The Canton Township Board of Trustees voted Jan. 14 to distribute a draft comprehensive master plan, "Canton's Vision for Tomorrow," for a 63-day public comment period beginning Jan. 15 and ending March 19, 2025.

The motion to authorize distribution was made by Clerk Seeger and supported by Trustee Foster; the board approved the motion by voice vote.

The draft plan, prepared with assistance from McKenna Associates of Northville, is intended as a guiding policy document for five to 20 years and addresses topics the township says were not fully covered in the 2018 plan, including sustainability, housing variety, environmental preservation, stormwater management and transit considerations. "This will allow outside agencies, the county, MDOT, and adjacent communities and the public at large to read about the future of their home community and decide what they want to do or decide if they and provide any comments," Erin, Planning Services staff, told the board during a presentation.

Nut graf: Officials emphasized that the board’s vote authorized only distribution for review and comment under the Michigan Planning Enabling Act (PA 33 of 2008); adoption will follow later steps including a Planning Commission public hearing and a formal recommendation. Planning staff and trustees framed the distribution as the next procedural step in a multi-stage adoption process, not final approval of the plan’s policies.

Planning staff summarized public engagement conducted for the plan: more than 1,200 comments collected via comment boards at township facilities and community events, about 1,300 responses to a community survey, 16 stakeholder-group discussions, two open houses that drew roughly 150–200 attendees each, and an advisory board that met 12 times. "We collected over 1,200 comments from the public," Erin said, and staff confirmed those counts for the board during the meeting.

A public commenter, Jim Costiva of North Ridge Road, urged the board not to include a neighborhood node designation for the Ford and Beck intersection in the draft, saying it could open the area to commercial uses over time. "I believe it is unwise to adopt the master plan that includes any prospect for such undesired land use activity from being replicated in the western portion of this roadway," Costiva said during the public comment period.

Board members responded to those concerns by noting the draft plan includes preferred use descriptions and explicit exclusions and that township staff are drafting ordinance language to provide regulatory controls. "We have included in the draft master plan types of land uses that we do not want. We do not want big-box stores. We do not want auto-centric uses such as gas stations or drive-through restaurants," Erin told the board, adding that zoning language will follow the plan and be proposed to the Planning Commission and township board. A deputy supervisor added the township’s legal team is researching whether additional legal approaches can be used to limit “runaway development,” and that a memo on legal options will be provided to the board before or during the 63-day comment period.

Trustees emphasized that the distribution step opens the draft for comment and that specific implementation measures — zoning changes, ordinances and focused implementation studies (for housing, economic development and transit) — would be developed after public input and would come back to the Planning Commission and board for review. "This is the opportunity to hear from every member of the community," Erin said. "Once the master plan has all the comments, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing and make a recommendation to adoption, and then the township board will be the authorizing adopting body."

The board approved the distribution motion by voice vote. Planning staff said hard copies will be available at the planning services counter, the draft will be posted on the township website, and comments may be submitted by email (masterplan@cantonmi.gov), U.S. mail to the Planning Services Division, or through comment boxes and cards at the planning services counter.

The board recorded no roll-call vote for this item in the public record beyond the standard "all in favor say aye"; the distribution sets a timeline for staff to compile comments and return the results to the Planning Commission for the subsequent public hearing and formal adoption process.

Ending: The board said it expects to receive comments through March 19 and to proceed with ordinance drafting and implementation steps afterward; no adoption vote occurred at the Jan. 14 meeting. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the draft before the board considers final adoption, tentatively targeted for spring 2025.