Mount Clemens commission adopts updated master plan

The Mount Clemens City Commission voted to adopt a proposed update to the city'wide master plan after a public discussion and comments from commissioners.

Commissioner Button said he supported the update but urged expanded community outreach for future revisions, recommending town-hall style meetings across the city to gather broader input. "I think we need to be more realistic about our goals and visions for the city," Button said.

The plan had been reviewed at meetings and posted on the city website; one commissioner noted that several grant and economic-development programs require an approved master plan before a municipality may apply. The chair emphasized the document's status: "The master plan is just the master plan is a policy document that's a guide. It is not any type of an ordinance," the chair said, stressing that zoning ordinances are the enforceable tools that follow planning decisions.

Commissioners praised the plan's marketing and redevelopment ideas while noting that recommended opportunities (for example, labeling city hall property as a redevelopment opportunity) do not guarantee development without an entrepreneur, an acceptable offer and any required rezoning. One commissioner said the plan should be reviewed at least every five years.

After discussion the commission took a roll-call vote and approved the resolution to adopt the master plan update.

The adoption clears a procedural step that the city indicated is needed to remain eligible for certain grant cycles and to pursue future zoning and redevelopment work. The commission did not adopt zoning changes as part of the vote; any zoning ordinance amendments would require separate action.