City launches ambitious plan to revitalize contaminated land

In a recent government meeting, officials from Rochester Hills outlined key initiatives aimed at enhancing the city's quality of life and addressing environmental concerns. A significant focus was placed on the Eagle remediation and restoration grant, which allocates $75 million over four years to clean up contaminated sites. The city is collaborating with ASTI to identify projects that will maximize the impact of these funds, targeting over 130 acres of contaminated land in partnership with two major landowners.

Additionally, the city is in the midst of updating its master plan, led by Chris McLeod. The planning process has progressed through the \"understand\" and \"envision\" phases, which included community engagement through informational videos, online surveys, and focus group discussions with various community sectors. The next phase, termed \"strategize,\" aims to establish a solid foundation for the 2025 master plan, emphasizing the city's core values and future vision.

This updated master plan will adopt a modern approach by utilizing a GIS story map format and will concentrate discussions around five school neighborhood sections within the city. The planning team is set to reconvene focus groups later this year to refine the draft vision, with the completion of the master plan anticipated by midsummer 2025.