Middleville planning commission approves Main Street vision plan as guiding reference

The Middleville Planning Commission voted to approve the Middleville Main Street Vision Plan as a guiding reference for planning and development along the Main Street corridor and recommended the Village Council adopt the plan by resolution and incorporate it into the upcoming master-plan update.

Mr. Bowers, who introduced the plan, said the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) commissioned Williams & Works to prepare the document and that it builds on a 2003 blueprint that first identified the need for street-design standards. “The village of Middleville Downtown Development Authority commissioned Williams & Works to prepare the Main Street vision plan funded through the DDA,” Mr. Bowers said, describing public engagement, DDA design-committee review and a recent DDA approval to fund a right-of-way survey in the downtown area.

Commissioners focused discussion on how the conceptual design would affect parking, driveways and service access. The plan’s block-by-block parking summary cited net changes on several segments (examples given in the presentation included net parking changes of +8, -4, +11 and +23 on different blocks). Commissioners queried whether removing angled parking would reduce overall spaces by “less than like six” in one block, and raised concerns about a church lot, an old auto shop driveway, snow removal, and how delivery and service trucks would navigate a proposed roundabout.

One commissioner suggested contacting neighboring Benfield Township planners to learn from a recent corridor project, and another urged caution about investing in changes that could increase collisions if not properly engineered. Mr. Bowers and commissioners repeatedly described the plan as a conceptual, guiding document rather than a construction-ready design; staff said individual elements likely would be phased over many years and that construction is at least five years out. The presentation noted one intersection (Grand Rapids/Main Street) already appears on the capital-improvement plan; most other elements are not currently funded.

The discussion also flagged a code reference—section 66-163—regarding permitting bicycle use on Main Street and suggested the ordinance committee review whether pavement markings or local rules should be updated to reflect actual bicycle usage downtown. The DDA’s support for a right-of-way survey and the recommendation to include the vision document in the master-plan update were repeated as next steps.

A commissioner moved to approve the plan as a reference document, to recommend council adopt it by resolution, and to direct staff to incorporate it into the master-plan update; the commission approved the motion by voice vote. The transcript records the motion and that those present said “aye,” but it does not record a numeric vote tally or list any nay or abstention counts.

Staff briefed the commission on other administrative items after the vote, noting permitting activity is picking up, that a McDonald’s is under construction and expected to open in early August, and that the ordinance committee may meet May 18 to discuss several code updates. The plan is expected to be considered by the Village Council by resolution, tentatively at its last meeting in May, and then folded into the master-plan update process next year.

What’s next: the commission recommended the vision plan to council for adoption and directed staff to incorporate the plan into the master-plan update; timelines for specific construction projects and detailed funding were described as uncertain and subject to the capital-improvement plan and future council action.