilitate future street, bike facility, and sidewalk improvements.

Lathrup Village, MI

With assistance of Lathrup Village-based Birchler Arroyo Associates, Inc., a Michigan planning firm that specializes in downtown planning and transportation consulting, the City Council and Planning Commission have been developing a Non-Motorized Transportation Plan (NMTP), a Non-Motorized Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), and a Complete Streets Ordinance. The purpose of these efforts is to guide the planning, design, construction and reconstruction of roadways, sidewalks, bicycle paths, and other transportation facilities, making them “Complete Streets.”

Recent legislation adopted in Michigan provides a method for achieving “Complete Streets” in communities across the state. “Complete Streets” is a relatively new term that describes a transportation network that provide safe and efficient access to users, whether they travel by car, truck, transit, assistive device, foot, or bicycle. In Lathrup Village, plans for street and sidewalk repairs are made annually. However, the City recognized the need to address non-motorized transportation more fully and with an emphasis on improving the connectivity in and around the entire City, despite the physical boundaries of Southfield Road and I-696, which bisect the City from east to west, and north to south, respectively.

The Reverend Oscar King III, a Lathrup Village Planning Commissioner, sums up the “Complete Streets” planning efforts by noting, “In my sense, it redefines Lathrup Village so that it becomes something more than somewhere people drive through, getting to somewhere else. It becomes a destination, a well-planned destination, that can respond to what was, what is, and allow us to plan for the future.”

Birchler Arroyo Associates Inc. vice-president Rod Arroyo agrees, “With the Complete Streets Ordinance, the City is taking a big picture approach to creating a complete transportation network for its residents and businesses. “ The new ordinance will require the City to consider how improvements can be made to the non-motorized transportation network when other types of public infrastructure projects are undertaken.

The Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on the Complete Streets-Non-motorized Transportation Plan on November 8 and anticipates that the plan will be adopted as an amendment to the City’s Master Plan by December.

With assistance of Lathrup Village-based Birchler Arroyo Associates, Inc., a Michigan planning firm that specializes in downtown planning and transportation consulting, the City Council and Planning Commission has been developing a Non-Motorized Transportation Plan (NMTP), a Non-Motorized Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), and a Complete Streets Ordinance. The purpose of these efforts is to guide the planning, design, construction and reconstruction of roadways, sidewalks, bicycle paths, and other transportation facilities, making them “Complete Streets.”

Recent legislation adopted in Michigan provides a method for achieving “Complete Streets” in communities across the state. “Complete Streets” is a relatively new term that describes a transportation network that provide safe and efficient access to users, whether they travel by car, truck, transit, assistive device, foot, or bicycle. In Lathrup Village, plans for street and sidewalk repairs are made annually. However, the City recognized the need to address non-motorized transportation more fully and with an emphasis on improving the connectivity in and around the entire City, despite the physical boundaries of Southfield Road and I-696, which bisect the City from east to west, and north to south, respectively.

The Reverend Oscar King III, a Lathrup Village Planning Commissioner, sums up the “Complete Streets” planning efforts by noting, “In my sense, it redefines Lathrup Village so that it becomes something more than somewhere people drive through, getting to somewhere else. It becomes a destination, a well-planned destination, that can respond to what was, what is, and allow us to plan for the future.”

Birchler Arroyo Associates Inc. vice-president Rod Arroyo agrees, “With the Complete Streets Ordinance, the City is taking a big picture approach to creating a complete transportation network for its residents and businesses. “ The new ordinance will require the City to consider how improvements can be made to the non-motorized transportation network when other types of public infrastructure projects are undertaken.

The Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on the Complete Streets-Non-motorized Transportation Plan on November 8 and anticipates that the plan will be adopted as an amendment to the City’s Master Plan by December.

Identifying High-Crash Intersections

Birchler Arroyo Associates, Inc. is assisting the City of Novi with a City-wide study of high-crash intersections. The initial phase is to collect 5 years of traffic and crash data for about 60 major intersections and determine which intersections qualify as "high-crash."

When traffic crash data is typically collected at the municipal level, communities often focus on the top-ten intersections based on crash rate. Unlike evaluations based simply on crash frequency, those based on crash rates – crashes per million entering vehicles – reflect the true risk of having a crash.

While studying crash rates within the boundary of a municipality is helpful, drilling down to understand whether or not a crash rate is significant or not can provide more in-depth insight into high-crash intersections. By comparing local data to a large sample of physically similar intersections serving similar traffic volumes – rather than a smaller sample of more diverse intersections within the City – it can be more reliably determined that a location’s crash history should truly be a matter of concern. Following a methodology included in the Southeast Michigan Council of Government's (SEMCOG) Traffic Safety Manual, crash rates are compared to a Critical Crash Rate to guard against drawing unwarranted conclusions based on a location’s crash rate being higher than average due to random occurrences. The Critical Crash Rate is based on a statistical confidence interval developed using data collected from similar intersections in the southeast Michigan region. Only where the crash rate exceeds the Critical Crash Rate is the intersection reliably classified as “High-Crash.”

In addition, crash severity is also evaluated and is expressed as a casualty ratio – the proportion of all crashes involving at least one fatality or non-fatal injury. To guard against drawing unwarranted conclusions based on a location’s casualty ratio being higher than average due to random occurrences, the casualty ratio is compared to a Critical Casualty Ratio. Only where the casualty ratio exceeds the Critical Casualty Ratio is the intersection reliably classified as “High-Crash-Severity.” As with the Critical Crash rate, the Critical Casualty ratio comes from a statistical confidence interval developed using data collected from similar intersections in the region.

Besides identifying high-crash intersections that may warrant further study to identify crash mitigation measures, this project has resulted in updating the crash data base with the most current traffic count data. This has several potential uses and benefits in addition to providing the most reliable traffic crash rate at each of the intersections evaluated.

It is expected that this study will be concluded in the next 60 days.

Lathrup Village Complete Streets Update

The City of Lathrup Village's efforts to plan for and implement complete streets continues. The City adopted a Complete Streets ordinance in September 2011. The draft Complete Streets Plan is scheduled for a public hearing in November, and work continues on the draft of the Non-motorized Transportation Improvements Program.

The plan calls for wider sidewalks on Southfield Road and the establishment of a bike lane adjacent to one-way parking aisles on both sides of the road. Where the parking aisle is not in place, a path would be provided separate from the sidewalks. The Planning Commission felt that bike lanes directly attached to the outer Southfield Road through lanes would have a very limited appeal to riders. Within the proposed Village Center downtown area, on-street parking is proposed on Southfield Road. The Planning Commission is also recommending an extensive bike route system in the residential areas, with new wayfinding signage to direct bicyclists to specific destinations.

Clearzoning

The latest overview of Clearzoning.

clearzoning overview

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Lathrup Village Complete Streets Plan

A draft of the City of Lathrup Village's Complete Streets Plan was presented to the Planning Commission at its May meeting. The Plan provides a vision for enhancing non-motorized transportation within the City limits and beyond. As a separate chapter of the City's Master Plan, the Complete Streets Plan builds upon previously-adopted Master Plan concepts and further illustrates planning concepts. This includes development of a walkable city center area and the provision of non-motorized connections from nearby neighborhoods to local business districts.

The City's planning and transportation consultants, Birchler Arroyo Associates, Inc., worked with the Planning Commission to develop the draft plan, and they are now embarking upon a Non-motorized Transportation Improvements Program (TIP). The TIP will establish a five-year program for improvements and assist in setting funding priorities.

The City of Lathrup Village and Texas Township, Michigan have used Clearzoning® to transform their zoning codes into user-friendly, online, and highly-illustrated zoning codes. These interactive zoning ordinances are part of a strategy to better communicate zoning regulations to the development community, design professionals, citizens, and business owners.

Texas Charter Township

Texas Charter Township in Kalamazoo County, Michigan has transformed its zoning ordinance into a user-friendly, online document by partnering with Michigan-based Clearzoning®. The Township's Zoning Ordinance now has additional color graphics, navigation tabs, hyperlinks, and a new format that makes it easier to use and understand. Terms are word-searchable, and the entire document can be downloaded from the Township's web site.

The Township's Planning Commission conducted significant research on approaches for improving its Zoning Ordinance. After concluding research into better ways to zone, the Township hired Clearzoning® to assist them in the transformation process.

This Zoning Ordinance update is seen as both an economic development tool and enhancement in customer service. It makes it easier for developers, business owners, and design professionals to understand the zoning code, and it is available around the clock and around the world via the Township's web site. It also makes it easier for residents to access and understand zoning regulations. It is clearly a better approach to sharing zoning regulations with the public.

Texas Charter Township, located near Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the southwest portion of Kalamazoo County. The Township has approximately 36 square miles of land and has a population of approximately 13,000 people.

City of Lathrup Village

There has also been a fresh zoning change for the City of Lathrup Village, Michigan. The City transformed its existing zoning ordinance into user-friendly, easy-to-understand, hyperlinked ordinance that is available on the internet - Look under Quick Links.

This effort is seen as an economic development tool. It makes it easier for developers, business owners, and design professionals to understand the zoning code, and it is available around the clock and around the world via the City's web site. It also makes it easier for residents to access and understand zoning regulations.

The City of Lathrup Village, a suburb of Detroit, is in an ideal location for redevelopment. Seeking to enhance its main commercial corridor, Southfield Road, the City embarked on a master plan process that led to the vision of a downtown, right in the heart of the corridor. Lathrup Village took the opportunity to implement several Master Plan recommendations by consolidating zoning districts and creating new zoning districts that more appropriately address the needs of the community. The new Clearzoning® code includes a form-based, Village Center District, which provides more direction for the physical design of the new downtown area.

About Clearzoning®

In times of slow growth, communities can take a wait-and-see attitude or they can take positive steps to open the door to new economic development. A user-friendly zoning ordinance can be one of the strategies that sets a community apart from others that are competing to attract new jobs and an expanding tax base.

At the same time, a clearer zoning code will help make municipal government more efficient and transparent. If a zoning ordinance is clear and online, many questions can be answered without contacted the local staff. This frees up staff time to do other important municipal functions.

Clearzoning® maintains the regulatory effect of a zoning ordinance, zoning bylaw or zoning resolution. It transforms the code into an easy-to-read, better organized, digital document that will revolutionize the way the code functions. Plain text and black and white graphics are reborn as colorful illustrations. Words and phrases become searchable online, sections of the code are hyperlinked, and regulations are easier to understand. For more information, visit Clearzoning or follow www.twitter.com/clearzoning.

Clearzoning®, the term "clear and connected" and the Clearzoning logo are registered trademarks of Birchler Arroyo Associates, Inc. Clearzoning® ordinances are copyrighted, and the format, organization, graphics, outline, and other unique features are protected by U.S. copyright laws.