Sterling Heights council delegates final approval of new master land use plan amid public objections

Sterling Heights City Council voted 6-1 to waive its statutory right to be the final approver of the citymaster land use plan and delegated final approval authority to the Sterling Heights Planning Commission.

The vote came after a presentation from City Planner Dr. Jake Purcell on a yearlong rewrite of the master land use plan that staff said produced roughly 5,000 public comments and outreach to about 30,000 addresses. City staff told council the rewrite updated the 2017 plan to reflect new strategies, the climate action and sustainability plans, and recent subarea planning for North Van Dyke Avenue.

The master plan matters because it guides zoning decisions, development priorities and long-term infrastructure and open-space strategies across the city. Council members and several public speakers tied their remarks to one parcel along North Van Dyke that has generated interest from the Chaldean Community Foundation (CCF) and to a separate parcel near Hall Road and Starett Street that residents and property owners disputed.

Dr. Purcell summarized the public-engagement process and identified two parcels that drew the most written…