Highland Park staff seek adoption of grant-funded economic development strategy; council presses for faster action

City of Highland Park staff urged council adoption of a grant-funded Economic Development Strategy (EDS) on Monday, saying the document will amend the city's 2017 master plan, update zoning and outline demolition and redevelopment next steps.

Mr. Clyburn, the city's community development director, told the council the EDS grew out of a state memorandum of understanding and a contract with McKenna to provide planning services and to prepare the EDS, a capital improvement plan, master plan updates and zoning changes. "We did an MOU with the state, and part of that was to bring on McKenna for general planning services," he said.

Donovan, the staff presenter, described the EDS as the first of a three-part planning process that will amend Highland Park's master plan around housing and economic development while scheduling deeper neighborhood engagement later this year. "All of this is grant funded," Donovan said, noting community engagement events last year and a plan for additional public meetings. He told the council the planning commission recommended adoption and that the amendment would extend the plan toward 2030.

Why it matters: Donovan said an adopted EDS and a master plan amendment will allow Highland Park to seek state implementation funding and change underlying future land use and zoning to reduce barriers to private investment. He warned that some corridors are currently zoned residential, which "holds back economic development" because developers will face a lengthy rezoning process.

Council members and residents focused on execution and timing. Donovan set a target: "My goal is to have this adopted in 6 months," and said follow-on neighborhood stabilization work would appear in the months after adoption. Several council members urged shorter checkpoints (30, 60, 90 days) and asked that staff list specific, near-term tasks so the council and residents can track progress.

The EDS text will include references to demolition and parcel assembly, Donovan said, and he confirmed county and state partners named in the steering committee (including the state land bank and Wayne County economic development) will be part of implementation. The plan will also propose zoning revisions for roughly 10 areas across the city, and staff said recommendations to the future land use and zoning maps will be brought to council within 30 to 45 days.

What's next: Staff will share steering committee materials and an updated binder of the existing master plan with council members, invite at-large council members to join the steering committee, and schedule community engagement rounds beginning tentatively in May. The council did not take a vote at the workshop; the item will return to future meetings for formal action.